Computer crashed! Someone please help (Full Version)

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ghitaPVH -> Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:20:44 PM)

I use windows XP, I shut my computer down about an hour ago, and when I went to turn it back on, it said it couldnt find my user profile and created a temporary one. Now it starts like this is the first time Ive ever turned on the computer. All of my files, all of my settings, they are all gone! Every document, every pictures, even some of the programs. The main ones are still here, peoplepc, all the windows programs, even some of the programs Ive installed myself since purchasing the computer, but some of the programs Ive downloaded off the internet are gone. Ive searched in the "my computer" section...but I cant find any of my files, it acts like they are all gone. All of my settings, like for email and such, are gone compleatly, Outlook express acts like its never been turned on before, its asking me to set up my accounts with my email and passwords and settings, and everything in my inbox is compleatly gone..and unfortunantly thats where alot of my passwords were saved.

If anyone has any ideas about how this might have happened, and how I might be able to recover any of my files, please let me know.

(no, Im an idiot so I dont have backups of anything....)

ghita~



celticlord2112 -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:26:41 PM)

User profiles are directories under C:\Documents and Settings

Check that directory in Windows Explorer.  If you see something like this:

C:\Documents and Settings\user
C:\Documents and Settings\user.000

then Windows experienced a corruption of permissions within the profile directory, and defaulted to a new profile.  If so, within Windows Explorer you should be able to set the permissions on both user and user.000 directory to world readable.  That will allow you access to the original profile directory and let you see if everything is still there.

Also...sent you PM on other side.



Aileen1968 -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:28:16 PM)

Oh that really sucks.



subrob1967 -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:39:04 PM)

Click your start menu and scroll up to program files, in program files scroll to accessories, and run a system restore. Restore your computer to a date before the crash, and that should find your profile.

Once you do that, run Registry Mechanic, or a similiar product (you can find them on downloads.com ) to repair your broken XP system files.

Providing your hard drive is ok, this should fix the problem.



Zensee -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:39:27 PM)

Did you have the "system restore" function switched on? It is active by default on new installs of XP so unless you turned it off you might be able to get your life back.

The retore window is found under programs / accessories / system restore.

Good luck,


Z.

POST: subrob beat me to it.

Now, when you say your files are missing do you mean your datas (pics, documents and such, usually found in the My Documents folder)? If so there are several things you can do to protect this important info:

- Do NOT use the default My Docs folder - ever. Default locations for important files leave you vulnerable, and not in the nice way.
-  Back it up regularly to CDR or DVDR
- Add at least one partition to your drive and store all your data there. This has saved my ass on several occasions. Viruses usually do not usually affect other partitions than C drive.




ghitaPVH -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 1:50:25 PM)

Ive found the files...al my documents and pictures and such....under my user profile on the documents and settings file in C drive. Now, I just need to find out how to get the computer to recognize that user profile again and use it instead of the temporary user profile it created.



instynctive -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 2:10:24 PM)

ghita.. check your cmail.



Griswold -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 3:18:35 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: ghitaPVH

Ive found the files...al my documents and pictures and such....under my user profile on the documents and settings file in C drive. Now, I just need to find out how to get the computer to recognize that user profile again and use it instead of the temporary user profile it created.


(See the previous post regards "System restore")



KenDckey -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 3:43:25 PM)

Have you considered backing everything up to something before going very far?    I personally back up all my data once a month onto an external hard drive.   That way if your root directory becomes corrupt you can still have the majority of your data saved someplace else.



ghitaPVH -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:01:59 PM)

I went ahead and backed up all my documents and pictures...took forever too! Before trying either the system restore or just transferring files to the new profile from the old profile. The system restore has not worked. Ive tried several times to restore to older and older dates and Im still not able to acess any of my files. I was able to begin using the new user profile that windows created at the time of the error, and transfer my documents, favorites, pictures, and desktop to the new profile.

I am still unable to find my settings for Outlook Express. Is there a way to recover the emails in my inbox and my address book? I cant find a file containing that information anywhere. Ive also lost my settings for Internet Explorer if anyone knows where that is either. Thanks.



wkdshadow -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:03:30 PM)

Also, goto start -> run, and type in eventvwr.msc

Click on the "system" tree view, and then sort the list by type. Look for errors. If you see any errors with the source "disk" or "atapi", double click on the event and paste the contents here. If there are A LOT of errors from "disk" that mentions bad blocks, start burning CDs with backups of everything important. Get a new harddrive, and clone the disk with Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image or the like. If you clone the disk you won't lose anything, but it may not work, and the disk may die during cloning. Burn cds first. Sourceforge has plenty of free alternatives to ghost/acronis, but I take it you're not comfortable with *nix based CLI.

PS: It may be a good idea for you to take your computer to a local computer shop and ask them to install a RAID array in RAID 1. I do not suggest bestbuy's geeksquad, they'll charge you out the nose.





ghitaPVH -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:16:13 PM)

wkdshadow....there is quite a few events listed as a disk error with a date of today.



DaddyAndCarina -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:16:15 PM)

* remembers why she pays someone to do that I  got a headache reading it *



wkdshadow -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:33:51 PM)

Start burning CDs. Afterwards, shut down your computer, and bring your computer in to a local shop. Tell them to clone your current harddrive over to a RAID array. Make sure they understand that you want RAID 1, not RAID 0. The reason I say a RAID 1 is because put simply, you run two harddrives with the exact same data. If one gos bad, no big deal, you've got a backup without having to do anything. 



wkdshadow -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:37:28 PM)

quote:

I am still unable to find my settings for Outlook Express. Is there a way to recover the emails in my inbox and my address book? I cant find a file containing that information anywhere.
Also tell the guy you want your outlook PST file restored. They'll know what it means. Right now, the more you use your harddrive, the more likely it is to have a catastrophic failure.

edit: as an explanation, the Outlook.pst file is essentially the database that stores the information you're looking for. You can find it in %userprofile%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\Outlook.pst, where %userprofile% is generally C:\Documents and settings\user



celticlord2112 -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:42:58 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: wkdshadow

quote:

I am still unable to find my settings for Outlook Express. Is there a way to recover the emails in my inbox and my address book? I cant find a file containing that information anywhere.
Also tell the guy you want your outlook PST file restored. They'll know what it means. Right now, the more you use your harddrive, the more likely it is to have a catastrophic failure.


Outlook Express does not use a PST file.  The PST files are used by Outlook (part of the Microsoft Office Suite)



wkdshadow -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:48:40 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: celticlord2112

quote:

ORIGINAL: wkdshadow

quote:

I am still unable to find my settings for Outlook Express. Is there a way to recover the emails in my inbox and my address book? I cant find a file containing that information anywhere.
Also tell the guy you want your outlook PST file restored. They'll know what it means. Right now, the more you use your harddrive, the more likely it is to have a catastrophic failure.


Outlook Express does not use a PST file.  The PST files are used by Outlook (part of the Microsoft Office Suite)

Ah, that is true, forgot express doesn't use pst, they use dbx.

You can find the DBX files to backup in %userprofile%\Application Data\Identities\[Odd folder name]\Outlook Express\



DesFIP -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:53:43 PM)

How old is your machine? Mine died last week, motherboard problems, capacitators mushrooming (whatever that means). The shop I use built me a new one, moved most of the files over. They burned me a disk with my address book but this new computer won't open it, so eventually they just printed out a copy. As well as handed me the hard drive just in case I need something else.

However there's no sound device enabled. Tomorrow I call them up and ask them to walk me through that. I went to control panel, then sound, but the help menu says I have to click speech to text and I can't find that. And they had the sense to install remote access so they can do it without me bringing the machine in or them coming out here.



Missokyst -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 5:53:46 PM)

and the address book is actually called address book.  You can do a search for that, or Outlook, or *.wab



celticlord2112 -> RE: Computer crashed! Someone please help (2/10/2008 6:03:34 PM)

quote:

ORIGINAL: DesFIP

How old is your machine? Mine died last week, motherboard problems, capacitators mushrooming (whatever that means). The shop I use built me a new one, moved most of the files over. They burned me a disk with my address book but this new computer won't open it, so eventually they just printed out a copy. As well as handed me the hard drive just in case I need something else.

However there's no sound device enabled. Tomorrow I call them up and ask them to walk me through that. I went to control panel, then sound, but the help menu says I have to click speech to text and I can't find that. And they had the sense to install remote access so they can do it without me bringing the machine in or them coming out here.


If there is data that didn't copy over and you don't mind the additional service call, ask the tech if it is possible to install the old hard drive in the new PC as a secondary hard drive.  If yes and the drive is readable, then you have all your old data more or less at your fingertips.



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