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Solve : Something terrible has happened to my work? |
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Answer» Please help me! PRIVATE "TYPE==PICT; ALT=print this article' HYPERLINK I don't know what it means- you don't know what it means- but it surely must have been part of another file on your disk. What I believe might have happened was the Master File Table (MFT) that windows keeps on your drive must have gotten confused as to the location and size of your important document; perhaps notepad crashed or the computer crashed or another program accessed the file for indexing and encountered problems, etc. Anyway- the way most file systems keep track of information is in "sectors" and "clusters" basically, each one holds a specified amount of data- say, 32KB. the MFT only stores the first cluster of a file, though- and that cluster then points to the next cluster, that one points to the next one, and so on and so forth, until it reaches the end of the file. What appears to have happened here is the "pointer" portion of one of the clusters was corrupted, and so now points to a cluster that BELONGS to a completely separate file. The computer, as far as it knows, just keeps reading the file as before- unfortunately, it is now reading what is a completely different file, so each cluster points to the next one of that file. So how does the chkdsk program know that it doesn't belong to that file? Well- it doesn't. But- it does detect two inconsistencies- the "innocent" file elsewhere on the disk still points to it's data, but now so does your important document. It finds that these two different files are storing data in the same place, and makes copies- which means your document won't get messed up if that other, "innocent" file is changed. More importantly, however- it will find the rest of your document (if we're lucky), and think to itself- "well, now that's odd- according to my records, this data doesn't belong to a file!" And so that set of clusters is called a "lost chain"- chkdsk, being a daintly little fellow, copies that data into a new file, with the CHK extension, in the root directory of your disk. Oh dear- look at me ramble on. I just thought I'd provide a little insight, some people like to know what's going on- how we come up with a diagnosis, for example. I thought I'd explain myself, because this can help you make similar deductions later on (and hopefully with files that are backed up, so it isn't so bad)- I of course am not saying we don't want you here, though! In any case, I wish you the best of luck in recovering your file. I know what it's like to lose important data, and I can attest it is not exactly warm and fuzzy, and more a dark foreboding that envelops your soul- or something equally dramatic. And- of course let us know of your progress Just got our electricity back. I don't know quite how to thank you, whatever the outcome tomorrow, you've given me some hope and avenues for my computer savvy friend to explore tomorrow. I don't have Vista so I hope that doesn't throw another spanner in the works. I have the file stored on desktop, at least, thats where I access it from, in fact, its there twice, one is a shortcut. As you have probably gathered, I am a computer moron. What you said about the clusters makes perfect sense since more and more of the original text is being eaten up with //////////'s. I have found approximately half of my memoirs stored elsewhere on my computer. That is judging by the file size as I'm too frightened to actually open it for fear of further corruption. Also I'm fearful of using the USB for the same reason.. fear of the text being swallowed up by the same programme or of being corrupted in some way. Ironically, I purchased 700mb CD-rewritable discs a few days ago, do you suggest I use one of these to put whatever is on my computer entirely on disc before investigations begin tomorrow? I used notepad because I was unable to find anything else on the comp which I could access. It enabled me to add bits to episodes in childhood which I only remembered months after the original incidents. I did enquire of even professionals if there was something more suitable but they all suggestED WORD which didn't come with Windows XP home edition. I've aquired WORD but was waiting for friend to install it.. Oh dear! What a series of blunders and inefficiency. My sincere thanks to you for your guidance and the recuva site. What you must have felt when you lost your work must have been horrendous and I applaud you for pulling yourself out of the *censored* pit of lost data. Suppose my computer friend can retreive some or all the work.. can you suggest where she should store in on the computer more safely than in notepad? You mention a main file which intrigues me. I have this nightmare scenario of her getting it back only to open it later and find it corrupted again. I certainly will update you on outcome, its the least I can do for such helping hands. Lori Update.. Friend has just left. All is well! I sent copies of your advice to her last night and she also wants to thank you for explaining possible causes so efficiently. The first thing she discovered was that the memoirs were in word and not in notepad! I told you I was a moron! After a while she pinpointed the trouble to my having pasted hyperlinks?, those bits in blue that show up in articles. This was confusing the computer. She downloaded it to a hard drive, FIDDLED around for a bit, then using her laptop she removed all links and as far as I can tell, I have the original text back in its entirety. She has copies of the corrected original safely stored and will burn them to rewritable disc for me periodically as my computer isn't set up to do so. My head is buzzing with the technical terms she used to explain what made it all go haywire so I hope I've explained it properly. Needless to say, I'll be using the USB after each writing session in future, I'll also keep spare for weekly back ups. I'll never be able to thank you enough for your excellent advice and assistance, having lost work yourself, I think you'll know how grateful I was for the hope it gave me. It also gave Kathy ideas and paths to follow that may not have OCCURRED to her without your help. As a BRILLIANT amateur technician she was impressed with the site and your good, sound advice. Sincere thanks, Lori Quote I told you I was a moron! Don't be silly. We all have different levels of technical knowledge. Even the most seasoned geek used to have problems changing the clock on a VCR at some point . We all have different areas of expertise and talents, and some of us like computers and work with them everyday- and others hate the things, but are good at other things. The nice thing is the people that are good with computers can help others to do their work faster, for example, a lawyer can get help with word, an accountant can get help with Excel. Some people become intrigued by the machine itself, and learn more about them- others want to use the machine as a tool to better their work- neither person is, of course, a "moron", they just have different "skill sets". good to HEAR you got your memoirs back! I cannot imagine how much work you would have lost otherwise, but it surely was more then some silly program code. I suspected it wasn't notepad, since notepad is kind of a bland program to use for it... I'm sure the file wasn't really "corrupted" as much as it was messy with hyperlinks and what-not. Since I went on the notion it was notepad- my diagnosis might have been wrong; although the explanation of exactly how a file can get corrupted is still quite sound, it's likely word was just confused about something. The irony of me losing a few big programming projects a few years ago was that I didn't have a Proper backup! here I am, telling everybody they should be keeping backups of all their important work... and I ddn't do it myself! (tssk Tssk, is all I can say to myself ) Also- since your using Microsoft Word, you can get the program to make a backup of your work every so often for you as well, and set it to "autosave" your document. This way even if word crashes you won't lose more then a few minutes of typing- and also it let's you go back if you make a change that you later regret. I'm sure your friend can help you set that up, if your interested- I'd give you instructions here, but I don't know what version your using, and they have different ways of doing it. Quote from: Lori on January 21, 2009, 09:52:36 PM I'll never be able to thank you enough for your excellent advice and assistance, having lost work yourself, I think you'll know how grateful I was for the hope it gave me. It also gave Kathy ideas and paths to follow that may not have occurred to her without your help. As a brilliant amateur technician she was impressed with the site and your good, sound advice. Every once in a while, I think to myself, Why do I keep coming to CH? Why do we all come here and help people we don't even know? Your very welcome- and thanks for reminding me We'll be happy to help you again with any problems, or even just curiousity, in the future |
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