Retrieving deleted Photos etc

I recently had a problem with my laptop and had to take it back to be fixed. I had loads of photos and word documents saved on it which have all been deleted. I know that I should have backed up but I didn't and the guy who took the laptop from me didn't warn me that I might lose everything. The laptop was totally cleaned (it's only 9 months old) so I lost EVERYTHING. Is there anything I can do to retrieve my photos. The shop are of no help - "it's my own fault for not backing up" which I accept, but if I had been warned, I would have taken the laptop back and done the back up. Can anybody help?

Theres a great free bit of software called Recuva (just Google it and download it) which has helped me out in the past, but if you had the laptop in for repair there is a chance that the HDD might have been formatted. If it has then there is a chance you will never recover your files.

Don't forget that the very act of installing this software may well overwrite the files you want to retrieve! To stand any chance of recovering your files you should remove the HDD from your laptop and use the app installed on another machine to recover the data. As RMCF says, depending on how your drive was reformatted, you may never get your files back.

I always advise people to have a routine backup strategy. An external hard drive (1TB drive cost around 100 euro and are widely available) There are many apps that will image your hard drive so you never have to worry about losing your files again.

I use Acronis TrueImage, but other apps are available (Active @ disk Image) is another app I have used successfully.