I recently upgraded to Windows Vista from Windows XP Professional. Instead of upgrading the operating system, it wiped out everything I had on my Windows XP operated hard drive. As a result of this, I have lost everything on my hard drive. Is it possible to recover lost Windows XP data from the hard drive, which is now running on Windows Vista?

Upon installing an operating system, one needs to use the same partition to write the new operating system on the hard drive that the original operating system functions on. Otherwise, the installation will reformat the hard drive and create a new partition where the operating system can be loaded.

If a new partition has been created, which is likely the case when you cannot access your original files, then the data is lost and the chances of recovery depend on the amount of new data that has been written on the new partition. The new data will overwrite the previous data and overwritten data cannot be recovered. However, installing just the operating system will not fill the drive completely. Any unused space left on the new partition still holds the older data.

Disk Doctors Windows Data Recovery Software is specifically designed to recover data that has been lost due to improper installation of an operating system or similar circumstances. This data recovery software supports both FAT and NTFS partition designs. Listed below is the simplest and safest approach to recover data from your personal computer.

  • Please follow the procedure described in this Disk Doctors knowledge base article to make the drive you wish to recover data from a slave drive on the same computer or preferably a separate PC. http://www.diskdoctors.net/knowledgebase/default.aspx?cNode=6I3H0P&pNodes=2Y1U0D
  • Install the data recovery software on the host machine (Please be sure that you do not write any information on the hard drive you wish to recover data from, as overwritten data is unrecoverable.)
  • Launch the data recovery program
  • Select the option "Recover your data"
  • Select the physical drive containing the accidentally formatted partition
  • Select the option "Search for lost partition(s)"
  • Select the "Thorough Scan" partition search method
  • Select the older logical drive that you have formatted
  • Allow the software to run the first level of scanning on this logical drive
  • Once the scanning process is over, you might not see the data of your previously formatted drive. Instead, you will see data that was stored on the newly formatted partition
  • Select the option "Turbo Scan" and allow the data recovery software to scan the drive. Once the Turbo Scan process is complete, you should have the desired data from your old partition once again.

In case you need any assistance related to Disk Doctors data recovery software or general recovery of data, you can contact our Support Team to get instant assistance. You can reach us by phone at 1-866-735-4449 or you can speak to our technical support staff through live chat by visiting this link: http://www.diskdoctors.net/support/ both support options are available Monday through Friday during normal business hours.

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Customer Reviews

Thanks for your help. I was able to successfully restore many critical files from a corrupted hard disk. Your product saved me a great deal of time and trouble. Thank Your Very Much!
David Sauer

I wanted to extend my ultimate gratitude and thanks to you and your team. Not only did your company recover the data quickly and at half the price of other companies, everything was recovered and our office is back on track after the NAS failure. I really appreciate a company doing its business so well as Disk Doctors did; and will definitely sing your praises for all to hear. Excellent customer service all around. Thank you again!
Skylar Stoleson
Director IT
TheDQTeamDOTcom

Many special thanks for your support in getting my drive issues handled. I am able to access all the files that were recovered. You guys are great!

I thought I was missing a folder until I realized I was searching under the wrong folder name.
I am happy! We are good and all is well!

Thank you.

Alice Arthur
Minister, Motivational Speaker
What do you do when a power surge destroys your hard drive and you loose hundreds of hours of work, irreplaceable images, and your ability to complete jobs for clients with looming deadlines?  My first instinct was to cry, then scream.  My IT manager tried and failed to recover my data and recommended that I try a disaster recovery service. We went on line and called several companies, and when we reached the Disk Doctors, we knew we had found a company that could help us.  I delivered my toasted hard drive to their Vancouver location late in the afternoon and by 6:30 am the following morning a representative had emailed me with a reassuring message and time line for the work.  The following Friday I received one of the happiest calls of my life. My data had been completely recovered.  I cried and screamed again, this time with joy!  Over the last two days I have been thrilled, delighted, relieved, overjoyed and reassured by the fact that ALL MY DATA is once again accessible. Disk Doctors are now on my top-persons list and I am telling all of my colleagues about their services!!!

Thank you!
Sandy McKellar, B.Sc. (Forestry)
My hard drive crashed leaving me without my critical financial information and research that is crucial to my business. After checking various vendors on the Internet, I chose Disk Doctor Labs because of their level of service, and they far exceeded my expectations. Aziz Mirza, the manager of Disk Doctor Labs in Norcross, GA, personally took charge of my account, quickly fixed the problems and returned my restored files within a week on a hard drive that I could return for an account credit. Throughout the process, Disk Doctor Labs kept me informed, responded quickly to my calls and delivered my lost files quickly, efficiently and at an extremely fair price. I recommend them unequivocally.

Thank you!
Bruce Butterfield President The Forbes Group Vienna, VA and Chicago, IL

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