I need help recovering files from a corrupted drive

[TheGarbageMan]

I have 2 computers. A laptop and a desktop. I also connect a 250GB Western Digital external hard drive to it full of my programs, pictures etc. I recently reformated my desktop and I started installing programs to it via the external hard drive. I went out for a few hours and I tried to open my external hard drive folders but when I clicked on the drive, it said that the directory or drive is corrupt and unreadable. I really need these files but I don't know what to do... The very last thing I did was install Alcohol 120% from my external to the desktop and I resatrted the computer then I left the house. When I came back, it gave me these problems. Anyone have any idea on what I can do to save them or get the files back??

 

[deniro24]

There are many recovery programs out there, unfortunately I've never found any free ones. Go to download.com and do a search on file recovery.

 

[TheGarbageMan]

There are many recovery programs out there, unfortunately I've never found any free ones. Go to download.com and do a search on file recovery.

I found one but it wasn't very good.. its called EasyRecovery Professional and it only found some of the files. I had about 75,000 on that drive but this program found 23,542 and the wrost part is that the file names are FILE1, FILE2, FILE3, etc. I don't even know what they are but the sizes look right. I want my files back in the original state they were before... would it be possible to fix the problem making my drive corrupt then get have all the information on that drive returned back to its original state before it was corrupted? I tried doing CHKDSK but it didn't let me same thing with a Disk Check/Bad Sector Remover when I right clicked on the drive.

 

[RicoDirenzo]

Buy this program. It's not all that expensive. Get Data Back: http://www.runtime.org/ Not only willthis program recover all your files but it wil put them back into their original folders!!!

 

[Dngrsone]

Also, Spinrite has accessed drives for me that nothing else would touch. Very useful tool.

 

[JoshC]

Do you know if the problem is due to physical problem within the hard drive? The hard drive on my laptop died on me with about 1000 pictures on it. Unfortunatly I did not have them backed up. Being that the drive was physically corrupted I had to send it to a place in Cali to have them get the files off. Cost me over $700.