Do BIBM images contain deleted files 'under the surface'?

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schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Do BIBM images contain deleted files 'under the surface'?

Post by schmibble »

This has probably been asked before, but I've done a few searches and can't find any relevant posts. I know that BIBM takes a snapshot of an HD's _structure_, but does it get all the 1s & 0s _exactly_ as they are? I suspect not since the images are smaller than the drive itself, but thought I'd ask anyway. Here's the problem:

Most posts are about just using an image in the event that your HD goes bonkers and you need to get your system back to where it used to be. But what if you find that you need to recover data deleted some time ago (and emptied from Windows recycle bin), after which you used bibm to securely wipe the drive so that it's definitely gone forever?

I have GetDataBack, quite a nice and effective little app, but once BIBM does a gov-grade wipe, obviously the data is totally gone from the drive as it currently stands and no-one and nothing is going to get it back. However, what about an image taken BEFORE the wipe? When the image was taken, the data was already deleted from Windows and the recycle bin emptied, so the data would no longer have been available to the OS, but the image was taken prior to the wipe, soon after deletion, at a time when the data would still have been available for recovery with something like GetDataBack. Can I restore that image and then use GetDataBack to get at that deleted data? Again, I suspect not, but it never hurts to check.
schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Re: Do BIBM images contain deleted files 'under the surface'

Post by schmibble »

Oh yeah, and no, I do not have an image of the drive prior to the point at which this data was deleted. At the time it was considered completely disposable and not worth backing up.

As you might surmise, it's not all that important in any event, so if the answer to my Q is No, it's not the end of the world. Just asking.
TeraByte Support(PP)
Posts: 1644
Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am

Re: Do BIBM images contain deleted files 'under the surface'

Post by TeraByte Support(PP) »

The backup would have to include unused sectors so it gets everything (enable the "Backup Unused Sectors" option).
schmibble
Posts: 22
Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:45 am

Re: Do BIBM images contain deleted files 'under the surface'

Post by schmibble »

OK, thanks for the info (I didn't remember that there was such an option).
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