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Windows Recycle Bin Question

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(@mikesmith)
Posts: 1
New Member
Topic starter
 

Hi,

I'm having trouble finding deleted data that was in the recycle bin on a Win XP Pro workstation. The user emptied the recycle bin. Now I know, there has to be a way to retrieve the data, because if all a user needs to do is empty the windows recycle bin. We would be out of business. I have used various data recovery problems, but it seems to not find the recycle deleted data. I have researched on the net, that the recycle bin data is in the _recycle folder, and I have seen SID information, but not the data that should be there. I have also tested it on a test machine and with lucky either.

So any and all information would be greatly appreciated.

Mike

 
Posted : 30/06/2006 7:44 am
steve862
(@steve862)
Posts: 194
Estimable Member
 

Mike,

This is a question with many factors to consider. Such as whether NTFS or FAT32 was used as the file-system will affecct and how long ago the recycle bin was emptied. Whether you only need to find the file itself or produce filename, file created dates etc as well. Do you have to prove which user's recycle bin it was in? etc

Depending on what software tools you are using will depend on how long it will take you to recover deleted material but ultimately if the files removed from the recycle bin havent been overwritten yet you will find them (even with free open source tools).

It's not going to be any easy question to answer with the details you have listed so far. Perhaps you can be more specific about what you need to achieve and what tools you have available.

Steve

 
Posted : 30/06/2006 2:33 pm
(@insanedream)
Posts: 2
New Member
 

Hi..

There are many programs that manage recycle bin data and cash the data on it somewhere else so that if a user empty the recycle bin u can restore the data again,,,,,i think norton has the utility and also Mcafee Shredder ….

i hope my info help u man..

 
Posted : 30/06/2006 3:35 pm
keydet89
(@keydet89)
Posts: 3568
Famed Member
 

Steve's right…without more info, it's hard to provide any real support, Mike.

Here's something I ran into…the user ran "Add/Remove Programs" and deleted a bunch of files via Explorer, then emptied the Recycle Bin. XP's Prefetch functionality runs a limited defrag approximately every three days…thereby possibly overwriting some of what I was looking for.

Anyway, just so we're clear, emptying the Recycle Bin does *not* put us out of business…however, overwriting and defrag tools will make our jobs harder. What you need to do is see if you can put together a keyword list and search unallocated space for fragments of the file.

Finally, looking at your post again, the name of the folder for the Recycle Bin is *not* "_recycle". It really sounds to me like you're potentially operating off of false information to begin with, regarding the technical aspects of what you're working with.

 
Posted : 30/06/2006 3:37 pm
(@gmarshall139)
Posts: 378
Reputable Member
 

One of the first steps I would undertake is to search for deleted INFO2 record fragments. This will tell you what was there (filename), where it was originally (path), and when it was deleted (not applicable to a Norton Nprotect recycle bin). If you are looking for a specific file and have the name then a simple text search for that (including unicode) will produce results.

If you are using something like Encase or FTK then this process will be easier. Otherwise there are patterns of data within the INFO2 record that can be implemented into a grep search term.

 
Posted : 30/06/2006 7:39 pm
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