New Dell XPS M1530 erased all my files!

OK So I post this on another thread that one's kind of inactive.

I got my new Dell XPS M1530 last week and before I actually set up my username and account for my computer, I tranfered all of the files from my old computer to my new laptop. A few days later, I clicked "OK" on the window that prompted me to set up my username. All of my files that were in My Documents, Music, and Pictures were deleted. I also deleted those files from my old computer, so there's no way that I can tranfer them again. Is there any way that I can restore these files? I have tried programs like "Recover My Files" and "Tune Up Utilities" but they could only recover some pictures and not my word documents, etc.

Help? And thank you so much!

 

try searching in the C partition of your new lappy, it will have the files. cuz of changing the username, the files are no longer in the My Documents, Music,Pictures folder

 

I will try to search and let you know the results. Thanks

 

Check C:\Users for user accounts. There should be "Public", "Default" (Hidden), and " {Your Username}". If there's another one, check that folder for the files.

 

Thanks. I'll try your advice.

When I called Dell, they suggested that I reformat my hard drive. Since I just got my computer for a week, do I really want to do this? Are there any cons in doing this?

 

I reformat my hard drive whenever I get a new computer with a clean copy of vista just to get rid of all the crap that comes on a dell...but it's weird that they recommend you doing it for this problem.

 

I wonder if they know something they don't want to admit -- like that there is a problem with corrupt Vista images.

 

Maybe but the recovery CD you use to reinstall vista is the same image they used to install it in the first place, so I can't imagine that it would be different. And somehow I don't think that formatting your hard drive is going to help you get your files back...gee, I wonder why.

 

They basically thought that it was a spyware - which it was not. They suggested me to reformat it to start fresh. And they said that I have no chance of recovering those files. And that I should not use any programs to try to do so because it woudl result in a hard drive failure.

So right now I'm trying to restore as many files as I can before I reformat my computer. And does reformatting the computer make it so that it is brand new? All of my past files, documents, music, pictures will be deleted 100% for sure? There will be no chance of seeing them again?

 

The dell recovery CD does a quick format, I believe...which essentially does nothing. All a quick format does is rewrite your partition table so your computer *thinks* that there is no data on the drive. The data is still there, however, until it is overwritten, and any data recovery program will find it for you. However, there is a chance that your vista reinstall can overwrite your data...so I wouldn't take that route just yet. Have you tried checking your C:\Users directory?

 

I also posted this topic the Dell Community Forum ( http://www.dellcommunity.com/suppor...board.id=Tech_Talk_XPS_Laptop&thread.id=18916)

Bauer418 - When I called Dell, they told me to: when I reboot press F8, repair my computer, and choose dell factory image restore. Is this the same thing as using the Dell recovery CD? Shouldn't this completely erase everything so that your computer starts brand new again?

 

Check that your files are not located under the Administrator account.

Also, why are you starting up a duplicate thread?

 

neilmcl - I felt that in the other thread, I sounded misleading when I explained it. And what do you mean by checking if the files are located under the Administrator account? That's the account that I'm using. Before it was just called "Administrator." When I set up my account, it changed to "[Name] (Administrator)."

 

Yes, using the dell recovery partition will be the same as using the CD. Check if there is a C:\Users\Administrator. Try pressing alt when in the Users folder, click the Tools menu, then to Folder Options. Under views choose to show hidden files and folders.

 

Thanks. I'll check on that.

Wow - so basically we cannot start new again? Even if we reformat it, the past files will still be on the hard drive?

 

You won't be able to see them...but a recovery program will be able to get them. That's why "Quick Formats" and single pass overwrites are useless for when you resell a computer. Use a program like Active Kill Disk or other like it to completely wipe your drive using a 7 or 35 pass overwrite.

 

OK So reformatting the computer is not a solution.

I tried searching for an Administrator folder - there isn't one. My username is the administrator.

 

Try using recuva ( http://www.recuva.com/). See if you can recover the files with that.

 

Thanks. The scanning takes hours!

 

Did it find anything?

 

Still scanning...

 

It can't recover the files because of "incorrect function."

 

You are NOT the Administrator account, you've created a new named account with Local Administrator privileges. These are two different things entirely.

Right-click the start menu and choose Explore All Users and you'll see a folder for the Administrator account which you should be able to access from there. Alternatively you will have to enable the Admin account as follows:

Got to Start, Accessories, Command Prompt and right click and choose "run as administrator".

At the command prompt type "net user administrator /active:yes"

Now log off from Vista and you should now see two logins, your own and Administrator. Choose the Admin login and check if your files are there.

 

When I right clicked the start menu and chose Explore All Users, I did not see any folder for the Administrator account.

I saw Programs, Creative MediaSource, Default Programs, and Windows Update

 

I followed your steps but there were no files in my Administrator account.

 

Sounds like you cooked it. let this be a lesson... NEVER remove your files from your old machine if you don't need to. Also, external hard disks are your friend, and its not a waste of space to backup your important personal date to 2 or more locations.

 

Thanks.

Right now I really want to restore as many files as possible before doing a Dell Factory Image Restore - by the way, will doing this permanently delete all of my past files? Will any software then be able to find it?

 

Are there any other ways to restore my files?

 

I know it might sound obvious but have you used the search facility to look for one of the missing files in both the Admin and your user accounts?

 

Yes - I did use the search option. I found the files that I had already restored.

So right now I'm trying to use Recuva to restore as many files as I can on my old computer. Hopefully I get back the ones I want.

Does anyone know if Dell Factory Image Restore enables your computer to completely start fresh? I kind of want to do that once I get all this over with.

 

Yes man, Factory IMAGE restore means, it restores your computer to the factory image, an image is a snapshot of a hard drive in any point in time, the one that comes with DELL FACTORY IMAGE is, infact, the image (snapshot) of your computer as it was in the factory before you ever turned it on, its like a fresh start to the relationship, remember the mistakes you made and skip them, kind of like with my first girlfriend, I will never make the same mistakes twice, wish I had a factory image restore option for that relationship because she was cute! Oh well

Luckily, you have that option!!

 

Will any software be able to restore any files? Will the files be gone for sure? Hehe. I'm just curious because sometimes you reformat a hard drive and the files are still there.

 

Everything will be gone, forget it, if you have lost your files and deleted them chances are they're gone. You're better off trying to recover from your old PC because chances are you M1530 has overwritten those hard disk sectors already with a paging file or defragmented the hard disk, or whatever.

I think its time to let go, your data is gone, unless you can salvage from your old PC....

 

I mean with the Dell Factory Image Restore - will any software be able to restore past files? Will the computer 100% completely be fresh?

But actually Recuva has recovered some files for me...

 

So here's what I did wrong:

When I turned on my computer, the screen "System Preparation Tool" popped up. I should have clicked on this to set up my computer before I transferred all my files onto my new computer. If I had done this, the files wouldn't have been deleted.