Know what you started with.
Extract the kit into a new folder. Select sample-data in the checker below before changing anything. You should get 100 matching files. Keep the manifest and the verification tool outside the folder you plan to delete.
The Workshop / Recovery experimentThe Deleted
The Deleted
Folder Challenge.
A backup you’ve never restored is an optimistic theory. Test yours with 100 disposable files, then check what came back.
PRACTICE KIT V1.0.0 / NO ACCOUNT NEEDED
100 fictional files: 50 notes, 20 generated images, 15 CSV tables, 10 settings files, and 5 binary test files. Your own files are not needed.
Use only the disposable practice folder. Make and check your backup before deleting anything. This website and the downloaded verifier never delete files for you.
The experimentPrintable record sheet
Keep a separate copy.
Back up sample-data with your chosen backup method. An external drive is a useful next test. Confirm that the backup opens, then disconnect the drive until you need it. Do not overwrite or delete your backup.
Make the loss deliberate.
Confirm the folder name and its location. Manually delete only the extracted sample-data folder you just created. Keep the downloaded kit, manifest, and backup. No automatic deletion command is provided.
Recover from your backup.
Start a timer, restore into restored-data, then stop the timer. Restore from the backup you made, rather than extracting a fresh copy of the practice download. The new folder should contain documents, photos, data, and archives.
Check every file.
Choose restored-data below. The checker compares file paths, sizes, and SHA-256 fingerprints against the original practice manifest. Save the report, then open a recovered text file, picture, and CSV file yourself.
Try yesterday’s file.
Preserve the first backup. In a new working copy, edit documents/note-01.txt, then create a second backup. Recover the original version from the first backup into another new folder. Check against the same original manifest.
Browser-only verification
Did everything come back?
Choose your restored practice folder. The comparison runs on your device. Files are not uploaded or stored by this checker.
Select the folder containing documents, photos, data, and archives—not the enclosing kit folder. Your browser may call the folder-selection step “Upload”; this page reads the files locally and sends none to a server.
Loading the practice manifest…
Verification result
Missing files
Changed contents
Unexpected files
Unreadable files
A match confirms these practice-file contents. It does not check permissions, timestamps, application recovery, or whether your backup survives a failed drive. Restore time comes from your timer; this checker measures verification only.
Measured / October 15, 2026
What happened in our test.
Windows · Python 3.12.14 · ZIP backup on the same local filesystem.
100 of 100 restored
Deleted the 100 generated originals individually, restored their ZIP backup into a new folder, and checked every filename, size, and SHA-256 fingerprint. No missing or changed files.
Automated restore: 0.076 secondsOriginal version recovered
Changed a working-copy note and made a second backup. The original backup still restored 100 matching files. Comparing the edited working copy against the original manifest correctly flagged the changed note.
Automated restore: 0.061 secondsDifferences detected
A separate damaged fixture produced 98 matches, one missing image, one changed note, and one unexpected file. The check correctly reported a failure.
A clean result is not unconditionalWhat this proves—and its limits. This was a small automated same-drive simulation with 2,816,434 bytes of disposable data. It did not test a physical external drive, ransomware resistance, off-site recovery, or a full computer restore. The times measure file restoration only, excluding human actions and verification. They are not predictions for your backup.
Verify the practice download
ZIP SHA-256 fingerprint:
93528639f8c589059938a34d575cdc5b1fa64a3213e9753508775cc7f3c10ebfThis helps compare the ZIP against this published copy. The kit also includes a dependency-free, read-only Python verifier: python verify.py "path/to/restored-data".
Turn the result into a better plan.
Record what failed, then test a backup on a different storage device.