Need computer help!! files have dissapeared!

[htownskinfan]

I was om my computer yesterday when I had a power surge,when computer kicked back on it took forever for windows to load,when it finally did it started running the disc check because computer wasnt shut down properly,when it finished and everything was loaded my windows screen was like I had just installed xp again.I still had some of my desktop icons but a lot were missing.Then when i opened IE all my favorites were missing,than I opened outlook express,all emails and contacts were gone,also all my dacuments and pictures are gone.I reran the scan disc,I did system restore and went back to 4 different dates but still cant get the files to return.I've downloaded a couple of free recoery programs,one I couldnt figure out and the other one couldnt recover the files,any suggestions?

[GhettoDogAllStars]

It sounds like you aren't logged in with the same user account anymore. My Documents, favorites, etc. are all user-centric. If you log in with a different user, you will only see their documents, favorites, etc. -- not documents stored for a different user.

I would try to log out, and make sure you are logging in with the correct account. If you don't remember your account, there are ways to figure it out. Post back, if you need more information.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by GhettoDogAllStars

It sounds like you aren't logged in with the same user account anymore. My Documents, favorites, etc. are all user-centric. If you log in with a different user, you will only see their documents, favorites, etc. -- not documents stored for a different user.

I would try to log out, and make sure you are logging in with the correct account. If you don't remember your account, there are ways to figure it out. Post back, if you need more information.

thanks,but it doesnt look like thats the case,when the log in screen comes up it has my name and doesnt give an option to go to anyone else.Not all of my desktop icons dissapeared,just some of them,its really weird

[Smooter]

Out of curiosity was your computer hooked up to a surge protector?

[jamf]

I would look into what GDA said.

When you go to C:\Documents and Settings
Does it list any odd folders? Maybe a duplicate of your account?

if you do a search for a file your missing, does it show up?

[BleedBurgundy]

Honestly, I've never seen what you're describing happen as a result of a power surge. At least not to the point of specific files being affected and not others... I'm with the others though, this sounds profile related. Is your "My Documents" folder affected?

[jdlea]

Originally Posted by Smooter

Out of curiosity was your computer hooked up to a surge protector?

Not to get too off topic, but one thing a lot of people don't know about surge protectors: They're only good to protect from 1 surge. Once they get one, they're pretty much fried and aren't any better than an extension cord. If you have a surge protector that's taken a surge, you need to get a new one.

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by jamf

I would look into what GDA said.

When you go to C:\Documents and Settings
Does it list any odd folders? Maybe a duplicate of your account?

if you do a search for a file your missing, does it show up?

I dont see any odd folders,I cant remeber the names of anything to search for!!lol I searched for redskins,because I know i had some shit saved for them and nothing came up except this website which I recently saved.I did notice that some of the desktop icons that are missing,they are still there under my program listing.When I go to my documents or my pictures theres nothing there and it says file was modified wed aug 6 at 4:12 pm,thats when the power outage happened

[Daseal]

Do you have children?

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by Daseal

Do you have children?

I have a daughter,but she hasnt messed with it,i was on the computer when it happened

[BleedBurgundy]

Originally Posted by htownskinfan

I dont see any odd folders,I cant remeber the names of anything to search for!!lol I searched for redskins,because I know i had some shit saved for them and nothing came up except this website which I recently saved.I did notice that some of the desktop icons that are missing,they are still there under my program listing.When I go to my documents or my pictures theres nothing there and it says file was modified wed aug 6 at 4:12 pm,thats when the power outage happened

Your profile is gone. or at least damaged. = best guess.

[BDBohnzie]

When you go to C:/Documents and Settings, what folders are there?

A repair from the XP disk may or may not work...but at this point, it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Your best bet may be a piece of file recovery software...the price you pay should depend on how valuable the information is you are trying to recover...
Googled "Windows XP, lost documents after power surge"

[That Guy]

well, you can get something like recover my files to try and see if it can find them on the disk before they get overwritten... you can also check your registry, cause if that gets messed up, sometimes you can have similar issues.

do you have a restore point that you can revert back to?

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by BDBohnzie

When you go to C:/Documents and Settings, what folders are there?

A repair from the XP disk may or may not work...but at this point, it wouldn't hurt to try it.

Your best bet may be a piece of file recovery software...the price you pay should depend on how valuable the information is you are trying to recover...
Googled "Windows XP, lost documents after power surge"

nothing is there

[htownskinfan]

Originally Posted by That Guy

well, you can get something like recover my files to try and see if it can find them on the disk before they get overwritten... you can also check your registry, cause if that gets messed up, sometimes you can have similar issues.

do you have a restore point that you can revert back to?

tried that,it didnt work