Vista - Personal files gone BYE BYE after Vista upgrade!

PA Bear [MS MVP] wrote:Marauder121 wrote:done mylot oflot ofanymore,Marauder121 - You upgraded your operating system without first backing
up? As you have now discovered, this was unwise. If there is no
Windows.old and you have searched for your files, then you have lost
them. Stop using the computer immediately. Using the machine only
decreases the possibility of recovering any of the data.

Since you weren't specific about what data recovery products you used,
here are some links to data recovery software in case you want to try
some others. I use EasyRecovery Pro, but it is expensive. Depending on
your skills and situation, it might be better for you to take the
machine to a computer professional who does data retrieval.

http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html
PCInspector File Recovery -
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/welcome.htm
Executive Software “Undelete” -
http://www.execsoft.com/undelete/undelete.asp
R-Studio - http://www.r-tt.com/
File Scavenger - http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm
Ontrack's EasyRecovery - http://www.ontrack.com/software/

If you have already tried consumer-level data recovery procedures, then
the only path left is to send the hard drive to a professional data
recovery company like Drive Savers (my preference) or Seagate Data
Recovery. General prices run from $500USD on up. Drive Savers recovered
all the data on a failed laptop drive for one of my clients and it cost
$2,700. He thought it was worth the money; only you know what your data
is worth. I understand that some insurance companies are now covering
data recovery charges so check with yours.

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com
Seagate Data Recovery Services - https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

When this is over, create and implement a backup strategy so this sort
of thing doesn't happen to you again.


Malke
--
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"
MS-MVP Windows - Shell/User

On 12-Jan-2008, Malke <notreally@xxxxxx> wrote:
Surely this is the sign of a crap OS.
No warning that upgrading will wipe your drive.
Why would anyone with any common sense
touch non-OS files as part of an upgrade?
Typical of shiddy incompetent programmers.

ato_zee@xxxxxx wrote:Uh-huh. Tell me something: When you buy a new car, is all the accumulated
crap in the glove box of the old car found in the glove box of the new one?

ato_zee@xxxxxx wrote:I have never had an 'upgrade' to an OS wipe the drive. In
the interest of helping others prevent the same thing from
happening to them it would help if Marauder121 would post
exactly what steps he performed while carrying out the
upgrade. I suspect that somewhere along the way that the
drive was inadvertently formatted somehow. This kind of
thing makes a case for having a separate partition, or
preferably a second drive, for your personal data. Also
makes a case for having and using an external backup.

I'm sorry to say that his data is probably lost unless he's
willing to pay big bucks to have it recovered by a company
that specializes in data recovery.

Hobo

In article <OreHo7TVIHA.4196@xxxxxx>,
PA Bear [MS MVP] <moc.liamg@xxxxxx> wrote:That's a false analogy. Buying a new car would correspond more
closely to buying a new computer, and no, I wouldn't expect old data to
magically be preserved. But a software update is like taking your car
to the garage for a brake job and when you get it back your glove box and
trunk are empty.

Damn straight I expect an OS upgrade to preserve user data. Or
at least warn me if it can't.

the wharf rat wrote:
<snip>Well, you gotta do it right, for one. And if you value your personal data,
it'd be foolish not to have made a backup (and maintain incremental backups
all along) before making changes as drastic as upgrading the OS.
--
~Robear Dyer (PA Bear)
MS MVP-Windows (IE, OE, Security, Shell/User)
AumHa VSOP & Admin http://aumha.net
DTS-L http://dts-l.net/

I did an upgrade from XPMCE to VHP, and didn't lose any of my files.
Perhaps the OP made a mistake and did a clean install instead of an upgrade.
Or perhaps there is some confusion over the word "upgrade".
In any case, it shouldn't matter, because if you want to keep your data, you
will back it up.


--
http://get.live.com/wlmail/overview

<ato_zee@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4788f16e$0$21088$da0feed9@xxxxxx

>
So you would recommend a person switch to a new distro in Linux without
backing up their data?

--
Kerry Brown
Microsoft MVP - Shell/User
http://www.vistahelp.ca/phpBB2/

On Jan 12, 12:11*pm, "PA Bear [MS MVP]" <PABear...@xxxxxx> wrote:
That is a stupid analagy that has NO bearing on this. Generic
answers, especially from an MS MVP, help no one and are usually the
type of answer that everyone wishes not to recieve.

Please tell me this: Since back up of all your files as well as
system files is SO important, why does windows vista basic and premium
NOT have the option of backing up personal files? You must upgrade to
business or ultimate to have this option!

This to me is just another of the horrific blunders of microsoft and
the vista developement team.

pacesetter86sei@xxxxxx wrote:
<snip><snip>

Where did you get that you could not backup files in those versions of the
OS?

How to use Backup to protect data and restore files and folders on your
computer in Windows XP and Windows Vista
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/309340

Note:
APPLIES TO
..Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
..Microsoft Windows XP Professional
..Windows Vista Business
..Windows Vista Enterprise
..Windows Vista Home Premium
..Windows Vista Home Basic
..Windows Vista Ultimate
..Windows Vista Business 64-bit Edition
..Windows Vista Enterprise 64-bit Edition
..Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
..Windows Vista Home Basic 64-bit Edition
..Windows Vista Ultimate 64-bit Edition
..Windows Vista Starter

and:
Last Reviewecember 21, 2007

and:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...ls/backup.mspx

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html