RECUVA requesting more space than original HDD!?!

[bromberg]

I needed to restore data on my 500 GB HDD after a (Vista) system problem occurred which forced me to reinstall my OS. After 66+ hours of processing, RECUVA (my recovery software) requested that I attach an HDD with a capacity of 2.6 TB (!?!) that it needed to recover my data.

Why would RECUVA request 5 times the amount of space to recover my data (when I never even used all of the original 500 GB) ?!?

Thanks,
Dan

[Augeas]

When files are deleted the entry for them in the MFT still contains the addresses of the clusters allocated to them. These clusters may well have been reused to a greater or lesser extent by new file allocations. Furthermore several deleted files may have been allocated the same clusters, in part or in full. So a great many clusters may be allocated to multiple files, giving a total exceeding the device capacity. A deep scan may also add to the multiple cluster counting, but I'm not sure how or if Recuva accounts for this. As you've found almost 6 million files this could well be the case.

[Nergal]

In short, you need to not try to recover "everything"

Your data is important, take the time to search the results and find what you need to recover. Just looking at your screenshot there isn't a single one of the files in that particular window that would do you any good if you brought it back from the dead.

Uncheck everything

Scroll down the list and when you come across a document you need or a cherished photographs place a checkmark

Prioritize files with a green dot over a yellow dot, and a yellow dot over a red one.