-3

I have 2 500 GB SSD drives. My main drive (C:) has the Windows OS and its essentially been storing everything. My second 500 GB SSD (D:) has a broken OS on it and a bunch of old stuff and programs.

I used Bleachbit and went into the preferences to set up a custom scan on C: drive I completely misunderstood what the "custom" preference meant. I didn't realize that it would "custom delete" my files. What i wanted to do is for it to "custom scan" my entire (C:) drive. I made the decision to let the program run its course and I watched as it essentially deleted everything in my drive. I ended up realizing what was happening way too late into the process, it was already 3/4 of the way through the deletion before it pressed "abort" on it.

Is there any way to recover any essential files? I already went into settings --> backup and it said windows could not find a backup for the computer in order to restore to a previous point. So I think its safe to say that the backup got deleted in the whole process. It seems like formatting the drive is the best option so far. Any help anyone can offer on recovering my files would be appreciated.

Ramhound
  • 41,734
  • 35
  • 103
  • 130
Emanuel Paulski
  • 1
  • 1
  • 3
    That was a big long rant and not at all helpful. You do not even say what OS. Assuming Windows 10, you can try the Media Creation Link, run an in-place repair, and at the appropriate spot, Keep only Documents. That will fix the vast majority of OS errors and keep your documents. The step beyond that is format and reinstall Windows. – John Mar 29 '20 at 12:36
  • 1
    just from personal experience (if/when you have your personal files safe) I would start from scratch as every time I've tried to recover a windows installation, its always feels patched together and things keep breaking until I do a reinstall. If you choose this route, before formatting your drive **back up/recover all your personal files**. Goes without saying that this is a lesson in keeping regular backups. Mostly everyone learns the hard way including myself. – QuickishFM Mar 29 '20 at 12:47
  • Perhaps you could use an undelete program like Recuva or `testdisk` on a live Linux USB to recover data? If it's an SSD and has TRIM enabled (probably most SSD's at this point) then I wouldn't hold out too much hope on getting files back to be honest with you. – QuickishFM Mar 29 '20 at 12:49
  • BleachBit absolutely is not like CCleaner. The entire point of BleachBit is to make file recovery impossible. **Any file you deleted with that program cannot be recovered by any modern solution.** The log file is just to indicate what files were deleted, that log file, gets created regardless if you abort the process or allow it to finish. The use of vulgarity in this question, is unwarranted and truthfully, unacceptable. – Ramhound Mar 30 '20 at 13:54
  • Does this answer your question? [How do I recover lost/inaccessible data from my storage device?](https://superuser.com/questions/241817/how-do-i-recover-lost-inaccessible-data-from-my-storage-device) – karel Mar 31 '20 at 15:10

1 Answers1

0

While you aren't clear as to what "backup" you are referring to was deleted, I will present some options for restoring your files as well as formatting your drive. Windows 10 has a few options for backups. One is where you create a backup on another drive (which is what you really should used that other drive for). Another is called "System Restore". That is one I think you can use here to resolve your issue and get your files back. You can find direction on how to do this by following the steps in this link.

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-use-system-restore-windows-10

You may also have files saved on OneDrive. Microsoft connects your account to OneDrive when you first setup your Windows account. You can find direction on how to use OneDrive at the following link.

https://support.office.com/en-us/article/back-up-your-documents-pictures-and-desktop-folders-with-onedrive-d61a7930-a6fb-4b95-b28a-6552e77c3057

https://www.howtogeek.com/220986/how-to-use-all-of-windows-10%E2%80%99s-backup-and-recovery-tools/

Lastly, you can reset your PC to factory condition. There will be an option to keep your files. Do not choose this option. If you have corrupted your Windows OS through a possible virus that came in through the program you used, keeping your files would just keep the virus on the computer. Choose the option to delete all files. When Windows resets your PC it will create folder on you current C: drive called Windows.old. This folder will contain all your files from that drive. You may actually get all your files back with this option. The link below will direct you as to how to reset your PC. Hope this helps.

https://www.techradar.com/how-to/how-to-factory-reset-windows-10

webby68
  • 227
  • 1
  • 3
  • 17