Luckily, these days - data is retrievable to a much greater extent than it was when I lost my data so it's a pretty straightforward process.
I'll refrain from comments on your opinion, except for the "Pretty straightforward process" bit.
Straightforward:
The full scan returned
1,239,000 files in 10,596 file folders.
201,959 files were corrupted or unrecognizable by the software.
A partial list:
3D Studio Max 3,590
3D Studio 353
Photoshop 6,250
Bitmaps 111,968
Targa 400
Zip files 2,521
Cab files 1,697
.bgl 43.320
The 3DS Max files are recovered in a format not recognized by my version of Max. To read the files requires I purchase a different version of Max, once I find out which version the files are saved in
The Photoshop files are recoverable, but require I open each one, determine what it is and save it out to a new file structure.
The bitmaps are a bigger pile of the same.
The Zip files are corrupted, requiring that I re-download every zip I ever purchased or acquired.
The purchase records were lost along with the serial numbers.
Ancillary point:
My research is a total loss. I retain most of it in memory, but when engaged in a debate with someone like yourself who is less acquainted with facts I prefer to be able to point to data. Most of the research I do requires obtaining data before it is purged from the internet. Case in point, a forensic study by Mark Skidmore a Michigan State University PHD in economics and his team of graduate students who documented $21 trillion (above the $22 trillion official US debt) in un-adjusted expenditures by the Department of Defense and HUD in the US. I was able to link to and download the actual financial reports from .gov sources before they were purged three days later. The Skidmore study prompted an official response in the form of a bit of quiet legislation, FASB56 eliminated transparency in DOD spending. That didn't get purged BTW, so I downloaded it to christen my new research databank.
Back to the straightforward part.
To re-assemble my data I would need to cross reference every recovered file to every
other recovered file of the
1,239,000 files scanned. Doing the math that's a really big number, probably around the 21 trillion I referenced above. The alternative is to hire a DOD level forensic team to run their recovery algorithms to recover my data intact. That runs about $3,000 an hour, depending on who one hires.
I've spent the better part of the week going through the Photoshop files. Luckily I am retrieving a large percentage of my original, layered work intact. I've done about two thousand files...only four thousand to go. I can also retrieve much of my mesh and bitmap work from my published work, but those will require reverse engineering and much re-building to create my 6 aircraft projects, five scenery projects and scenery library models which number in the thousands. The autogen and vegetation models are another huge project...thousands more.
The rest of the million plus files...well, I'll get to those down the road.
In My Humble Opinion
I find it mildly ironic that a company with the market cap of Microsoft cannot provide a data recovery service for the tens of thousands who have suffered catastrophic loss as a result of their software. The former Chairman, Mr. Gates has topped the 100 Billion mark, along with Mr. Bezos, and dedicates his philanthropic work to farming medical mosquitoes and pumping heavy metals into the atmosphere. He does
not maintain a foundation for victims of the monopolistic business practices of his former company. I have however, taken comfort over the course of the week in the fact that I have received no less than five notices from MS congratulating me on the MS bonus points I recently "earned" that will allow me to acquire a viking helmet, or perhaps some other trinket to highlight my status as a loyal Windows "user".
You sir, know precisely nothing of my situation and are in possession of no knowledge that entitles you to tell me what I should or should not learn. Your remark is wholly reprehensible and inappropriate. I attempt to conduct myself as a gentleman on this forum, but I do have my limits.
