How to recover a deleted WAV file, if some of that file is corrupted

OK I know how file deletion works...that deleting a file doesn't
really delete it, etc etc etc...so this is my problem...My friend was
recording on a 1GB flash drive a very long interview, in whcih he
probably consumed 90% of the disk space with one wav file. Yesterday,
in a moment of pure idiocy, I formatted the disk. I have reason to
believe that the recorder does a "quick format"...i.e. not a full
fledged bit arrangement.

So theoretically, I should be able to recover the file, right? Well, I
ran four different recovery programs on the disk and I found a bunch
of older files that had been formatted off months ago...but couldn't
find this massive file. So either I a) totally have the wrong
disk...or b) somehow the wav file header got messed up and the
recovery files can't find it, because they don't recognize that the
rest of that mass of data consists of a wav file...Is there a utility
in which I could just grab a chunk of space from my flash card and
"fix" it to recover at least part of the wav file?

Also confusing was that the recovery programs couldn't recover several
very short wav files that we had on that disk inbetween the old wav
files and the new massive one...so basically, the time line is:

1) a bunch of old files, then a format
2) a few small wav files, then a format
3) one massive wave file, then a format

And I can't find files from either category 2 or 3, but I can from 1
(and the recoverable files from 1. take up a relatively small part of
the disk..but then again, so do the ones from group 2.). What's the
problem here?

DC wrote:
> OK I know how file deletion works...that deleting a file doesn't
> really delete it, etc etc etc...so this is my problem...My friend was
> recording on a 1GB flash drive a very long interview, in whcih he
> probably consumed 90% of the disk space with one wav file. Yesterday,
> in a moment of pure idiocy, I formatted the disk. I have reason to
> believe that the recorder does a "quick format"...i.e. not a full
> fledged bit arrangement.
>
> So theoretically, I should be able to recover the file, right?

After doing a format? (Even a quick format)? I'd say: not necessarily,
or not even likely.

And I will tell you this: Even when I've accidentally deleted a WAV file, I
have had very little success in getting it back INTACT (that is, so it still
plays correctly - (regardless of the filesize being the same) with either of
my unerase programs (and that without any writing to the disk).

DC <dan.cao.nguyen@gmail.com> wrote:
> OK I know how file deletion works...that deleting a file doesn't
> really delete it, etc etc etc...so this is my problem...My friend was
> recording on a 1GB flash drive a very long interview, in whcih he
> probably consumed 90% of the disk space with one wav file. Yesterday,
> in a moment of pure idiocy, I formatted the disk. I have reason to
> believe that the recorder does a "quick format"...i.e. not a full
> fledged bit arrangement.
>
> So theoretically, I should be able to recover the file, right? Well, I
> ran four different recovery programs on the disk and I found a bunch
> of older files that had been formatted off months ago...but couldn't
> find this massive file. So either I a) totally have the wrong
> disk...or b) somehow the wav file header got messed up and the
> recovery files can't find it, because they don't recognize that the
> rest of that mass of data consists of a wav file...Is there a utility
> in which I could just grab a chunk of space from my flash card and
> "fix" it to recover at least part of the wav file?
>
> Also confusing was that the recovery programs couldn't recover several
> very short wav files that we had on that disk inbetween the old wav
> files and the new massive one...so basically, the time line is:
>
> 1) a bunch of old files, then a format
> 2) a few small wav files, then a format
> 3) one massive wave file, then a format
>
> And I can't find files from either category 2 or 3, but I can from 1
> (and the recoverable files from 1. take up a relatively small part of
> the disk..but then again, so do the ones from group 2.). What's the
> problem here?

It sounds like this time a full format was done and the tables are
gone/replaced.

That said, what have you used to try to recover it? Specific programs.
Did you try Recycle Bin's Unerase for grins?
Have you been careful to write *anything* to it?

If so, a hex editor might allow you to find the title and possibly some
of the data. There are many free ones around that would do the job. I
use XV132 but there are many of htem available. SourceForge and MS are
good places to look.

Actually, I'd say your chances of recovery are pretty slim.

Twayne

I'm pretty sure the format option is a quick format. We tested the
function on another card...first by writing a few files, then doing
the format...Using an unerase utility recovered those files.

The card in question, I immediately started using unerase utilities on
the card, no writing has been done to it. The most effective program
was Diskinternals Uneraser, which did cost a little money...that
program found about 20 jpgs and small wav files (which conceivably
were in space not occupied by the massive wav file).

So I've never done this before...is there a utility that I can just
grab hex data from the card, then look at it, then assemble it to
create even a partial WAV? I'm pretty unfamiliar with the WAV file
format, if some missing data makes the entire block of data useless or
not.



On Jan 13, 12:57 pm, "Poprivet`" <popri...@devnull.spamcop.net> wrote:
> DC <dan.cao.ngu...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > OK I know how file deletion works...that deleting a file doesn't
> > really delete it, etc etc etc...so this is my problem...My friend was
> > recording on a 1GB flash drive a very long interview, in whcih he
> > probably consumed 90% of the disk space with one wav file. Yesterday,
> > in a moment of pure idiocy, I formatted the disk. I have reason to
> > believe that the recorder does a "quick format"...i.e. not a full
> > fledged bit arrangement.
>
> > So theoretically, I should be able to recover the file, right? Well, I
> > ran four different recovery programs on the disk and I found a bunch
> > of older files that had been formatted off months ago...but couldn't
> > find this massive file. So either I a) totally have the wrong
> > disk...or b) somehow the wav file header got messed up and the
> > recovery files can't find it, because they don't recognize that the
> > rest of that mass of data consists of a wav file...Is there a utility
> > in which I could just grab a chunk of space from my flash card and
> > "fix" it to recover at least part of the wav file?
>
> > Also confusing was that the recovery programs couldn't recover several
> > very short wav files that we had on that disk inbetween the old wav
> > files and the new massive one...so basically, the time line is:
>
> > 1) a bunch of old files, then a format
> > 2) a few small wav files, then a format
> > 3) one massive wave file, then a format
>
> > And I can't find files from either category 2 or 3, but I can from 1
> > (and the recoverable files from 1. take up a relatively small part of
> > the disk..but then again, so do the ones from group 2.). What's the
> > problem here?
>
> It sounds like this time a full format was done and the tables are
> gone/replaced.
>
> That said, what have you used to try to recover it? Specific programs.
> Did you try Recycle Bin's Unerase for grins?
> Have you been careful to write *anything* to it?
>
> If so, a hex editor might allow you to find the title and possibly some
> of the data. There are many free ones around that would do the job. I
> use XV132 but there are many of htem available. SourceForge and MS are
> good places to look.
>
> Actually, I'd say your chances of recovery are pretty slim.
>
> Twayne

You will not recover an incomplete file that is corrupt to begin with -
you can recover it, but it will still be corrupt and useless. Move on
and be smarter and know what you are doing in the future - that's
easier to repair than the computer


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