Cross Linked Files and Windows Data Recovery

Microsoft Windows organizes the data area of the hard drive into sections known as allocation units and clusters. Every file has its own directory entry that includes file name, file size, attribute information, time, date and the address of the cluster where the header or start of the file has been stored.

The file system includes an entry for every cluster. The entry of each cluster includes either a code specifying that it is the last cluster of the file, or the address of the next cluster used by the file.

The Cross Linked files occur when two or more than two files are marked as “owning” the same cluster. Generally, the last file updated is correct; the others are correct apart from the cluster’s value that is part of another file.

It is a file system error that damages the contents of an existing file by writing data from another one into the same cluster occupied by the file. These are the file system entries that point to same cluster. Cross linked files are usually created when the computer is shut down improperly or an application program aborts abnormally.

How to fix Cross Linked files

The only way to work around the Cross Linked files is to delete both of the files. When you remove the file, every cluster assigned to those files is marked “Free to use.” If only one file is removed, the cluster on which cross link occurred is marked as unused, but the file system still shows that particular cluster as belonging to the “good” file.

This leads to another error. For instance, when you use CHKDSK or Scandisk, it may report a file allocation error, size adjusted or files allocation error, or file truncated. In this case, the file will become inaccessible for the cross linked cluster to the end of the file.
Deleting both of the files can fix the problem but it is not an ideal solution. The file has been deleted can create serious problem if the file contains precious data and information. It can cause the critical nightmare of data loss and can possibly put you out of the business.

In such circumstances, you need to perform data recovery as quickly as possible. The data recovery in such situations is possible via the use of data recovery software known as Windows data recovery software. Using Windows recovery software, you can recover the data in majority of cases.

Windows data recovery is the cheapest and the easiest solution that you can apply in this case. But you should be cautious while choosing Windows data recovery software because a wrong one can make the situation worsen and the data can get lost permanently. Therefore, you should go for advanced, secure and dependable Windows recovery software.
Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software is exactly what you are searching for. It is the most advanced and the reliable partition recovery software of the data recovery industry. It provides support for all of the Microsoft Windows file versions like Windows Vista, XP, 2003, 2000 and 98. Both Windows file versions – FAT and NTFS are also supported by this Windows recovery software.

The software employs the extremely powerful scanning algorithms to thoroughly scan the hard drive and extracts as much data as possible. This Windows data recovery software can recover all types of files like documents, spreadsheets, images, songs, videos and other application files.