BleepingComputer.com: Perm deletion/recovery

I recently used Eraser, a free overwriter, to eradicate personal documents on a drive I intend to sell. The problem is I also deleted a writing folder with manuscripts I would've liked to have kept. I did the 35-pass overwrite. Is there a way to recover the files I want after this, or am I simply going to be forced to eat the loss? I've tried using file recovery hardware and so far none of them can find what I want.

If it helps, I've also done a system restore--a complete rewrite--in the month prior to deleting these files via Eraser. A few of the documents existed prior to the rewrite. Since Eraser only targets specific areas where the files you choose are located, could it also be possible to recover a few of them from the older versions, as well? Outdated manuscripts yes, but a partial loss is nowhere near as bad as a complete loss.

35 passes??
i believe they're toast

Any file you targeted, as well as the internal link used by the OS to find it, is gone and completely overwritten. Even a professional service will only be able to recover fragments here and there, if they can recover anything at all.
Unless you have earlier versions, or copies stored elsewhere on your hard drive or on a disk, I am afraid the files you want are gone forever.
Sorry,
John

It took the West Germans 10 years to recover the Stasi data, but they did. Nothing seems to ever be permanently gone. It might be worth getting a second opinion from Ontrack, telling them exactly what you did and seeing what they say. They are not fee. They are here:

www.ontrackdatarecovery.com