I had several files on a previous computer. I destroyed it when I dumped a soda over the keyboard while turned on. I could never restart that computer. Whenever I worked on the files I always clicked the Save button. The harddisk was wiped clean. Is it possile to retrieve those files on my new computer ? Were my files saved to a cloud from the old computer, so that I might retrieve them now. Or are they gone forever ? Larry
So most of the questions you ask, you should be able to answer yourself.
Have you deleted the hard drive or do you just assume that it is deleted?
If you previously saved your files to the cloud, they should still be available there.
If this is not the case, take your defective computer to a specialized store of your choice and ask if you can recover data from the hard drive.
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This would not necessarily delete the files. As with every crash there may be loss (especially for files open before the crash) but usually not all are deleted.
Then one could open the computer and salvage the disk, to connect to another computer. Easiest is often to use a special usb-case for this.
The crucial sentence. How do you know this? Who wiped the disk? Was something written on the disk afterwards? Type of the disk/ssd.
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A real “wipe” by a professional service can’t be undone. After a “quick format” files can be rescued - but usually not all, and for a full harddisk it still is a lot of work… And if your disk was encrypted it is impossible to access contents, if you didn’t take some precautions. (MS stores recovery-info for bitlocker in some cases).
Only, if YOU did/installed this. YOU have to know, if you used Dropbox, OneDrive etc. If not you should have kept a backup, otherwise it may be “vanished into thin air” instead of “saved to a cloud”.
Thanks to all for the responses to my plea. I assumed LibreOffice was backing up my entries, but that assumption was my undoing. I should have been more careful / intelligent. Now I have to start all over, if I can bring myself to type all those long lists again. To all: Be smart and back things up. Lawrence
There is a setting for this, but backup would be also on the same computer unless you provide another place. (And setting is off by default.)
This comment from @Wanderer may be the most important feedback you have received here! If your files constitute a lot of work, you can really save time by reflecting and communicating on this.
Please be specific and straight about what you have done, symptoms you see, and exactly what you have. Details matter.
“Wiped clean” can mean any of the following:
- Detached from your computer, and wiped with a rag to remove the sticky stuff.
- Impossible to boot from, because the electronics in your computer is damaged by the spill.
Hint (you may know this): Your hard disk is not the computer box with keyboard, screen and mouse/touchpad attached. It is a smaller box inside of that. - Content made inaccessible (because your software profile lost the recent documents list, or a new user profile was created on your computer, or actual deletion of data files.).
- Content annihilated (electronically shredded, by way of software or hardware specifically designed to render content non-recoverable).
In all cases except the last one, much of your data should be recoverable by relatively simple means. Some work will be involved, and in the case of bitlocker, you need access to the microsoft account used to set up your computer in the first place.
“Destroyed” can mean “didn’t work last time I tried”, or “Totally burned out” (both of which can happen from a liquid spill). The former may have fixed itself from liquid drying up, or you may need to change the fuse. The latter probably require specialist knowledge/equipment.