Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back

[Guest]

I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto the
desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't know how that
could have happened. I am not the only user of this computer, but I do not
think any other user (only my family) would have deleted or changed the
files, at least not on purpose. I tried searching for the file names using
the Windows XP Search option, and I found the file names in "Recent
Documents", but when I clicked on them, I received a message saying that the
links were shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been
changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might have caused
this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I found nothing else.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Ron Badour]

They were accessed for some reason (recent folder entries) so it appears
they were renamed or deleted. The obvious question is did you check the
recycle bin?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto
the desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't
know how that could have happened. I am not the only user of this
computer, but I do not think any other user (only my family) would
have deleted or changed the files, at least not on purpose. I tried
searching for the file names using the Windows XP Search option,
and I found the file names in "Recent Documents", but when I
clicked on them, I received a message saying that the links were
shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been
changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might
have caused this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I
found nothing else. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Checked the Recycle Bin?

 

[Guest]

Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally nothing. I even
tried a system restore of a week back, which was the maximum time I could go
back. It didn't turn up.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally
nothing. I even tried a system restore of a week back, which was
the maximum time I could go back. It didn't turn up.

System Restore will *never* help you recover files of *yours* you have lost.
It may, in fact, have messed up any chance you had of recovering the files
if they have been SHIFT-deleted or otherwise - by overwriting sections of
your hard drive and permanently scrambling what might have been recoverable
by other software. System Restore handles exactly what its name infers - no
more. System related files. Yours are maintained by your periodic backups.
(Don't have any - might think about it.)

Can you not just get copies of these items again? Surely these are not the
only proof of them - nor your only copy (as I am sure you would have burned
them to CD/DVD or some other permanent media - several times over - if these
were the only copies.)

You might be able to get something back using something like:
Undelete: http://www.undelete.com/file-recovery.asp

There are free ones out there:
Restoration 2.5.14
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4474.html

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally nothing. I even
tried a system restore of a week back, which was the maximum time I could go
back. It didn't turn up.

System Restore is a tool for restoring the operating system. It is
*not* a backup tool, and does nothing to protect your data files.

System Restore is meant to be a quick easy way to revert your system
(not your data) to the state it was in a day or a few days ago.
Effectively it's just an easy way to undo a recent change you made.

If your data is important to you, you need to have a backup scheme in
place.

 

[Bill Sharpe]

I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto the
desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't know how that
could have happened. I am not the only user of this computer, but I do not
think any other user (only my family) would have deleted or changed the
files, at least not on purpose. I tried searching for the file names using
the Windows XP Search option, and I found the file names in "Recent
Documents", but when I clicked on them, I received a message saying that the
links were shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been
changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might have caused
this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I found nothing else.
Does anyone have any suggestions?

Have you tried returning to the website where you downloaded these
files? They should still be there.
And I suggest setting up your computer so that each family member has
his/her own user account so that no one else can delete files from your
desktop (at least, not easily!). Type in "user accounts" in Help and
Support.

Bill