Lost my files?

[Guest]

My computer turned off spontaneously last night. When I tried to turn it
back on it said that it could not run windows because a file (I believe it
was System 32 or something similar) was missing or corrupted. It said to
insert my Windows XP CD to repair it. But it wouldn't repair anything, it
would only completely reinstall. It gave me two options:
1. Reinstall using the same file name as before, and likely delete all my
files.
2. Reinstall using a different name.

I chose option 2, naming the installation Windows1... everything worked,
except now I can't access any of my old files. I'm not even sure if they are
still there. I can find where they used to be if I go to the MY COMPUTER
option, and then Documents and Settings, but when I try to click on the old
file it says "Not accessible, access denied". Also, when I hover the mouse
over the file it says "folder empty".

The thing is, when I go to start the computer now, it gives me two options
for installing windows, the new one or the old one. The old one won't start
at all for the same reason as before, but it appears to still be there. Have
I lost my files? Is there any way to recover them?

And as a complete aside, my new installation of Windows XP doesn't appear to
have an audio device. Is there something I can download?

Frustratedly yours,
Openning

 

[Nepatsfan]

In (e-mail address removed) openning
wrote:

My computer turned off spontaneously last night. When I
tried to turn it back on it said that it could not run
windows because a file (I believe it was System 32 or
something similar) was missing or corrupted. It said to
insert my Windows XP CD to repair it. But it wouldn't
repair anything, it would only completely reinstall. It
gave me two options:
1. Reinstall using the same file name as before, and likely
delete all my files.
2. Reinstall using a different name.

I chose option 2, naming the installation Windows1...
everything worked, except now I can't access any of my old
files. I'm not even sure if they are still there. I can
find where they used to be if I go to the MY COMPUTER
option, and then Documents and Settings, but when I try to
click on the old file it says "Not accessible, access
denied". Also, when I hover the mouse over the file it says
"folder empty".

The thing is, when I go to start the computer now, it gives
me two options for installing windows, the new one or the
old one. The old one won't start at all for the same reason
as before, but it appears to still be there. Have I lost my
files? Is there any way to recover them?

And as a complete aside, my new installation of Windows XP
doesn't appear to have an audio device. Is there something
I can download?

Frustratedly yours,
Openning

You need to take ownership of your old files. Take a look here
for
the procedure:

How to take ownership of a file or folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;308421

Note: If you are running Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition, you
must start the computer in safe mode, and then log on with an
account that has Administrative rights to have access to the
Security tab. To start in Safe Mode, reboot your computer and
start tapping the F8 key as soon as you see anything displayed
on the screen. Keep hitting F8 until the Advanced Startup
Options menu appears. Use the up and down arrow keys on your
keyboard to select Safe Mode. Hit Enter.

As for your audio problem, go to your computer or sound card
manufacturer's web site and download the latest audio drivers.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[coal_brona]

Hi,

I can say you can ty using data recovery tools to restore erased files.
This method worked perfectly for me in a simmilar situation. Among
these utilities I can pose out Active@ Undelete and Uneraser (for pure
DOS). They works really great and never ever failed to restore. That
should really help, give it a try.

http://www.active-undelete.com/

http://www.uneraser.com/