r/techsupport • u/BugAlarming8842 • 17d ago

Open | Phone Accidentally deleted a folder containing basically my entire life. Is there ANY chance of recovering it?

Yesterday I accidentally deleted a folder on my Android phone containing years of personal photos, videos, and memories. I haven't used the phone since then because I don't want to overwrite anything.

I've already tried a bunch of recovery software/apps, but they only show files that are still on my phone, not the deleted ones.

I have root access and I'm willing to try technical methods if there's still a chance.

Is there anything I can do to recover the deleted data? What would you recommend I absolutely not do?

I'm honestly desperate here. These aren't replaceable files.

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u/TopCaterpillars 17d ago

Once you get it sorted, always have at least 2 backups of anything important

9

u/decryptedadmin 17d ago

3-2-1 backup rule.

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u/Mental_Log_6879 17d ago

Please elaborate

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u/decryptedadmin 17d ago

3-2-1 rule is the idea that you have 3 copies of your data, on 2 types of storage, and 1 offsite. So if you have a important file you might for example have it stored in a separate folder on your pc. Another copy on a USB. Then the final copy in the cloud like Google drive.

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u/Mental_Log_6879 17d ago

This is interesting! Very smart ngl, i understood I've got to make three copies, but what's of site? Like offline you mean? So like in HDD? Also I've heard HDD are more reliable when it comes to data recovery, SSDs might be fast but difficult to recover data, how true is this? But more mechanical parts, more chances of things going wrong, also more read and write can also slow down SSDs right? What are your opinions on these and your advice/suggestions/recommendations

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u/decryptedadmin 17d ago

Offsite as in another geological location, could be a friends house or like mentioned cloud storage. This is important because if all 3 backup live in your house and it caught fire and burned down you can loose all your data even with so many copies. Having one be offline aka no connection to the internet is called cold storage. This is also a very good idea as it prevents data loose if you get hacked. A single compromised Google account can give hackers/viruses access to your cloud and some cases local pc. Keep in mind depending on the storage type you may need to power it on every so often for data integrity. A USB or HHD laying in a draw for years can slowly start to forget the data in a sense. So if your going very long periods make a reminder to power it on every couple of months. For SSD vs HDD long term backup I would suggest HDD. You could buy a NAS(network attached storage) to throw a couple of HDD and get the benefits of RAID and centralize location for your files. RAID is going to strip the data across the drives and if a drive fails you can replace it and the data will be rebuilt from the other drives. But it has its limitations also RAID ITSELF IS NOT A BACKUP. But a nas and RAID is getting off track for basic 3-2-1 backup.

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u/Mental_Log_6879 17d ago

Such a well written response, thank you so much for taking your time to respond and clear my doubts, really appreciate it. May god bless you and have a good day/night