I accidentally deleted an important folder I had on my Windows 7 desktop using the administrative command prompt command listed as:
"RD /S /Q "C:\Users\Robby\Desktop\Pictures&Things"I completed a System Restore to three days ago which restored the folder but none of its contents.
How can I get my folder back and all of its contents?
2 Answers
Because the RD command doesn't move files into the Recycle Bin, the files are deleted from the file system. However, you may be able to restore them using file recovery software. A great, free program that I have successfully used several times is Recuva. Recuva allows you to just browse to the folder that the files were in, and it will scan to see it can recover anything.
The most important thing to remember is that when you delete files, they are marked "OK to overwrite" by the file system. This means that anything you do may result in the files being overwritten, so if you are going to try using a program like Recuva, you should do it as soon as possible.
From the Windows documentation for System Restore:
What files are changed during a system restore?
System Restore affects Windows system files, programs, and registry settings. It can also make changes to scripts, batch files, and other types of executable files created under any user account on your computer. System Restore does not affect personal files, such as e-mail, documents, or photos, so it cannot help you restore a deleted file. If you have backups of your files, you can restore the files from a backup.
System Restore is not a backup you can restore user files from! You will have to restore from your last backup, or if you have none, hope that data recovery software can recover your files.
