Free up Drive Space in Windows

Although the storage capacity of hard drives is expanding each year, files are also getting larger. High-definition movies, lossless music files and photo-realistic games quickly and quietly eat up the drive space. If your PC is running low on storage, here are some tips for you to free up some space.

1. Run Disk Cleanup Tool

Disk Cleanup is a Windows built-in tool designed to delete unwanted temporary files and junks.

You can find it under Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup. Then you could select a volume to clean. The other way to access Disk Cleanup is to right-click the drive you wish to clean in File Explorer, select Properties, and click the Disk Cleanup button under General tab.

After the tool finishes the scanning, you will see a list of options that could be cleaned, including cached Web pages, temporary application files, reports from Windows Error Reporting, Recycle Bin files and so on. If you updated your system from an older version of Windows, you will see a folder called Windows.old that is taking up a considerable amount of space.

Windows.old is not something new that comes with the free Windows 10 upgrade. Starting with Vista, when you "upgrade install" (upgrade from one version of Windows to another with a new copy of Windows), a windows.old folder will be created. The Windows.old folder contains all the files and data from your previous Windows installation, like Windows system files, installed program settings and different users accounts' files. It is a backup file in case you want to revert to the old version, or you find something missing and you want to do some digging around. 

Select the types of files you want to delete and click OK. You can go ahead and delete the Windows.old without any problem as long as you don't want to downgrade and you have every important file you need from the old version.

2. Clear Application Cache Files

Windows Disk Cleanup cleans junks and temp files created by Windows operating system, but it doesn’t affect temporary files used by other programs. Various web browsers create a lot of cache files to reduce Internet access time; various 3D design or video editing software can generate gigabytes of preview files to reduce the staggering when you preview your works. 

For example, in Chrome, click the More icon in the upper-right corner, On your browser toolbar, click More icon (three dots). Select More tools, and then click Clear browsing data. In the "Clear browsing data" box, click the checkboxes for different options. Click Clear browsing data to clear all the caches.

Before you clear application caches, you should know that deleting these files will potentially affect the efficiency when you access files and these caches will continue to be created as you use these applications.

3. Reduce the Recycle Bin size

Recycle Bin is a virtual folder that stores the information of files deleted in Window Explorer by users. It doesn't have a path or a fixed capacity. The capacity of the Recycle Bin is determined by each underlying volume size.
In Windows operating systems with NTFS filesystem, each volume has a $Recycle.Bin folder under it, which normally is set to Hidden. The capacity of Recycle Bin is the total size of each $Recycle.Bin combined. The calculation might vary in different versions of Windows but start with Windows Vista, the algorithm for default $Recycle.Bin size is ten percent of the first 40GB of volume size/quota, and five percent of any remaining volume/quota above 40GB. You can manually set the capacity of each recycle bin.

Right-click on the Recycle Bin icon and select Properties. Select the Recycle Bin Location for the drive you wish to change the Maximum size for. Select Custom Size and set the Maximum size in MB for storage you want. Click on Apply. Repeat the above steps to change the recycle bin size on other volumes.
When you finished tweaking the values, click OK to leave.

4. Reduce the Maximum Space Used for System Protection

System protection regularly creates information about system files. It can also keep copies fo system settings and previous versions of files. You can reduce the amount of hard disk space allocated to System Restore. By doing so, you will have fewer restore points available as older points will be replaced by new ones more frequently.

When you are freeing up drive space, you could sometimes inadvertently delete files you still need. When this happens, act quickly to prepare for data recovery and stop putting new files into your hard drive. The chance of a successful data recovery is very high when you act quickly and select a proper tool.

2 Useful Ways to Recover Permanently Deleted Folders in Windows

I believe a lot of  people really enjoy the feeling of frequently emptying  the Windows Recycle Bin. To see gigabytes of junks sent into oblivion and precious storage space freed up is truly satisfying. Some people won't even bother temporarily put unwanted files into Recycle Bin in the first place, they tend to use Shift + Delete to permanently delete file right away. The downside is that, when you realized you've deleted the wrong file, you won't be able to restore it from the Recycle Bin. But don't worry if this really happens to you. Here are two useful ways to recover permanently deleted files.

Restore Previous Versions

This method requires that you have enabled Windows File History feature. If you wish to restore a particular version of your current file, you can access older versions of a file by right-clicking on it in File Explorer, and then select Properties. In the new window that opens, select the Previous Versions for quick access to archival versions of your file.

You can also access these archived personal files by selecting Update & security > Backup > More options >  Restore files from a current backup.  This interface shows different versions of files that are available. Click the arrow to navigate through time periods. Browse and select any of these files and click to preview the contents. Hit the green button to restore the file of your chosen version back to your computer.

The File History feature is only available if you have enabled Windows File History feature. And this feature is limited, as it only backs up files located in user account's libraries like Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders. Rather than applications and programs, it only backs up the files you personally created.

Recover Permanently Deleted Files with H Data Recovery Software

If you failed to get back your folder with File History, you can try to recover permanently deleted files with H Data Recovery Software. Unlike the first solution, it has almost no limitations. You can recover files from emptied recycle bin, re-formatted hard drives, corrupted camera SD cards, deleted partitions...

Here's how to recover permanently deleted files with just a few steps:

Step 1. Launch H Data Recovery Software and click on the first module.

Step 2. Choose the drive where the files are used to be. Click Next to start the scan.

Step 3. The scan process could last a few seconds to complete, depending on your system. When the scan is completed, you will be able to see all the previously deleted files listed. Choose the files you want to restore and click on next.

Step 4. Select a directory to put the files that are about to be restored. Click Next to start the final recovering process. There, you should have all the files back!

How to Restore Files in Windows 10

There are many scenarios in which you would unfortunately lose data. Computer crashes, virus infection, hardware failure or even sudden power outage could bring unexpected data loss. It is recommended to have duplicates of your important files stored away in case anything goes bad. Windows 10 includes a series of tools designed to minimize the impact of data loss.

File History

File History is one of the backup programs Windows 10 offers. It saves different versions of files onto your selected hard drive. However, this feature somewhat limited, as it only backs up files located in user account's libraries like Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, and Desktop folders. If you have files or folders elsewhere that you want to be backed up, you can add them to one of these folders. Rather than applications and programs, it backs up the files you personally created.

File History automatically makes a copy of every file in these folders. It makes your backups easy to view and restore, giving you the chance to go through different versions of your files and folders, comparing them with your current versions. You can use it to restore your files if you ever lose them, or roll back a file to a preferred older version.

How to Enable File History

To enable File History, connect an external hard drive to your computer. Next, open the Settings from your Start menu. Navigate to Update & Security > Backup.

Click the Add a drive option under Back up using File History to add an external drive that File History will back up to. Once done, the Automatically back up my files option will be enabled, and Windows will automatically back up your files to the chosen external hard drive whenever you connect it to your computer.

By default, Windows File History automatically backs up your files every hour. You can customize the settings by clicking on More options. You can configure the interval between each backup (10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour, 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours, or once per day) and for how long the system is going to keep these files (1 month, 3 months, 6 months, 9 months, 1 year, 2 years, forever). The default file folders set to have backups includes the Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Music, Pictures, Videos, one drive offline and the Roaming folder where many programs store application data. You can choose to include or exclude these files in option settings per your need.

How to Restore Files from File History

Once File History is enabled, you can access older versions of a file by right-clicking on it in File Explorer, and then select Properties. In the new window that opens, select the Previous Versions for quick access to archival versions of your file.

You can also access these archived personal files by selecting Update & security > Backup > More options >  Restore files from a current backup.

This interface shows different versions of files that are available. Click the arrow to navigate through time periods. Browse and select any of these files and click to preview the contents. Hit the green button to restore the file of your chosen version back to your computer.

Data Recovery Software for Desktop PCs and Laptops

Desktop PCs and laptops have become an important part of our daily lives and an integral part of the working environment. The undesirable event of data loss could mean the loss of some treasured memories, or it could jeopardize the daily operation of businesses. Not everyone is very conscious about this risk and keeps a regular backup of their important files. What if our hard drives failed and we have no backups to fall back on?

There are so many factors that can lead to data loss:

1. Human errors. Human errors is one of the major causes of data loss. There are two kinds of human errors causing data loss, one is false operations like accidental delete or format something we don't mean to; another is causing physical damages like dropping or coffee spilling.

2. Hardware failure. Hard disk drives are fragile mechanical devices. There are many moving parts running at such a high speed that any sudden impact or movement can lead to potential disaster. Aside from that, there are also chances you just have a hard disk with manufacturing defects. 

3. Virus infection or malware. Data loss could be a side effect or main purpose of a virus infection. The battle between virus and anti-virus are constantly evolving. It is safer to make regular backups than wishing the wall holds up against the ravages.

4. Power failure. Power failure has two adversary effects. One is that the data in volatile memory not being saved to permanent memories. For example, you were writing a paper and the power went off before you could save your file. Another is the sudden power outage damaging hard disk. Cutting off power while the hard disk is working can result in bad sectors or damaged partition table, rendering the data inaccessible.

How to Recover Data from Desktop PC and Laptops

We can divide the data-loss situation into two categories: logical data loss and physical data loss. Logical data loss means data is inaccessible due to deletion, partition corruption, partition deletion, format, reinstall, virus etc. In short, the storage media is in fine working condition but the file system is damaged or the data housed by the file system is latent or corrupt. Physical or mechanical data loss means the data is no longer accessible because the storage media is no longer operational. Hard drives may not be operational due to damage to the Printed Circuit Board, read/write head failure or platter damage. No matter what caused the data loss, we should immediately stop using the hard drive to avoid secondary damage to the data. This is important because it can affect how successful the data recovery will be.

Although we might need professional assistance from technicians to handle physical data loss, we can easily perform the recovery from logical data loss on our own by using professional data recovery software such as H Data Recovery Software. Performing data recovery with H Data Recovery Software is very simple. According to your data loss situation, you may choose from one of the 6 modules this software has to offer. These situations include accidental deletion, emptied recycle bin, deletion from flash drives like USB flash drives or SD cards, accidental formatting of drives, damaged or lost partitions, etc.

Step 1. Launch H Data Recovery Software and select one module by clicking it.

Step 2. Select the partition where your files used to be before they get deleted. If you wish to recover files on Desktop, choose partition (C:). Click Next to start the scan process.

Step 3. When scanning is done, you will be able to see all the files that can be recovered. Check the files you wish to recover and click next to start the recovering process. 

Step 4. (Optional) If the scanning process failed to find your lost file, try our new feature "Universal Recovery". It is a special module that conducts a thorough scan and tries to find and reconstitute every deleted files.

Step 5. Choose a directory or device to store the recovered files. Do not put new files into that partition in order to avoid deleted files being overwritten.

CPU Overheating? What is the Right Temperature for CPU

CPU is the core of a computer. It naturally produces heat while carrying out algorithms and processing data. Although computers are designed with heat dispersion in mind, we may still under certain circumstances suffer from overheating problems like random shutdowns, blue screens or freezes.

As part of the PC’s own cooling system, the motherboard can instruct components to shut down as a fail-safe if it fails to bring the temperature down. Another annoying problem that caused by overheating is the noise produced by the ventilation fans as they try desperately to do their job, which is keeping the whole system cool.

Generally speaking, the CPU idle temperature (computer idling at Windows desktop not doing any processing) is within 50°C. When handling demanding tasks, the normal temperature should be around 50-60°C. The max temperature, which is the highest  safe temperature recommended by manufacturers is around 70°C. Most CPUs will begin to automatically downscale frequency once they hit 95 to 105°C. If temperatures rise further, the CPU will shut itself down to avoid permanent damage. These temperatures may vary a little, depending on your CUP brand and type.

There are still some external factors that will affect CPU temperature

1. Ambient room temperatures can affect CPU temps by 5 to 10°C. CPU tends to overheat in summer days as the heat builds up more quickly, especially when the ventilation is poor.

2. A computer case with poor airflow design is more likely to cause overheating than a spacious case with excellent ventilation fans. Keep that in mind when choosing computers or computer cases to avoid potential heating problems. Keep the side panels open for ventilation is not recommended. Dust may clog up fans or settle on circuits.

3. Overclocking CPUs generates more heat. Electricity powering your computer is the reason why your computer becomes hot. When overclocking, increasing the frequency requires increasing the CPU core voltage for stability, which in turn generates more heat.

You can prevent your computer from overheating by regularly dusting out the computer cases. Too much dust may clog fans and trap heat inside computer cases, preventing the system from cooling itself. Also, make sure that the fan is working properly and the shaft well oiled. Overclocking will heat up your machine and cause potential problems unless you find the balance between heating and ventilation. Throttle back if you can't contain the power.

USB Flash Drive Circuit Failures

USB flash drives gain their popularity by their portable size and relatively large storage capacity. It is very convenient to store and transfer data with a USB flash drive but they do sometimes fail.

Even without any error, a USB stick may eventually go bad due to the limited lifespan of the internal memory chip. However finite the numbers may be, it probably will never be reached on any device with normal use. USB drive failures are more often caused by various errors. It could be software failures like corrupted lookup table, or it could be circuit failure, which we will elaborate in this article.

1. Weak USB head solder joint

After repeatedly plugging and unplugging, the solder joint connecting the USB head and the circuit may become weak and come off. This may result in the computer not being able to recognize USB device when it is plugged. In this case, we need to open up the case and re-soldering the connector. Some USB drive cases can't be put back together nicely after being opened up. It is a choice you have to make.

2. Damaged Crystal Oscillator

Unusual voltage fluctuation caused by bad surface mount can often lead to damaged crystal oscillator. When crystal oscillator is damaged, the USB drive would appear dead - the computer can't detect the device when plugged in nor will the LEDs flicker. By replacing crystal oscillator, we can bring the USB back to life.

3. USB mass storage controller damage

The computer can detect a new device has been connected to it but unable to recognize what it is. This is very likely a controller failure. Replace the controller with spare parts from the same brand and type USB drive will solve the problem.

4. NAND Memory Failure

NAND flash memory chip is where the data are stored. Chances are the USB drive will be obsolete or long retired before the memory chip is used enough to reach the read/write limit. If anything tragic other than merely weak soldering does happen to the NAND memory chips and you are concerned about the safety of data stored inside, bring it to data recovery experts for inspection and repair. The NAND memory chip must be removed and read with an external reader, then the lookup table will be reconstructed to recover your data. It will require the right tools and trained experts to perform such task.

Engineers in Hdata Recovery are skilled and experienced professionals dedicated to data recovery. If you have any question using Hdata Recovery Software, don't hesitate to contact our 24/7 supports and get help.

How to recover data from an optical disk

Small knowledge you should know about optical disk: The optical disk could be classified into many types, like CD-ROM, DVD-ROM and CD-RW, DVD-RAM, the former can’t be erased but the latter could.

There are different cases of data loss on the optical disk.

1. Scratch on the optical disk;

2. Optical disk got cracked;

3. Optical disc’s contents can not be read after a long term storage;

4. Optical disk got formatted;

5. Optical disc got damaged.

And there are various means for data recovery from an optical disk.

1. The optical disk don’t play smoothly or have no reaction after implanted to the device caused by the scratch. You can wipe it using the special fabric or water, or rub the central circle on the optical disk by toothpaste if there are only some slight scratches. Do not use the ordinary water or tissue, or it will hurt the disk’s surface.  

2. You have to buy a new one if the optical disk got cracked.

3. If the optical disk’s contents can’t be read after a long term storage, you could try some data recovery software for restoration. As the optical disk could be saved for decades or more theoretically, and it could be damaged just by wrong store patterns.

4. There are two different situations for formatted optical disk.

Neither failure on the optical disk nor formatted optical disk by mistake, if it is a erasable one, data restoration by yourself seems like pie in the sky.

If the optical disk can’t be erased, you can use a data recovery software to recover the missing data caused by formatting or (not hardware) reasons.  

PS: Here are some tips for you.

1. Don’t do any operation to your storage device if it got data loss, as writing data casually or running program could type in new data, and it will enhance difficulty of data recovery, not only the messy code or files unreadable, but also result in second-damage of data in the serious situation.

2. Use a professional data recovery software for data restoration, as the mountain fatness one may arouse more serious data loss.

Pay attention to the maintenance of optical disk, put it in the special box during its idle time, and too high or low temperature is disadvantage to the optical disk, for its suitable temperature is about 20°.

How to recover data from a external hard drive

My external hard drive has been broken, can I retrieve data from it?

The answer is absolutely “Yes”.

First, analysis of specific case.

1. Data loss caused by deleting files or folder permanently, formatting or re-partition hard disk. 

You can recover the missing data in this case via using a professional data recovery software or seeking help from professionals.  

2. Data loss caused by storage media damaged, like hard disk broken or unreadable, bad track of hard disk, etc. 

Though data loss could be more seriously in this case, it has a high possible of retrieving.

Pay attention: Once data got lost you should stop all the unnecessary operations on the computer. Do not write new data to the hard disk error deleted or formatted; do not charge the hard disk that are broken; do not read the disk repeatedly if there are bad tracks.

Second, main reasons leading to data loss from a external hard drive.

1. Low security awareness of users.

Neither enterprise nor individual users have a strong security awareness. People all think that everything will be OK if anti-virus software has been installed on the computer. With this thought of over-reliance on anti-virus software, users will neglect the importance of protecting data itself and ensure that the anti-virus is everything until data disaster happens. And that is very dangerous.

2. Got infected.

Virus or hacker attacks is the chief man-made cause for data loss. The technology of attacking arises along with the continuously upgrading of anti-virus software, hackers could easily break into computer equipped with firewall, and spread virus in a few minutes.

3. System failures.

Faults in hard disk, system or hardware can also lead to data loss, with its behaviors like missing data, unreadable hard disk, noise in the hard disk, not-working computer. But sometimes these symptoms could be aroused by the installed software.

4. Natural reasons.

Though the minimal likelihood, natural disaster like lightening, storm, or sudden cut of power could lead to data loss too.

Third, means of data recovery caused by different reasons.

Sometimes people think there is little hope of data restoration, but we can retrieve it through proper means.

1. We could take advantage of a third-party professional data recovery software to recover the missing data caused by logical errors like virus attacking or mistaken deletion.

2. We have to seek help from professional for data recovery if it is caused by physical errors, like damaged hard disk or hardware burned out.

How to recover data from a formatted USB disk

The USB disk, a mobile memory device, with features of lightweight and fast transmission speed, plays a critical role in our life and career. We need to clean the USB space once there isn’t enough storage available while saving or transporting files with large size. Generally, formatting is a common method used to clean the USB disk, which could make errors easily during operation and cause data loss.

How to recover data from a formatted USB disk becomes a major headache. Using data recovery software is the easiest and quickest way for restoration. And Hdata Recovery Software is the outstanding one, a green software with powerful data recovery ability, which could recover data loss from lots of situations like formatted hard disk, recycle bin, hard disk partition, etc besides USB disk.

Procedure of data recovery from a formatted USB by Hdata Recovery Software.

1. Plug the formatted USB disk into PC, with it’s icon could be displayed after selecting “computer-removable disk”.

2. Install Hdata Recovery Software and run the program. Choose “U-Disk & Memory Card Data Recovery” in the interface.

3. Select the formatted USB disk and click “scanning”. If the missing data has been found during scanning process, you could click “interrupt” to finish.

4. Click the file you want to restore, with it’s specific file contents as type, size, name, etc could be seen in the interface, then click “next”.

5. Click “browse” to select storage path for the recovered files. You can save the files on PC for avoiding overwritten. Then click “next”, just wait till it finished.

Tips: If the missing file hasn’t been found yet, you can use “Universal Recovery” mode to scan again.

How to recover my files that can’t be opened or unreadable

Computer is one of our essentials, making us more easier both live and work. And we also got stumped when computer was acting up. How to recover files from a malfunctioning computer becomes our priority.

First, we need to figure out why files can’t be opened normally or unreadable. In general, it is caused by hard disk partition table damage, with it’s partition information can’t be correctly read by the system. Furthermore, there are other common reasons.

1 Mobile devices.

Plugging the mobile devices in a incorrect way, like during reading process, that will result in file directory damaged or unreadable.

2 Inferior electronics.

Not only the key component of hard disk, but also poor data lines and power wires are the cause of unstable circuit, leading to error addressing, misreading or damaged file directory information.

3 Virus.

Unreadable files may caused by virus, which infected computer and led to wrong data or damaged files.

4 Accident.

Something unexpected happened while adjusting partition by tools or sudden power failure can lead to file directory corrupted either.

5 Poor mobile storage devices.

It could be bad mobile storage device’s fault for unreadable files.

What could we do about that?

Cease all operations running on the computer first, for avoiding of overwritten. Do not format partitions in a panic or do other wrong delete operations, that will increase the difficulty of data recovery and have inferior data restoration. Then you can

1.Select “properties-security” on the right-click menu of RAW disk, delete the useless user, add the user name of yours, then change the modify permissions to “full control”.

2.Choose the control panel on the start menu, select “local security policy-security options-network access”. Change “guest only” to “classic” in the sharing and security model for local accounts, then exit. Click “computer”, choose “security” on the right-click menu of disk that has been changed to RAW, delete the messy code then add local user of computer.

3.Change disk’s name. E.g. There are C/D/E/F and F is the RAW disk, just change F to E.

4.Download a data recovery software like Hdata Recovery Software to restore the crashed disk partition.

5.Click “start-programs-accessories-command prompt” on the start menu, type in “chkdek disk:/f”. e.g.”chkdek:H:/f”.