XP Desktop

[cooljets]

O.S. =Windows XP Pro
The problem is the following:
Added a user and password.
When I finished the above I retuned to my original desktop.
3 Folders disappeared. I ran some file recovery programs on the system but they did not detect any of the missing folders. Unfortunately these folders are very important and there are no recent backups of these folders.
Any hints, tips besides the obvious to back up every day

Thanks

 

[petogaz]

this could be a stupid question : did u check your Recycle Bin ?
if yes, there are software solution available on the net that can safely restore most accidentally deleted files and even go further and offer recovery of data from damaged partitions, formatted drives, RAID volumes and more. just use google and u'll find some solution on how to fix the problem.

 

[cooljets]

Thanks but I have tried some of your suggestions already. The recycle bin was empty when checked. I guess I am going to have to accept that they are probably gone however I would like to find out why this happened. I have heard of other instances of this happening however I have not been able to find out the cause. Any suggestions are most welcome.

 

[Win2kpatcher]

Sounds like its possible they got moved to another folder. Have you searched the entire hard drive for these folders? Specifically the C:\documents and settings folder because these contain each user account settings information and folders. The "undelete" programs may not be detecting them because its quite possible they may not have been deleted as they are designed only to display deleted items. Try the XP Restore or did you already? Revert to just before you created the account and you knew the files where there.

 

[cooljets]

I checked all of the folders including doing a file search with XP and a search from Command Prompt. ALso did all of what you have suggested in your reply. Also used various programs to search for the missing files by attaching the drive to to another system. I scanne dthe drive for viruses and none reported. I am beginning to think that a possible worm might be on the drive and possbly erasing files. BY the way I am on my laptop computer my desktop computer is the one with the problem.

 

[Win2kpatcher]

also on that same note be sure that you have your folder options set to show hidden files (show all files)..If you run a search and the folders are hidden they will not show up.

 

[cooljets]

Thanks but I have tried all the above mentioned. Just the idea of these files disappearing off of a desktop for no reason is got me perplexed. I guess I want to find out how, knowing that no files or folders were deleted nor in the recycle bin.

 

[bazzas100]

did you try removing the new user? or did the kids anyone else have access to the pc before you? i can't think of a reason why simply adding a new account would result in the loss of your folders.
worms don't affect files the way viruses do, they remain in active memory and duplicate themselves over and over, this can consume system resources and slow up or halt other tasks. apparently there is a new class of worm, such as Worm.ExploreZip, that also contains a malicious payload. but that doesn't seem to be whats happening in your case.
try different restore points to see if one of them works. i find that the repair console on the xp disc works for most software problems but doubt if it would do much good in this situation, could try it though if no one knows exactly what occured.
you didn't mention what the folders contained, try searching for one of the files see what comes up.
good luck