Hi,

This is my first time on this forum and I'm truly hoping to get some help on my recovery. I'm on day 3 of my recovery attempts since my computer basically crashed. (when i would turn it on, I got nothing but a black screen) This is my work computer, with my whole life on it, including all my emails, client lists, website files for hundreds of websites, (which I know, luckily I can retrieve those from the server), tons of spreadsheets, - You get the idea.

I'll try to explain to you what I have done to get to where I am now, which is that I used the program GetDataBack to retrieve most of my files, but many of them are not viewable. So basically, I started with the basics, using the Windows Repair Console to try and fix missing or corrupt files preventing my computer from working. I tried so many different things that I got to the point where I knew that I was going to have succumb to doing a clean install of Windows XP, against my better judgment. But before I did that, I tried to use Windows Vista to do a repair, which reformatted my HD, and I was left with nothing. Vista then saved all my files to windows.old. I hated the Vista environment b/c I couldn't get any of my programs to work, and I have over 300 of them.

So I decided to switch back to XP, and did so using BART's PE (a version I created, The Ultimate Boot CD for Windows). I was able to get back most of my personal files this way, but no programs or settings. However, I still have the windows.old folder, and I can see everything that I want is in that folder, through the recovery tree I made, but none of them are readable. The file and folder names are all the same as they used to be, but when opened they are in some sort of scrambled code.

I have Office reinstalled, and my internet is working as well. I also reinstalled SP2.

I was able to import my emails back into outlook using the .pst, but none of my settings carried over, and I had hundreds of rules and alerts. I've accepted that I most likely lost all my programs, and that's fine, I can replace those. But the files cannot be replaced and the fact that I can see them and not get to them is beyond frustrating.

I guess my main question I'm looking for help with is since I switched back to XP from Vista, how to view the files in the windows.old folder the way they are intended to be viewed.

Also, if I used one recovery program, can I still try another one without damaging what I've already accomplished? I have access to 2 other PC's and 2 laptops to help me through this, and have been storing my changes to an external HD.

If you need clarification, please let me know, and ANY help or advice would more than greatly appreciated. I've literally been doing this for 3 days, and I feel like I'm almost there. This windows.old folder is just causing too much trouble and I don't know what to do with it. Please, if you have any advice, I really need it.

Thanks so much in advance!

Desperately, Megan

I'm not sure from your description whether or not you're installing XP, Vista, etc, on the drive you're trying to recover. The first thing to do is NOT to install anything on the drive you are trying to recover. Then, I'd say corrupt files are a part of data recovery, especially if you're installing ANYTHING onto the drive you're trying to recover. UBCD is fine, but a trip to Vista and back to XP has surely ruined the chances of a 100% recovery. Also, I have a feeling you will not be able to recover any of your installed programs, and if you did, they wouldn't work right. You may be able to recover data and settings files from the directory of the installed program, and copy them over to a fresh install with the program(s) already installed, and you may be in business.

As for using another data recovery program, you can use them all if you want. Just be sure you don't run anything that writes to the hard drive, or anything that claims to 'fix' your hard drive. If you're running a program that looks for files, and copies them somewhere else, that's fine. I've found some programs work great in some cases, and horrible in others.

From experience, I've learned not to trust anything related to backup that comes from Microsoft, and I would tend to ignore the Windows.old directory. However, you may find some help on this page: http://neosmart.net/blog/2006/so-you-overwrote-your-xp/

Thanks for your response. It's actually my fiancee's computer. He tried to do some repairs, but we kept getting corrupt or missing file errors for the system and software registry. We had XP on it originally, and couldn't do a repair with the disk. So, he tried to do a repair by putting Vista on that same drive, updating. When he did that, he was using The Ultimate Boot CD for Windows that he created, and Vista created the windows.old folder. That folder it created is the one that is holding most of his documents and files that he is trying to recover, and he cannot read them or copy them to my external hard drive. We haven't written anything else back to the corrupt drive, because I know that will cause total deletion of all files. He tried to get rid of Vista then and go back to XP.

Using the Boot CD he created, he was able to recover and view many of his files, and we copied them to my external. We were also using the program GetDataBack for NTSF. The Recovery Tree did show many of the correct file names that he was looking for, but most of them were listed under windows.old and those can't be opened or copied. We know that the programs are pretty much a lost cause which is fine b/c they can be replaced.

From reading the instructions for the GetDataBack program, (http://www.runtime.org/howto_datarecovery.pdf) I concluded that the best way would be to copy as many of the files that we could recover onto my external hard drive, then do a clean reinstall of XP on the corrupted drive. (Let me know if you think this is correct). However, he didn't totally do that. When he was going back from Vista to XP, he did the reinstall then, assuming that this would take care of that step. I thought that all the files should be copied, moved off the drive, THEN perform a clean reinstall and move the copied files back to the drive after that was done.

Doing it his way, he was able to get his email back, it was readable, but all his rules and settings were gone. Those rules and settings are very important, so we need to find a way to get those back as well. Most of his other files would open just fine, but in the Recovery Tree, there were many files that were listed as only numbers in place of the names. These obviously weren't recovered correctly, and it does mention how to fix this on the website I mentioned above.

Because of all the steps and different things we've tried, we weren't sure what to do next, so he restarted the computer and everything that he did manage to get back onto the computer was completely gone again. (which we thought might happen since it said NEVER WRITE ANYTHING BACK TO THE CORRUPTED DRIVE!

So....Did we permanently get rid of everything we were trying to recover? Is a recover still possible doing it the way I thought we should? (copying all recovered files somewhere else, then doing a clean reinstall and then moving them back?

I also don't see how we can completely disregard this windows.old file since it seems to contain the majority of the files we are trying to recover. Basically we're back to square one: a corrupt drive with nothing on it, a recovery program that contains some of the recovered documents, and not sure on what the next move should be. Please let me know what you think because I'm at a complete loss right now.

I hope this clarified somewhat and I appreciate any help. Thanks again in advance.

Megan

I'd recommend taking the whole thing to a local* shop. You need someone who does this sort of thing for a living. Also your useful/important files are typically never stored in the Windows directory. That's why you are being advised that the Windows.old is not helpful. If the files you want ARE showing up in Windows.old, then something is not right. Either way, if you value your data you should stop messing with it and let someone who deals with this kind of stuff every day fix it.


* i.e. not Best Buy

_________________
You don't have to backup all of your files, just the ones you want to keep.

Perhaps I didn't do a good job conveying my opinion of windows.old. It may well be your best chance, but I wouldn't necessarily count on it. I agree that once you're sure you've recovered everything you can, a fresh install is your best bet. If you have an extra drive, or was considering upgrading, installing to a new drive would be better. That way, you can always try to recover those files you are almost guaranteed to forget.

There is also the possibility the drive is failing. If you're going to fiddle with it for a while, it might be wise to run MHDD quickly. If the drive is failing, the data needs to be removed immediately, or you may never get it.

As always, if the data is extremely important and valuable, send it to a professional.

Thanks, I appreciate the reply. The main reason I'm trying to do it myself, (besides my ego and the fact that I like to learn and do things on my own) is that I've done it successfully on my own before, but because we have done so many unsuccessful trials, I think you may be right and it might be time to take it in. The files are all of my fiancee's work files, and are absolutely not replaceable. I do have a local guy that has built computers for me in the past and is really good at what he does.

However, did you happen to look at the link with the directions of the program we are using? http://www.runtime.org/howto_datarecovery.pdf. Do you know if this is something that should work?

Thanks again

How do I run and MHDD?

This is not a job for a local computer shop, it's a job for a data-recovery shop.

Well, since you're already familiar with the UBCD for Windows, try burning a CD of the 'original' UBCD. MHDD is already on there. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/. Also, don't run it from Windows. It needs a DOS environment.

Did you fiancee use encrypted folders or any other sort of encryption on this drive ?

no

I may be able to bring your rules and such back online.

They are stored in Registry, and if you didn't make too much of a mess and if you did not reformat the drive, I may be able to recover them. If you are interested, feel free to contact me through my website.

If System Restore feature was enabled, my chances are pretty good. This can be done remotely.

If your data is saved, why not replace the hard disk, and install a fresh copy of windows to the new disk?

I like to keep things simple

hddguy,

As an Outlook expert, I know exactly what she's missing. Outlook stores master category list and rules in the Registry. This may be further complicated if they use CRM add-ons.

Though she got the outlook.pst back, it will take hours to categorize content and to rewrite the rules. If certain files are still on the drive, I can probably bring that stuff back in a matter of minutes.

Most people in a random computer shop wouldn't know where to start with this case.

Not sure I have really had this trouble with Outlook before. Never complaints from clients regarding it so now you got me interested.

do you mean all the data is there, but data is unsorted as it should be based on any rules that are implemented? does the PST file in its current state still include ALL mail content?

Yes, all mail and contacts and calendar are there. They may even still be categorized. But, adding new content to those categories is not intuitive.

I once accidentally did this a few years ago. It's quite painful to have to rebuild all that metadata.

How much - maximum - can you afford for recovering data? 10$, 100$, 500$, zero...

once you install vista its not that easy going back to xp
just by unstalling it.

your have to backup all your information and do a full clean install
vista changes the registry files.
your have to reinstall all your programs.

that is the only way now to do a full clean install