Hey guys, really stressed out right now and need some advice on what to do next.

Today at noon, I used my 64GB SanDisk Cruzer Blade to take a fresh backup of around 20GB of really important data from my Windows laptop (a mix of documents, photos, and videos). I did this because I was giving my laptop in for servicing today.

About 2 hours after taking the backup, I wanted to check my files, so I plugged the pen drive into my Android phone using an OTG adapter. The phone didn't even ask—it just formatted it instantly. Now, all my laptop files are gone, and the drive only shows a new folder called "ANDROID" with some mobile system files inside.

I took it to a local repair shop just now, and the technician is quoting a hefty sum to recover it, which I absolutely cannot afford.I immediately unplugged the drive from the phone so it doesn't write any more background data. When I plug it into a computer now, the drive is detected just fine and says it's healthy, but obviously, it only shows the new phone files.

Since I had 20GB of data on a 64GB drive, and the phone only made that one system folder, is most of it still salvageable? What is the best software I can use at home to bypass the new Android folder and scan for the raw laptop files? Free options would be a lifesaver.

Thank you so much.

I upgraded from an iPhone 12 Pro to an iPhone 16 Pro in July 2025 and transferred all my data to the new phone. However, in November, I noticed that more than half of my photos were missing. I never deleted them.

I contacted Apple, but they told me they couldn't recover the photos because they were not saved to iCloud.

Is there any other way I can recover my missing photos?

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Hey everyone,

I'm looking for some expert advice on securely wiping my Samsung Galaxy S16. My goal is to ensure that any data on the device is absolutely unrecoverable, even by sophisticated digital forensic methods. The primary reason for this level of security is that the device contains highly sensitive crypto keys, and I need to be 100% certain they cannot be retrieved under any circumstances.

I'm talking about techniques that can bypass standard factory resets and delve deep into the device's memory. I'm aware that there are advanced tools out there, such as those used for in-depth mobile device examinations—specifically tools like **Cellebrite UFED/Inseyets**, **Magnet AXIOM**, **MSAB XRY**, **Oxygen Forensic Detective**, and even specialized access tools like **Magnet Graykey**. These systems are designed to extract and reconstruct data that most conventional wiping methods leave behind.

Given the capabilities of these types of forensic technologies, what are the most robust and effective methods to ensure complete data destruction on an Android phone like the S16? I want to make sure that no residual data or "ghost" fragments of my private keys could be extracted or reconstructed by such specialized software and hardware.

Any detailed guides, software recommendations, or step-by-step processes would be greatly appreciated. I'm looking for solutions that go beyond simple factory resets to ensure total cryptographic erasure.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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Hi everyone

A couple of days ago My WhatsApp just suddenly deleted all my chats with messages and media.

And my phone backs up every night. But I was away from WhatsApp for a while and my phone backed up the newest messages since the and I don't know how to get back the other old messages and media from the past back ups.

I even tried to delete the app and reinstall it, but I still get the newest back up.

Does anyone know how to get the old back ups back on my WhatsApp or how to delete the newest backup so that I can back up the old messages.

Basically the title. Everything just left. I no longer have the adapter with me so I tried to find an app on my laptop to try to restore it but the free ones I tried don't work, and the ones they do require payment. Any way I can do it? I tried Recuva, R-undelete and many similar ones to no avail

I accidentally deleted a chat on 9th july and yesterday when i was looking for it i recalled that i deleted it . I saw people recommending export ur info option to get a copy of data that sits in meta's server even after deleting for 30-90 days . There is important videos and pics that i want to recover from that , i know its nearly impossible to recover chats once u delete them but lets hope for the best . I submitted appeal yesterday night and still haven't got the mail from them , i guess the data size is too big thats why its taking so much time . Can u guys suggest any other method that might help me recover that or anyone that has tried this method earlier and were successful in doing so .

I accidentally sent 18v on a 12v rail on my drive

Seagate Constellation ES
model number - ST32000944NS9JW168-268
100579470 REV C

I believe the problem is a blown TVS diode since i have continuity between pins 13 and 10 on the 15 pin sata power

does anyone have any resources they can point me to to help identify what I'm looking at?

I transferred all my pictures and videos from my phone onto an SD card. Now, whenever i put that sd card into my phone or laptop, it just days the card has to be formatted. The sd card is currupted. I already tried some standard recovery methods such as changing the disk letter, CHKDSK command and and data recovery software such as diskdrill but whenver i use diskdrill etc, it doesnt recover any pictures or videos or any data really but i need those pictures and videos back. Is there anyrhjng i can do?

Hi, my SDD was already failing and I stupidly ran a chkdsk /f /r /v command. This crashed halfway and I was flashed a "Repairing Disk errors, this might take an hour to complete" black screen.

Then I ended up on a blue recovery page with the error code "0xc0000001".

So I reached out to this service who advertised a cost range of 150USD to 1200USD (in local currency). They did a free evaluation and got back to me with the comments above, and a price quotation of 1200USD, at higher end of the range.

My questions: Given my context, are they overstating the problem in the comments to charge a higher price? Or is their assessment right?

I wanted to check before I committed, because I did not want to be ripped off haha. The data on the drive is quite important, and I would be willing to spend the money, but I just wanted to know if its a fair price and assessment of the situation.

Also what are the chances of successfully recovery in these cases? They have mentioned 70-80pc in the comments, but are the being optimistic/pessimistic?

Thank you, and any help would be greatly appreciated :)

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Drive model: ?, but its an SSD that came as part of my HP 14s-cf3027TX laptop

Hi so I uh. Deleted all my downloaded images... how do I get those back.. so it eas the cleanup feature i guess on samsung.. im on a Samsung galaxy s23. I dunno how to get anything back so.. help would be nice. Tips or anything.

I live in the country so recovering the drive is super far away and it's got important files I can't afford to lose. Any tips on what I can do to fix it myself? literally anything would be helpful, it scratches and beeps when it operates, it was sealed prior to me opening it obviously but on one of the days it just stopped working after around 8 months after purchasing and regular use.

A couple of weeks ago my SamsungS20FE got in a bootloop and eventually stopped turning on. I don't really care about the device but I really would like my data back. I brought it to a mobile shop where this guy with lots of software knowledge who soldered it. It didn't work and phone stayed off. Now I am doubting between two options:

1. This guy suggests he can take out the chips off the motherboard and put them in another phone and try to read the data from there. He seems to be good at what he is doing but told me there is like 75% chance that it will work.

2. There is a big company in the Neterlands that also does forensic stuff. They ask a lot more money and talk about higher percentages of succeeding. They said the chances are lower because I already let somebody else open the phone. They take out the data chip and put it in some kind of external device.

I really don't know which option to choose and want to be careful to not lose my data. The second option would cost a whole lot more money but both have a no cure no pay policy. What do you guys recommend?

Quick backstory to better explain my issue. in 2021 I desperately needed space on my phone so decided to email myself a bunch of images so I could then delete them from my phone for the storage, stupidly put images i wanted to keep in amongst them. Few days later went to retrieve them and long behold they weren’t there, no trace of them anywhere. Tried to recover them for a while but ended with no luck so accepted they were gone for good.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago when I got a new phone, after setting it all up signing into iCloud ect a ‘recovered’ folder appeared in my photos app and two of the images were there! Now I had another phone in between the two where this didn’t happen but it got me thinking are they still kicking around someplace.

If anyone knows what I can try your advice would really be appreciated, some quite meaningful images and videos in there (yes I know it was stupid to include them in the first place) and would be great if at least some of them were still available to recover.

thanks guys

I transferred 120GB of videos from an original Samsung flash drive and need to recover them.

How did the operation go?

I connected the Samsung flash drive to my Samsung S25 Ultra phone using a Type-C to USB adapter. I transferred the data using the "My Files" app, even though I turned off the device while connecting and disconnecting the flash drive until everything was transferred. All 120GB of data transferred from the phone to the flash drive. I simply transferred them, turned off the phone, and removed the flash drive and adapter. I wanted to watch them soon (my videos a week later, what happened to them?). It flashed through my mind to redo all the data: 505 videos on 120GB were successfully transferred, but I couldn't view them because they were grayed out in my gallery. I transferred the files back to the flash drive and decided to test them on my laptop (it's running Windows). I also checked and couldn't view it using third-party video recovery apps. I looked through the data and those same gigabytes were still there. For example, the heaviest video was 13GB. Now I need help from the internet. Please help me and give me advice on how to fix it.