Volume Recover - Will recover the data from an entire partition/drive/device

File Types Scan

On some recovery types, you will be presented with a dialog that asks if you want to perform a 'File Types' scan along with your recovery. If you are looking for deleted data, you will be performing this step and will not see this dialog. If you're asked this question, it's up to you to include deleted files as part of your recovery. Adding this will increase the amount of time it takes to complete the scan, and would be a waste of your time if you're simply recovering a lost or damaged partition. This option is very useful for finding lost and deleted files which can't be found with the traditional recovery methods above, so if you do choose a partition or volume recovery and no files are found, then you can try again, but search for file types the second time around.

On the File Types screen, you will see a list of pre-made file signatures. A 'signature' is a profile of a type of file. If you're looking, for example, Adobe Acrobat files then selecting that item will recover all of those types if files Boomerang found during the scan.

Your file type is not listed? No problem. Boomerang can scan existing file types and add them for you. The pre-requisites of this are five unique files of the same type and creator. In other words, if want to recover a file made by an application that's not listed, then you'll need at least five unique (you can't copy and paste the same file over and over) files that Boomerang can use as a template in order to create that type for you.

Once that's done, you'll see your new file type in the list, and you may select it and continue. If your file is not listed, then you need to get five more of the type and try again. The reason the file is not added is that there are not enough unique characteristics about the file to make a signature. If you still can't create the signature, we may be able to make on manually. There is a fee for this, feel free to contact me at the Support center for assistance.

Deleted Files Setting

Chose the maximum file size to look for on a deleted file. If you have files that have been deleted that are larger than 10MB, then you must increase this setting, otherwise you can leave it as is.

Scanning. Please wait until it's complete. How long will this take? It's dependent upon three things:

1. The speed of your computer.

2. The amount of memory it has.

3. An error free device. Any read errors will increase the time of the scan. If you want to fix that, then get a copy of the device (copy the bad to a new), and start your scan over again. There are many hard drive copy utilities available, you can Google for them. Below you can see I'm scanning my 70gig hard drive, and it's quite fast. As the scan progresses you'll see the amount if files and folders found. You  can cancel anytime and see the results of the scan, but beware, canceling early may result in some of the data on the device not being found and shown to you.

Here's the dialog you'll see if you decide to end the scan. You can end it at any time, but not all the data on the device will be listed.

If the scan method you selected was 'Lost Partition', then you'll see this once the scan of the device is complete. In the list below you can see that my 70gig drive yielded 4 possible partitions. What you're seeing is not 4 'certain' partitions, but 4 'possible' partitions. Your goal here is to recover data from the partition that has the correct parameters in order to get you the best quality of data. I've helped you with that task, and have added a 'Suggested' field. The closer that number is to 100%, the more likely that's a valid, useful partition on the device. You're welcome to recover files from any partition, but the quality of data will decrease as the percent of confidence decreases as well. Typically, you'll want to choose the highest rated partition and recover the data from it.

Alright, you're just about to saving your data! Next step is to select the data you want to recover. If it was me, I'd put a check mark next to the root device (the highest level item in the list) which selects ALL the data to save. You're certainly able to pick through the files and folders and save just what you want.

These controls at the top of the File Selection let you filter the results. Lost files shows deleted files and regular are files that would normally be available to the operating system. In other words, 'regular' files are what you would have seen had you not had to do a recovery, and 'lost' are what you would not have seen, such as in the case of a deleted file (once it's deleted, you can't see it any more).

You can also use the search tool to help you locate a file by name. If the list of files you have are from a Deleted File or Initialized (formatted) drive scan, then your files may or may not have the actual file names, but instead file types. In this case you won't find the search tool too useful. Sorry, but when a file is deleted from a Mac the name is also removed. I assure you I'd list the name if it were still available!

Now all you have to do is click 'Save Selected Files' and you're done! Be sure to have a place to save your data, and DO NOT try to save the data the same place you're recovering it from! This concludes the guide. I'll add more as the program changes, or you all make suggestions or need clarification of an item.

Thanks again, I appreciate your business!

Cheers,

Adam