Chapter 28

（Thank you to the book friend "Hmm Hmm Hmm Hmm" for your generous support, I bow! A new week, I hope everyone will give some support to Wei Yu Qian Xiao. It's not easy to start a new book, so I'm rolling on the ground and begging for all kinds of support!）

Tian Tian had already seen the video file she had lost. Due to her excitement, she didn't pay much attention to Chen Mo's words. She just looked at him with a surprised expression and said, "Master Chen is really amazing! You actually found the files that were lost due to the virus!"

Chen Mo chuckled dryly, "Actually, it's not that big of a deal... hehe..."

To be honest, Chen Mo had some contempt for university teachers, especially computer science teachers. In his view, such an easy problem should not have been something Tian Tian couldn't solve.

Tian Tian asked excitedly, "Master Chen, how did you manage to do it? I was so nervous just now that I didn't see your operations. Could you explain it to me?"

Chen Mo felt it was quite nice to explain computer issues to a university computer teacher, so he smiled and nodded, "Alright, I'll explain my method. Actually, it's quite simple—computer hard drives store files in units called sectors, which are separate, much like the pages of a paper book. When your computer was infected by a virus, it automatically executed a file deletion command, deleting the files stored on your hard drive. So, you couldn't find them using conventional methods. To find them, you need to distinguish the sectors on the hard drive. First, you need to find the equivalent of the table of contents at the beginning of a paper book, and roughly calculate how many sectors the file you're looking for is stored in..."

Chen Mo saw Tian Tian's eyes widen more and more as she listened, her face showing a look of fascination. He couldn't help but stop and ask curiously, "Sister Tian, why do you have that expression?"

Tian Tian snapped back to reality and smiled sheepishly, "Oh, I just find it very fresh. To be honest, it's the first time I've heard about these things! Master Chen, please continue."

Chen Mo inwardly criticized the current level of university computer teachers again before continuing, "After roughly estimating the range of sectors where the files might be stored, you can recover them by removing the 'deleted' flag that was marked on them."

Tian Tian couldn't help but open her eyes wide and ask, "Is that all it takes?"

Chen Mo replied with a hint of frustration, "What did you think, that it was more complicated?"

Tian Tian blinked and said, "But... but the files were already deleted, it's like the pages of a diary being torn out and burned. How could you possibly find the content?"

Chen Mo sighed inwardly at her words before explaining, "Although the sectors on a computer hard drive are similar to the pages of a paper book, the methods for destroying the content are different. Once the pages of a paper book are torn out and burned, the content cannot be recovered. However, with a computer hard drive, it can be. This involves the principles of how data is stored and deleted on a hard drive. When we store data on a hard drive, it's like arranging symbols inside it. According to the computer's binary system, these symbols are represented by the digits 0 and 1. Normally, to delete a file, you just need to right-click and select 'delete.' Most people think that this means the file is deleted, but that's not the case. The file is just marked with a 'deleted' flag, and it still exists on the hard drive. The computer simply ignores its existence. When new files are stored on the hard drive, the areas marked as 'deleted' are overwritten, and then we can't find them anymore. However, before new files are stored, we can remove the 'deleted' flag, and thus find the files."

Chen Mo paused and then continued, "Your computer is brand new, so most of the storage space is still free. I easily found the files that were automatically deleted by the virus and removed the 'deleted' flag. This way, the computer recognizes the existence of these files, and they appear on the hard drive."

Tian Tian finally understood the principle and couldn't help but exclaim, "So that's how it works... Master Chen, you're really amazing! You know so much!"

Chen Mo modestly replied, "Not at all, I just like to study computer hardware. I understand how each component works and the principles behind them. Sister Tian, since you're a university computer teacher, haven't you studied this kind of knowledge?"

Tian Tian looked a bit embarrassed, "The main focus of university computer science is teaching students software programming. We teachers only learn about software programming and don't need to know everything... By the way, Master Chen, are you really just a computer repairman?"

Chen Mo thought to himself: No wonder, this is the fault of the exam-oriented education system! Students learn to pass exams, and teachers teach to help students pass exams. This makes students very rigid in their learning, which is fine for exams but not for practical applications. This is what we call high scores but low ability. Tian Tian, being a university computer teacher, probably got her position through exams, so it's not surprising that her practical skills are lacking.

Chen Mo nodded, "Yes, I am—well, not exactly. I just work as a helper in this shop. I learned these skills because I'm interested in computers."

Tian Tian couldn't help but exclaim, "Your computer skills are much better than mine. At least in hardware, I'm far behind you."

Chen Mo smiled modestly and changed the topic, "Since we've found the files, let's check if they are intact. It would be bad if there were any problems."

Chen Mo was worried about the 50,000 yuan, but Tian Tian thought he was worried for her. She nodded with a smile, "Sure, let's check the files."

Chen Mo clicked the play button, and the promotional video created by Tian Tian appeared on the computer screen.

Although Chen Mo didn't understand video creation techniques, he could see at a glance that the video's visuals were a bit rough, and the creativity was lacking. Overall, it was just passable.

Tian Tian had already regarded Chen Mo as an all-knowing computer expert. As she watched, she asked, "Master Chen, what do you think of this video? Is there anything that needs improvement?"

Chen Mo thought to himself: Can I say this video needs to be recreated?