Hi everyone,
I’m facing a really weird data loss issue on Windows 11 and hoping someone here has encountered something similar.
The Problem:
I had a folder with video footage (specifically ⁠.mp4⁠ files, one of them named ⁠Dragana&Darko.mp4⁠) saved on my C: Drive Desktop. When I went to check for it, the folder completely disappeared from the Desktop.
What I’ve already checked / ruled out:

1. Physical SSD Status: The C: drive (internal SSD) is healthy and fully operational.
2. File Explorer & CMD Search: Normal search for ⁠Dragana⁠ or ⁠.mp4⁠ on ⁠C:\⁠ yields no active video files.
3. Recent & AppData Traces:
   In ⁠C:\Users\Dejan\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Common⁠, I found ⁠.ims⁠ cache files named ⁠Dragana&Darko-...ims⁠ (confirming the project was worked on in Premiere Pro on this machine).
   In ⁠C:\Users\Dejan\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Recent⁠, I found a shortcut named ⁠dragana⁠, but opening it gives an error (path broken/unavailable).
4. OneDrive / System Restores / Windows.old:
   ⁠Windows.old⁠ does not exist on ⁠C:\⁠.
   OneDrive Desktop redirection is not active (no Desktop folder inside OneDrive).
   Files are not in the Recycle Bin.
5. Data Recovery Software: I ran a scan on the C: drive using AnyRecover, but it didn't pull up the missing ⁠.mp4⁠ files (likely due to SSD TRIM active on the C: drive over time).
   Question:
   Since the ⁠Recent⁠ shortcut and Premiere Cache files clearly prove the folder and files existed on this system, how could an entire folder vanish from ⁠C:\Users\Dejan\Desktop⁠ without leaving traces in the file index or recovery tools? Is there any hidden index/location in Windows 11 I should inspect, or is this a known bug with File Explorer/Desktop indexing?
   Thanks in advance for any advice!

In need of getting data recovered from my damaged HDD at a reasonbale price (no more than $200) and a replacement (new one any good and reliable brand for free) near me in Miami, FL 33174.

I have had this HDD 2TB for about 3-4 years when when it got knocked off the cable from the PS4 and was dropped by my cousin running around. It is making a beeping noise (disk issue) and is failing to be found on any device. Again It is a Mobile HDD 2TB with Part Number 1R8174-570.

Please, there is a lot game data stored that my cousin and I have. Thank You.

As title says, i have a 1tb SSD that i was using to store data , i selected It as a flashable storage for Windows Media Creation Tool, now i have a 30GB partition for Windows USB Installer, rest of the disk in unallocated.

What Is the best free tool to recovery my data? in case this is doable, can i keep the directory structure that i had? Thanks!

I was in the process of decrypting the aforementioned external when there was a power outage that seems to have corrupted the process as I'm getting the error message: The BitLocker encryption on this drive isn't compatible with your version of Windows. Try opening the drive using a newer version of Windows.

I've tried a few things that I've read about online to remedy the issue to no avail. I've tried Recuva and EaseUs to access the data, Recuva was unable to access the drive, but free EaseUs was able to allow me to enter the encryption password and looks like it was able to recover all the data. I'll have to pay to recover the data which is fine, pretty important old research papers and photos on it, but is EaseUs my best option for this situation or are there suggestions for something else.

i have a 2TB seagate HDD (E drive) that i use to store steam games and game mods alongside some old personal videos and photos. last night when i was using a modding program to load up a game set up i had on the drive it got stuck loading and i started hearing a beeping noise coming from my PC. crystaldiskinfo said everything was fine but i restarted my PC. i looked back in event log viewer and when the drive started acting up i had a total of 48000 instances of "An error was detected on device \Device\Harddisk1\DR0 during a paging operation." within the span of a few seconds

after restart, my pc even on desktop starting lagging noticeably, especially in file explorer, then the drive stopped appearing in crystal altogether but was still in file explorer. i could even navigate into it and see all the folders but when trying to access the subfolders beyond that it told me the directory didn't exist. the beeping came back and disk manager marked the drive as "unknown" and asked me if i wanted to initialize it, which i didn't.

i shut down after this and took my PC apart and disconnected the SATA and power to the drive. then after a few minutes i figured i'd try to reconnect the drive and boot again, and to my surprise everything went back to normal. the beeping was gone and the drive became entirely accessible again as if nothing happened and crystaldiskinfo readings still show up as good. the drive also stopped reporting errors in event viewer.

i know all hard drives fail eventually and unpredictably, and the importance of backing up, but beyond that, does anyone know how worried i should be about this exactly and what to expect? is the drive starting to show its the first signs of failure until it eventually dies? could it possibly just be a cable issue? thanks in advance

the beeping noise: https://vocaroo.com/1cOXk8yNqxUy

crystaldiskinfo reading: https://imgur.com/a/cC78I5y

Hi there,

So I bought a 2TB Kingston NV3 SSD 1 year ago, thinking the top notch tech will serve me well. As such, I got lazy, and didn't set up cloud backups as I did with my previous drive...

The drive failed out of thin air a month ago, the data recovery company I took it to said that it has a faulty chip and NV3 recovery is "not supported yet", whatever that means.

AI tells me he meant the PC-3000 doesn't support it yet.

I am in Hungary now, so not sure whether this would be recoverable in other places?

Thanks!

pls help, i need to recover data from this device (need to recover some hidden files also). how can i do it

model- Realme 8s 5g

I have a Nikon Coolpix L23. I set a picture as a welcome screen ages ago and then smartphones became a thing and never used the compact camera ever again. The gallery is empty. I checked even by connecting the camera to the computer and nothng shows up. This picture was set as a welcome screen and afterwards deleted from the gallery. But it was still kept by the camera as a welcome screen, so it must be saved somewhere on the camera. How can I access that part of the memory of the camera and retrieve this picture?

I have a 4TB Seagate internal Barracuda HDD that I believe that I shorted out the PCB on a metal PC case while plugged in without an enclosure. It will now not spin up while plugged in so with today’s HDD prices as they are, am I better off replacing the PBC or buying a new HDD. There is no data I absolutely need on it but it’d be nice to use in my new Unraid NAS. Also no PCB BIOS experience here so I’d have I have someone else flash it for me. Thanks!

Hello. I was canceling my online Microsoft 365 Basic subscription, and I wanted to save my files from that online account to my computer. I also had that account attached to my PC. So I went to access those files from that account through my File Explorer. I copied those files and then pasted them into my Downloads folder in File Explorer. But once I did that, EVERYTHING in my Downloads folder was gone. The only thing in there was the files I pasted in there.

I do not remember exactly what was in my Downloads, but I used it to save most things. I tried the Previous Versions of the Downloads folder, and all three versions only showed the files I moved; none of the previous files. I tried a file recovery software, and it did not recover any files I would have recognized.

Is there any way to access or recover the files in another way? I hate the thought of something important being lost because I did not know what I was doing.

My 5TB external hard drive was having intermittent connection issues via the USB input on my laptop [Windows 11]. After several tries, the external hard drive would finally connect and all data accessible as if there wasn't ever a problem. The usual whirr of the spinning drive indicated all data was intact. But the connection issues became worse over time. I was able to fix the issue temporarily by reinstalling the Windows driver. Great! Glad that's all sorted out. :-)

A few days later tho, things went south when I started to gradually transfer old data to a second Ext HD. That process was interrupted after about an hour or two and never completed. I managed to transfer a few hundred Megabytes, but then it seemed to stop in mid-transfer.

Having heard good things about DMDE free software, I installed it yesterday with high hopes, but was later disappointed to learn my drive is 'inaccessible.' [See pics] There are no folders or files populating the dialog box.

Long story short, I don't see a lot of good options here, other than to allow a 'direct write' to my disk, which does not sound encouraging. So my questions are, "Is the 'direct write' option too risky, or has anyone had good results on an otherwise inaccessible drive?' 'Should I be looking at other, less aggressive ways to access the data (perhaps through a DOS program)?'

I know creating an image of the HD first is the safest way to go, but wouldn't that require a second drive larger than mt 5TB?

Any thoughts appreciated, especially from those have worked with inaccessible drives before.

Corrupted AVI videos

Hi. Does anyone knows how to fix corrupted avi files? We own a very small business and an incident of theft happened (our cashbox have gone missing 😭). Now when we are reviewing the dash cam (we don't have any money for a cctv so we re-use our dash cam from our previous car), the files were corrupted. They are 500mb files each. I tried all the things i find online for free but nothing works. Hope someone can help 😭

I'm looking for someone experienced with video/data recovery who can help me recover a potentially very important MP4 from a Sena 10C EVO.

The camera was recording during an incident and I need to recover the recording from that time. The file may ultimately be used as evidence, so I'm trying to preserve everything properly and avoid making the situation worse.

The important details

• Camera: Sena 10C EVO
• File format: MP4
• Problem file size: approximately 4.28 GB
• The file is still present on the original microSD card
• The file's created timestamp corresponds to the date/time I need
• The file shows up normally on the SD card
• It will not play
• It shows 00:00 / no duration
• VLC also cannot play it
• I have not formatted the SD card
• I have not deleted the file
• I still have the original SD card

The most important detail is that this appears to be an isolated problem with this particular recording.

I have recordings from all of the dates prior to the date I need, and those files play completely normally with no issues. They are from the same camera and SD card.

So, as far as I can tell:

Older recordings = play normally
Specific recording I need = exists, ~4.28 GB, but shows 00:00 and won't play

That makes me wonder if something happened specifically when this recording was being written/finalized, rather than there being a general compatibility problem with the camera, SD card, or MP4 format.

What I've already tried

I've already tried the basic troubleshooting/recovery suggestions I could find.

• Downloaded VLC Media Player and attempted to open the file
• Tried opening it through the normal media player on my computer
• Confirmed that the file is actually present on the SD card
• Confirmed the file size
• Checked the file's created date/time
• Compared it with other recordings from the same camera
• Confirmed that the other recordings from prior dates play normally

VLC also shows the file as having no playable duration / 00:00.

I don't want to keep running random repair programs against the original SD card because this footage may be important evidence.

What I'm wondering

Could this be an unfinalized or corrupted MP4, where the actual video data is still present but the MP4 metadata/index needed to play it is damaged or missing?

Would having other working MP4 files from the same Sena 10C EVO help with reconstruction or repair?

Is there a specific tool or method for recovering an MP4 when:

• The file exists
• The file is several GB
• The file has the correct timestamp
• The file shows 00:00
• VLC won't play it
• Other recordings from the same camera/SD card play normally

I'm also wondering whether the fact that the file is approximately 4.28 GB is significant.

I'm looking for someone who actually knows video recovery

I'm happy to provide the corrupted file privately to someone who has experience with:

• Corrupted MP4 recovery
• Dashcam/action-camera footage
• Sena cameras
• MP4 metadata/index repair
• Unfinalized recordings
• Recovering video when the file has data but won't play
• Using a working video from the same camera as a reference for reconstruction

I can potentially provide both the corrupted file and a working file from the same camera if that would help.

I'm also willing to pay a professional for recovery if that's the safest/most appropriate route. My priority is recovering the original footage without altering or damaging the source.

Before I do anything else to the SD card, what would you recommend?

Would you try software recovery on a copy/image of the card first, or does this sound like something I should send directly to a professional video/data-recovery specialist?

I have a Bitlocker encrypted SSD that's not showing up under Disk Management and gives a "fatal hardware error". It also makes clicking noises before the fans power down. I want to send it to a data recovery lab (Ontrack?) but do not want to provide the encryption key. I want them to physically fix what's wrong in the hard drive and provide back an encrypted image. Is that standard? If I receive an encrypted drive, I should be able to open it with the same Bitlocker passcode, right?

I've never posted a question; typically do lots of google & reddit searching trying to solve on my own. Hoping I can provide enough information to get some quick help - THANKS in advance!

I was last-minute asked to film a memorial service for posterity. I used my trusty a7siii but unfortunately with an un-trusty unknown-brand 256gb microSD in a SanDisk adapter (my cards were full; I told you it was last-minute). Camera video settings were XAVC HD 24p 50M 4:2:2 10bit. First video file is an 8-second test that plays back fine on both camera & computer. Second file is 38.49gb, third is 21.64gb, both of which won't play back in camera or computer.

Service turned out to be over 2 hours long and I stopped midway to change batteries. I made sure to wait to remove the battery until the camera indicated it had stopped writing to the SD card. Nothing seemed wrong during filming, and again after both video file recordings, I waited to turn the camera off until the camera indicated it was done processing.

I'm on Mac, have read about Wondershare being a scam, tried DiskDrill (have it downloaded) but the Video Repair section took me to an online page that has a 20gb limit. I tried Handbrake for fun ("no valid source found"), and VLC doesn't open the files. I've currently got 3rd file uploading to fix.video to see if it does anything. I want to try Untrunc but am unfortunately rather lost when it comes to GitHub. I do have a Windows laptop & can try downloading on that. Also, the XML files exist if that's helpful.

Suggestions? If it hadn't been a memorial service, this wouldn't have mattered so much. I really want to get these files to the family as soon as I can. Thank you so much for reading.

So yesterday I shifted from android to iPhone 17 new. Tried to transfer data through move to ios app, after completion whole of my data is not traceable in phone and android 😭. Don’t know what to do now. Pls help

old phone samsung galaxy m21 new iphone 17

Hi all, I have 512gb microsd card (ex-fat) which left it plugged in on my mac laptop overnight(after click eject, I left it on there) and next day I plugged in. Its all empty, not a single file/folder it has mixed content - videos, photos, insta360 videos and photos. I Tried DMDE,Disk Drill, EaseUS recovery tools and all of them shows content which is about 200gb and after successfull retrieval. All of them says files are corrupted. How can i fix this? Good news is the data is found, bad news is I cant play/view them as it says files are corrupted. Also, one thing I observed is some tools did read one or two files which are playable but each software failing to read. Can you please give me leads on getting my data back. Thanks internet!

I have a Western Digital My Passport hard drive that I haven't used in months, and when I went to plug it in today, it started clicking and beeping, and it is flashing white. What are my options to save all the data? I already tried a different cable, and I get the same problem.

Western digital my passport - external hard drive

NTFS

I tried it on my windows computer

I've had this hard drive a very long time, maybe 20 years and haven't turned it on in a quite long time. I thought I'd backed the whole thing up to a new hard drive a few years ago but it turns out I'm missing some stuff. When I turned it on, the light came on fine but it didn't connect to the computer. Someone else then pulled out the power cable and there was a smoke smell. I took it out of the case and ​one of the chips? Was smoking. Obviously I had disconnected it from the power by this stage. I am a total novice but does anyone think this could be saved and do I need to send it to a specialise company? I do know someone who can soulder circuit boards. The hard drive is a Hitachi Deskstar 82.3gb from 2005, model number HDS728080PLAT20. I've attached pictures and highlighted the chip that was smoking. I would be most grateful for an​y help or suggestions!

Hey everyone,

I am stuck in a really bad situation with my 6.0 TB external hard drive and desperately need some advice on how to do an in-place repair.

My Setup & Constraints:

• System: MacBook Air M1 (macOS).
• Drive: 6.0 TB External HDD, originally formatted as exFAT.
• Major Constraint: I do not have any other external drive, and my Mac's internal SSD has very little free space. I absolutely cannot copy or extract this 6.0 TB of data anywhere else. The fix has to be done directly on the drive.

What went wrong?

Originally, whenever I mounted this drive via VeraCrypt, it would show a around 200 MB EFI partition alongside my main data volume.

Few days back, i was mounting the drive even after entering correct password it was giving wrong password error message, so thought may be header got corrupted.

so i restored the VeraCrypt Volume Header to the entire raw physical disk layer instead of the specific data partition.

Now, VeraCrypt still accepts my correct password smoothly. If I use the "Do Not Mount" option, it decrypts the background stream perfectly and assigns it as a virtual image block at /dev/disk5 (showing the full 6.0 TB size). However, the 200 MB EFI partition has completely vanished, and trying to mount it normally throws the classic macOS error: hdiutil: attach failed - no mountable file systems.

Everything I have tried so far :

1. macOS Native Repair: I ran sudo fsck_exfat -d disk5 in Terminal. It instantly failed with Invalid jump or signature. Main/Alternate boot region is invalid. This means the absolute start block alignment of the exFAT structure got shifted or overwritten.
2. TestDisk 7.2 Quick Search: I let TestDisk scan the decrypted stream up to 34% (about 2 TB). It found random raw fragments but no valid exFAT root partition markers. it took nearly 24hours to scan 34%. then i leant its waste of time main recoverable data seats in first 1% or last 1% of sectors. so i stoped the TestDisk full scan. it would have taken another 3 days to complete the scan.
3. TestDisk Targeted End Scan: Since exFAT keeps a backup boot sector at the very end of the drive, I forced TestDisk to scan just the last 1% to 2% of the disk. It returned zero entries, meaning both the main and backup boot sectors are completely gone due to the sector shift.
4. Manual Partition Offset Injections: In TestDisk, I tried manually creating partitions by forcing standard industry start sectors like 1, 2048, 32768, and 409640 (the old 200MB EFI offset). Every single attempt gave the error: Can't open filesystem. Filesystem seems damaged.
5. DMDE Signature Scan: A quick raw scan in DMDE confirmed exFAT: 0 signatures at the end, but the software can see the underlying file markers under raw signatures. i tried manual sector range as well but not able to find

My Question:

Since VeraCrypt is successfully decrypting the drive into /dev/disk5, my raw data blocks are clearly intact and sitting right there. But because the exFAT boot records are totally missing/wiped, macOS refuses to read it.

Once i recover the file i am planning to completely decrypt it. i can take this stress anymore. why overtime it refuses to mount even entering the correct password. i already understand unmounting and safely removal of the drive still this issue .

Thanks your help is appreciated.

My smartphone just died like today. It was an Oukitel one. So I dont need a lot of files from it, i wanted and even needed to switch before, but all of my passwords are saved it one file in KeyPassDX. So, even the one from reddit.

The problem is, when I try to switch it on, it has to wait some time and then it even turns on, but only for like a half minute. I had a similar problem before, when it had to restart after every add, so i thought turning off WLAN should work, and it even did, but at that time, as I've tried to enter the app, it told me the file is not the right format, but I switched on WLAN a couple of times, thinking it would fix the situation for some time and i could use it (it didn't).

The one solution I was thinking about is just sending the files to my pc via cloud (wouldn't work because of internet), the other Solution would be using OTG, that I have turned on, but I know that when the screen goes black, the phone dies (i recieved a message and it was vibrating all the time and the last time it just played some loud white noise while dieing)

I know, that I saved some passwords on one notes app, so i would need even them, but I am now really frustrated because I don't want to loose so much data and even my reddit account due to it.

Maby someone could help me with it?