Help Data Recovery

[Ma304]

Hello, I would like to ask for some help please.

Since this question is about general data recovery and not necessarily specific to the model, it is possible that this thread would be better placed in a "general" section but I can't find one, sorry.

I was opening a document in the app Polaris Office (came with the phone) when the app became unresponsive. (Note: Firefox was also running at the time. Ironically, I was researching backup apps.) The phone asked if I wanted to wait or kill the app. I tapped Wait. The app then seemed to close by itself. Since this has happened once or twice before I thought little of it.
Upon opening the app again I got a shock. The "recent docs" list was empty and the suite's internal file browser appeared to find nothing on the phone.
I checked the default file manager app. Everything was gone, on both the "internal USB storage" and the external SD card.
The "System Storage" (I assume for app data/installs) appears unaffected.

Naturally, I immediately stopped using the phone to avoid overwriting data.

May I ask if anyone has a good idea for my next step?
I have only been able to quickly find these two (below), as that phone is my primary internet device, and I have very limited resources (as in I would literally need to buy a new computer to install these).

Android Recovery - Get back your deleted or lost files from Android smartphone
[Android Data Recovery] Recover Lost Photos, Videos and More from Android devices (seems to make no mention of internal storage recovery)

If anyone has any experience with recovering data from phones, please share.
Any help or ideas from anyone at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

Phone: Samsung Galaxy Ace 2 (GT-I8160)
OS version: 2.3.6

 

[Frisco]

Hello Ma304.

Sorry to see you're having those frustrations with your files. I'm wondering if they really are gone, or if instead they've been rendered inaccessible due to the app Polaris Office crash.

First thing, reboot your phone and check via your on-board file manager.

Then, if you have access to any computer, I'd advise using a USB cable to examine your phone's internal storage (along with the sd card, if your phone has one).

I'm thinking that the files may all still be there, as mentioned before.

 

[Ma304]

Thank you so much for the reply Frisco, you are literally the only person that has replied to me in all of the various places on the web I have asked this. Thank you.

Yes, I did check the default/on-board file manager. It was empty, I had rebooted a couple of times hoping that whatever happened was just a temporary glitch. Upon rebooting it started to create new system directories that were visible in the file manager. It has remained off since.

Am I right in thinking that you are suggesting I won't necessarily need recovery software? That it's possible the files are invisible to Android but not to a computer?
I don't know how that could be - but I have limited experience.

I am loathed to plug it into just any computer as I am very security conscious and the data was very private. I would, as I said, need to buy a computer. So it seemed a good idea to ask for advice about software etc.

What you said has made me wonder though. I am going to try putting the SD card into my backup phone (Samsung's first Ace) to see if anything is visible.

So, have you heard of this phenomena before?

Again, thank you so, so much for the reply.

 

[Ma304]

I wrote: What you said has made me wonder though. I am going to try putting the SD card into my backup phone (Samsung's first Ace) to see if anything is visible.

Damn. Just checked. The Ace1 is also of the opinion that the SD card is completely empty, entirely free space.

 

[ayush29k]

Have you tried running a data recovery software on the sd card?

 

[zebracrossed]

and how u to that ?

 

[zebracrossed]

Data Recovery is designed to help you recover any images, songs, videos, documents, archives, and more data stored on your SD card inside the Android phone. Scan, check and recover.

how to you to this /\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\