The TechNexus

Great news today when I heard that Microsoft was finally offering an over-the-air complete sync service for their phones. The new service entitled My Phone is a concept that has been out in the wild for years now already, but it seems Microsoft is finally getting on the bandwagon.

What is strange is that they completely bypass Activesync and require you to install yet another piece of software. Yeah, why would you use the default Microsoft based over-the-air syncing application when you can just make a new one?

In my usage of the system, it seems quite limited (it does not sync contact categories for example), but it makes my entire phone data avaliable and searchable online. Even though you can do a similar thing through Google sync, it is more through in that it syncs documents, photos and even SMSes, a first for any sync program I have encountered. Heck, even a direct Outlook Mobile to Outlook desktop sync does not even do this without a unstable 3rd party addon.

This seems to have great potential as an online backup solution. Say you lose your phone, just reinstall the app, and your phone is restored magically, without the need to be by your computer. Could be good, but we will have to see what develops.

Every since Microsoft introduced the “Recycle Bin” restoring deleted files has been easy… well except if you emptied the recycle bin. I am sure we have all been there where there was a file we wanted to get back, to restore the file from whence it came. My first piece of advice is avoid using the computer as much as possible or making new files until you restore your deleted files. This ensures the greatest chance of recovery.

You can simply download a software to go about this. The one I use and recommend is Restore Deleted Files. It has saved me in the past and I am sure in the future as well. I seem to have an obsessive tendency to “Empty Recycle Bin” far too often. No way to undo emptying the recycle bin too easily!

I remember fondly back in the days of DOS and the onto Windows 95 I always used to use a utility suite that included an undelete or file restore program. I remember sifting through the command line interface of DOS trying to find those deleted files. It seems things are more complicated these days.


Many people ask me how can you possibly bring back something that has been deleted. My first answer is always that the data has been deleted but not “wiped”.

Here I will give you a full explanation of how this all works:

How undelete/file recovery works

Part 1. - File Tables

For those of you who are curious how undeleting files works, let me explain it in layman’s terms. In your file storage, whether it is on a hard drive, flash drive, or any other form of data storage, always has at least two basic sections. One is the File Allocation Table, or Master File Table, or something similar. The point is that this is a listing of every file on the drive and where it it stored. This is a very important piece of information, if it is deleted or corrupted, you will be unable to read any files off the drive (unless of course you have file recovery software which I will get to in a second). If you have 100 megabytes of files or 100 gigabytes, it does not matter as the system does not know where the files are so it cannot access them.

Part 2. - The Data

So we have a table defining each file an it’s location. Now, what happens when we “delete” the file? It is inefficient and slow to go out and delete the data on the drive, as that would take some time depending on the size of the file. All the computer does is delete the file from the File Table and the space that the file was occupying is now “free”. Keep in mind that all the file data is still there, but the computer regards it as not there, so new data can be written into that space.

Part 3. - The recovery

What an undelete program does is scan the space for file structures, things is recognizes as files. Once it finds these data fragments it can restore the file by writing a new entry in the File table. Now keep in mind, new data might have overwritten the file or pieces of the file. In this case you can only recover a part of the file if anything at all.

Once the File table is updated with the new entry you can access your file (or what’s left of it) again!


Here is an analogy:

Imagine a street with buildings. Now there is a directory listing all the addresses of the buildings. There is also a listing of free spaces where you can put new buildings. When you “delete” a file it is like erasing the building address from the listing and writing the address in the free spaces listing. Technically the building is still there, but you are now free to put another building in all or part of that space. Once you start to build in that space, the existing building begins to be destroyed. This is how a file system works.



File recovery Software

Anyhow what I wanted to do was give my review of the software I use. My first recommendation to you is don’t buy it! Not right away anyhow. You can download the trial version here, then scan your computer for the files you want to restore.  There is no point to buy the software if you cannot recover the data you want. Though if you ever anticipate the need in the future it is great to have handy. I keep it on a USB flash drive all the time so I can undelete files wherever I go! I have saved several of my friends’ files to their great relief!

I have tried a lot of programs over the years with varying degrees of succcess. Being a tech guy, I can use the most complex file recovery systems such as a slim Linux distro boot CD with support for drive mirroring and multiple file systems, but for a straighforward point and click application that will be sufficient in 99.9% of cases I always use Restore Deleted Files. In those 0.01% of cases you are probably better off sending your drive to data recovery specialists. There is no point to over complicate things. Just use a program that does it’s job simply and efficiently.

It is very easy, just:

1. Scan your drive for deleted files
2. Select the files you want to restore
3. Restore files and enjoy

Download “Restore Deleted Files” Software File: Restoredeletedfiles.exe Size: 9,831 KB Platforms: Vista, Windows XP, Me, 98 and 2000

Other problems

Formatted drive/Installed new OS

You might be surprised to know that you can still recover files from a formatted drive even if you installed a new Operating system over top of the old one. Remember that all the data is still on the drive (that has not been overwritten already). You just need to use a program like Restore Deleted Files to scan and recover those files.

Cannot boot computer

If your main hard drive failed, but you have files you want to recover from it, all you need to to do is remove the drive. It does note matter if it a desktop PC or a laptop. The process is pretty simple, it just involves opening the case, removing a few screws and unplugging the drive. Now you can either stick the drive in a USB drive enclosure or in another PC to read the files. If the files have been deleted already, this is again where you would use a file recovery program.

Hardware failure

If your hard drive has had a hardware failure (i.e. burnt out motor, puff of smoke, or sparks) then sending your drive to data recovery specialists is your only option. Listen to the drive when it is powered on; if you hear any of the following your drive has probably had a hardware failure:

• Clicking noise (i.e. click, click, click, click)
• Whirring (spinning) noise then click and silence, might be repeated
• Click, then powering down sound, might be repeated
• Silence

Next time someone has questions, you can direct them to this page. Here is the link if you need it: http://thetechnexus.com/archives/531

Well, I hope all this was useful info for you!  If anyone has any other questions, please leave them in the comments section and I will answer them as best I can, and happy deleting!

For those traveling with laptops and other gadgets we always have the same dilemma: portable power. Whether it is our cell phone, music player, laptop or something else we always need to have everything charged up and ready to go before we leave.

When waiting in airports it is always an incessant quest to find the nearest power outlet to juice up my gear, or at least not drain the battery so I can use it on the flight for a longer.

Now I pose this question, which is a better, the extension cord, allowing plugging in at a distance, or and extra battery for extending usage time? Just to be clear, I am talking about an extension cord with two or more outlets on the end.

Lets look at the extension cord first:

Extension Cord

An extension cord is a marvelous piece of engineering. It allows power to go farther than it ever could before, well without an extension cord anyway. The great thing is that these days you can find a power outlet just about anywhere, even out in a country town. With many devices plugged in the batteries charge up and are ready for the trek to the next place with a power outlet. It is sometimes a hassle though to get the cord out an plug everything in, but once it is set up it is sweet. You can run everything at full power in high performance mode and get the most out of your mobile experience. Though if you are on some form of transportation an outlet can be hard to find.

Now it is time to look at the battery:

Extra Battery

Ah, the marvelous battery. When they are not melting on us they provide us with the mobile juice to power all our gadgets. One main caveat is the weight and price. For cellphone batteries this is not too much of a concern, but when you talk about laptop batteries you can run into the hundreds of dollars when buying a battery, not to mention the added weight. Though when you just want to sit down and use your device, especially in a place without a convenient outlet, a battery is the way to go.

In my mind I would rather have the extension cord than the extra battery in my bag at the end of the day. I think unless you regularly take flights, trains or buses that last more than 4 hours having an extension cord in your bag is worth more than having an extra battery.

What do you think? Leave your opinions in the comments!

Update:

I was browsing the web and came across the coolest power strip (well, sort of). It is the Power squid and it looks just like it sounds. They have power regulation, surge protection, the works! It is probably the last power strip (er… squid?) you will ever need. Here, check out when it was featured on ABC News.

I found this link here that gives you 5% off, but I am not sure how long it lasts, so better be quick!: www.powersquid.com/5psoff

Update 2:

Ok, well it seems that buying batteries from the manufacturer is probably why I don’t like buying them. There is this one site, ebatts.com that sells batteries at up to 42% less than the original manufacturers batteries. Now, I was worried that because these batteries are no made by the manufacturer they would not be of quality or not last a long time, but they do have a warranty of 1 year, which is pretty standard even from the best manufacturers, and they claim to be 100% compatible as well. Also, they have a 30 day no questions asked money back guarantee, so that seems pretty safe to me.

Also, they sell Duracell batteries, and I am not talking about your AAs here, these are batteries for camcorders, phones, laptops and weird USB charging thingies. Who knew Duracell made these? I only remember the copper tops.

I looked on Google for prices for other batteries, and found ebatts’ to be, in some cases, slightly higher. Thought I read further and saw they have a guarantee on their site that says their batteries will meet or beat the originals in price and performance. With 30 day money back as well, this seems pretty good.

Oh, speaking of being a little more expensive in some cases, I managed to find this link that gives you 10% off your order. Now there is no price difference! Here it is: 10% off at eBatts.com, Free Shipping on All Orders. Again, I am not sure how long this promotion lasts, so get clicking!

Update 3:

I bought a battery from the ebatts.com website for my old Dell laptop. From what I can tell it was about 50% cheaper than my original Dell battery (if I had bought an extra one when I bought the laptop) and using it, it seems to have about the exact same of the capacity of my original Dell one… not so bad.  As for their guarantee, seems all good to me!

I suppose it was more than their “42%” claimed maximum savings because this laptop is a bit old so the prices of batteries for this one have gone down since I bought it. Well, saving more money than expected is always a nice surprise for me!

I have been reading John C. Dvorak for years. He has always had very insightful and forward thinking (if extremely opinionated)  views on the tech world around us, and for the most part, I agree with him. His latest article about “9 Reasons E-Mail Is Dead” is yet another fine read.

It reminds me of how friends would rather “Facebook” me or message me on MSN than send me an email. Even though I have push email on my phone, I seemed to always miss communications from friends due to them using channels other than the traditional email. Now, though, my Facebook messages are forwarded to my email, so it’s not so bad. Though, I still refuse to check those Twitter feeds just to know what my friends are doing every 2 seconds.

Anyhow, I think John might be right, as I always have the nagging thought in the back of my head whenever I send any email, especially important ones. Will it get flagged by spam filters? Will the servers function properly and get the message through? Will it get buried under hundreds of other mails in the recipients mailbox?

In a sense I feel that the evolution of email has moved backwards. I had none of these issues even 10 years ago when I first started using my email regularly. You just hit “send” and boom, cleanly and efficiently delivered to sender. Why can’t we re-simplify email back to those days?

Anyhow, see you on the Face-twit-space.