I am happy to announce that we’ve made significant progress with our new data recovery application. So far we have fully implemented and tested:

1. ScanDisk - repairs logical FAT errors, recovers lost cluster chains, fixes directory entry problems. Checks for bad sectors and recovers data from bad sectors.

2. Undelete - recovers deleted files from storage cards.

We are in the process of implementing the 3rd module:

3. Unformat - recovers files from formatted / severely damaged volumes.

The beta will be released in days. Stay tuned!

Greetings and Happy New Year!

Wizcode Data Recovery Mobile is entering early alpha testing. There are 3 main modules in the application:

ScanDisk - Wizcode ScanDisk Mobile is a powerful system tool which you can use to scan your storage cards for errors caused by improper shut-downs, application errors, system crashes, viruses, and other problems. Using ScanDisk to scan and correct problems to your Windows Mobile device can fix damage caused to critical Windows Mobile files, improving system performance in the process.

Undelete - Wizcode Undelete is able to recover deleted files and folders from storage devices using the FAT file system. All three (FAT12, FAT16, and FAT32) FAT variations are supported.

Unformat - Wizcode Unformat is an advanced data recovery tool that uses zero-assumption data recovery techniques to find fragments of known file types on a storage card even if the file system is damaged or missing. Effectively restores data from formatted storage cards.

List of known issues:

1) Unformat is disabled in this version. We are adding a second pass of scanning and reconstruction of directory entries which helps determine exact file sizes, names and other vital attributes. We need about a week to get everything in place. The first pass file recognition is already working.

2) Help file - some sections are missing from the current help file. We are aware of that and will add the missing sections in the next beta (see above).

3) FAT backup option is currently not working. This should be fixed in the next beta as well

4) Desktop installers are not available. We decided to change our default desktop installer with a more reliable one. It is fully working and testing but we need to polish some of the UI part (logos, disclaimers etc).

Wizcode Data Recovery Mobile can be downloaded here:

.CAB file, WM2003 devices
.CAB file, WM5 devices
.CAB file, WM6 devices

Start the corresponding .CAB file on your device to install the application.

Post any issues / bugs discovered and other related comments in this thread.

Expect more beta products from Wizcode in January 2009!

Anton

Brian Booth - 02 January 2009 03:07 AM

Hi
  I have just downloaded the cab to my ipaq 214 and it failed to install on my device. I just got a readout the installation was unsuccessful.

Regards Brian

Hi Brian,
I am currently running a copy on my iPaq 214 without any issues. Are you using the WM6 .CAB? Can you describe the scenario you used to install and include any error messages received? Thanks!

A few notes on this new product:

Installation:

Do not install Wizcode Data Recovery Mobile (WDRM) on a storage card or you won’t be able to run any of the features on that card.

Unlike Pocket Mechanic, WDRM is opening FAT volumes in exclusive mode. This is a must for successful data recovery and ScanDisk. Although there is a setting that allows working from the same storage card, it is currently not exposed for safety reasons. Exclusive access to the storage card guarantees proper synchronization with the operating system layers. Another benefit is that you won’t have to soft reset the device after running any of the modules.

Evolution framework:

WDRM is based on our new Evolution framework. You will notice the new style immediately when you run the application. Note the changed user interface and the WM5/6 style menus. Application is loading much faster than Pocket Mechanic because resources are now kept in .DLL libraries, one for each resolution which in turn dramatically reduces the size of the executable.

Check the new launcher we are introducing in Evolution - it has large buttons, is touch-friendly and adds to the overall look and feel of the application. Note the small applet running at the bottom of the launcher - it currently displays a clock and the current date but we will add more indicators like a battery indicator, cpu load monitor and possibly other features - you name them!

HTML help:

A good HTML help was missing in our all previous products. All Evolution based products will come with a detailed help available on the device. Tap the “Help” icon or choose File->Help->Help to view it. We will also be adding context sensitive help in all dialogs so for example if you are in ScanDisk settings and choose help you will see the help section for that dialog.

Phoenix and FATFS libraries:

WDRM also integrates with Phoenix Data Recovery which in turn uses the FAT File System API library. These two libraries contain a serious piece of work written in Wizcode in the past two years. They are the most advanced and reliable FAT libraries currently available for Windows Mobile.

Testing Wizcode Data Recovery Mobile:

ScanDisk - this could sound familiar but this is not the same ScanDisk we have in Pocket Mechanic. It has been greatly enhanced and improved. The new ScanDisk is able to recover FAT mismatch errors, recover various folder and directory entry issues and rescue much more data than the old one.

Undelete - the first utility able to recover deleted files from a storage card. I should say this utility can compete with the most powerful similar desktop utilities. It is able to rescue files and folders and even restore the original file names (both long and short ones) with just a few clicks of the stylus. Please note that data recovery can only be guaranteed in case the files/folders to be recovered were contiguous (not fragmented) and were not overwritten by new files/data. Try deleting a few files from a storage card and then run Undelete to recover them.

Well, I will post some more info later on Enjoy!

Hi to all,

i am sorry for the uploaded invalid cab-files. We are going to update them with the correct set in the next few hours.

Thank you.

Best regards, Vasil

Issue fixed, please re-download the correct .CAB files (links above). WM6 does not seem to like compressed .CAB files so now they will be a bit larger

Let me know your feedback on the installation process.

Anton

There is a problem with the Firefox download manager - it does not recognize the new CAB file size. So you need to clear the browser cache in order to get the correct CAB file or another (and easy) solution is to copy the link (and open it) in another browser (it works for me with Apple Safari).

Best regards, Vasil

The new .CAB files are about 2MB large while the old ones are ~1.3MB. So if your .CAB file is ~2MB you’ve got the correct file. Otherwise you will have to clear your browser’s cache and re-download or download in a different browser.

If that does not work I will change the .CAB file names on our server.

daak - 02 January 2009 12:29 PM

Anton
i just install new cab file , all okay
now i go to Scan Disk and it does not reconise my sd card which is a 8GB Kingston
i go to Pocket Mechanic and this finds my card like normal .
daak

daak, I will email you with a debug build that will produce a log file. Which version do you need, is it the WM6 one? I am assuming Undelete does not see the card as well, right?

Anton

mkss55442 - 02 January 2009 03:23 PM

Hi Anton,
I was able to install the uncompressed WM6 CAB on my x51v. I registered with the code you sent. Every time I try to run either ScanDisk or Undelete, I get a pop-up that the evaluation period has ended. When I close that window, I’m taken to the registration page which shows the program as registered.
Mark

Fixed, new cabs are on the server. The application had to be restarted after registration in order to get rid of the evaluation reminder messages. Should be ok now.

cscoot03 - 02 January 2009 05:00 PM

I am about to hard reset my Treo 800w put in an empty card & then download this program.  Yes I have a Mogul but I’m going to use the 800w 1st. Question: will this work on my 6.1 800w & 6.1 Mogul since this is a 6.0 program? Thank You.

It will work on both devices - the WM6 build is for WM6 and WM6.1 devices.

So ... any feedback yet?

What do you like and what you don’t like, what works and what doesn’t, what would you like to see more in this application?

Come on, we need your opinion to bring back a great product!

Update - new .CAB files uploaded to the server.

v1.02 should fix the issue with 8GB SDHC cards not being recognized on some devices.

Looking forward to your feedback!

Anton

mkss55442 - 03 January 2009 02:49 PM

Hi Anton,
Thanks for the instructions to restart the application. As a reminder I have an x51v running WM6.1. Both ScanDisk and Undelete modules are fast. The graphics look great.

I’ve run scandisk on both my 16GB SD and 4GB CF cards. Errors were found that I fixed on my CF card. I’m a little hesitant to do anything to the SD card before I back it up. After fixing the scandisk errors on the CF card, a rescan showed no remaining errors. One thing I like to see is a click & hold option to fix an error if you don’t choose to automatically fix errors.

I next ran the Undelete module on my CF card. I picked one file and one folder to recover. Both were recovered. I was able to re-delete the file but the folder name starts with a square and ends with ~1. I am unable to delete the folder because of the name. I’ve tried to delete it thru ActiveSync and with VirtualExplorer and Resco Explorer. None are able to delete it. I’m concerned that it may take a reformat to get rid of the folder. One other thing I noticed is all of the “recoverable” folders are 0 bytes, which sort of makes sense but if there’s stuff in them wouldn’t the size indicate the contents? One needed improvement is to rename recovered folders so they are re-deletable.

As I’m typing I got notified that version 1.02 is available. Haven’t tried that yet. Hope you have a solution to deleting the goofy folder on my CF card

Thanks,
Mark

Hi Mark,
Thanks for your report!

Was the folder that you deleted containing any non-standard characters? I will send you a debug build to verify that, I am guessing the character got somehow not converted properly. Folders are always marked as zero-byte files in directory entries, that’s perfectly fine. I cannot send a debug build right now, will do that in the next 12 hours. The invalid folder name can be saved I just need the log file from the debug build before that.

Anton

mkss55442 - 03 January 2009 03:27 PM

Hi Anton,
To be honest, I don’t remember what the folder name was. The current name is (square) CCOUN~1. Looking at a recent backup and a year old backup, I don’t see any folders with (A)CCOUN(T) on the card. It’s possible it was corrupted before I un-deleted it. The file I recovered was an old SKTools CAB. It’s recovered name was _KTOOL~2.cab. I was able to delete the file.

Even stranger now…I can’t see the contents of my CF card using ActiveSync. Shows up fine on the x51v.

Mark

The files your recovered could already be corrupted especially if they were deleted a long time ago. Normally Undelete will recover the first letter of a file name (it is lost when a file is deleted). In your case the name of the .CAB was not recovered which means the long directory entries for that file were not found. And that is a sign another file was saved over the contents of the previously deleted one.

If the card is not visible trough ActiveSync there may be issues with the file system. But if that is the case the files shouldn’t be seen on the device as well. Do you remember what were the errors ScanDisk reported during the first scan?

Anyway, the bogus character Undelete inserted in the folder name is an issue, this shouldn’t have happened. I will upload a new build that checks if the character is valid before updating the directory entry.

By the way ActiveSync probably refuses to show the files because of the bogus file name. I have noticed that often the WinCE FAT file system panics if any errors are present and simply does not show the files.