Recovering deleted files from mapped network drive

May 20, 2005 5:15 AM

I didn't have enough coffee this morning and accidentally deleted some important files from a mapped network drive. I don't think the Recycle Bin is going to help me here. I am running Windows XP on my workstation, and the Server / NOS software is Windows 2000. Anyone know of any tools/methods to get these files back?
posted by jasondigitized to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Can you just do a System Restore, using the date of your latest save point? That's saved my bacon a few times.
posted by iconomy at 5:43 AM on May 20, 2005

If the files were on the server (via mapped network drive)
then you may want to inquire if the server is being backed-up.

Then pull the files from the backup media.
That is the ONLY way to retrieve the files.
posted by stevejensen at 6:39 AM on May 20, 2005

System Restore won't help you with deleted user documents; it only backs up and recovers system files and settings.

Time to call your systems administrator and have the files restored from backup.

If that's you, and there's no backup, turn off the server right now and look into deleted file recovery software. One might be able to piece together some or all of the deleted files from the server's hard drive. There are also very expensive but often very good data recovery companies that might be able to help. When deciding if software or services are worth the money, think about the time (and therefore money) it will take to recreate what's been lost.

This should also be used when deciding how much time (and money) to spend on a backup solution, if there isn't one at present. Nothing gives a guy backup religion like the experience you're having now.

Good luck.
posted by jmcmurry at 7:21 AM on May 20, 2005

I've used GetDataBack for recovering data many times with very good results (knocking on wood).
posted by sublivious at 11:37 AM on May 20, 2005

I've used the demo version of Active Undelete with good results. The demo version is quite sufficent for my needs, and fairly well designed. I'm not familiar with network drives.
posted by Jack Karaoke at 5:50 PM on May 20, 2005

Re: jmcmurry's post: DO NOT turn the server off if you think you are going to need/use professional data recovery services. Unplug it from the network, shut down any services like backups, disk defrgmentation, virus scans, etc. You don't want anything to write to the hard drive. This includes Windows and applications saving settings as they prepare the machine to be shut off.

Not all data recovery services are very expensive - depending on the situation and how fast you need it.

Was the mapped network drive on the server, or was it on another client? Either way, you'll be attempting recovery from the machine that that drive is physically part of. May be easier with a client, you're more likely to have a backup if it's a server (I hope!).
posted by attercoppe at 9:22 PM on May 20, 2005