Dos copy problem

[sk8er_boi]

On dos i copied a folder like:

dir c:

copy dfs d:\backup

dfs is a folder and on d drive there's only a file named backup.

the bad thing is i formatted c: . is it possible to recover that backup folder from that backup file?

Please help me! I'm in a very bas situation.

[Crash&Burn]

If you're asking whether you can recover all the information that was on your C:\ folder dfs from the Folder you created on D:\ then no that wont be possible.

If the format was recent on C:\ then all the information is still there, but likely the only way to recover it since you wiped out the FAT and the backup FAT2 with the format would be via disk sector editting - which is a tiresome task to say the least.

[nil]

Hi cihatkarli. Sickening feeling isn't it.

All files within all subdirectories of c:\dfs (e.g. c:\dfs\folder\file1.txt) would've be lost, and of the files that were copied "into" d:\backup (those in the root directory of c:\dfs) the only ones you'd have any real chance of recovering is text files, by working out the start/end of each text and pasting it into a new file. Unfortunately files that contained "binary code" (e.g. executable files, zip files,...) will almost certainly be unrecoverable using that method unless you happened to use COPY's /B switch.

As depressing as this sounds that backup file isn't totally useless as it can at least help you to work out what you might've lost so don't be in a great rush delete it just yet.

This info probably isn't going to be much help to you (since they're unlikely to work if you've written to the disk already) but there are UNformat programs available that might be worth a try. I haven't used one on FAT32 systems before so I can't tell you how good a job any of them do.

I'm not trying to make that headache of yours worse but as you might've guessed by now it's 'XCopy' (or better yet 'XXCopy') that you should've used. Before trying to use 'XCopy' as a "poor-man's" backup tool though give this article a read.

Anyhow, Good luck.

Edited November 23, 2005 by nil

[sk8er_boi]

Ok thnx for all. I dug those datas to grave . But i learned s

omething from a disaster.

[Countach69]

The FAT (File Allocation Table) is not necessary to recover your data; it makes it easier and 100% accurate but not mandatory. I will assume you're using a FAT16/FAT32 file system not NTFS.

The following applies to a hard drive not a floppy disk and refers to the Microsoft format utility not a third party format utility.

Formatting a hard drive basically only overwrites/erases both copies of the FAT and the root directory entries; entries locate in the C:\, or D:\ or E:\ etc...not the sub-directories/folders. It leaves your data, that is your files, intact...nothing is erased, every single bit of information is still present. Only problem is, FRAGMENTATION. That's the REAL problem of data recovery on the FAT file system. If you happen to defragment your hard drive and then do a format right afterward you will be able to easily/accurately and automatically recover all your files without user intervention (except the files located in the root directory (C:\, D:\ etc...) which you will have to do manually. Only program needed is a DOS Unformat utility; Microsoft uses to supply one previous to DOS 6 (if i remember correctly) but not anymore.

Problem is, as mentionned earlier, is fragmentation. I will not go into details on the subject but when you ear people/website mentionning "defragment your hard drive regularly because it will improve your hard drive performance" substitute it with "defragment your hard drive regularly because it will improve data recovery in case of an accident". As far as improving performance it basically won't do much; files which are fragmented in several hundreds or thousands will see an improvement thou. Again this is a simplified explanation, it does take into account your computer is using a software cache (Vcache in Windows and Smartdrve in DOS).

After an accidental format one should use a DOS Unformat utility like Norton Unformat. Or if you have another bootable partition or hard drive one can use a Windows based Unformat utility. One must remenber that every hard drive write after a format WILL permanently ERASE your DATA (not totaly true if you have access to high level electronic equipment) so don't install Windows right afterward because it will overwrite possibly valuable DATA.The success rate of this method will vary from 1% to 99.9% of uncorrupted data recover depending on the fragmentation of your files. Even if the Unformat utility says: File X has been recovered succefully, you MUST load it and test it. Why? If the FATs are gone the recovery program assumes that all the files are continuous, it has no other choice really, and assigns every cluster accordingly. This will lead to some files, lets says a .JPG file, having half it's content intact and an other half, the part that was fragmented, fill with the content of an .MP3 file.

Even if you already installed an operating system over your previously formatted hard drive (not repartitionned) all is definately not lost. Use the unformat utility and depending on where the file was located and fragmentation level you might be able to recover it succefully. Don't be surprised to find files that were written a couple years ago being recovered after using an Unformat utility. Remember, nothing is EVER erased on a hard drive, unless you write an another file on top of it; deleting a file does NOT erase the file from the hard drive, emptying the Recycle Bin does NOT erase the file from the hard drive, it just signifies to the operating system that the space that used to be occupied by the file is now available to write data in.

Countach69

[Andromeda43]

In your original post, you used the incorrect syntax to enter your copy command.

The copy command cannot copy a folder,,,,only files within a folder.

For that to work the correct syntax would have been:

copy C:\dfs\*.* D:\backup

The simple 'copy' command is usefull but very limited in its scope.

Most DOS efficienadoes would opt for the more powerfull and capable XCopy command.

If you wanted the files to be on the D: drive in a folder still named "dfs", then you should have made a folder on D: with that name before you entered the copy command.

Maybe a little DOS tutorial would be advisable before doing any more work in DOS.

It's very specific and just the slightest slip can invalidate an entire command line, or even erase your hard drive.

It might have been advisable to just do a drag and drop or even a copy and paste of those files from windows explorer, assuming of course that you do have Windows on that PC.

Good Luck,

Andromeda43

Here's the rules for XCopy:

XCOPY: Copies files and directory trees.

XCOPY source [destination] [/A | /M] [/D[:date]] [/P] [/s [/E]] [/W]

[/C] [/Q] [/F] [/L] [/H] [/R] [/T]

[/K] [/N]

source Specifies the file(s) to copy.

destination Specifies the location and/or name of new files.

/A Copies files with the archive attribute set, doesn't change the attribute.

/M Copies files with the archive attribute set, turns off the archive attribute.

/D:date Copies files changed on or after the specified date.

If no date is given, copies only those files whose

source time is newer than the destination time.

/P Prompts you before creating each destination file.

/S Copies directories and subdirectories except empty ones.

/E Copies directories and subdirectories, including empty ones.

Same as /S /E. May be used to modify /T.

/W Prompts you to press a key before copying.

/C Continues copying even if errors occur.

/I If destination does not exist and copying more than one file,

assumes that destination must be a directory.

/Q Does not display file names while copying.

/F Displays full source and destination file names while copying.

/L Displays files that would be copied.

/H Copies hidden and system files also.

/R Overwrites read‑only files.

/T Creates directory structure, but does not copy files. Does not

include empty directories or subdirectories. /T /E includes

empty directories and subdirectories.

/U Updates the files that already exist in destination.

/K Copies attributes. Normal Xcopy will reset read‑only attributes.

/Y Overwrites existing files without prompting.

/‑Y Prompts you before overwriting existing files.

/N Copy using the generated short names.

[pmshah]

First of all you should download 4dos version 7.5 which has now been made free. It is a much more powerful replacement for command.com.

How did you manage to format your c: drive since the format command itself is located on c drive & the command will not allow you to format boot drive.

If you did it with a floppy or from cd you might have an option to unformat the drive with the same utility.

You also have the option of using BartPE & a free utility called PCI-Filerecovery from Convar. You will probably recover 70 to 80% of your files back. If you are in the habit of keeping your disk defragged the recovery rate will be higher.