OH NO!!!! Where's Control-Z when you need it?

Last weekend was my day to clean the computer. Since I had a bazillion pictures scattered everywhere, I decided to start storing some of them on DVDs. So, after hours of sorting, deleting, renaming, burning to DVDs, deleting, clicking, deleting, emptying the recycle bin, sorting some more folders, moving files around - eventually I discovered a group of folders on one hard drive were missing. And the recycle bin was empty.

So, after I stopped screaming, I googled "free file recovery software." The first three I tried were very difficult to understand, or so basic I couldn't figure out which files were which. The fourth one I downloaded was named "Recuva." This software is amazing! When it was finished searching, a window opened up that looked like an explorer window - File name, file type, date modified, size and a preview window. There was also a column that lets you know if the file is in good condition or has been corrupted or overwritten. Out of 1100 photos I managed to recover over 700. Had I known to stop when I first lost the files I would have saved many more. But I'm happy with what I was able to save.

Here is a link to the site - http://www.piriform.com/recuva. I was very impressed with the quality of this program and wanted to pass the word. Of course, I know that you, dear reader, would NEVER do something so silly, but if you know anyone who has.... pass this little tip along.