I deleted a profile on a computer and now I need to get that data back!

[Spin]

Gurus,

Using the properties of My Computer > Advanced tab . Profiles button, I
deleted a profile a shouldn't have. Inside that profile's My Documents
directory were a lot of important files. I had no data backup,
unfortunately.

Is there a tool available that will allow one to restore a deleted profile?
Sorry about the cross-post but I wanted to get this out in front of as many
knowledgeable people as possible.

 

[Jim Macklin]

The data is still there, you need to "take ownership" of the
files and folders that were associated with that profile.
You need to use an administrator account to do this.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421



| Gurus,
|
| Using the properties of My Computer > Advanced tab .
Profiles button, I
| deleted a profile a shouldn't have. Inside that profile's
My Documents
| directory were a lot of important files. I had no data
backup,
| unfortunately.
|
| Is there a tool available that will allow one to restore a
deleted profile?
| Sorry about the cross-post but I wanted to get this out in
front of as many
| knowledgeable people as possible.
|
| --
| Spin
|
|

 

[Michael Walraven]

Have you done a system restore to a point before your goof?

Michael

 

[RA]

The data is still there, you need to "take ownership" of the
files and folders that were associated with that profile.
You need to use an administrator account to do this.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

Is that true for documents in the My Documents folder of the account that
was deleted? Where would you find that data to take ownership of it?

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht Sr. [MVP]]

Gurus,

Using the properties of My Computer > Advanced tab . Profiles button,
I deleted a profile a shouldn't have. Inside that profile's My
Documents directory were a lot of important files. I had no data
backup, unfortunately.

Is there a tool available that will allow one to restore a deleted
profile? Sorry about the cross-post but I wanted to get this out in
front of as many knowledgeable people as possible.

Do not De-fragment the drive, and use undelete to restore the deleted files.

Deleting files does not actually delete them, it hides them and marks them
to be overwritten.

This one is freeware and I have used it before.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht Sr. [MVP]]

Do not De-fragment the drive, and use undelete to restore the deleted
files.

Deleting files does not actually delete them, it hides them and marks
them to be overwritten.

This one is freeware and I have used it before.
http://www.snapfiles.com/get/restoration.html

I forgot to mention, restore the files to a different drive, I found out the
hard way, if you restore them to the same drive they will start overwriting
themselves.

 

[Jim Macklin]

Yes, along the path or by searching for file extensions.

Also,another suggested a system restore



"RA" <none> wrote in message
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| > The data is still there, you need to "take ownership" of
the
| > files and folders that were associated with that
profile.
| > You need to use an administrator account to do this.
| >
| > http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421
| >
| Is that true for documents in the My Documents folder of
the account that
| was deleted? Where would you find that data to take
ownership of it?
|
|

 

[RA]

Yes, along the path or by searching for file extensions.

Also,another suggested a system restore

That is good to know for future screw ups. I have used system restore with
very nice results and I have used recovery apps with pretty good results but
I have never tried to search for documents from a deleted profile.

 

[Michael Walraven]

Whoops...
There may be a miscommunication here.

Did the ACCOUNT get deleted or the PROFILE?
If the profile is what got deleted (as I understood from OP) then the data
is still there, just the user customizations (desktop etc.) got
cleared. As soon as that user logs on again a new default profile will be
created. (I just tried this to confirm on one of my accounts).

If the ACCOUNT was deleted then there was a question asked about if the
information should be deleted. If the OP said yes
I think the data has really gone (file recovery programs may get a lot back
depending on how much activity has occured
in the file system since then.)

 

[Strike Rapier]

<?xml version="1.0" >
<immature>
Pwned yourself.
</immature>
</xml>

 

[Kevin D. Goodknecht Sr. [MVP]]

<?xml version="1.0" >
<immature>
Pwned yourself.
</immature>
</xml>

What a typo, blame my fat fingered huntin'-and-a-peckin'

 

[Jim Macklin]

Actually, system restore was mentioned as a fix to restore
the deleted profile, I just added the note because another
poster suggested system restore. It doesn't "find files" my
being in a hurry caused the confusion.


"RA" <none> wrote in message
| Jim Macklin wrote:
| > Yes, along the path or by searching for file extensions.
| >
| > Also,another suggested a system restore
|
| That is good to know for future screw ups. I have used
system restore with
| very nice results and I have used recovery apps with
pretty good results but
| I have never tried to search for documents from a deleted
profile.
|
| >
| >
| >
| > "RA" <none> wrote in message
| > | >> Jim Macklin wrote:
| >>> The data is still there, you need to "take ownership"
of the
| >>> files and folders that were associated with that
profile.
| >>> You need to use an administrator account to do this.
| >>>
| >>> http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421
| >>>
| >> Is that true for documents in the My Documents folder
of the account
| >> that was deleted? Where would you find that data to
take ownership
| >> of it?
|
|