11 replies to this topic

[Jam-Fly]

Well, I turned on my laptop and went to log in. It said my personal settings had been forgotten by windows and a temporary a/c would be used. It also said any changes I made on this profile would not be saved.
All my documents, internet history, videos, songs, pictures etc. are gone. The programmes I have downloaded are still here, but that's about it.
How do I get back all my stuff??!!? The only possible cause I can think off is that I often don't shut down the computer, I just turn off the power.
So help really appreciated. $20 on Stars to the guy that gets me all my stuff back.
Thanks!

[aadams_22]

Well, I turned on my laptop and went to log in. It said my personal settings had been forgotten by windows and a temporary a/c would be used. It also said any changes I made on this profile would not be saved.
All my documents, internet history, videos, songs, pictures etc. are gone. The programmes I have downloaded are still here, but that's about it.
How do I get back all my stuff??!!? The only possible cause I can think off is that I often don't shut down the computer, I just turn off the power.
So help really appreciated. $20 on Stars to the guy that gets me all my stuff back.
Thanks!

Two words, System Mechanic

System Mechanic 7 to be exact. That program is a life saver when it comes to computers. It even has a function that will retrieve any lost files. You can get it at any Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's, or Wal-Mart for aroune $40. It also block against spy-ware, speeds up your PC, and cleans out unecessary junk. It's definitely worth the money and the program has won numerous awards from PC magazines such as PC World and PC Computing as well as C|NET.

[digitalmonkey]

Start
All Programs
Accessories
System Tools
System Restore

Ship it!

[zsta2k6]

Two words, System Mechanic

System Mechanic 7 to be exact. That program is a life saver when it comes to computers. It even has a function that will retrieve any lost files. You can get it at any Best Buy, Circuit City, Fry's, or Wal-Mart for aroune $40. It also block against spy-ware, speeds up your PC, and cleans out unecessary junk. It's definitely worth the money and the program has won numerous awards from PC magazines such as PC World and PC Computing as well as C|NET.

no.

First thing I'd try doing is running a chkdsk, as if your disk was corrupted in a particular spot, the path to your user account may have been erased.

The 2nd thing I'd try is make sure the following path is valid "C:\Documents and Settings\<your user name>" (in other words, go to C:\documents and settings and see if your user name is the name of a folder in there, and if your data is there)... if that is there, all your data is still on your drive, it's just a matter of restoring your user account.

There are 2 simple ways of going about restoring your account if your data is in fact there. First is trying a system restore to a point where it was working. The 2nd, is creating another user account, then in your old one, transfer the contents of "C:\Documents and Settings\<new user name>" to "C:\Documents and Settings\<new user name>" (make sure you have system files and hidden files visible for this, as they contain important settings) (delete any data that will not transfer, probably the only thing that wont transfer is Dr. Watson data, unimportant)

Edited for readability, and I'll be damned, it was my 1000th post.

[speedz99]

Restart your computer. If that doesn't work, punch it right in the face.

Ship it.

[digitalmonkey]

Restart your computer. If that doesn't work, punch it right in the face.

Ship it.

You get back to your fromunda cheese!

[Jam-Fly]

Aaaggghhh! Nothing's working. I think I have found some of my documents, so I guess that's a start

[profxavier9]

Start
All Programs
Accessories
System Tools
System Restore

Ship it!

beat me to it. that was an easy one.nh sir

[zsta2k6]

Aaaggghhh! Nothing's working. I think I have found some of my documents, so I guess that's a start

go to start > run
type chkdsk /r and press enter
press y, then enter
restart computer
retest, if it doesnt work, post back here and I'll give you step 2

[Jam-Fly]

go to start > run
type chkdsk /r and press enter
press y, then enter
restart computer
retest, if it doesnt work, post back here and I'll give you step 2

didn't work. I'd try the system restore thing but I didn't have any restore points

[digitalmonkey]

didn't work. I'd try the system restore thing but I didn't have any restore points

No restore points? That would have worked too. I'll take $10. Ship it!

[zsta2k6]

didn't work. I'd try the system restore thing but I didn't have any restore points

Did you go to c:\documents and settings, and see if there is a folder with your user name in there?

if so, go to start > control panel > user accounts > create a new account

create a new account, then log out, and log into that account.

After you have logged in, log back out right away, and log in to your old account

go back to C:\Documents and settings, and go into the folder with your old user name

then open another window, and go to C:\Documents and settings, and go into the folder with your new user name

in either window, go to tools > folder options, then the view tab, make sure that the show hidden files and folders radio button is checked, and the hide protected operating system files box is unchecked. Click okay

Select everything from the old user name folder, and copy it into the new user name folder.

Log out of the old user, and into the new one, if everything was done properly, you should have an exact replica of your old user, just with a new name.

If not, good chance that you have lost your data.