lost data

[robert]

i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
thanks so much in advance.

[R. C. White]

Hi, Robert.

There is SO MUCH you haven't told us. :>(

Did you "clean install" WinXP? Or did you "upgrade" from ME?

Did you repartition and/or reformat your HD? If so, then your data is
probably beyond recovery unless you want to engage a disk recovery service
business (pretty expensive). But Windows won't write over your old data
unless it was somehow deleted and its disk space is marked as available for
use. If the data was deleted, then do not write anything to that drive
until you've recovered your data or given up on it. "Write", of course,
includes any activity like defragging the drive, installing a program,
saving new or updated data. You can safely read from the drive, but don't
let anything write to it.

If you simply started with a working WinME and told it to Upgrade to WinXP,
then all or most of your data should still be there. The upgrade process
should have "migrated" your applications to the new platform, leaving your
data in place. All you have to do is find it.

For example, if your thesis was being done in MS Word on WinME, and then you
upgraded WinME to WinXP, Word should have been migrated. You should be able
to simply boot to WinXP, select Word from the Start | All Programs menu, and
click on it. Once you are in Word, click File | Open, Browse to where your
thesis files were stored, and click to load a file.

Perhaps you just need to search for the "missing" files. Open a "DOS"
window. At the prompt, type: "dir C:\*.doc /s /a" - and wait a while.
The "C:\" starts at the Root of the C: drive. The "*.doc" lists every file
that has a .doc extension (which is the default for Word, of course). The
"/s" searches all subdirectories and the "/a" lists all files, even if the
Hidden, System or Read-only attribute is set. (If necessary, add the /p
switch to make the listing pause after every pageful.) Once you verify that
the files still exist, you can easily figure out how to get them into Word.

Tell us more about what you did and we probably can help you get up and
running again.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"robert" <21ganser@optonline> wrote in message
...
> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
> thanks so much in advance.

[rifleman]

In article >, 21ganser@optonline
cogitated deeply and wrote...
> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
> thanks so much in advance.
>
Did you upgrade or do a clean install?
--
Lat N53:02:23 Long W1:56:30
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam:
Reply to group only
Google is your Friend

[robert]

i did a clean install
>-----Original Message-----
>In article >,
21ganser@optonline
>cogitated deeply and wrote...
>> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
>> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
>> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
>> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
>> thanks so much in advance.
>>
>Did you upgrade or do a clean install?
>--
>Lat N53:02:23 Long W1:56:30
>Email address deliberately false to avoid spam:
>Reply to group only
>Google is your Friend
>.
>

[Frank]

You lost it.
"robert" > wrote in message
...
> i did a clean install
> >-----Original Message-----
> >In article >,
> 21ganser@optonline
> >cogitated deeply and wrote...
> >> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
> >> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
> >> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
> >> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
> >> thanks so much in advance.
> >>
> >Did you upgrade or do a clean install?
> >--
> >Lat N53:02:23 Long W1:56:30
> >Email address deliberately false to avoid spam:
> >Reply to group only
> >Google is your Friend
> >.
> >

[Sharon F]

How did you do a clean install? Do you remember formatting the partition?
Telling the upgrade to replace or save the old operating system?

Is is possible you ended up with two Windows folders? (Not likely but can
happen depending on how you answered questions during setup.)

Try searching for one of the files that you know the name of. Do this after
setting Folder Options | View to show all files and folders and not to hide
system files. (Change those setting back later if the presence of all those
extra files bugs ya.)


--
Sharon F
Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User

robert wrote:
> i did a clean install
>> -----Original Message-----
>> In article >, 21ganser@optonline
>> cogitated deeply and wrote...
>>> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
>>> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
>>> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
>>> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
>>> thanks so much in advance.
>>>
>> Did you upgrade or do a clean install?
>> --
>> Lat N53:02:23 Long W1:56:30
>> Email address deliberately false to avoid spam:
>> Reply to group only
>> Google is your Friend
>> .

[robert]

thanks so much for the help
sorry about the lack of info (this isn't my thing/i'm a
little lost-obviously)
i must have done a clean install because i didn't do an
upgrade. we just got fed up w/ me, bought xp, and had a
buddy walk us thru it (roughly). i think i repartitioned
the drive, so everything is likely lost. i think i
deleted the old partition and used unpartitioned space?
sorry i can't be more clear. thanks again.
>-----Original Message-----
>Hi, Robert.
>
>There is SO MUCH you haven't told us. :>(
>
>Did you "clean install" WinXP? Or did you "upgrade"
from ME?
>
>Did you repartition and/or reformat your HD? If so,
then your data is
>probably beyond recovery unless you want to engage a
disk recovery service
>business (pretty expensive). But Windows won't write
over your old data
>unless it was somehow deleted and its disk space is
marked as available for
>use. If the data was deleted, then do not write
anything to that drive
>until you've recovered your data or given up on
it. "Write", of course,
>includes any activity like defragging the drive,
installing a program,
>saving new or updated data. You can safely read from
the drive, but don't
>let anything write to it.
>
>If you simply started with a working WinME and told it
to Upgrade to WinXP,
>then all or most of your data should still be there.
The upgrade process
>should have "migrated" your applications to the new
platform, leaving your
>data in place. All you have to do is find it.
>
>For example, if your thesis was being done in MS Word on
WinME, and then you
>upgraded WinME to WinXP, Word should have been
migrated. You should be able
>to simply boot to WinXP, select Word from the Start |
All Programs menu, and
>click on it. Once you are in Word, click File | Open,
Browse to where your
>thesis files were stored, and click to load a file.
>
>Perhaps you just need to search for the "missing"
files. Open a "DOS"
>window. At the prompt, type: "dir C:\*.doc /s /a" -
and wait a while.
>The "C:\" starts at the Root of the C: drive.
The "*.doc" lists every file
>that has a .doc extension (which is the default for
Word, of course). The
>"/s" searches all subdirectories and the "/a" lists all
files, even if the
>Hidden, System or Read-only attribute is set. (If
necessary, add the /p
>switch to make the listing pause after every pageful.)
Once you verify that
>the files still exist, you can easily figure out how to
get them into Word.
>
>Tell us more about what you did and we probably can help
you get up and
>running again.
>
>RC
>--
>R. C. White, CPA
>San Marcos, TX

>Microsoft Windows MVP
>
>"robert" <21ganser@optonline> wrote in message
...
>> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
>> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
>> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
>> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
>> thanks so much in advance.
>
>
>.
>

[Sharon F]

If this is the case the data is long gone. Deleting a partition, recreating
it and formatting it wipes out everything on the drive. Sorry.


--
Sharon F
Microsoft MVP, Windows - Shell/User


robert wrote:
> thanks so much for the help
> sorry about the lack of info (this isn't my thing/i'm a
> little lost-obviously)
> i must have done a clean install because i didn't do an
> upgrade. we just got fed up w/ me, bought xp, and had a
> buddy walk us thru it (roughly). i think i repartitioned
> the drive, so everything is likely lost. i think i
> deleted the old partition and used unpartitioned space?
> sorry i can't be more clear. thanks again.
>> -----Original Message-----
>> Hi, Robert.
>>
>> There is SO MUCH you haven't told us. :>(
>>
>> Did you "clean install" WinXP? Or did you "upgrade" from ME?
>>
>> Did you repartition and/or reformat your HD? If so, then your data is
>> probably beyond recovery unless you want to engage a disk recovery
service
>> business (pretty expensive). But Windows won't write over your old data
>> unless it was somehow deleted and its disk space is marked as available
for
>> use. If the data was deleted, then do not write anything to that drive
>> until you've recovered your data or given up on
> it. "Write", of course,
>> includes any activity like defragging the drive, installing a program,
>> saving new or updated data. You can safely read from the drive, but
don't
>> let anything write to it.
>>
>> If you simply started with a working WinME and told it to Upgrade to
WinXP,
>> then all or most of your data should still be there. The upgrade process
>> should have "migrated" your applications to the new platform, leaving
your
>> data in place. All you have to do is find it.
>>
>> For example, if your thesis was being done in MS Word on WinME, and then
>> you upgraded WinME to WinXP, Word should have been migrated. You should
>> be able to simply boot to WinXP, select Word from the Start | All
Programs
>> menu, and click on it. Once you are in Word, click File | Open, Browse
to
>> where your thesis files were stored, and click to load a file.
>>
>> Perhaps you just need to search for the "missing" files. Open a "DOS"
>> window. At the prompt, type: "dir C:\*.doc /s /a" - and wait a while.
>> The "C:\" starts at the Root of the C: drive.
> The "*.doc" lists every file
>> that has a .doc extension (which is the default for Word, of course).
The
>> "/s" searches all subdirectories and the "/a" lists all files, even if
the
>> Hidden, System or Read-only attribute is set. (If necessary, add the /p
>> switch to make the listing pause after every pageful.) Once you verify
that
>> the files still exist, you can easily figure out how to get them into
Word.
>>
>> Tell us more about what you did and we probably can help you get up and
>> running again.
>>
>> RC
>> --
>> R. C. White, CPA
>> San Marcos, TX
>>
>> Microsoft Windows MVP
>>
>> "robert" <21ganser@optonline> wrote in message
>> ...
>>> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
>>> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
>>> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
>>> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
>>> thanks so much in advance.
>>
>>
>> .

[R. C. White]

Hi, Robert.

Still some slim hope...

If you had more than one partition before, and deleted just one of them,
then your data could be safe on the other(s).

Does My Computer show more than one hard drive? Not counting your CD/DVD
drive(s) or anything like that, do you have a Drive D: - or X: or...? If
so, use that second HD drive letter with my earlier suggestion:
> >Perhaps you just need to search for the "missing"
> files. Open a "DOS"
> >window. At the prompt, type: "dir C:\*.doc /s /a" -
> and wait a while.

In other words, type: dir D:\*.doc /s /a. Then try it with E:\, and with
every other letter of the alphabet - we're desperate here, right? Also, try
dir x:\pic*.* /s /a or dir x:\*.jpg to find missing picture files - just
keep trying stuff like this until no hope is left.

After that, I'm at the end of my rope. Good luck.

RC
--
R. C. White, CPA
San Marcos, TX

Microsoft Windows MVP

"robert" > wrote in message
...
> thanks so much for the help
> sorry about the lack of info (this isn't my thing/i'm a
> little lost-obviously)
> i must have done a clean install because i didn't do an
> upgrade. we just got fed up w/ me, bought xp, and had a
> buddy walk us thru it (roughly). i think i repartitioned
> the drive, so everything is likely lost. i think i
> deleted the old partition and used unpartitioned space?
> sorry i can't be more clear. thanks again.
> >-----Original Message-----
> >Hi, Robert.
> >
> >There is SO MUCH you haven't told us. :>(
> >
> >Did you "clean install" WinXP? Or did you "upgrade"
> from ME?
> >
> >Did you repartition and/or reformat your HD? If so,
> then your data is
> >probably beyond recovery unless you want to engage a
> disk recovery service
> >business (pretty expensive). But Windows won't write
> over your old data
> >unless it was somehow deleted and its disk space is
> marked as available for
> >use. If the data was deleted, then do not write
> anything to that drive
> >until you've recovered your data or given up on
> it. "Write", of course,
> >includes any activity like defragging the drive,
> installing a program,
> >saving new or updated data. You can safely read from
> the drive, but don't
> >let anything write to it.
> >
> >If you simply started with a working WinME and told it
> to Upgrade to WinXP,
> >then all or most of your data should still be there.
> The upgrade process
> >should have "migrated" your applications to the new
> platform, leaving your
> >data in place. All you have to do is find it.
> >
> >For example, if your thesis was being done in MS Word on
> WinME, and then you
> >upgraded WinME to WinXP, Word should have been
> migrated. You should be able
> >to simply boot to WinXP, select Word from the Start |
> All Programs menu, and
> >click on it. Once you are in Word, click File | Open,
> Browse to where your
> >thesis files were stored, and click to load a file.
> >
> >Perhaps you just need to search for the "missing"
> files. Open a "DOS"
> >window. At the prompt, type: "dir C:\*.doc /s /a" -
> and wait a while.
> >The "C:\" starts at the Root of the C: drive.
> The "*.doc" lists every file
> >that has a .doc extension (which is the default for
> Word, of course). The
> >"/s" searches all subdirectories and the "/a" lists all
> files, even if the
> >Hidden, System or Read-only attribute is set. (If
> necessary, add the /p
> >switch to make the listing pause after every pageful.)
> Once you verify that
> >the files still exist, you can easily figure out how to
> get them into Word.
> >
> >Tell us more about what you did and we probably can help
> you get up and
> >running again.
> >
> >RC
> >
> >"robert" <21ganser@optonline> wrote in message
> ...
> >> i have recently installed xp (from me). there is some
> >> data i did not save (in outlook, pictures, parts of my
> >> thesis, etc.). is it gone? can i get it back? is it
> >> still on my hardrive, or did i write over it all?
> >> thanks so much in advance.