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Solve : reinstalled XP oops--files are gone? |
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Answer» My computer wouldn't boot up. I tried a couple repair options I read about., but they didn't work so I reinstalled Windows XP from the disk. I didn't know that would delete all my files, but my computer desktop is now WIPED clean of all programs, documents and files except for the XP operating system. I didn't know that would delete all my files, but my computer desktop is now wiped clean of all programs, documents and files except for the XP operating system. WELL, yes, when the system is Installed/Reinstalled it creates many new files which cause reference to any old files to be deleted. One of those files is the Desktop folder from which your desktop display is generated. There are many many more. You now need to update your OS probably at least to SP.3 and there are more updates which were released after SP.3. Also your anti-virus and third party firewall progs will have to be reinstalled. All programs which you used must be reinstalled. Quote Have I lost the info for good?'Fraid so unless you care to spend big dollars with a data recovery specialist who might be able to recover some files, there is no guarantee. A Repair Install would not have deleted your files. Good luck Dusty, is there any chance Beth's files are still somewhere on the C drive in a no-longer-referenced documents and settings folder? Would it be worthwhile for her to open her C directory directly and search in documents and settings? Could there be a new user profile and an old one that the system isn't recognizing? Just a guess. I had my profile go bad one time. All the files disappeared, but were still there when I looked in the right place. Beth -- don't get hopeful. Dusty probably knows more than I do, so I'm not at all confident of this idea. Needless to say, popping in a CD and backing up My Documents periodically (I do that plus back up all changed files to a flash drive daily) is essential. I had an entire hard drive just die irreparably on me one time. BACK UP!!! Ed Quote from: EJG Dusty, is there any chance Beth's files are still somewhere on the C drive in a no-longer-referenced documents and settings folder? Yes, but recovering them requires specialized software which is expensive. Quote from: EJG Would it be worthwhile for her to open her C directory directly and search in documents and settings? I doubt it, she would be searching in the newly created D&S folder, but I'd like to be proved wrong. Quote from: EJG I had my profile go bad one time. All the files disappeared, but were still there when I looked in the right place. But then, had you done a full reinstall before you went looking Quote from: EJG Dusty probably knows more than I do Don't under-estimate yourself, my knowledge level is abysmally low when compared to many of the CH forum members. I had hoped someone more knowlegeable than I am would have added a few comments to this thread. Where's BRONI when he's needed? My only foray into file recovery has been to recover files which have been unintentionally deleted by users, either directly or via the Recycler. For that I use a program named Recovery which might help in this case but I have serious doubts about that. Sorry to sound so negative. Recovery is available from this site, perhaps Beth3 will install and use it. D. |
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