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06/13/2010 02:20:12 PM · #1 |
Hi - I'm hoping someone has a secret remedy here - MY HD was getting full so I set it to move a load of files to an external hard drive
Some went fine but with a lot of them I ended up with empty folders on both drives
I did leave it running and go to bed for a couple of hours before work - I can see now that that may be a problem
So any remedies ? |
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06/13/2010 02:24:13 PM · #2 |
| Here is a roundup of file recovery software from Maximum PC magazine. Most of these are free. Hopefully the data is actually still there and can be recovered. |
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06/13/2010 02:26:42 PM · #3 |
I'm assuming you were doing a copy and not a move and were going to delete from the source drive once the copy was verified.
Recovery software may work but you can't write anything more to the drives or you reduce the chances of recovering anything.
Having said that, folders that appear empty may not be. They may have only lost connection. A lost connection on an external drive may be the sign of a USB driver issue so checking for the latest drivers is a good idea.
What OS are you using?
Also, what I find invaluable when doing this type of thing is a program for comparing contents once a copy is done. The program I use is BeyondCompare. It has a 30 day trial. That's 30 days of usage, not 30 contiguous days.
Message edited by author 2010-06-13 14:32:40. |
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06/13/2010 02:30:56 PM · #4 |
| The other (expensive) option is to use a professional data recovery service such as DriveSavers. It looks like you can call them toll-free for an estimate and possibly advice. |
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06/13/2010 02:41:28 PM · #5 |
Thanks to everyone for their astonihingly quick help
I rebooted and they reappeared on the external
Special thanks tpo cpanioti for being kind enough to assume that I had done a copy to and not a move to - if only .....
Thanks again
idp |
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06/13/2010 02:44:16 PM · #6 |
Now that your heart is back out of your throat, you *absolutely* need to make certain that you have a backup of the files. If you don't and the external dies, you are screwed. Don't gamble with your data.
Also FWIW, the conservative approach to moving files is always to use "copy" and verify they are written correctly before deleting off the source drive. |
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06/13/2010 02:50:24 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by kirbic:
Also FWIW, the conservative approach to moving files is always to use "copy" and verify they are written correctly before deleting off the source drive. |
The other conservative approach is to move copy things a few folders at a time -- maybe 500MB or so -- rather than everything on a drive. I find that these types of errors occur most often when copying a large number of files at once.
Message edited by author 2010-06-13 14:51:08. |
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06/13/2010 03:53:34 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by GeneralE:
Originally posted by kirbic:
Also FWIW, the conservative approach to moving files is always to use "copy" and verify they are written correctly before deleting off the source drive. |
The other conservative approach is to move copy things a few folders at a time -- maybe 500MB or so -- rather than everything on a drive. I find that these types of errors occur most often when copying a large number of files at once. |
Yep, good advice. Even more conservative is to not use the OS, but a synchronization tool. With WinXP or later, you can use a free Microsoft Power Toy called SyncToy to echo a folder tree, and verify that the operation has gone as expected. |
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