I lost all of my chess books and videos...

...and in one fell swoop, no less. Used an external hard drive to transfer my files to a new PC, but I couldn't carry any huge files over because they needed to be archived, so I cut all the chess files and pasted them  directly to the disk, then my USB cable got accidentally unplugged while some other files were being transferred, and as a result, I lost all of my chess training and learning material. ALL OF IT. 40+GB that had been collected over the span of some seven years... all down the drain.

I continued on playing online without any additional resources like that, but my game has been slowly deteriorating, and I need to get back on track with my chess improvement. The thing is, the sites that I'd been downloading from are all dead, and coaching is expensive, so I'm in a bit of a pickle there. Any good suggestions? Thank you in advance.

You might still be able to recover most or all of the files from either the old PC or the external hard drive by using a file recovery program like TestDisk, PhotoRec, or Recuva.

Try not to use the hard drive that you're wanting to recover files from; You'll want to minimize the possibility of overwriting the deleted files.

It might be best to run the file recovery program from a Live CD/DVD/USB flash drive. Hirens Boot CD 15.2 contains all three file recovery programs that I mentioned. Also, Parted Magic ver 2013.02.28 (the last free version) and Ultimate Boot CD 5.3.5 contain TestDisk and PhotoRec. I can get you links if you need help in that department.

Hi Talekhine93,

I agree with the words of EscherehcsE, that you can recover your files using a File recovery programs. Apart from Testdisk, Photorec or Recuva, there is one software known as Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery - Professional software which will help you in recovering your files from different storage media such as External or Internal Hard Drives, Memory Cards, etc.

You can try your luck with this tool.

EscherehcsE and oliverpowell, I didn't believe I could state my case in such a profoundly inaccurate manner, but here we are now nevertheless.

The problem is that I've already returned the broken disk (it was still under guarantee, so I traded it for a new one when I was told that its initialisation error meant that I'd either have to part with my data or send it to Belgrade, where they'd attempt to extract it for quite a high price), so that alley has long been shut and sealed. Also, I don't get how one can recover files that have simply been cut from the hard drive.

I'd appreciate an alternate solution that involves me somehow moving on from my loss (sounds so dramatic, lol). I don't know what it will take, I only know that it's pointless for me to continue living in the past and being bitter that I have been robbed not of a game result, but of a means to learn and improve... by something that I can only describe as a blunder. Cut all your chess videos instead of copying it? Refuse to buy a longer cable and stick to the short one that keeps unplugging? I was practically ASKING for it, and I'm sorry for ever having tempted fate like that... but I can only go forward anyhow. It's just that I don't actually know the best free way to do it.

Oh...In that case, never mind...

Lesson learned - If your data is important to you, back it up (in multiple ways). Hard drives WILL fail; It's only a matter of when. (I realize in this case, it was operator error.)

I guess you have a new chess adventure to embark upon, lol. Good luck, and have fun!

How did you lose these files. If you purchased them legally through Kindle or Kobo (just to name two) you should be able to download new copies for free. If you didn't buy them legally, I have sympathy for your broken heart but.... etc. 

Eshcerehcse sums it up nicely: start afresh with new books and videos! Don;t bother replacing the past.

So you downloaded a LOT of content such as books from various sites and your hard disk crashed?  By the sound of it, karma just got you.  Sorry if I got the wrong end of the stick, but if you have downloaded a bunch of stuff without paying for it then I am afraid you will get very little sympathy from me.

Maybe the info is still in the clipboard. Couldn't hurt to try pasting it again. Also I lost a bunch of files once because of something similar, after ctrl+Z it all came back. Probably won't work now but worth a shot. 

i cant speak to those books specifically, but seriously...the worlds largest chess library wont help students at your level. You just need a few specific books, perhaps an endgame book and one or two about pawn structure, and that will take you a long way.

Thanks for the new/updated and improved answers, everyone!

I agree about embarking on a new chess adventure, probably with new chess books - after all, even if my playing strength didn't fluctuate during the last 14 months or so, today I still wouldn't be the same chess player that I was back then. Times change, and so must I. I'll try my best to find some of the books that I remember were useful to me. And while it's true that much of what I collected was superficial (for example, I have never used any opening book for checking more than just a few lines I was interested in and/or kept getting in my games), I'd also like to find material which doesn't teach me what I already know. Not that I don't ever forget anything that I've learnt, but for example, I wouldn't like to study Vuković's "Art of Attack" if attacking's not one of my main weaknesses... you get the picture. If I can recognise all of my skill deficiencies, I can seek and find what I really need.

Having said that, I don't know if I'll be able to notice all of my weaknesses without a coach, so... I hope to come across material that presents itself very clearly and to the point, otherwise I'll be learning unnecessary stuf that'll clog my mind without a good reason.

Hi Talekhine93,

I agree with the words of EscherehcsE that taking a backup is necessary to avoid the situation of Data Loss. Also, there is nothing which comes for free not even a full version of any recovery software. If your data is valuable to you, then you have to spend some money on any of the recovery software.

All the best for your files and Good Luck!

Well, I don't know if 'Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery - Professional' is better than TestDisk/PhotoRec, but I do know that TestDisk/PhotoRec are open source, cross-platform, and 100% free (GPL2+).