need help finding files after re-install

[jdh8668]

I recently had to re-install XP on my home computer after it kept shutting
itself down and rebooting. When I got back up and running, my photos,
document, and itune files (among others) ended up missing. I've checked my
backup disc and still not having any luck. Any suggestions on retrieval
software?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

"jdh8668" <jdh8668@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:AFC975EE-F8AB-42A3-9620-08E6E3222EF8@microsoft.com...
>I recently had to re-install XP on my home computer after it kept shutting
> itself down and rebooting. When I got back up and running, my photos,
> document, and itune files (among others) ended up missing. I've checked my
> backup disc and still not having any luck. Any suggestions on retrieval
> software?

Have a look in the folder "c:\Documents and Settings". What subfolders
can you see there? Do any of them look familiar? Can you open any
of them?

About your backup: How often did you back up your files? When did
you last perform a backup? Just before you re-installed Windows?
What did you back them up to? Did you check some sample files
or folders on the backup medium? Could you see the backed-up
files and folders?

If you cannot locate any familiar folders in "c:\Documents and
Settings" and if the search of your backup medium is unsuccessful
then you will have to treat this unfortunate event as a very painful
lesson, the lesson being that you must back up all important files
regularly to an independent medium, and especially before any
major operation such as a software installation. It is equally
essential that you check your backups regularly.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

On Wed, 4 Jul 2007 08:42:03 -0700, jdh8668
<jdh8668@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote:

> I recently had to re-install XP on my home computer after it kept shutting
> itself down and rebooting. When I got back up and running, my photos,
> document, and itune files (among others) ended up missing.


Assuming that you correctly did a clean reinstallation, that's to be
expected. A clean installation wipes out everything on the drive
before installing Windows. That's why you need to do a backup of
anything you need first.


> I've checked my
> backup disc and still not having any luck. Any suggestions on retrieval
> software?


What does "and still not having any luck" mean? How did you create
this backup? On what kind of media? How long ago? How did you "check"
the backup disc"? Exactly what did you do, and exactly what were the
results? If you got an error message, please quote it verbatim.


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
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