Partially Overwritten Data On External Drive

[HelloAgainItsME]

I have overwritten about 15gb of a 500 gb Samsung external hard drive. It now shows the new 15gb and nothing else on the single partition.

I want to recover the original data that was on there..

Can I delete the new stuff leaving me with access to the original?

If not, can I recover the balance of the data that was not overwritten?

Search in this forum has not solved the problem nor have commercial programs which can recover deleted data but not overwriiten.

[Crossy]

I suppose the first questions are, how did you overwrite the data (format)? and what is the data (photos, documents, movies)?

We then have some idea where we are going, data that has actually been overwritten is usually gone forever (yes there are forensic programs to get it back) but usually if it's just deleted it's not gone anywhere and just awaits the correct software to recover it.

[rayinkrabi]

I agree with Crossy, as I always thought over writing data was wiping it clean forever..unlike simply deleting which can be undone using something like 'Recuva' software.

Interesting to hear about 'Forensic Programs' tho, so I'll be keeping an eye on this thread. Good luck.

[khunron13]

You can try this http://www.r-tt.com/data_recovery_macintosh/. I used it to recover about 3Tb of lost data from a HDD with a bad partition, but not so sucessful recovering a formatted HDD.

[Crossy]

Many moons ago I accidentally formatted a hard drive, 'Unformat' that came as part of Norton Utilities got the lot back with no data loss whatever, so even a formatted hard drive is not lost.

For our OP, this software http://www.cnwrecovery.com/ could be worth a look, if the free demo can find the data it's not horribly expensive to buy a licence to actually recover your stuff.

[WhizBang]

I have used Easeus Data Recovery software to successfully recover lost data. It ain't fast, but it will find most lost data, including from a formatted HD. As you state, you wrote about 15GB of data to the disk in question, the data that was overwritten may be lost forever.

You WILL need another blank 500GB HD on which to save any recovered data, by the way.

[pattayadingo]

recuva (free download & use) retrieved my data 'lost' on a HDD after the drive failed to read unless I formatted it using quick format.

In your case data that is overwitten is rarely retrievable. Each of us has our own favourite programmes to use and as been said already you will need a spare drive or enough space to reover the data to.

[BabySun]

Data ovewritten can not be recovered by any software,and you can not do it by yourself.

If it is something of great importance to you - you can ask specialized company for help.

Most likely they will succeed.

I have the same problem,I suspect,that we comitted the same mistake(recovery operation?)

I am sitting on it,I lost some old pictures - some I have found already in other places,the rest?

I contemplate - to forget or not to forget?

How "recovery" company can find your ovewritten data? - using specialized hardware,which will

record electronic traces of what was already wiped out.If you paint the wall - you can still see

the old pattern showing through new layer of paint.They can read datas which were overwritten few times;to wipe them out for sure - you have to write over 7 times,at least - 3 times.

Chock Dee!

[HelloAgainItsME]

Hi everyone. Thanks for taking the trouble to reply.

Its seems unanimous that overwritten data can not be recovered easily.

But how about recovering the portion of the drive that has not been used by the new content? Presumably its still there.

I did look at Easeus but the 5 hour scan time put me off going ahead. I will try again.

Is there some way of just getting that back?

[p_brownstone]

Go to Panthip Plaza, top floor where the big IT Store is.

Don't go into the IT Store, go left and follow the corridor, there is a big shop on the left - yellow sign but I cannot remember the name; they recovered all Data from a failed HD I had - including files supposedly protected by a Program called "Hide Folders".

Cost - if I recall correctly - Baht 1,500.- and no charge if they cannot recover the Data.

Patrick

Edit : just found the 'phone number - 02 255 4645

[HelloAgainItsME]

Go to Panthip Plaza, top floor where the big IT Store is.

Edit : just found the 'phone number - 02 255 4645

Thanks but I have already tried the Pattaya equivalent...Tukcom. Unfortunately lack of communication skills on both our parts led to him saying 'no can do' 'data lost'.

Thats why I am trying to get help from fluent English readers who can follow what I have done and am now trying to recover from.

Meanwhile. CnW Recovery continues to scan partition 1 which is the only partition.

[bartender100]

Go to Panthip Plaza, top floor where the big IT Store is.

Edit : just found the 'phone number - 02 255 4645

Thanks but I have already tried the Pattaya equivalent...Tukcom. Unfortunately lack of communication skills on both our parts led to him saying 'no can do' 'data lost'.

Thats why I am trying to get help from fluent English readers who can follow what I have done and am now trying to recover from.

Meanwhile. CnW Recovery continues to scan partition 1 which is the only partition.

I think what he is trying to say is the place specializes in recovery , I would like to try them on 2 Kingstone data sticks I have.

[innerspace]

In theory it is possible, however a few words of warning.

1) Do not connect the drive until you are ready to recover and make sure that nothing else is written to the drive until recovery is complete.

2) Have another drive handy to copy the transferred data

3) How full the drive was effects the chances of recovery. If you had 15GB and then wrote 15GB its unlikely. If you had a full 500GB and wrote 15GB then a lot of things could be ok.

4) Large files like videos are less likely to have survived.

5) Filenames are likely to be lost so a nice sort out operation afterwards.

6) If you do it yourself then running the software for 24 hours is not unlikely on a 500GB drive.