OT: Windows Got Me Again

Dave Rishar

Dave Rishar

Joined
Oct 25, 2004
Messages
3,178
It started innocently enough - I was having problems editing my resume and figured that it might be a Java problem, and that maybe a Windows update was in order. I was a few weeks behind. Hit the website, download the updates, install, and...

Long story short - my laptop never restarted successfully again until today, when I reinstalled Windows. (You'd think that I would've learned it the first time around.)

I lost a lot of stuff. Most of it will be replaced eventually. The pictures that I lost really, really bother me. Pics from the last trip around the Hood Canal, pics from the last big barbecue, pics from other parties, pics of friends and family (some of whom are no longer here)...lesson learned.

Videos...I lost some cutting ones, but not too many. I did lose some classics that would've been shared here eventually, though - firing a soda can out of the work truck's exhaust pipe, for instance, or joyriding a "borrowed" HMMVW through the Camp's back roads. Alas, these are gone.

Email addresses from a few childhood friends that I'd managed to link up with again - gone, and they'd just sent stuff to me. I really hope that they don't think that I'm blowing them off.

If you've sent me email within the last six months and before yesterday, I probably opened it on the laptop and it's now gone. Keep this in mind before you get mad at me for forgetting something. ;)

Back yer stuff up, folks. Especially if it's irreplaceable.
 
Can you partition your HD so the data files are on a separate "drive" from the program files?

When I reloaded Windows "updates," I could not access ANY Internet sites. (Because I wasn't using Explorer???.) Had to reload backup version of XT that came with the PC. Lost no data files.

We need our Cantina computer experts to suggest a way to safeguard against this type of trash. The number of folks with 100% of data files backed up to disk ??? Must be one or two.
 
An external hard drive to mirror your stuff to... whether a laptop, tower or both. Trust no hard drive but you can trust 2 working together. RAID.

Not for programs, you have the installers. Your stuff..

Burning CD's periodcally is a great habit too.

I've never lost anything! But lordy, the junk I've got accumulated, I'd never find whatever it was...

Maybe it IS lost. Very zen.

"Blank start up screen- No!
I go in search of the Files:
Saved, but not yet Found."

There's a Haiku for you.


Ad Astra
 
I wish you had posted here(using someone else's computer) before you reinstalled... There were a LOT of ways you could have saved your files BEFORE reformating the disk...

Did you try reinstalling OVER the old copy of windows???
If you did, and lost your files, then they are probabally still on your computer, but just somewhere where you are not looking for them...

If you did format first, then they are as good as gone...Though for a few thousand dollars, a lot might still be recoverable... But that is a BIG gamble...

You should always try to reinstall OVER the old version BEFORE you resort to formating the disk...

But before anything, boot the laptop on a knoppix disk and you will be able to connect to any network available and save your data!!!

Knoppix is a single CD bootable version of Linux that is often used to recover data on computer that have had windows crash compleatly.
We have used it here at work MANY times to recover ALL the data off of MANY computers that have had windows compleatly trashed...

Even though you have already lost everything... Go to http://www.knopper.net/ NOW and download a version of Knoppix and keep it handy in case anything else goes wrong... It is worth literally thousands of dollars and it is compleatly FREE!
If you do not have the bandwidth to download it, most of the linux magazines include a copy in almost every issue...
If not, then you can order a copy for less than $10.00 from quite a few places...
They release a new version every few months, so they keep up with the latist hardware preaty well...
If you have any problems getting it, just send me a message and I will help you...I do this sort of thing for a living...Do not get me wrong... I will NOT charge you for the help, I just mean that I do this sort of thing every day over the phone...
 
After incident like this about 2 years ago, I ceased to use that virus you are reffering about and started to use SuSe linux with a KDE window manager.
Never had an issue since then.............
 
How does one go about backing stuff up and just what does one want to back up? :confused:
 
Lots of ways to back stuff up Edutsi...and the idea is to have spare copies of everything that matters to you like pictures, letters, documents and such. No need usually to save copies of programs you have disks for. I have been mailing copies of the real important stuff to myself at Gmail...they have huge disks I can help fill up.
 
It's a lot easier if you can burn CDs, but if you can't, Nasty's suggestion is a good one. If you need a gmail acct let me know, I think I have an invite left.
 
The idea of using an external hard disk is good. You can buy them that plug in to a USB port. They run about $125-225. I periodically back up my entire computer to the external HD, then disconnect it completely so lightning can't take it out. The best thing would be to store it in a fireproof safe, away from the computer, but that may be a little extreme.

Windows XP Home Version has a backup program included, but it's not installed by default. You have to find it on the CD and install it. XP pro and other versions have backup included (I think).

Sorry about you losing your stuff Satori. :(

Steve
 
jamesraykenney is right on with the Knoppix suggestion.

It's not as hard to use as you might expect. You just stick the CD in the drive, start the computer, and you are good to go. It's even easier to install than Windows.

Yes, the menus and GUI are a little different from Windows but it's not that hard to get used to. And once you have Knoppix booted from CD, you can use any of the included CD-burning utilities to back up important data before you reformat.

It's also useful if you need to do a virus scan but can't boot Windows, and for many other purposes. I've fixed several of my friends computers with this trick.

You can also install it on your hard drive and have a dual-boot system, so you can choose to start either Windows or Linux whenever you start the computer. Then you can play games on Windows and do real work on Linux.
 
Ouchie, Sat. That's tough:(
I managed to royally screw up my computer yesterday, too. The hard drive is gone on it. I turn it on, Click-click clunk, click-click clunk, click-click clunk. Not good. Won't boot up. And the restore disk won't load. Luckily I have a friend that is a computer guy for Ford. He should be able to fix it...i hope.
Good luck to ya!

Jake
 
OK, through a crazy series of events I also lost a big pile of data.

First, I have APC UPS. These are battery supplied "Uninterruptable Power Supplies." These provide up to 30 minutes of power to operate and shut down computers in the event of a complete power loss. They even connect to your computer to automatically shut down the system and save any data before they run out of battery juice to the inverters that power your computer.

Secondly they are an incerdibly good way of protecting from power surges and 'brown outs' by providing stable voltage.

The problem is that after about two years the lead acid or gel batteries they use go bad.

SO mine went bad. Then they do not work at all because the line input power charges the batteries and then the power is passed to the inverter which powers the computer. So when they go bad, no power reaches your computer and what little power they have left goes to an irritating alarm that squeals until you take the device far enough away so you can't hear it.

I did this with all three units that failed at about the same time, leaving my system unprotected. I ordered new batteries and decided to take a chance until they arrived.

BIG MISTAKE! Like picking up an unknown partner and having unprotected sex!

After removing the protection from my computers I decided to plug in my 220v welder and do a little fixing.

The strain on my electrical system, coupled with running my two central HVAC systems caused a weak connection on my side of the meter to fail.

This caused a feedback through the 220v welder from the failed power leg and trashed my main computer, destroying my computer power supply and my secondary hard disk that I had just backed up all files from the myriad hard disks I had removed from various computers.

All my pictures from the last seven years were no longer accessable. I could see something, so the disk was not destroyed, but the "File table corrupted" error appeared.

Wish I had know about Knopppix. Downloading it right now. I tried varoius recovery utilities to no avail. Fortunately a good friend does data recovery from tragedies like this. He now has all my hard disks, including the ones I backed up from.

BTW I stupidly erased these after removing my pictures and threw them in the trash. Luckily I had not taken out the trash, so I rooted around and found them. Cleaned off the garbage and sent everything to Jim at one time.

Crossing my fingers here. Smoke and prayers for all of us!

BUT I need to know how to mirror my files, especially quicken, to another hard disk, preferably on another computer. I also just bought a pile of data DVDs that will hold a few pictures....

ANY SUGGESTIONS????
 
Okay, say I want to back up all my photos to a disc. Can I burn the entire folder to the disc, several folders maybe?

Besides my medical files, photos, and favorite bookmarks what else is left that a fellow might want to back up?
I probably need to list all the free programs I have downloaded so I could replace them if my unit happened to crash and burn again. It takes a while but I have little trouble running IE and I still prefer it over Firefox, Foxfire or whatever it is.;) :)

I'll need step by step instructions if possible. I get around all right on this thing but I still feel mostly computer illiterate.:( :o

And how often should a backup be made? I know they used to back up the company computer at the close of everyday.:confused:
 
I just email a copy of every document that I create or edit to myself.

I let Yahoo and Gmail worry about doing backups, power supplies, spikes and everything else. I figure that with a copy in both of those systems, I am safe.

BTW...anything I consider "confidential" is put into a passworded zipfile first. If they are willing to go through the trouble of cracking that, they are welcome to it.
 
Bill Marsh said:
BUT I need to know how to mirror my files, especially quicken, to another hard disk, preferably on another computer. I also just bought a pile of data DVDs that will hold a few pictures....

ANY SUGGESTIONS????
Click to expand...

If the other computer is on a local area network, I believe you can use the windows backup utility to do this.

If you have to access the other computer through the Internet, you will probably have to download some third-party software. I don't have any recommendations here since I haven't used any 3rd party backup utilities.
 
Thanks for the advice, folks.

I tried repairing Windows at first but it wasn't happening so I went ahead and reinstalled. I specifically went ahead and just reinstalled over the old copy as it was the quickest way to get it done - I hadn't been thinking about data recovery. It's good to know that all might not be lost.

Most of it was sitting on the Desktop folder of an account that no longer exists. Any thoughts?
 
It might still be there, then.

Open up My Computer, go to
C:\Documents and Settings
and then look under each user in this folder for a "desktop" folder

For instance, my desktop folder is in the directory:
C:\Documents and Settings\Robert Gaunt\Desktop
 
Yvsa said:
<snip>

And how often should a backup be made? I know they used to back up the company computer at the close of everyday.:confused:
Click to expand...

It all depends on how valuable the data is that has changed since the last backup...
For a buisness, that may be thousands of dollars a DAY!!!
For you, it could be from nothing, to a LOT...
Just ask yourself: 'Is the time I spend backing up worth more than the NEW data(since the last backup)?'
If no, then go longer between backups...
 
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