BleepingComputer.com: Kangaroo drive erased

I'm new to forum. On her Gateway, Vista O. S. laptop, my wife lost over 200 file folders in her external Kangaroo drive yesterday (she's been hooked up for a year on Vista). She downloaded trial copy of Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2 and the Kangaroo disappeared from the drive list. Windows said "Cannot find drivers." Inserted Kangaroo disc, no USP driver for Vista. (She started on an XT.) Rebooted laptop a couple times and Kangaroo reappeared on list but with only one file folder a tech put on last year and Corel. Called our tech contractor and, linking to our computer, he said he found no files but those we saw on the Kangaroo. Did not suggest files could be recovered. Wife has some backups, but how did this happen and is it worth downloading some retrieval software or going into town 30 miles to visit local tech?

<<...but how did this happen and is it worth downloading some retrieval software or going into town 30 miles to visit local tech?>>

Anything manmade...can malperform...at anytime. Something could operate as a trigger for nonperformance...it may just happen that a critical element suddenly becomes missing or unable to perform.

Only you can determine the value which should be placed on the files you currently cannot access.

I will say this: I have a program which has enabled me to retrievd data from troublesome/failing hard drives...and each file I have has nothing but a personal value to me. I have the software because I see no sense in not having it...if the possibility exists that I may need it someday. I don't expect my hard drives to last forever or to always behave appropriately. I have backups...but if it can be retrieved (at a neglible cost), I will retrieve the data.

My software cost me less than $100 and has proven useful on two occasions....it's part of what I consider the cost of playing with computers every day .

Not all recovery software costs...I just find that I feel more confident in the software after I've tried it and it's done the job. I don't mind then paying for it, just as I pay in excess of $100 per month for Internet access, cable TV, and digital phone.

I don't have to buy the software monthly .

Louis

plannu, on Jul 15 2009, 04:36 PM, said:

Did she check to see if the trial copy was clean before she installed it? Depending on the site, it may have had more in it than the Corel program; I dl'd a copy of a trial once and it had a couple of nasties with it - never again, except from a site that's safe, and only if I think I'll buy the program, not just to spend some time fooling around with something. Why not contact the support folks at Corel to see if they can help.