Windows XP System Restore - lost files

**KYR** · 01-01-2008, 07:18 PM

I recently transferred a heap of .avi and .mpg movies and TV shows from my PC hard drive to an external hard drive.

On the weekend I downloaded a patch for Cyberlink�s Power Producer (from Cyberlink) but after installing the patch, PP would not work.

No problem (I thought), I�ll just use Windows XP �System Restore� and set it for last Friday. BTW, I�d used �System Restore� without problem before.

After running Restore, I then found that all the files I had transferred from the PC hard drive to the external hard drive were gone and replaced by a 32Kb file called �Movies� or �Television� (the original folder names for those files I transferred).

No problem (I thought again) Windows states that �Restore� is 100% reversible � so I �undid� the Restore. No luck, the files are still gone.

I have now de-selected the external hard drive for System Restore functions - too late I know, but at least next time it won�t stuff up.

Anyone know how I may be able to get back all these lost files or are they gone forever?

**KYR** · 01-02-2008, 06:38 AM

Found a program that has restored all my files.

In case anyone ever experiences the same problem, I downloaded a free program from http://www.softperfect.com/products/filerecovery/ which is only about 250KB in size that searches all drives for deleted files and you can then select which files to restore.

Easy to use, but took about 3 hours to recover everything but worked a treat.

01-01-2008, 07:18 PM	#1
KYR Bringin' Back The Sexy Posts: 8,470	Windows XP System Restore - lost files I recently transferred a heap of .avi and .mpg movies and TV shows from my PC hard drive to an external hard drive. On the weekend I downloaded a patch for Cyberlink�s Power Producer (from Cyberlink) but after installing the patch, PP would not work. No problem (I thought), I�ll just use Windows XP �System Restore� and set it for last Friday. BTW, I�d used �System Restore� without problem before. After running Restore, I then found that all the files I had transferred from the PC hard drive to the external hard drive were gone and replaced by a 32Kb file called �Movies� or �Television� (the original folder names for those files I transferred). No problem (I thought again) Windows states that �Restore� is 100% reversible � so I �undid� the Restore. No luck, the files are still gone. I have now de-selected the external hard drive for System Restore functions - too late I know, but at least next time it won�t stuff up. Anyone know how I may be able to get back all these lost files or are they gone forever?

01-02-2008, 06:38 AM	#2
KYR Bringin' Back The Sexy Posts: 8,470	Found a program that has restored all my files. In case anyone ever experiences the same problem, I downloaded a free program from http://www.softperfect.com/products/filerecovery/ which is only about 250KB in size that searches all drives for deleted files and you can then select which files to restore. Easy to use, but took about 3 hours to recover everything but worked a treat.