returned to XP, can't find personal folders backed up under Vista

[Guest]

After using Windows Vista Business Edition for several months, I became
utterly frustrated with all the compatibility and "see your administrator"
problems (I AM the "administrator"!), and so I decided to return to Windows
XP.

But before I did, I carefully backed up all of my personal data files,
including all those subfolders under the C:/Users folder, particularly the
subfolder C:\Users\Ben Feese , whose subfolders contain ALL my personal
documents, photos, email, etc.. I copied this folder, with all subfolders,
from the C: drive over to a large F: drive containing 500 GB space. I
checked all these folders and subfolders on F: and they all seemed to have
been properly copied. Then I did a clean install of Windows XP Home
Edition, using the same partition as Vista had been in, with a Quick Format
of this partition prior
to the installation of Windows XP.

Now I have XP up and running again. I go to F: to recover the files I had
backed up there and, although the /Users folder is there, the main "Ben
Feese" subfolder which contained all the strategic information I had tried so
carefully to save is GONE!

I am desperate! Does anyone have any ideas as to what has happened and
how, or if, I can ever retrieve this irreplaceable information?

One (albeit vague) idea I had was that these copied folders are still there
on F: , but, since they were protected and only accessible with proper
permissions under Vista, perhaps now under XP they are kept "invisible"
(although I have chosen under Folder View options to display all hidden and
system files in Windows Explorer.

Might it be that if I RE-installed Windows Vista on C: I could then view the
copied personal folders that I thought were on F: ?

Any help or ideas anyone can be provided will be very, very, very gratefully
received!

 

[Chad Harris]

Hi Ben--

You backed up your .psts on the Vista drive which was C:\, and then you
copied them to the 500 GB F:\ drive. Then you installed Vista (on C:\)
after doing a quick format on C:.

I am not sure where the Ben Feese folder is, but this may help you find it.
I can't think of any reason why it would be lost.

1) On drive F:\ Type in the run box "control folders" without quotes. On the
View tab make sure that you put the radio button in "show hidden files and
folders" and the check mark out of "hide protected operating system
files">apply.

2) Try doing a search with XP search (Windows key +F).

3) To further define any and all files on that drive, if you can find it, (I
can't on the new Danish site) you can download DX Hog Hunt.

I don't buy your theory that UAC on Vista is going to render these files
invisible on XP.

Good luck,

CH

 

[Guest]

THAT'S IT!!!!

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

The trick was for you to inform me that there are *separate* controls for
showing hidden files and for showing system and protected files. I had
assumed that the radio button allowing display of hidden files applied to ALL
files that were hidden for *whatever* reason. I was not even aware of the
check box for system and protected files.

I cannot begin to thank you enoughl!

Ben

 

[DanR]

Congrats to Chad for helping you find your missing and very important files.
Is there an explanation for what happened? Were your missing files and
folders marked as hidden? Once you located them did you then uncheck the
hidden attribute in their properties? Just curious as to how this could
happen.

 

[Guest]

Although the folder tree section (F:\Users\Ben Feese and its subfolders) was
"hidden" in the usual, intuitive sense, I am not sure they fell within the
official category of "hidden" as Windows uses it. Rather they were (in the
original Vista installation) marked and "system or protected" files. And it
turns out there are two different switches for making these two categories
visible. What Chad did was to point out to me the second switch in the folder
view options that allows "system and protected" to be made visible.
Apparently in the original Vista installation this visibility had been
enabled, where it was not yet enabled in the new XP installation.

Perhaps Chad can make this clearer than I have.

Ben