Lost Files after reinsallation of XP

[Bill]

My son's laptop fatally crashed. We tried repair from XP
CD several times and fianlly, with no help forthcoming
from Dell, tried a reinstallation after being reassured
that we would not lose our data files. There was
apparently no formatting. No data or programs show up but
the folders are all still present. I am assuming they are
hidden somewhere. Does anyone have good info to help us
in recovery???

 

[Rock]

My son's laptop fatally crashed. We tried repair from XP
CD several times and fianlly, with no help forthcoming
from Dell, tried a reinstallation after being reassured
that we would not lose our data files. There was
apparently no formatting. No data or programs show up but
the folders are all still present. I am assuming they are
hidden somewhere. Does anyone have good info to help us
in recovery???

You may have to reinstall the programs. For the data files see if it's
an ownership issue:

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421