recover overwritten files
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I know you can recover deleted files but is it possible to recover previous versions of overwritten files. I wasn't paying attention and ended up overwriting a file with a newer version. Now I need the old version back. Is there any software that can recover files that were overwritten or is there another way to do it. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
A few days ago, I was talking about a versioning file system for Windows, and someone said it was not necessary... :) I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!
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A few days ago, I was talking about a versioning file system for Windows, and someone said it was not necessary... :) I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!
That's kinda what Volume Shadow Copy Services is, no? I mean...other than the fact that it doesn't store an infinite amount of history...
[Cheshire] I can't afford those plastic things to cover the electric sockets so I just draw bunny faces on the electric outlets to scare the kids away from them... [RLtim] Newsflash! Kids aren't afraid of bunnies. [Cheshire] Oh they will be... -Bash.org
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I know you can recover deleted files but is it possible to recover previous versions of overwritten files. I wasn't paying attention and ended up overwriting a file with a newer version. Now I need the old version back. Is there any software that can recover files that were overwritten or is there another way to do it. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
If your new file has physically replaced the old one (overwritten the bytes on the disk) and you have no back-up system of version tracking system for this file then there's nothing you can do without some highly specialized hardware that can read extremely subtle differences in bits on the disk (i.e. treating them as more than just 1s and 0s) and software to analyse the differences and try to reconstruct underlying data. I've heard that people who use these techniques (generally only government agencies) can reconstruct files that have been physically overwritten many times but unless it is a really important file you would probably not find this to be cost effective solution. ;) Steve T -- modified at 19:10 Wednesday 7th September, 2005
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That's kinda what Volume Shadow Copy Services is, no? I mean...other than the fact that it doesn't store an infinite amount of history...
[Cheshire] I can't afford those plastic things to cover the electric sockets so I just draw bunny faces on the electric outlets to scare the kids away from them... [RLtim] Newsflash! Kids aren't afraid of bunnies. [Cheshire] Oh they will be... -Bash.org
David Stone wrote: an infinite amount of history... Kind of makes you wonder whose 'volume shadow copy' we are, hmm? :) :~
Software Zen:
delete this; -
I know you can recover deleted files but is it possible to recover previous versions of overwritten files. I wasn't paying attention and ended up overwriting a file with a newer version. Now I need the old version back. Is there any software that can recover files that were overwritten or is there another way to do it. SuzyB If I had a better memory I would remember more.
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David Stone wrote: an infinite amount of history... Kind of makes you wonder whose 'volume shadow copy' we are, hmm? :) :~
Software Zen:
delete this; -
David Stone wrote: an infinite amount of history... Kind of makes you wonder whose 'volume shadow copy' we are, hmm? :) :~
Software Zen:
delete this;Yeah, that reminds me - where's the QuickSave/QuickLoad for Life?!
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Yeah, that reminds me - where's the QuickSave/QuickLoad for Life?!
A good scotch whiskey will suffice. Absolute faith corrupts as absolutely as absolute power Eric Hoffer All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. Edmund Burke
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Yeah, that reminds me - where's the QuickSave/QuickLoad for Life?!
Shog9 wrote: where's the QuickSave/QuickLoad for Life?! I'll pass. Quicksave/quickload means I have to do it again.... _________________________ Asu no koto o ieba, tenjo de nezumi ga warau. Talk about things of tomorrow and the mice in the ceiling laugh. (Japanese Proverb)
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Yeah, that reminds me - where's the QuickSave/QuickLoad for Life?!
It goes under the name of Lottery. regards, Paul Watson South Africa Colib and WebTwoZero. K(arl) wrote: oh, and BTW, CHRISTIAN ISN'T A PARADOX, HE IS A TASMANIAN!
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A few days ago, I was talking about a versioning file system for Windows, and someone said it was not necessary... :) I see dead pixels Yes, even I am blogging now!
I used to have that on VMS when I used that OS and I must say I hated it!
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
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I used to have that on VMS when I used that OS and I must say I hated it!
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
What, are you mad? That was a great feature of VMS! You could configure individual files and directories to automatically: a) keep only the latest version, or b) keep the latest n versions, or c) keep all versions ... and then you could come along and purge stuff as and when you wanted. It was great for undoing the dumb things you'd do on a Friday afternoon after a couiple of pints at lunch. Cheers, Jon
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What, are you mad? That was a great feature of VMS! You could configure individual files and directories to automatically: a) keep only the latest version, or b) keep the latest n versions, or c) keep all versions ... and then you could come along and purge stuff as and when you wanted. It was great for undoing the dumb things you'd do on a Friday afternoon after a couiple of pints at lunch. Cheers, Jon
Also, Novell supports such a feature. It was many years ago, when Novell 3.12 was on the top. By using Salvage it was possible to restore a very old version of a file (unless you didn't run Purge). When the OS gets out of space, it automatically deletes the older versions. I miss this feature in Windows very much, and I don't understand why MS think, that the Recycle bin could be a good replacement for it! P.
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Or maybe had it checked into source control...
[Cheshire] I can't afford those plastic things to cover the electric sockets so I just draw bunny faces on the electric outlets to scare the kids away from them... [RLtim] Newsflash! Kids aren't afraid of bunnies. [Cheshire] Oh they will be... -Bash.org
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What, are you mad? That was a great feature of VMS! You could configure individual files and directories to automatically: a) keep only the latest version, or b) keep the latest n versions, or c) keep all versions ... and then you could come along and purge stuff as and when you wanted. It was great for undoing the dumb things you'd do on a Friday afternoon after a couiple of pints at lunch. Cheers, Jon
Jon Pawley wrote: What, are you mad? Yes, probably :doh: I found if you were not carefull you could end up with hundreds of versioned files in a directory, and sod's law dicates that you only need to go back X versions just after you have purged the directory. No substitue for a proper archiving system IMHO!
"An education isn't how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It's being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you don't." - Anatole France
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If your new file has physically replaced the old one (overwritten the bytes on the disk) and you have no back-up system of version tracking system for this file then there's nothing you can do without some highly specialized hardware that can read extremely subtle differences in bits on the disk (i.e. treating them as more than just 1s and 0s) and software to analyse the differences and try to reconstruct underlying data. I've heard that people who use these techniques (generally only government agencies) can reconstruct files that have been physically overwritten many times but unless it is a really important file you would probably not find this to be cost effective solution. ;) Steve T -- modified at 19:10 Wednesday 7th September, 2005
I've heard that as well but never from a reliable source and I really doubt it's true when you consider all the problems with being able to do that. I could agree that it's if not possible at least conceivable that somewhere in a laboratory under ideal (setup) conditions a person would be able to recover a tiny fragment of an overwritten file after one re-write. I am learning as I get older that there are a hell of a lot of myths about what the "government agencies" can do that are just not even close to true. In fact there are certain incidents where we all hope that these skills exist, but sadly our expectations are usually way ahead of reality. I blame TV.
"A preoccupation with the next world pretty clearly signals an inability to cope credibly with this one."