how to recover deleted files?

[Mike McCarty]

micheal wrote:
> On Sun, 2005-10-02 at 08:45 +0100, Deepak Shrestha wrote:
> 
>>Hi,
>>
>>I accidentally deleted some important files in my
>>linux box (using rm -f option). Is there a way to
>>recover those files? The deleted files were in
>>different partition "fat32". I could have recovered
>>the files from windows if I was using duel boot but
>>unfortunately I am using linux only (FC4 with some
>>fat32 partition mounted) so I need linux tool to
>>recover deleted files.
>>
>>Any suggestion most welcome
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>________             
>>___  __ \_____ _____ 
>>__  / / /_  _ \_  _ \
>>_  /_/ / /  __//  __/
>>/_____/  \___/ \___/
>>
>>Send instant messages to your online friends http://uk.messenger.yahoo.com 
>>
> 
> 
> The best suggestion I can think of, since the filesystem is vfat, would
> be to download and burn a copy of bartPE, which is a windows based
> LiveCD. Depending on the version you download, there should be a file
> recovery program included. 

Good suggestion, however (from the website)...

Requirements to build:

    1. The files from your Windows Installation CD-Rom.
       Supported Windows versions are:
           * Windows XP Home Edition (must be slip streamed with Service 
Pack 1 or higher)
           * Windows XP Professional (must be slip streamed with Service 
Pack 1 or higher)
           * Windows Server 2003, Web Edition
           * Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
           * Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
    2. PE Builder runs on Windows 2000/XP/2003/BartPE systems.
    3. CD/DVD writer if you want to creat a bootable CD/DVD.


If he had one of these Windows versions running, he could use that to
(try to) recover. But...

> 
> If you are not running Windows, I would suggest you convert the "fat32"
> partition to ext3/2. Fat32 is a windows partition and linux utilities
> that might undelete a file are pretty much non - existant, Not to
> mention shortcomings in fat32 like lack of security attributes for
> files/directories, limit on partition size, limit on file size, etc. 

I am not aware of any way to "convert" a VFAT to ext3 short of
tar (or cpio, or etc.) everything up onto another medium,
reformatting, and then untar (etc.) to get the data back. Do
you? It might be a useful tool.

Mike
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