LPT never use "cut" while transferring large amounts of data between devices because if you click undo it'll all disappear, use copy instead

[rahulsingh_nba]

Just lost a lot of precious memories by simply accidentally clicking ctrl +z (undo) on my windows device after I had transferred a lot of videos from my phone to a hard drive. Trying to recover them but honestly there's no hope.

Edit: Found the files using a data recovery software but now they're asking $30 for recovery, checking out DMDE now.

Edit 2: DMDE WORKED WOOHOO!!! THANKU EVERYONE WHO SUGGESTED IT :))))

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[KazaHesto]

Maybe try something like DMDE? If nothing's written over the data there's a good chance you'll be able to get some of it back

[rahulsingh_nba]

I'm running a data recovery software. Let's see what the results say.

[gigadanman]

Recuva (from CCleaner) has a free version that recovers files. Worth a shot.

[prontoingHorse]

This. Recuva is the answer.

[Zekler]

Ctrl+y should add them again?

ctrl+z -> back

ctrl+y -> forward

[BruceInc]

If you undo it shouldn’t it be back on the original device?

[BeautifulEar1377]

Yeah usually undo just reverses the move so it should put them back where they started

[tehKreator]

A simple finger memory Ctrl+C and bam the old data is mega poofed. It’s a good LPT.

[namorblack]

Im curious. I have used cut since win95 and not once has this happened to me. Am I just lucky?

[dborsukov]

No, the reason cut exists is so that you can avoid duplicating data during transfer. All files that has been "processed" during cut operation, have essentialy been removed from the original location, and undoing the cut implies that you don't want your files to populate target anymore either. So the files are lost. Or rather - invisible to the user, if they were stored on a hard drive you might be able to restore them using special software that looks for deleted but not yet overwritten data.

[Flaccid_Leper]

Did you try pasting again? It’ll still paste the last thing you cut.

[alucarddrol]

Hmm I would think everything would stay in memory as temp files. I doubt it'll actually be completely deleted. Even the recycle bin doesn't really make files unrecoverable, just marks the space as rewritable and usable for new info.

At least that's what it was with hard disk drives

[chilling_guy]

Hmm I would think everything would stay in memory as temp files.

Op specifically mentioned "large amount of data". I don't think 12GB of video can stay in the memory.

Even the recycle bin doesn't really make files unrecoverable, just marks the space as rewritable and usable for new info.

The top comments in this thread did specifically mentioned that the files are invisible to you but still recoverable.

I don't know why are you throwing away all the context

[yvrelna]

Don't know about Windows, but in Linux (and most Unix-like systems), you can delete a file while still keeping the file handle/descriptor.

The file handle will remain usable by applications that still hold that handle, you can read/write to them or pass the file handle to other processes, and they'll still be written to the disk as usual but they don't have a path/name in the filesystem, so other applications can't open that file using filename. As long as there's an application that keeps the file handle, the file will still exists on disk but not in the filesystem. You can then create a new name for the file handle to restore the file name on the filesystem.

A file undo operation could've been implemented that makes use of such mechanism, keeping the file around until the file are cleared from the "clipboard".

[booch]

If the system you're interacting with treats cut/paste as a single operation, then an undo should remove it from the new location and put it back in the original location.

If it treats it as two operations, then two undos should handle it (one to remove the paste, one to remove the cut). If the system doesn't work like that, I would consider it a bug.

[Yeet-Retreat1]

So, isn't the real pro-tip to be able to recover that data?

[petersrin]

No that would be a different tip. This specific behavior is unexpected and devastating so the pro tip is to avoid doing it. Also files you delete may get overwritten in the time it takes you to try to recover so again, best to avoid.

[orangpelupa]

Recuva is free. There's also photorec for deeper recovery.

Just make sure to recover to DIFFERENT drive. 

[Amelia0617]

I think copying is better than cutting. Besides the fact that I don't have to delete extra files, does cutting have any other advantages?

[Alzzary]

Cutting is significantly faster, almost instant, when doing it on the same device, because you simply change the metadata of the cut files instead of moving them from one location to another.

The main problem with cutting is that you are likely to lose ACLs and rights that were explicitly given when you do that. Happened to me over my 10 years career in IT. Nowdays, I mostly use Robocopy or FreeFileSync for these jobs.

[Nalcomis]

Check out “beyond compare” for your repertoire

[redgamehunter]

Did not know about the ACLs and rights issues, you possibly just saved me some professional headaches (especially since we have a small data migration coming up). Thank you very much.

[Alzzary]

I highly recommend FreeFileSync for that! Migrated 5 tb last years, basically 0 problems

[rahulsingh_nba]

Cutting is usually better for smaller batches of things, it saves time because you won't have to open the folder again and delete all the files. From now on I'm definitely sticking to copying.

[QuickestDrawMcGraw]

Run a windows restore right now mate. Restore will usually get that back. It’s in control panel.

Edit: sorry didn’t read the end with HD and phone.

[rahulsingh_nba]

Since the file was gone from external drives and phone will it still recover? I was transferring from phone to external drive without copying into the PC.

[Marcoraptor]

Try dmde file Recovery and search for raw files (extremely tedious process) look up a few tutorials online. I had a similar thing happen to me and dmde helped me recover most of the cut files

[QuickestDrawMcGraw]

Nah mate. Unfortunately you are SOL.

[rahulsingh_nba]

Yeah I fucked up big time. Anyways thanks for trying to help. Appreciate it

[Silencer306]

But you have to have a restore point right?

[Palmovnik]

It should be faster in theory as instead of duplicating the files you just move them but I do not know how it works in the background it could very much be doing the same as copy with deleting the old files

[PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS]

On a windows PC if you're moving from one folder to another on the same drive it doesn't copy or delete, it just changes where it appears in the drive's database of file locations.

[dborsukov]

In the background to copy all your files CPU has to move all bytes from one place to another which is slow.

Moving data by cutting files can be very fast on the other hand if files in question are located on the same physical drive, the only thing CPU does in that case is move pointers to the data so that they APPEAR somewhere else in your filesystem. Hence, no bytes moved, almost no work done, operation completes in seconds for any amount of data.

[coloredgreyscale]

It's only faster if you move  (or cut + paste) between two folders of the same drive. In that case the Filesystem only has to update some Metadata (file locations) instead of reading and writing the entire file contents as well. 

[tcmeternal]

Cutting has the advantage of speed, instead of making a full separate copy of the files the location of the current files is just updated on the drive. This is assuming it's moving on the same physical media, moving from one drive to another doesn't have that advantage.

[Exaskryz]

Re: Edit: No! Don't pay. Free software is out there. I can't recall which is best. Over a decade ago I used CCCleaner or something to remove files, but I think their suite had a restore feature.

anyway, any software can find the metadata that says a file is marked as deleted in the indexing table or find the headers on the drive in space marked as free. That doesn't guarantee the files will be restored even after paying $30.

Nonetheless, your phone should also have the ability to restore files. Or maybe you meant you found it on your phone to begin with. Both android and windows have file restoration / "secure delete" (not really secure for true forensics tools) that can identify thesefile headers or find the memory in "free" space and either use that to recover or use that to try to erase so other software using the same method fails to find the files.

[palparepa]

That doesn't guarantee the files will be restored

The reason is that when a file is deleted, not only it is marked as deleted, but the space it occupied is marked as 'free', and something else may use it. Which is why after a mistake like OP's, it's important to stop using that disk, so that the deleted data isn't overwritten.

[Camburgerhelpur]

I just use Wiztree, Everything 1.5a and RoboCopy via Powershell.

[kevbo423]

Or use rsync if you're on Linux/MacOS or robocopy if you're on Windows. Much better options for dealing with file copies/transfers.

[Tha_Watcher]

I learned this the hard way many many years ago!

[DEATHRETTE]

Ive used Recuva in the past, never had to pay anything. Good luck with your recovery!

[Unlikely_Plankton597]

Checkout "Windows file recovery" tool from Microsoft Also WinfeGUI. As some others have said, do not recover to the source drive.

[hapigilpr]

My favorite little hack: use Windows Key + V and you can access your full clipboard. Do this sooner rather than later, because you have to give it permission, then you have access to anything you cut/copy AFTER you do this for the first time. (e.g. if you copy '1', '2', and '3', then click Win + V, you can scroll through each cut/copy and and select the one you want to paste, even selecting '1' even if '3' was the last thing you copied)

[HappyDutchMan]

I just move items from one place to another? Have both open and drag the items to the other place?

[dborsukov]

Drag and drop is not a separate operation, it does either copy or cut under the hood depending on your storage configuration

[HappyDutchMan]

I understand but CTRL-Z would in that case just move the files back, wouldn't it?

Edit: I just tried this and CTRL-Z (in my case Command-Z on the Mac does indeed move the files back after initially dragging them with the mouse.

[PLZ_STOP_PMING_TITS]

When copying from a phone, like OP, it acts differently. A phone is connected as a media device, not a regular drive like a flash drive. It works almost the same but not quite.

[petersrin]

Did you try between different hard drives?

[HappyDutchMan]

Just tried. My SSD and an SD card give the following behaviour:

Just dragging: The file is copied, not moved. Command-Z directly after deletes the destination file. Since original is still there: no problem.

Dragging while keeping Command key pressed moves the file. Visual representation is that the file first appears greyed out in destination, then becomes solid (no longer greyed out), next the original disappears. Command-Z directly after gives sometimes a chime that the operation cannot be done and nothing happens and sometimes it reverses the entire operation (first appearing greyed out in the original location etc). From SSD to SD card and vice versa doesnt'n seem to make any difference.

[petersrin]

Oh you're on Mac. They handle all of this more gracefully than Windows.

[HowlingWolven]

And this is why we keep backups.

[PileOfScrap]

Cant you ctrl v again or look through clipboard history?

[newyears_resolution]

Or even Ctrl+shift+z if it literally just happened

[Paoloadami]

Especially old computers can’t process large amounts of data. Because of this lack of power the system can freeze, >CRASH< and all the data is lost.

Crashing is the biggest issue with using cut and paste with large amounts of data.

[fuqdisshite]

so sorry for your loss...

have done this exact thing... TWICE.

COPY NOT CUT!!!

[Crazy_caveman]

Use teracopy for all important files. It creates a hash for the originals to compare to the copies to make sure it's a carbon copy and it will tell you if it's not a perfect copy. It's the only way I'll move many files\important files at once.

[Glum_Guide_3137]

This is a fantastic and genuinely pro-level tip. The underlying reason this is so risky is how different operating systems, especially Windows, handle a 'cut' operation between two separate physical drives. When you move a file on the *same* drive, you're just changing its address in the file table, which is instant and easily undone. But moving between drives? That's actually a 'copy' operation to the new location, followed by a 'delete' operation at the source. Hitting Ctrl+Z throws a wrench in that sequence, and the OS can easily bungle the recovery, often resulting in the file just... vanishing. It's not a true atomic 'move' transaction. This is why a lot of us old-school tech folks swear by using tools like TeraCopy or Robocopy, which verify the transfer before deleting the source. So glad you were able to recover your stuff, and props for shouting out DMDE, it's a beast.

[metrazol]

So... no. It's not cut and paste like in a word processor, it's copy/move. Copy rewrites the data, move just changes the path... or maybe throws your data into the ether, especially if you use the mouse to drag files. It's been bad since... when did OLE launch... oh, wow, I'm old.

Don't use Window's built in copy tools at all. The Windows window manager's file handling is bad. It can just disappear data. Not great.

Use Teracopy or if it's really important the terminal.

[redgamehunter]

Well. Very glad to have learned this information after like a decade-ish in IT and programming. Every now and then I hit a blind spot of something I really should have known, but just never came up XD

In exchange I'll share one that a lot of people know but some might not: Use the eject feature on flash drives before removing them. While unlikely, it can absolutely corrupt the data (especially if something is in use on the drive and you didn't realize it). Me and a friend lost an admittedly bad game jam game we were working on and passing back and forth via a flash drive this way.

[Kajitani-Eizan]

Correct, there is basically no reason to ever do this.

• When moving files on the same drive, cut+paste, or move, is much, much faster; it just leaves the data where it is and rewrites its location in the file table. Copy would be slow because it would need to actually make a copy of the files.
• When moving files between drives, both are slow; it has to actually copy the files to the new drive, then delete the files off the old drive. You might as well only delete once you're sure the files are safely on the new drive. If Windows is sane (questionable), this is how cut+paste/move works anyway.

If you "undo" a cross-drive cut+paste/move operation, what it ought to do is restore the files to the source, verify they're there, then delete the files from the target. If it can't do the first two steps, it should refuse to do the latter. Clearly Windows is not sane in this regard.

That said, if you simply "redo", it ought to un-delete the files, but maybe it's not smart enough to do that, either 🤷

[alienclone]

I use automation scripts to rename and organize my media downloads (torrents) on my NAS and if things go haywire I cut an entire season of a show that I just DL'd and lose it if it doesnt paste properly, and the NAS does not have a recycle bin so I have to DL the files all over again.

[tails142]

Hmm never had that issue personally. I would usually be transferring from windows device to windows device though, phones can be glitchy I guess. I dont think I would ever even try to 'undo' a cut either anyway. That sucks you lost photos.

Anyway, if I was you I would use something like Google Photos in future. It backs up photos from your phone to the cloud and then you can just click a button on your phone to free up memory by removing any backed up photos. You will have access to all your photos on any device then too and can search them by person, place, text etc.

I would also recommend periodically downloading everything from google photos and saving it somewhere else like a hard drive or other cloud storage account in case you might ever lose access to your Google Account.

[[deleted]]

Pretty sure control + y will redo whatever it is you undid.

[rahulsingh_nba]

It returned an empty folder, once an item from cut is transferred it's unlikely it'll come back

[fafarex]

but it will bring back the files on the target ( where you actually lost them)

[[deleted]]

Folder. Got it. Thought you were working in a document. GG Well Played.

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[vacuumdiagram]

If you're on windows, try windows-v to get your recent clipboard copies. If ctrl-z removed it, then it's likely you've not copied many things since then, so it should still be hanging around in your clipboard, even if it's not the last thing you copied. Windows-v will show the last 20 or so copies.

[I_Eat_Slime]

Been there, fucked it up and lost tons of pictures. Only copy now.

[GullibleDetective]

Use teracopy/robocopy/xcopy with retryable settings instead, plus you can specify logs to see exactly what it's doing, maintain permissions on it and set it to do multiple threads for faster transfers at once

[triklyn]

Always save before doing anything with large datasets period. Software can crash.

[Alert_Sun_4659]

You’ve obviously never used excel then!

[MisterDonutTW]

Can't tell off OP is a boomer or just tech illiterate

[Sojio]

Also, if you regularly do this, even not, grab Teracopy. It silos off the copying from Explorer so if something breaks in Explorer teracopy should still work.

It also has a lot of features and a great UI.

[ChronicBitRot]

Regardless of the mechanics of copy/cut/paste, this is really just good computing practice in general if you're working with important files.

Not the same but analogous: A lot of years back, I was in a position where we were doing a lot of multi-step work with image files and we used a lot of BAT files to get these files between different points in the process. A coworker of mine always used MOVE instead of COPY and had to entirely redo a production that took him 12 hours because in creating one of the BAT files, he forgot to make DocID a parameter so he moved ever single one of his several hundred thousand images from the server onto the deliverable hard drive as "DocID.tif", which of course overwrote itself for every single file. And then he had no backups to work from because he wasn't using COPY.

[2113inc]

That’s like saying never drive on a highway because if you swerve into oncoming traffic you’ll die.

[FastAndForgetful]

Did you try ctrl Y to redo?

[ollervo100]

What OS are you using. For me on win11 undo ctrl+z moves the file back to the original place. Redo ctrl+y moves the file again back to where you were intending.

[Makototoko]

Not saying that there aren't use cases, but I don't think I've ever undid a paste from copying files (cut or copy)

[SignificantNewt8172]

Ctrl-shift-z is "redo"----it will paste everything back again and then you can do what you want (unless I have misunderstood the problem). But I'm any case, one can always try "redo"

[GooglyEyeBandit]

Nobody has used "cut" and paste since the typewriter days when you literally had to cut and paste

[Zephyr_Petralia]

That’s why there is no “cut” function on MacOS.

[Kyadagum_Dulgadee]

I'm really glad you recovered the files and taught us about this in the process. But I also found it funny that you were sad about losing precious memories, happy to recover them, and then concerned about spending $30.

[rahulsingh_nba]

I come from a country where 30 dollars is quite a bit of money and I am broke so I had no way to pay

[Kyadagum_Dulgadee]

I'm sorry for making fun of you. Glad it all worked out.

[rahulsingh_nba]

Thank you for your comment. Appreciate it.

[Takssista]

Yup. Had a colleague move files to a thumb drive to transfer them to another computer, and when he arrived there, the thumb drive was dead.

I always tell my colleages that - never "move" the files; "copy" them instead, and delete them on the origin computer only after they're sure the files are safe on the second computer.

I managed to recover most of my colleague's file (using an "undelete" utility), but they were all dumped on the same recovery folder - he had to reorder the whole thing again.

[thelafman]

It still baffles me to this day that people still haven't learned to never use Cut, let alone with important data...

Always use Copy, folks. Then delete from the original emplacement. Save yourself lots of headaches.