Most of my Office files vanished when I upgraded to Win XP!

Life Technology
1

I recently upgraded from Windows ME to Windows XP. (I also converted all the files on my hard drive from FAT32 to NTFS format.) Now it’s a nightmare because almost all of my Word and Excel files have disappeared! I tried searching for them using Start -> Search, but they’re gone! All that’s left are shortcuts, but all the shortcuts are dead links!

Also, all of my files that used to be on the Desktop are now at C:\Windows\setup\shell\17, except the Word and Excel files, which are missing.

What’s going on?

2

cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Try and download this program, maybe it can find your lost files

3

[quote]http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk

Try and download this program, maybe it can find your lost files[/quote]
I just tried that, and it didn’t find any more files.

Does anyone know a company that does data recovery? And how much does it cost?

4

There are a few of those company around. Check the yellow pages in English. But you’ll probably have to come up to Taipei! plus, I hear it’s quiet expensive.
So, fellows, BACKUP ALL YOUR VALUABLE FILES AT LEAST TWICE A MONTH.

5

[quote=“igorveni”]There are a few of those company around. Check the yellow pages in English. But you’ll probably have to come up to Taipei! plus, I hear it’s quiet expensive.
So, fellows, BACKUP ALL YOUR VALUABLE FILES AT LEAST TWICE A MONTH.[/quote]

Yeah, and NEVER upgrade an operating system without backing stuff up either.

You could try this software. Has helped me out a few times:
pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm

6

Maybe you could try … cgsecurity.org/wiki/PhotoRec instead of testdisk

PhotoRec is a small tool to recover pictures from digital camera memory. Photorec software searches for MOV and JPEG headers, and because there is (usually) no data fragmentation, it can recover the whole file.

It can recover data from CompactFlash, Memory Stick, SecureDigital, SmartMedia, Microdrive, MMC, USB Memory Drives…

PhotoRec is safe to use, it will never attempt to write to the drive or memory support you are about to recover from. Recovered files are instead written in the directory from where you are running the PhotoRec program.

Photorec ignores the filesystem, this way it works even if the filesystem is severely damaged.

It can recover lost files at least from:

· FAT,
· NTFS,
· EXT2/EXT3 filesystem

Digital Camera

PhotoRec has been successfully tested with:

· Canon EOS300D, 10D
· HP PhotoSmart 620, 850, 935
· Nikon CoolPix 775, 5700
· Olympus C350N, C860L, Mju 400 Digital, Stylus 300
· Sony DSC-P9
· Praktica DCZ-3.4
· Casio Exilim EX-Z 750

PhotoRec searchs known file header and because there is no data fragmentation (usually), it can recover the whole file. Photorec recognises numerous file format including:

Archive
· .7z 7zip archive file
· .bz2 bzip2 compressed data
· .gz gzip compressed data
· .rar Rar archive
· .tar tar archive
· .zip zip archive
· Multimedia
· .asf, .wma, .wmv: Advanced Streaming Format used for Audio/Video
· .au Sun/NeXT audio data
· .avi .wav RIFF audio/video
· .bmp BMP bitmap image
· .cdr Corel Draw
· .crw Canon Raw picture
· .ctg Canon catalog
· .dcr Kodak Raw picture
· .dsc Nikon dsc
· .fla Flash Project File
· .gif Graphic Interchange Format
· .jng JPEG Network Graphics
· .jpg JPG picture
· .mng Multiple-Image Network Graphics
· .mov MOV video
· .mp3 MPEG ADTS, layer III, v1 audio
· .mp4 MPEG 4
· .mpg Moving Picture Experts Group video
· .mrw Minolta Raw picture
· .ogg OGG Vorbis audio
· .orf Olympus Raw Format picture
· .pcx PCX file format
· .pef Pentax Raw picture
· .png Portable Network Graphics
· .psd Adobe Photoshop Image
· .qxd QuarkXpress Document
· .qxp QuarkXpress Document
· .raf Raw Fujifilm picture
· .raw Contax picture
· .rdc Rollei picture
· .sit Mikron
· .sr2 Sony Raw picture
· .tif Tag Image File Format
· .x3f Sigma/Foveon X3 raw picture
· .xcf GIMP XCF File

Office
· .doc Microsoft Word
· .mbd Access database
· .odd OpenDocument Drawing
· .odp OpenDocument Presentation
· .ods OpenDocument Spreadsheet
· .odt OpenDocument Text
· .pap Papyrus word file
· .ppt PowerPoint presentation
· .rtf Rich Text Format
· .sda StarDraw
· .sdc StarCalc
· .sdd StarImpress
· .sdw StarWriter
· .slk Sylk, Multiplan Symbolic Link Interchange
· .sxc OpenOffice Spreadsheet
· .sxd OpenOffice Drawing
· .sxi OpenOffice Presentation
· .sxw OpenOffice Text Document
· .txt Text file
· .vis Visio document
· .xls Microsoft Excel

Others
· .asp ASP script
· .bat Batch
· .c C source file
· .dbf DBase 3 (prone to false positive)
· .dbx Outlook Express
· .eps Encasulated PostScript
· .exe MS executable
· .frm MySQL table definition
· .h C header
· .html HTML
· .jsp JSP script
· .MYI MySQL MISAM compressed data
· .pdf Portable Document Format
· .php PHP script
· .pl Perl script
· .prc PalmOS application
· .ps PostScript document
· .pst Outlook
· .py Python script
· .qdf Quicken
· .sh Shell script
· .wab Windows Address Book

7

I downloaded and ran “PC Inspector Smart Recovery”, but it only looked for image files (GIF, JPEG, etc.).

Then I downloaded and ran “PhotoRec”, but it didn’t any files, either.

I decided to send my hard drive to a professional “data recovery” company. I did a Google search and I found a company in Neihu called “Lin Wei Data Recovery”. I’m going to mail my hard drive to them tomorrow morning. (I still have the box that the hard drive came in, which is well-insulated, so I’m sure the hard drive won’t get damaged in the mail.)

I’ll let everyone know the price. If it’s too expensive, then I’ll tell them to just send me back the hard drive, and then I’ll go back to using software to try to recover my files. (I called them today and asked for an estimate, but they said that they can’t give me an estimate until they see my hard drive.)

Mark

8

[quote=“Mark Nagel”]I downloaded and ran “PC Inspector Smart Recovery”, but it didn’t find any files. However, it seems like it was only looking for image files (GIF, JPEG, etc.).
[/quote]

I’ll bet you any money you downloaded PC Inspector Smart Recovery instead of PC Inspector File Recovery (Both downloads on the same page. I admit I’ve done it myself ). :blush:

9

You’re right! :blush:

Now I’ll download “File Recovery”, and I’ll let you know if it finds anything.

10

I just got back from Taipei.

Lin Wei Data Recovery company in Neihu (www.linwei.com.tw) said they wanted 17,000 NT to recover my files! I told them to forget it! I argued with them that my hard drive doesn’t have any mechanical problem so they don’t need to open up the hard drive or anything, but they just said that 17,000 NT is their “standard fee”. What a bunch of crap! I wasted the whole day going all the way up to Taipei (3 1/2 hours each way by train from Jiayi). Well, I should have just mailed the hard drive, but I didn’t want to take any chances of it getting damaged in the mail.

Unfortunately, I can’t use the program “PC Inspector File Recovery” unless I have a second hard drive (which I don’t) because it doesn’t let you run the program from the same hard drive that you’re repairing. So now I’m going to have to buy a new hard drive just so that I can repair my old hard drive.

11

Sorry to have to say this, but consider it a learning experience Mark.

Anyway an 80GB hard drive will only set you back NT$1500 at the computer market these days. Possibly a bit more where you are. These days you can never have too much space, and 2 drives are good to have. It means next time you do anything major, you can swap files around so they’re backed up in case something bad happens.

BTW, don’t assume that software will recover your files. If you want to try, go ahead, but if it doesn’t work, please don’t blame me. It has worked for me plenty of times though. :stuck_out_tongue:

12

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news Mark, but here’s a list of things you should never do to a drive you are trying to recover data from:

  1. Physically destroy the drive
  2. Perform a secure file erase on the drive
  3. Defrag the drive
  4. Convert the file system
  5. Install a new operating system on the drive
  6. Install or use any software (including file recovery software) directly on the drive
  7. Write to the drive in anyway
  8. Give the drive dirty looks or make disparaging remarks about its mother

Maybe I’m joking with number 8 but that’s just to highlight the importance of number 7. The chances of recovering anything after it has been deleted decrease every time you write to the drive. “write” in your case (because it’s the drive that has your Windows install on it) includes just starting up the PC.

From the list you’ve done all but the top 2 (XP runs a mini file optimization/defrag each time it starts to make programs launch faster. Good for performance, bad for file recovery) putting the chances of any consumer-level file recovery software getting your stuff back fairly low. It’s a shame that that professional service wouldn’t tell you their price over the phone when you asked (if it’s a basic fee then they could have) but $17,000 is reasonable. Maybe you don’t think the files you lost are worth that much, but if you were a business that had just deleted all its financial records, or a wife who’s lost the only copies of her wedding photos, that cost is nothing. For the recovery service each case is the same amount of work.

Your choices now are either leave the drive alone and go pay a professional* or suck it up and accept the files as gone. Anyone who hasn’t lost a large amount of important data at least once just hasn’t been using computers long enough. As irishstu says, learn from the experience.

*Even if you do decide to pay, don’t expect to get all your files back.

13

Finally a post by someone who knows something about file recovery. :slight_smile:

There are what seem to be professional grade file recovery apps. Those are usually at least a few hundred US dollars.

It’s very possible the files are still there and mis-placed. There are Microsoft KB (knowledgebase) articles about missing files after an upgrade. For instance, if the files don’t follow XP naming conventions (like the path would be longer than 255 characters), they’ll be moved around. Look into those.

14

My (least) favorite mistake was when I moved up all of my files to a USB drive, installed windows, repartitioned and formatted my drive.

Little did I realize that I was installing windows on my USB drive and managed to write over all of the files I had just moved. :wall:

Lesson learned: Unplug any USB drives before installing Windows! Windows is not kind enough to warn you that you’re about to do something stupid.

15

Just as well you put that smiley in there, gary. :s

[quote=“gary”]There are what seem to be professional grade file recovery apps. Those are usually at least a few hundred US dollars.

It’s very possible the files are still there and mis-placed. There are Microsoft KB (knowledgebase) articles about missing files after an upgrade. For instance, if the files don’t follow XP naming conventions (like the path would be longer than 255 characters), they’ll be moved around. Look into those.[/quote]

No comments about how good MacOS is and how crap Windows is? :stuck_out_tongue:

16

Just as well you put that smiley in there, gary. :s
[/quote]

:slight_smile: It’s unfortunate all computers still require lots of tech knowledge to use. Even Macs are decades away from being usable by my grandma. When someone who’s never used a computer can figure out anything, then I’ll say computers are easy to use.

[quote=“gary”]There are what seem to be professional grade file recovery apps. Those are usually at least a few hundred US dollars.

It’s very possible the files are still there and mis-placed. There are Microsoft KB (knowledgebase) articles about missing files after an upgrade. For instance, if the files don’t follow XP naming conventions (like the path would be longer than 255 characters), they’ll be moved around. Look into those.[/quote]

No comments about how good MacOS is and how crap Windows is? :p[/quote]

:slight_smile: Why bother. It’s not worth it talking with people who haven’t used Windows, Mac, and unix/linux for years. It’s hard to compare without knowing all of them.

As for backup, at least OS X 10.5 Leopard finally brings backup that anyone can use and that requires the least few steps to restore.

apple.com/macosx/leopard/timemachine.html

Now all they need to do is provide unlimited store with .Mac and people can really use it. That might not be cost effective for them. But the Google CEO is now on the Apple board and Google does have the infrastructure to do this.

17

Thanks. Unfortunately most of what I know has been learnt the hard way. :frowning:

The problem isn’t restoring from a backup, it’s making good backups in the first place, and Time Machine does nothing to help that.

From what I’ve read it requires a separate hard drive (maybe a partition would do) or a server to store the backups, which puts it above the level of ‘anyone’ to setup and use. Volume Shadow Copy which is included in Vista, and which Microsoft included in Windows Server 2003, is just as useful for recovering accidentally deleted files, if not more so as it works without needing any special file/drive structure, it just lacks the fancy (over the top) interface.

Either way, anyone using Time Machine or Volume Shadow Copy as their only backup system is going to be in for a shock when their computer gets stolen or is damaged in a fire, flood etc.

18

Thanks. Unfortunately most of what I know has been learnt the hard way. :frowning:
[/quote]

It seems you’ve used Windows Server and have been in IT or had to do to IT work. Unfortunately, computers still require so much IT knowledge.

The problem isn’t restoring from a backup, it’s making good backups in the first place, and Time Machine does nothing to help that.

From what I’ve read it requires a separate hard drive (maybe a partition would do) or a server to store the backups, which puts it above the level of ‘anyone’ to setup and use. Volume Shadow Copy which is included in Vista, and which Microsoft included in Windows Server 2003, is just as useful for recovering accidentally deleted files, if not more so as it works without needed any special file/drive structure, it just lacks the fancy (over the top) interface.[/quote]

I haven’t used Windows daily for at least 5 years. Back then the only backup software I used was Veritas Backup Exec. But that’s meant for companies to backup dozens or hundreds of servers.

And the problem with making backups is that it is too hard for the average user. There is real-time backup software for Windows; there are some that are even integrated into Windows Explorer. It’s still too complicated for the average user.

Time Machine does require a separate HD. It offers complete system restore for those that need it-- with almost no setup.

It’d be hard to backup everything on one drive unless one has double the space of however much one uses. With desktops that might be possible. With notebooks, maybe not yet. Still waiting for 300 gig perpendicular notebook drives.

For the moment I use Deja Vu on a Mac. It’s a front end to rsync. Not the best solution but it’s ok for now.

There are plenty of online backup solutions like .Mac, XDrive, Mozy, and lots of others I forgot the name of. I should be getting the alpha Mac client for Mozy soon. 2 gigs free and 30 gigs for something like $5 a month. That’d still require seperate software.

There have been rumors of Google offering online storage. Hope so. What I really need is online store. I use a notebook and backing up from anywhere is ideal. Plus if my notebook and external drive were stolen from my home, I’d still have the backup.

Time Machine is integrated into every application. So if I’m in Mail and wanted a deleted mail, all I need to do is launch Time Machine and it’ll show me deleted mails within the mail application. Simple.

Apple will need to offer more than 1 gig of online store with .Mac if they want to make it accessible to all.

too be more helpful to the original poster. If the files were deleted, they were probably uncoverable from the moment you booted XP. If they are still there and hidden away from an upgrade error, find those 2+ Microsoft KB articles about it. Use keywords like upgrade 98 xp missing files. Or search usenet. Usenet has lots of Microsoft support MVPs that can offer better help.

19

Mark,

Here are the 2 KB articles I was talking about:

support.microsoft.com/?kbid=312942
support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314931

There could be more. The best bet is posting a msg to a usenet group for XP.

20

Right-click a folder, select “Restore previous versions”, browse, open, and select the version to restore from the list.

That’s how easy it is in Vista. True there’s no fancy flying into a nebula type image in the background, but it’s hardly any less complicated for the average user. And it’s on by default without the need for any extra hardware.

“Almost no setup” meaning install a separate hard drive and configure Time Machine. We’re talking about average users, and average users can’t install a second hard drive (and so can’t use Time Machine).

So if you accidentally delete a file on a MacBook you’re SOL unless they start shipping with 2 drives because Time Machine can’t be used. Volume Shadow Copy in Vista doesn’t have any such limitations.

I’m pretty sure the application has to be written to support Time Machine and anyway its pretty much irrelevant because unless its setup before hand, the average user can’t use it. Volume Shadow Copy works at the OS/file system level so works without any need for the application to be rewritten. Now I’m not suggesting that an average user would be able to find his Outlook .pst and restore his emails, but at least the file will have been backed up so someone can do it for him.

I’m not saying Time Machine isn’t a good application or that it doesn’t have its uses, my only point of contention is the claim that it’s a “backup [solution] that anyone can use” it just smacks of “Macs are sooo much easier” to use idolatry, yet isn’t founded in truth.

P.S.

chown myPC yourMac

:raspberry: