Guest peisenbe Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto the desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't know how that could have happened. I am not the only user of this computer, but I do not think any other user (only my family) would have deleted or changed the files, at least not on purpose. I tried searching for the file names using the Windows XP Search option, and I found the file names in "Recent Documents", but when I clicked on them, I received a message saying that the links were shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might have caused this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I found nothing else. Does anyone have any suggestions?
Guest Ron Badour Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back They were accessed for some reason (recent folder entries) so it appears they were renamed or deleted. The obvious question is did you check the recycle bin? -- Regards Ron Badour MS MVP 1997 - 2007 "peisenbe" <peisenbe@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message news:A3EB1D2C-5D4F-4BB7-981A-48EE604A150D@microsoft.com... >I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto the > desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't know how > that > could have happened. I am not the only user of this computer, but I do not > think any other user (only my family) would have deleted or changed the > files, at least not on purpose. I tried searching for the file names using > the Windows XP Search option, and I found the file names in "Recent > Documents", but when I clicked on them, I received a message saying that > the > links were shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had > been > changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might have > caused > this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I found nothing > else. > Does anyone have any suggestions?
Guest Shenan Stanley Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back peisenbe wrote: > I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto > the desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't > know how that could have happened. I am not the only user of this > computer, but I do not think any other user (only my family) would > have deleted or changed the files, at least not on purpose. I tried > searching for the file names using the Windows XP Search option, > and I found the file names in "Recent Documents", but when I > clicked on them, I received a message saying that the links were > shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been > changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might > have caused this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I > found nothing else. Does anyone have any suggestions? Checked the Recycle Bin? -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Guest peisenbe Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally nothing. I even tried a system restore of a week back, which was the maximum time I could go back. It didn't turn up.
Guest Shenan Stanley Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back peisenbe wrote: > Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally > nothing. I even tried a system restore of a week back, which was > the maximum time I could go back. It didn't turn up. System Restore will *never* help you recover files of *yours* you have lost. It may, in fact, have messed up any chance you had of recovering the files if they have been SHIFT-deleted or otherwise - by overwriting sections of your hard drive and permanently scrambling what might have been recoverable by other software. System Restore handles exactly what its name infers - no more. System related files. Yours are maintained by your periodic backups. (Don't have any - might think about it.) Can you not just get copies of these items again? Surely these are not the only proof of them - nor your only copy (as I am sure you would have burned them to CD/DVD or some other permanent media - several times over - if these were the only copies.) You might be able to get something back using something like: Undelete: http://www.undelete.com/file-recovery.asp There are free ones out there: Restoration 2.5.14 http://www.majorgeeks.com/download4474.html -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Guest Ken Blake, MVP Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back On Sat, 4 Aug 2007 22:54:00 -0700, peisenbe <peisenbe@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote: > Yes, I did check the Recycle Bin. Nothing is there. Literally nothing. I even > tried a system restore of a week back, which was the maximum time I could go > back. It didn't turn up. System Restore is a tool for restoring the operating system. It is *not* a backup tool, and does nothing to protect your data files. System Restore is meant to be a quick easy way to revert your system (not your data) to the state it was in a day or a few days ago. Effectively it's just an easy way to undo a recent change you made. If your data is important to you, you need to have a backup scheme in place. -- Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User Please Reply to the Newsgroup
Guest Bill Sharpe Posted August 5, 2007 Posted August 5, 2007 Re: Lost savings bond files, no idea why or how to get it back peisenbe wrote: > I had saved a number of savings bonds from a website directly onto the > desktop of my computer. Now, they have disappeared, and I don't know how that > could have happened. I am not the only user of this computer, but I do not > think any other user (only my family) would have deleted or changed the > files, at least not on purpose. I tried searching for the file names using > the Windows XP Search option, and I found the file names in "Recent > Documents", but when I clicked on them, I received a message saying that the > links were shortcuts, and the original files that they referred to had been > changed or removed. Is there anything you can think of that might have caused > this? I tried searching in hidden files, as well, and I found nothing else. > Does anyone have any suggestions? Have you tried returning to the website where you downloaded these files? They should still be there. And I suggest setting up your computer so that each family member has his/her own user account so that no one else can delete files from your desktop (at least, not easily!). Type in "user accounts" in Help and Support. Bill
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