Discovery Recovery v3.2
Frequently Asked Questions
I emptied my recycle bin having put the wrong file in it. I need to recover the file but it isn't listed. Why is this and how can I get it back?
When files are sent to the recycle bin, the file system record is amended with a recycle bin referenced name, while only the recycle bin facility notes the original name. This is why you won't see a deleted (binned) file unless you open the recycle bin. As fail safes go, it's very effective at assisting people get their files back, but isn't infallible.
When the bin is emptied, Windows simply deletes those revised file references. The data will still be there on the disk until it's overwritten. Look for files of a specific type and size with unusual file names. These are files which have been passed through the bin. If you know the size, sort the list of files by clicking on the 'size' in the header bar. If you know the type (extension) then search for that. Just be aware the name will have been changed by the recycle bin.
Discovery Recovery will recover files up to 1mb without needing registration. Is this an arbitrary file size or is there a reason for it?
It's 'sort-of' arbitrary. The vast majority of recovery software limits file recovery to 64kb for evaluation purposes before having to buy a copy. Occasionally, there's a generous package with 128kb. We thought it would be a good thing to give people some real functionality. 1Mb is a good size and will mean most people can get some real benefit from the software without having to register.
I decided to test your software so I created a file, deleted it and then tried to recover it, but it wasn't listed. Why wasn't this deleted file listed?
Modern file systems cache newly created files in memory for the sake of efficiency using reserved file system entries pointing to those memory addresses. Even 'saving' a file doesn't necessarily write the file to disk immediately. This is because so many files are created and deleted all the time by modern operating systems, it simply makes sense to do this in virtual rather than physical space whenever possible. Unless the file created was particularly large, relative to available system memory, creating it then deleting it straight away will not necessarily result in that file being written to the hard drive. In the normal course of events, this makes perfect sense. Creating a file, immediately deleting it then trying to recover it straight away with a disk analyser, isn't a normal course of events!
I have used another software tool in the past to recover files. Yours seems powerful in comparison yet is such a small program. How did you do that?
We developed the software using a mixture of C++ and assembly language. Some other development tools build in a host of class functions, even when they're not required, and don't necessarily compile as compactly. We chose those tools because a small footprint file size can be vital to users where there's a danger of overwriting data they wish to recover. Assembly language might be notoriously difficult to code but it's extremely efficient and gives substantial speed benefits as well.
I tried to preview a photo with the viewer but it didn't display the image. Why is this and is it recoverable?
Our viewer is a basic tool designed to give a preview of the commonest file types. There are so many other types of graphics and so many formats, often unique to specific software, we simply can't display them all. If the file was a type we normally read but it wasn't viewable, recover the file then use an image editing software tool to open it. There's a fair chance you'll be able to use at least part of the recovered file. If that doesn't work then the file was too badly damaged.
When running the forensic scan, I found the file I want but Discovery Recovery says it's a lot bigger than I expected. Why is this and how can I restore it to normal size?
This can happen with forensic scan results, where we don't have a record of the original size and don't encounter an appropriate end of file marker. We still list the file because it's probable much of it will still be recoverable, particularly so with documents and images. To restore it to a normal size, recover the file, open it with the appropriate application, and edit it if necessary before saving it back.
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