Reading HD folders/files

[Rapier]

Which utilities can read files to determine what data is on the file/folder? I retrieved some deleted files and I want to find what is on them beyond the file name.

thanks
Mike

[TwoRails]

Hi Michael,

Sorry, it's late, but I'm not sure I understand what you want... At first read, it seems like the file extension should tell you what kind of file it is. If it is, for example, a *.jpg, then it's a picture. *.txt means it's a text file, and so on. If this is not what you're looking for, please post more info...

TwoRails

[Rapier]

Hi Michael,

Sorry, it's late, but I'm not sure I understand what you want... At first read, it seems like the file extension should tell you what kind of file it is. If it is, for example, a *.jpg, then it's a picture. *.txt means it's a text file, and so on. If this is not what you're looking for, please post more info...

TwoRails

Since I don't know which "olddeleted.file"is the correct one, I want to "dump" the files to determine what has been corrupted and what is still acceptable data.

[TwoRails]

Hi Michael ,

Maybe I had a few too many cold ones last night, but I'm still not sure what you want, but here goes:

When a file is deleted, all Windows does is put the first letter of the file name to a special character. Windows then knows to skip over this file, even though it's still on the HD. All "undelete" programs I've ever used simply restore this first character with the letter of your choice.

So, this means if you deleted a file: MyBackPorch.jpg, it would show as deleted as $yBackPorch.jpg. Even if you didn't pick the first letter correctly, the yBackPorch.jpg portion should still be the same.

If your undeleted file is comming up different, then check your program options to see if you can undelete to use the existing name, as it should.

If your file extension is unknown, then it could literally be one of hundreds of different types of files and I know of no easy way to figure it out. You can use file viewers to see if they recognize the file. Or view them in native / ASCII format to get a clue. Or, if you think you know what it is, then you can rename the file to give it the extention you think it is, then try to open it in the correct program: if you think it is a photo, then give it the .jpg extension and see if your graphics editor can open it, for example.

I am no aware of any program that can automatically determine what type of file a file is. Maybe another member of the forum does, as I could use it also -- it would be a great time saver...

HTH

TwoRails