*eep* Deleted spreedsheets, recovered (Recuva) but now gibberish?

Hey all,

Not me directly but apparently I'm the computer guy in the family *yay* - the back story:

They got a new computer, moved spreadsheets between drives, thought they had copied them, deleted the originals ... and then discovered they didnt actually copy them.

They used Recuva to try and get as many files back but when they try to open the spreadsheet they receive: "The file could be corrupted or unsafe. Unless you trust its source, don't open it. Do you want to open it anyway?" and when they open it anyway - it's all gibberish characters. Picture: http://i.imgur.com/5SD1Cw5.png

They are .xls files and using Windows 7

Are these files openable or are they corrupt? Any ideas?

Thanks,

Pardon me for not directly answering your question but: hold on to the old drive. There are tools on the Linux Ultimate Boot CD that can attempt recovery (download it free, burn the image to a blank disc - make sure you get the official source, try Wikipedia for a safe link?). Best ask an expert though, rather than risk deleting what (if anything) you have left on the old drive.

File recovery has always been a disappointment for me. There must be tricks that only professionals know.