Recovering data from reinstalled Windows 2008 on SCSI hard drive

Need not panic; reinstalling Windows does not lead to permanent data loss. Data can still be recovered using REMO Recover (Windows), a powerful Windows Recovery tool.

To be on a safer side and to increase the chances of recovering your lost data, first, Step away from the PC! The less you do, the more likely you are to recover some or most of the files with this application. The amount of data you would be able to recover depends on what was over written during the Windows reinstall. As once data gets overwritten it is impossible to recover using any Data Recovery Software.

What exactly happens when you reinstall Windows 2008?

When you reinstall Windows over the existing installation, the original system files gets copied to the hard drive and resets certain Windows settings to default values.

Usually when you reinstall Windows, ‘Documents and Settings’ folder will be reinitialized and the files in that folder will be deleted. These deleted files are recoverable if it’s not overwritten. Less fragmented files and data on larger disks can easily be recovered.

Recovering lost data from SCSI drive after re-installing Windows 2008

Using either FAT Partition Recovery or NTFS Partition Recovery components of REMO Recover (Windows) helps to recover the lost files in minutes in case of formatting, reinstalling OS, repartitioning or any other data loss disasters and helps to support your business continuity.

Steps in recovering data lost due to reinstalling Windows on SCSI hard drive

Follow the simple steps explained below to recover files lost due to reinstalling Windows 2008 on SCSI hard drive:

Step 1: Launch the REMO Recover (Windows) Main application either from start menu or from desktop shortcut, main application window is as shown in the figure a.

Figure a: Remo Recover main window

Step 2: Click on Recover Advance, you get a window as shown in figure b.

At this stage of process, you need to decide whether you want to recover data from a lost NTFS partition or from a FAT partition as you would know which partition you had before reinstallation of Windows.

• If you have to recover data from a FAT partition go through the article Recover files from a hard drive with FAT32 file system.
• If you have to recover data from a NTFS partition then continue following the steps as explained below.

Continue the recovery process by clicking NTFS Partition Recovery as shown in figure b.

Figure b: NTFS Partition Recovery

Step 3: As soon as you click NTFS Partition Recovery, the application main window will be opened as shown in figure c.

Figure c: Application Main Window

Step 4: As you click on Wizard icon in the application main window, a window with various options to perform is displayed as shown in Figure d.

Figure d: Wizard

Select Recover your Data option and click on Next button to continue. As you click Next button, a window will be displayed to select the source SCSI disk from which you wish to recover your data (see Figure e).

Figure e: Search for lost partition

Step 5: Select a source SCSI drive and the processing mode to process the drive.

By default the processing mode would be set to Display default partitions. Since you have to recover lost partitions, Select the option Search for lost partition(s), and click Next button. Further select the option Thorough Scan (as shown in figure f) and click Ok.

Figure f: Thorough Scan Process

Step 6: Once the scan process is completed, all the detected logical drives are listed in the dialog box of the software. You can now select the logical drive from which you want to recover the data. Once this is completed, the software scans the selected drive for files and folders, and displays all the found data in a tree format, as shown in figure g.

Figure g: Found files and folders

Step 7: Once the files and folders you are looking are listed in a tree structured form, the next step you need to do is to recover the data to a safe location.

After tree formation, select entire tree and click Save all option from Tools menu or right click on any required Folder/ File and select Save option. As you click on Save option, you get a window as shown in figure h to select destination location to save the recovered data.

Figure h: Save Window

Data can be saved to any desired destination location in your local hard drive(s). Select a path and click on OK button. As you click on OK button, saving process starts. Once saving process is complete, you will receive a pop up message intimating the same.

All the files will be saved in a folder by name “#” in the selected destination location.

Important Information’s:

• If you do not find your files and folders in the tree structure formed, then run Turbo scan option from Tools menu. In this operation, the application performs rigorous search to find files and folders and will list all the found files and folders.
• Never save the data to the partition or drive from where you are recovering data, as it may result in overwriting of data, and would result in permanent data loss.

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