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Support and Contact Information for NTFS Undelete

NTFS Undelete is a small utility that scans your hard drive for all files that can be undeleted and attempt to salvage the file for you.

Sounds like magic? It isn't. You might not know it, but when you tell Windows to erase a file, Windows essentially does something like say "okay, I am now going to consider this file null and void, and will allow other data writing operations to use the space that it occupies". In other words, no actual 'erasing' of the file occurs until Windows has a need to write over the hard drive space where that the file resides. NTFS Undelete and programs like it do a thorough scan for files that are 'still there' on the hard drive and/or files that have enough data remaining that they can be salvaged.

Of course, the sooner you attempt to recover the file the better your chances. Also, smaller size files have a higher chance of being salvaged, and disks that have not been defragmented are better candidates for file recovery.

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Overview

NTFS Undelete is a quick and effective way to retrieve deleted files, files removed from the Recycle Bin, in a DOS window, from Windows Explorer with the SHIFT key held down. NTFS Undelete with its clean and simple interface, is a small, fast, useful, practical and powerful.

There's nothing quite like losing an important file you spent hours working on. But, just because you deleted it doesn't mean it's gone for good. You can use software to recover files that have been deleted. It isn't always foolproof. But many times you'll have some luck.

NTFS Undelete works with the Win 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7 operating systems. The program supports all Windows file systems for hard and floppy drives including FAT12/16/32, NTFS/NTFS5 and image recovery from CompactFlash, SmartMedia, MultiMedia and Secure Digital cards.

NTFS Undelete does the following:
  • Recovers deleted files from NTFS/NTFS5, FAT12/FAT16/FAT32 volumes.
  • Restores deleted files on Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows NT, Windows 2003.
More Features:
  • After scanning your hard drive, NTFS Undelete creates file-type icons in the left margin of the screen that allow you to easily filter by file type
  • NTFS Undelete will create folder view for the deleted files.
  • NTFS Undelete will also allow filtering by size, date modified, and parts of the file name
  • NTFS Undelete is a small, fast, useful, practical, and powerful.


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System Requirements

NTFS Undelete requires Windows95 OSR2, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista or Windows 7.

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Installation

  1. Download latest version of NTFS Undelete from Download page
  2. Run the installation by double-clicking on "Download NTFS Undelete (Windows installer)".
  3. Click the Run button in the pop-up box window to start the Installation Wizard.



  4. Click the Next button in the Installation Wizard.



  5. Read the End User License Agreement, select the I accept the agreement radio button, and then click the Next button to continue with the installation.



  6. Click the Next button to accept the local file location for NTFS Undelete.



  7. Select the Create a desktop icon checkbox to be able to access NTFS Undelete from your desktop.



  8. Read the warning regarding deleted files and then click the Next button.



  9. Click Install to begin the installation.




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Uninstallation

Complete the following steps to remove NTFS Undelete from your system:

  1. Go to Start > All Programs > eSupport.com > NTFSUndelete> Uninstall NTFSundelete
  2. Click the Yes button to begin remove NTFS Undelete from your system.



  3. Click the OK button after NTFS Undelete has been removed from your system.



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Quick Start Guide

The latest version of NTFS Undelete is available for download from Download Page, or by clicking the "Update" button within the program. If possible, avoid installing NTFS Undelete to the drive from which you are trying to recover deleted files. For more information on installing NTFS Undelete, click here.

  1. Select the Drive To Search
    • When you run NTFS Undelete the main screen opens and on the left side of the screen is the drive selection panel. From this panel select the drive to scan (hard drives, digital camera, USB drive etc) by selecting the check box next to the drive name.

      Drive Panel


  2. Running the Search
    • Press the Start Scan button to scan the selected drives.

      Start Scan Button


    • Press the Start Scan button to scan the selected drives.
    • Once the scan is started the progress bar displays the number of files found and proportion of remaining search.



  3. Managing the Results
    • After the scan is completed NTFS Undelete has the following information and options for you to use to find the files you want to retrieve:
    • Results Screen


      The "Folders" window shows the folder structure of files that were recovered. In some situations a folder name is destroyed, in which case the name format is "Deleted XXXXX".

      Note: that sub folders retain their original name.

    • Folders Screen


      Folder: Displays the folder(s) scanned.

      File Type: Files found are grouped by file type, and any files that are found that do not belong to a known file type are placed in the "Other Files" folder. When a file type selected, the files found are displayed in the "Results Screen". You can sort the files in this window by clicking on the column headings. When you click on a file name its contents are displayed in the Preview window.
      To list all files found, click on "My Computer" either in the "File Types" or "Folder" screen.

    • Status and Preview

      Status: The Status window contains overhead information.

      Preview: If a preview is available, a thumbnail image is displayed.

    • Filtering Search Results



      The filter option is accessed by pressing the "Filter" link on the main program screen. After you determine how NTFS Undelete will filter the found files, click the Set Filter button. To remove the filter click the Clear button.

      All or part of the file name:


      When was it modified?
      Select the check box to filter the results based on either file Create Date or Modified Date. Select the date type, Create or Modified, from the drop down menu and the date range.

      What size is it?
      Select the check box to filter the results based on file size. Select either at least or at most from the drop down menu and then enter either the approximate file size in the Kb box or use the arrows to enter the file size.

      Hide overwritten files
      Select the check box to filter out overwritten files.

      Hide temporary files
      Select the check box to filter out temporary files.

  4. Saving Recovered Files
    When NTFS Undelete saves a restored file it reads its content and then writes it to a new file with the same name. It is recommended that you save the files that you are recovering to another disk because of the risk of overwriting other files that you want to recover with the newly recovered saved file.

    IMPORTANT! To minimize the chance of corrupting any remaining lost files, do not to save the retrieved files back to the same hard drive until after completing all attempts to retrieve any lost files.

    Complete the following steps to retrieve a deleted file:
    1. In the "Results Screen" select the check box of the file or files to be retrieved.



      To select all files, right click on Filename then select Select All Items from the menu.

    2. Press the Restore File button to recover the selected files.



    3. Press the Yes button in the "Possible Data Loss" pop up box.



      Recovered files go to the folder specified by Undelete selected file(s) to: section.



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Select the Drive to Search

Complete the following steps to beging the process of recoving deleted files:

  1. Open NTFS Undelete
  2. In the Drives pane, select the drive that you want to scan. This can be a hard drive, digital, camera, USB drive, or another item connected to your system.

    Note: To remove drives from the search deselect the checkbox next to that drive.



  3. Click the Start Scan button.


NTFS Undelete is able to detect a new drive connected to the computer after you started your initial scan. To scan the new drive click the Yes button in the pop up window.





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Running the Search

Pressing the Start Scan button causes NTFS Undelete to scan your drive for files that can be undeleted, or recovered.



Once the scan is started the progress bar at the bottom of the window displays the number of files found and proportion of scan remaining. To stop the scan press the Stop button next to the progress bar. Note that the Stop button is only displayed during the scan. If you stop the scan before it is done, NTFS Undelete displays a list of files found up until the point at which the scan was stopped.





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Managing the Results

After the scan is completed NTFS Undelete has the following information and options for you to use to find the files you want to retrieve:



  1. The Results Screen
    2. The Folders window shows the folder structure of files that were recovered. In some situations a folder name is destroyed, in which case the name format is "Deleted XXXXX".

    Note: that sub folders retain their original name.




  2. Folders Screen



    Folder: Displays the folder(s) scanned.

    File Type: Files found are grouped by file type, and any files that are found that do not belong to a known file type are placed in the "Other Files" folder. When a file type selected, the files found are displayed in the "Results Screen". You can sort the files in this window by clicking on the column headings. When you click on a file name its contents are displayed in the Preview window.

    To list all files found, click on "My Computer" either in the "File Types" or "Folder" screen.

  3. Status and Preview


    Status: The Status window contains overhead information.

    Preview: If a preview is available, a thumbnail image is displayed.

  4. Filtering Search Results



    The filter option is accessed by pressing the "Filter" link on the main program screen. After you determine how NTFS Undelete will filter the found files, click the Set Filter button. To remove the filter click the Clear button.

    All or part of the file name:
    Select the check box to have NTFS Undelete filter the results based on a file name or part of a file name. Enter the file name in the text box under the check box.

    When was it modified?
    Select the check box to filter the results based on either file Create Date or Modified Date. Select the date type, Create or Modified, from the drop down menu and the date range.

    What size is it?
    Select the check box to filter the results based on file size. Select either at least or at most from the drop down menu and then enter either the approximate file size in the Kb box or use the arrows to enter the file size.

    Hide overwritten files
    Select the check box to filter out overwritten files.

    Hide temporary files
    Select the check box to filter out temporary files.


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Saving Recovered Files

When NTFS Undelete saves a restored file it reads its content and then writes it to a new file with the same name. It is recommended that you save the files that you are recovering to another disk because of the risk of overwriting other files that you want to recover with the newly recovered saved file.

IMPORTANT! To minimize the chance of corrupting any remaining lost files, do not to save the retrieved files back to the same hard drive until after completing all attempts to retrieve any lost files.

Complete the following steps to retrieve a deleted file:

  1. In the "Results Screen" select the check box of the file or files to be retrieved.



    To select all files, right click on Filename then select Select AllItems from the menu.

  2. Press the Start Undelete button to recover the selected files.



  3. Press the Yes button in the "Possible Data Loss" pop up box.



    Recovered files go to the folder specified by Undelete selected file(s) to: section.



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Settings

The Settings window provides access to NTFS Undelete's configuration. Although the default NTFS Undelete confituration has been set to optimize your recovery experience, there may be times where you may want fine tune this configuration. Each of the NTFS Undelete's settings are described below.


                        Default Settings

  1. Check for update
    2. Allows NTFS Undelete to check for updates when the program is launched. NTFS Undelete will check for updates weekly, every two weeks, or monthly.

  2. Send bug reports to eSupport.com
    3. Help us make our products better. Let us know the problems you are experiencing so we can fix them for the next version.

  3. Keep folder structure
    4. Restores files within their original folder tree to the Drive path specified. This is very useful when restoring files from several different directories, as it allows you to see what folders the recovered files originally came from.

  4. Restore original timestamps
    5. Restores files with the original Created and Modified dates. Unselect this option if you want to set the Created and Modified date and time to the date and time of the recovery.

  5. Enable FAT optimization
    6. Helps to optimize and speed up the recovery process.

  6. Check file Type/Header information (takes a long time)
    7. Ensures that the content of the file matches the file type. If not, this indicates that the file has been overwritten and will be omitted from the scan results.

  7. Enable DeepScan
    8. A DeepScan will analyze your drive cluster by cluster looking for files after the driver has been formatted. Note: This scan will take longer than a quick scan and can take a few hours to complete depending on the size of your drive.

  8. DeepScan Engine Tuning:
    • Quality vs. Speed
    If you have just recently deleted a file or files, setting the DeepScan to the highest Speed setting will most likely find and recover your file(s) in a very short amount of time. If you deleted the file(s) some time ago, or if the highest Speed setting does not recover your file(s) try using a slower/higher Quality scan setting. (Note: The highest Quality setting may take some time depending on the age or your PC and the size of your hard drive.
    • Ignore current filesystem (RAW-scan)
    Scan the selected drive(s) sector by sector and ignores any current filesystem data structure. This is especially useful in the following scenarios:
      • The filesystem data structure has become corrupt or overwritten and some or all of the lost files cannot be found using the Standard Scan or Default DeepScan setting.
      • It has been too long since the lost files were deleted that they cannot be identified due to overwritten filesystem data structures.
      • Recently deleted files are not recovered with standard scan due to severe fragmentation that is common on FAT formatted drives.
  9. Detect existing files
    10. Searches for nondeleted files on deleted partitions with undamaged filesystems.

  10. Recover .UND files
    11. Attempts to recover .UND files.

  11. Detect zero-sized files
    12. Includes files with no byte count in the list of potentially recoverable files.

  12. Enable EFS restore feature
    13. Recover files and/or folders that were encrypted using EFS prior to deletion. EFS encrypted files/folders can only be restored using the same user account that was used for the encryption of the file(s) or folder(s).



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Frequently Asked Questions

I have not received my license key, what do I do?
Your licensed key is provided to you in 2 ways.
  1. On your order confirmation page, the key is provided to you. You can print this information out.
  2. The license information is also emailed to you immediately upon completion of your order.
If you have not received this information, please check your spam or junk mail folder. If you still do not have it, please open a Support Ticket.
Can NTFS Undelete recover files from a CD?
NTFS Undelete will recognize a limited number of CD file formats. If you get a message stating "Drive Error" or drive is not listed then it will not work. You need to search the Internet for CD recovery software.
I am trying to recover files from my camera, however the camera is not showing up in the program. What can I do?
In order for a camera to show up in our program, it must be recognized as a storage device and must be assigned a drive letter. This means that the camera must be "mounted" as a drive. When you plug the camera into the computer, you may see a message on the camera asking you if you want to "turn on storage." You can say yes. This will effectively make the camera a storage device and should assign a drive letter to the camera. Alternatively, if your computer has an SD Card Reader, you can remove the card from your camera and place it into the SD Card reader.

Your SD card reader should look similar to this:
Card Reader
What should I do immediately after accidental erasure to ensure that I can recover those files?
The most important thing is to prevent the erased file from being overwritten by another file. To do so, avoid any use of the disk where the file was erased, until after the erased file is recovered. Also, remember that NTFS Undelete should not be installed to this disk. Install it to a floppy disk if no other disk is available.
Can I do something in advance to increase my chances of file recovery?
Yes, keep your disk in good shape by regularly defragmenting it.
Why is recovery to the same disk not recommended?
Recovery to the same disk may overwrite the very segments of the disk that you're trying to recover files from. That will not leave you another recovery chance.
I am unable to read the files I have recovered what should I do?
This is probably an indication that the file has been partially overwritten. In some cases the data can be read using other methods such as opening a .doc file with a text editor to recover the text. In the case of a more complex file such as a picture, or movie, file you may be able to locate a repair utility online, however you should be aware that this does not always work and the file may be a loss. Other file formats should be treated the same as picture files. Check for a repair/recovery utility online.
I'm having problems with my license key. I keep getting a message saying that "Product Key or Registered Owner is not correct." What am I doing wrong?
Please make sure that the date and time on the computer are correct. An incorrect date and time can cause the license information to be invalid. If you are cutting and pasting the license information, try typing it in carefully as an alternative. In some cases restarting the program after receiving the error message helps.


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Refund Policy

eSupport.com, Inc. offers NTFS Undelete for trial evaluation to allow customers to scan their PC and evaluate the benefits offered by NTFS Undelete prior to purchase. The trial evaluation version of NTFS Undelete can be used to identify deleted files, but the trial version does not perform file recovery. A purchased license to NTFS Undelete is required in order to access the full file recovery functionality of NTFS Undelete. Due to the complex nature of data recovery, it is not always possible to recover certain deleted files because of hardware constraints, overwriting, crosslinking or other technical reasons, and in certain situations a deleted file found and recovered by NTFS Undelete may not be a usable file. This is not considered a product defect. We recommend that you download and try the evaluation version before purchase. By purchasing a license, you acknowledge that you are aware of this opportunity to “try before you buy” and have either taken advantage of the opportunity to evaluate NTFS Undelete for free or decided not to do so. In light of this, eSupport.com, Inc. will not be able to offer any refunds for purchases of NTFS Undelete licenses except in cases of product defects.


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Contact Us

For NTFS Undelete Support please open a Support Ticket.

IMPORTANT: Please provide the e-mail address you placed your order with.

NTFS Undelete is under constant development and we need your help to improve it. Let us know of any features you would like to see within NTFS Undelete. We want to hear from you and we will always answer your emails. Of course, feel free to write us to give us your opinion.

Send an e-mail to the Technical Support staff.

Our contact information is as follows:
120 Water Street
Suite 405
North Andover, MA 01845
www.ntfsundelete.com


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License Support

NTFS Undelete is licensed under the terms of the End User License Agreement.



E-mail Support

Send an e-mail to the Technical Support staff.


Help Guide