Repair turned into reinstallment...all my files gone!!

[sld1986]

Hi,
My laptop originally began restarting and giving me a kernel input
error...it was all downhill from there. After about two days of this,
in the middle of a paper, it just would not start. It said there was a
file that was either missing or corrupt. So I went through my
computer's tech support and they said that they could repair it without
losing my files. Well, long story short, somehow a repair reinstallment
turned into a complete reinstallment and I lost every file on my
computer. I was able to get the programs and software back, but all of
my files are gone. I had a lot of papers and projects that are very
important to me and now they are completely gone. Is there any possible
way that I would be able to recover these lost files (such as word
documents, powerpoints, etc.)? Thanks
Sarah

 

[Shenan Stanley]

Hi,
My laptop originally began restarting and giving me a kernel input
error...it was all downhill from there. After about two days of
this, in the middle of a paper, it just would not start. It said
there was a file that was either missing or corrupt. So I went
through my computer's tech support and they said that they could
repair it without losing my files. Well, long story short, somehow
a repair reinstallment turned into a complete reinstallment and I
lost every file on my computer. I was able to get the programs and
software back, but all of my files are gone. I had a lot of papers
and projects that are very important to me and now they are
completely gone. Is there any possible way that I would be able to
recover these lost files (such as word documents, powerpoints,
etc.)? Thanks

From your backup copies - especially those you would make once you knew your
machine was giving you trouble.

Beyond that - if (as you say) you have done a destructive recovery - very
doubtful you will get anything back with as much writing to the hard drive
as something like that would entail.

Some information to help you prevent this in the future...

The system restore feature is only a useful feature if you keep it
maintained and use it to your advantage. Remember that the system
restore pretty much tells you in the name what it protects which is
'system' files. Your documents, your pictures, your stuff is NOT
system files - so you should also look into some backup solution.

Whenever you think about it (after doing a once-over on your machine
once a month or so would be optimal) - clear out your System Restore
and create a manual restoration point.

'Why?'

Too many times have I seen the system restore files go corrupt or get
a virus in them, meaning you could not or did not want to restore from
them. By clearing it out periodically you help prevent any corruption
from happening and you make sure you have at least one good "snapshot".
(*This, of course, will erase any previous restore point you have.*)

- Turn off System Restore.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310405
- Reboot the Computer.
- Review the first bullet to turn on System Restore
- Make a Manual Restoration Point.
http://snipurl.com/68nx

That covers your system files, but doesn't do anything for the files
that you are REALLY worried about - yours! For that you need to look
into backups. You can either manually copy your important files, folders,
documents, spreadsheets, emails, contacts, pictures, drawings and so on
to an external location (CD/DVD - any disk of some sort, etc) or you can
use the backup tool that comes with Windows XP:

How To Use Backup to Back Up Files and Folders on Your Computer
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308422

Yes - you still need some sort of external media to store the results
on, but you could schedule the backup to occur when you are not around,
then burn the resultant data onto CD or DVD or something when you are
(while you do other things!)

Another option that seems to still be going strong:

Cobian Backup
http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

A lot of people have wondered about how to completely backup their system
so that they would not have to go through the trouble of a reinstall..
I'm going to voice my opinion here and say that it would be worthless to
do for MOST people. Unless you plan on periodically updating the image
backup of your system (remaking it) - then by the time you use it
(something goes wrong) - it will be so outdated as to be more trouble than
performing a full install of the operating system and all applications.

Having said my part against it, you can clone/backup your hard drive
completely using many methods - by far the simplest are using disk cloning
applications:

Symantec/Norton Ghost
http://snipurl.com/13e00

Acronis True Image
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/

BootItT NG
http://terabyteunlimited.com/bootitng.html

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Hi,
My laptop originally began restarting and giving me a kernel input
error...it was all downhill from there. After about two days of this,
in the middle of a paper, it just would not start. It said there was a
file that was either missing or corrupt. So I went through my
computer's tech support and they said that they could repair it without
losing my files. Well, long story short, somehow a repair reinstallment
turned into a complete reinstallment and I lost every file on my
computer. I was able to get the programs and software back, but all of
my files are gone. I had a lot of papers and projects that are very
important to me and now they are completely gone. Is there any possible
way that I would be able to recover these lost files (such as word
documents, powerpoints, etc.)? Thanks
Sarah

In one word: No. The reinstallation overwrote all your files.
Handing the machine to a technician without backing up your
files was a very serious mistake.

There are two groups of PC users: Those who back up their
important files regularly to an independent medium, and those
who don't. Ultimately everyone ends up in the first group. The
transition can be very painful. Members of the second group
don't seem to realise how effective and inexpensive a 2.5" hard
disk in an external USB case is when used for backing up
important files.

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

My laptop originally began restarting and giving me a kernel input
error...it was all downhill from there. After about two days of this,
in the middle of a paper, it just would not start.

See signature...

It said there was a file that was either missing or corrupt. So I
went through my computer's tech support and they said that
they could repair it without losing my files. Well, long story
short, somehow a repair reinstallment turned into a complete
reinstallment and I lost every file on my computer.

The first thing to have done would have been to get OUT of Windows,
because Windows constantly writes to the hard drive, and that can
corrupt the contents and trash data if the hardware's bad.

The first thing the shop should have done, given the hairy history of
the PC, is remove the hard drive and back it up - starting with your
core data files as files, then backing up an image of the partition.

Next thing to have done is to verify the hardware:
- 24 hours in MemTest86 with alternate boot disk in place
- check physical hard drive condition, e.g. www.hdtune.com

---> It is only at this point that a destructive (wipe) re-install
is worth considering, rather than making things worse

After that, check and repair the file system so it is safe for writes;
for NTFS, that means trusting ChkDsk /F

After that, attempt to detect and manage malware. If all is still
well, then there may be a more limited problem that can be tshot.

---> It is only at this point that a non-destructive (repair)
re-install may help, and not make things worse

I was able to get the programs and software back, but all of
my files are gone. I had a lot of papers and projects that are very
important to me and now they are completely gone. Is there any possible
way that I would be able to recover these lost files (such as word
documents, powerpoints, etc.)? Thanks

In general, the more you write to the hard drive (and as mentioned,
Windows is ALWAYS writing to the hard drive), the smaller the chances
of recovering anything. In addition, NTFS reduced the chances of data
recovery further, because there are few if any low-level tools etc.

-------------------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Reality is that which, when you stop believing
in it, does not go away (PKD)

 

[NoStop]

In one word: No. The reinstallation overwrote all your files.
Handing the machine to a technician without backing up your
files was a very serious mistake.

There are two groups of PC users: Those who back up their
important files regularly to an independent medium, and those
who don't. Ultimately everyone ends up in the first group. The
transition can be very painful. Members of the second group
don't seem to realise how effective and inexpensive a 2.5" hard
disk in an external USB case is when used for backing up
important files.

Actually there are 3 groups of PC users. The third group has long since
learned that Windoze is an unstable toy operating system and the best way
to prevent such occurances is to stop using a toy operating system like
Windoze and to move on to using a real operating system like Linux. I'd
advise the OP to stop using Windoze now, while this dreadful experience is
still clear in her mind. She should install a Linux distro (Ubuntu is a
great choice) and not have to face this silliness in the future.

Cheers.

--
Linux is ready for the desktop! More ready than Windoze XP.
http://tinyurl.com/ldm9d

"Computer users around the globe recognize that the most serious threats to
security exist because of inherent weaknesses in the Microsoft operating
system." McAfee

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Actually there are 3 groups of PC users. The third group has long since
learned that Windoze is an unstable toy operating system and the best way
to prevent such occurances is to stop using a toy operating system like
Windoze and to move on to using a real operating system like Linux. I'd
advise the OP to stop using Windoze now, while this dreadful experience is
still clear in her mind. She should install a Linux distro (Ubuntu is a
great choice) and not have to face this silliness in the future.

Cheers.

Yes, we know you like to push this particular barrow. However,
members of Group3 will still end up in Group 1, regardless of
the operating system they use. I thought even you realised this.