Lost file

[eniacap]

I scanned some 35mm slides into my PC (Windows XP 2), and placed them in a file which has disappeared. All that remains is a file in C: My Documents ......cache/thumbnails named STBarb7t which has no file extension and I cannot open it.

I have done a thorough search of all drives using *.jpg and lots of other ideas but nothing there. I also downloaded some file recovery programs and they also failed to find these images or the file which contained them.

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Hi eniacap

 

Can I ask did you use that exact file search, eg *.jpeg or .jpeg

[eniacap]

Lost file

 

Hi Wolfeymole,

 

I used just about every combination I could think of and turned up literally hundreds of image files jpeg, tiff, bmp etc. but not the one I lost.

 

Thanks

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Ok

 

All I can think of is that the scanner saved the images in some obscure file format peculiar to the scanner.

Do you still have the software for the scanner?

[Seth]

Use the option to search for "all pictures and photos. Then click on the advanced search options and change the "Look In" options to your documents and Settings folder.

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

Yes, I have the scanner software but it normally saves as a jpeg into a folder titled JPEGS. Anyway after scanning, I worked on the images in Photoshop and saved them as jpegs in a folder entitled StBarb, and this has disapppeared. I have searched the whole of "My Computer" for any images - Gif,jpeg,bmp,tiff etc. I even know the date of last accessing the file but none of this has found it.

 

Thanks

[Seth]

Thanfully the "slides" are a hard copy.

 

Why not just scan them again?

[eniacap]

Lost file

 

It's not just the scanning but the hours I spent "improving" them in photoshop that I didn't fancy doing all again if they could be found. Also I would remain puzzled about what could possibly have happened to them:-)

 

Thanks

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Have you tried renaming the file or doing a Save As and this time use .jpeg?

Have you looked for the folder JPEGS?

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

Thanks for the suggestions Wolfeymole. I have renamed the thumbnails file and opened it whereupon I get just the first of the eight thumbnails - a small image at 68Kb, whereas the whole file is 2.5Mb I have saved it as a jpeg but it 's just too small to be of use. I can't open the whole file as there is no extension, and even if I could the images would be small thumbnails.

The file I lost would be in the region of 25Mb.

 

Thanks again

[Guest Wolfeymole]

Well I could suggest saving them again as bitmap images but the quality would be even poorer.

 

As Seth mentioned, do you still have the slides in question?

 

No answer as such I know but obviously something happened at sometime to cause this but what.

 

As a rule of thumb I always save very important stuff to another physical drive or burn the files to either dvd or cd, this may be an option for you to consider in the future.

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

Well I guess that's the end of the line, but as a last throw of the dice, is there a way of reverting my PC back to it's state in April if I back up its current status first?

 

Faint hope:-)

[Goku]

I scanned some 35mm slides into my PC (Windows XP 2), and placed them in a file which has disappeared. All that remains is a file in C: My Documents ......cache/thumbnails named STBarb7t which has no file extension and I cannot open it.

I have done a thorough search of all drives using *.jpg and lots of other ideas but nothing there. I also downloaded some file recovery programs and they also failed to find these images or the file which contained them.

 

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks

Sorry to interrupt Eniacap but what do you mean by "And placed them in a file." What kind of file did you put the slides in? Or are you referring to a folder? Please clarify. It may help us look up for a solution. :)

 

-- Goku

[eniacap]

Lost file

 

Thanks for pointing that out Goku and apologies for the inexactitude.

I originally scanned a batch of eight slides at once on my Epson perfecta, which does both reflective and film scanning. This produced a large 25mb or so jpeg file which I saved as StBarb. I then, in photoshop, cut out each of the individual images, worked on them and saved to a folder.

To sum up there was a large composite file named StBarb.jpg plus a folder containing eight separate 5mb images each a jpeg.

I hope this clarifies my problem.

 

Thanks

[Goku]

Thanks for pointing that out Goku and apologies for the inexactitude.

I originally scanned a batch of eight slides at once on my Epson perfecta, which does both reflective and film scanning. This produced a large 25mb or so jpeg file which I saved as StBarb. I then, in photoshop, cut out each of the individual images, worked on them and saved to a folder.

To sum up there was a large composite file named StBarb.jpg plus a folder containing eight separate 5mb images each a jpeg.

I hope this clarifies my problem.

 

Thanks

Ok, so I understand that you saved all of your eight slides in a single *.jpg file that you labeled StBarb. In this file, all eight of the slides were grouped together. After you had been through with the files i.e is to say that you seperated and edited them individually, you saved them to a folder. Is this summary right?

 

If the above options are correct, then I believe that the problem occurred in the second phase. I know it is a very slim chance but are you sure you saved them to a folder. It can be a possibility that you might have forgotten to save your files and that you may have accidentally ignored the warning prompt. If, god forbid, this is the case, then no file recovery software or technique can bring back the files and I am sorry to say you will have to start again.

 

However, if you are sure that you did save the files then ignore my above assumption and try something else. There might be a chance that the slides might have been saved to an invisible or as to say hidden folder. Can you please configure some settings and see if the files appear or not.

 

Show Hidden Program or System Files

 

If none of the theories, assumptions or solutions work, then post back here and we will try and search an alternate solution for you. Good Luck. :)

 

-- Goku

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

Many thanks for that comprehensive reply.

I'm still not sure I have described the original scan properly. I have a frame containing eight 2"x2" holes in which to fit mounted 35mm slides. This frame just fits the A4 size bed of the scanner. The result when fitted on the screen (about 7.5% of full size) is a single image comprising the outline frame and 8 small slide images. This image was saved as StBarb.

I then imported this (several times)into photoshop, magnified to maybe 25% and cut out one of the slide images. This image is "improved" and saved separately (about 5mb) as a jpeg. This process continued over (say) eight days and I cannot imagine that I failed to save them on each of several days. In fact I know I saved them because some were re-opened for further work on subsequent days. However I cannot be certain that I saved them to a particular folder, but save them I did:-)

 

I think I have included hidden and system files in my search routine but I'll try again.

 

Thanks

[Goku]

Many thanks for that comprehensive reply.

I'm still not sure I have described the original scan properly. I have a frame containing eight 2"x2" holes in which to fit mounted 35mm slides. This frame just fits the A4 size bed of the scanner. The result when fitted on the screen (about 7.5% of full size) is a single image comprising the outline frame and 8 small slide images. This image was saved as StBarb.

I then imported this (several times)into photoshop, magnified to maybe 25% and cut out one of the slide images. This image is "improved" and saved separately (about 5mb) as a jpeg. This process continued over (say) eight days and I cannot imagine that I failed to save them on each of several days. In fact I know I saved them because some were re-opened for further work on subsequent days. However I cannot be certain that I saved them to a particular folder, but save them I did:-)

 

I think I have included hidden and system files in my search routine but I'll try again.

 

Thanks

Ok, so that really rules out the terrible possibility I stated as you opened it on subsequent days for further amendments. :)

 

So, your next step should be too search the name of the folder. Do a complete system search that is to say a complete search of My Computer. See, if it yields anything useful or not. If it doesn't then lets try and find some different method to recover those files. :)

 

-- Goku

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

Well I have done a complete search including system and hidden files and all of drives C and D. All that turns up is the StBarbF1t mentioned earlier in the thread and part of which (1 thumbnail) is now saved as StBarbF1t.jpg.

 

Thanks

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

PS On further reflection I think it likely that I saved each individual edited image into the StBarb file and not a separate folder, therefore there will be only one missing file and not several.

[Goku]

PS On further reflection I think it likely that I saved each individual edited image into the StBarb file and not a separate folder, therefore there will be only one missing file and not several.

A very good pointer Eniacap. Any chance you could have saved the file by some another name in a different location? :)

 

-- Goku

[Seth]

Did you have "Search Sub Folders" checked?

 

It also might not be a good idea to search using a name, as you may have typed it incorrectly. Rather, use the search option for "pictures and photos".

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

It's unlikely but certainly possible. I normally load into photoshop by selecting from "recent" files menu, and likewise when saving don't alter the location.

However, having searched the whole computer for any and all image files, and the results are displayed as thumbnails, I would have spotted them under another name.

 

Thanks

[Goku]

It's unlikely but certainly possible. I normally load into photoshop by selecting from "recent" files menu, and likewise when saving don't alter the location.

However, having searched the whole computer for any and all image files, and the results are displayed as thumbnails, I would have spotted them under another name.

 

Thanks

I don't think a System Restore will restore your files very effectively. You said you opened the files using Photoshop. Did someone else use your computer after you had finished the editing?

 

-- Goku

[eniacap]

Lost File

 

No one used my computer immediately after each editing session, but my son uses it to put images of stuff he's selling on eBay about once a month and my Grand daugher uses it, when he's finished, to play games. He keeps his (scanned) images in a separate file and I'm always nagging him to delete those he has sold, to free up my computer. So maybe accidentally...........:-)

[Goku]

No one used my computer immediately after each editing session, but my son uses it to put images of stuff he's selling on eBay about once a month and my Grand daugher uses it, when he's finished, to play games. He keeps his (scanned) images in a separate file and I'm always nagging him to delete those he has sold, to free up my computer. So maybe accidentally...........:-)

Well if it is, then I don't think it would be irrecoverable. Does your son overwrtie the deleted files and folders using some secure algorithm or does he simply empties the Recycle Bin. If he uses the latter option to delete the files, then the file may still be recoverable from the System Recycler. Try to use it as a third party application like Recuva to recover the deleted files. One piece of advice though. Configure the settings so that Recuva may scan the drives for every recoverable file or folder. This will generate a significantly larger list and therefore will take time to skim through. Search through the list and see if you can locate your lost file or not. If you do, then there might be still hope for recovering it. :)

 

I know you stated in your initial post the you did use a file recovery software but try to configure it accordingly to the above description and see if the file shows up or not. Good Luck. :)

 

-- Goku