file recovery

[Karl V]

By mistake I did a "Save As" in microsoft Word and
overlayed a version of a file I was working on. Is there
any way for me to get back to the prior version of a data
file?

 

[Randall Arnold]

You can use a program such as Active Undelete, but the more disk activity
there has been since the file loss the less likely you will be able to
recover the original.

I just downloaded Active Undelete last night ($49.95 USD) and it saved my
butt. I forget the url, but a Google search will turn it up.

Randall Arnold

 

[Randall Arnold]

I'm not sure, but I'm thinking it could bring back a previous version *IF*
the file pointer was different. It's worth a try, and a reasonable
investment IMHO.

On another note, the original post illustrates the wisdom of allowing Word
to create backups. ; )

Randall Arnold

 

[Bob I]

Can Active Undelete really retrieve overwitten files?!?!?

 

[Bob I]

My experience is that when you "reuse" the filename you reuse the same
cluster chain and that means you overwrite the data. If the original
file was much larger than the replacement then the extra clusters might
be recoverable but the first cluster always gets overwritten just
because you always use one cluster.

 

[Randall Arnold]

You're probably right, but I figured it was worth a shot. I've had *some*
success in similar situations but I know it's probably not the norm based on
what you correctly noted.

Randall Arnold