I'm a pretty adept Windows/computer user, and I've never experienced anything like this.
A multitude of files, folders and sub-folders have disappeared (all from my "Documents"). Miscellaneous sub-folders within folders have disappeared, while other sub-folders remain intact. At first I was completely lost, as the files were there not 30 minutes prior... After assuming the worst and thinking that they had corrupted or been deleted due to a virus, I:
- Made sure my folder options were set properly (I can view all hidden files)
- Thoroughly checked the recycle bin
- Did numerous searches
- Downloaded Google Desktop and searched some more
- Ran various "undelete" and "recovery" programs with no results
- Did a system restore
* I run AVG Free (I know, I'm cheap) and it scans every night. The computer is running fast and has no other virus symptoms.
THE MINDBOGGLING PART: When you right click the folder and view its properties, it says that it still contains the correct number of files/folders that should be actually be there, but when you enter the folder they are not actually there. And, when I was running the undelete utilities it was reporting back that Windows Defender (and some other folders) had been prefixed with " ? /".
Something gone wonky with Vista, virus, or dying HD?
A multitude of files, folders and sub-folders have disappeared (all from my "Documents"). Miscellaneous sub-folders within folders have disappeared, while other sub-folders remain intact. At first I was completely lost, as the files were there not 30 minutes prior... After assuming the worst and thinking that they had corrupted or been deleted due to a virus, I:
- Made sure my folder options were set properly (I can view all hidden files)
- Thoroughly checked the recycle bin
- Did numerous searches
- Downloaded Google Desktop and searched some more
- Ran various "undelete" and "recovery" programs with no results
- Did a system restore
* I run AVG Free (I know, I'm cheap) and it scans every night. The computer is running fast and has no other virus symptoms.
THE MINDBOGGLING PART: When you right click the folder and view its properties, it says that it still contains the correct number of files/folders that should be actually be there, but when you enter the folder they are not actually there. And, when I was running the undelete utilities it was reporting back that Windows Defender (and some other folders) had been prefixed with " ? /".
Something gone wonky with Vista, virus, or dying HD?