OT: bizarre file disappearing act when XP installed

  • Thread starter Thread starter Mac Cool
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Mac Cool

Long version:
I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP. My system had xp
home but I decided to install xp pro. I had several hard drives, one for
apps, one for docs and an old one with misc crap from years ago. I did the
install and xp pro seemed to do some weird merging thing between the
drives, pulling files from an old My Documents folder onto my main drive.
Now my secondary hard drive that I use for docs is missing bajillions of
files but the hard drive is still full as if they are there! So I thought
maybe they were hidden, clicked on show hidden files but they are not
there. So WTF? What am I missing? (besides files, har har)

Short version
There is no short version, sorry.
 
Mac said:
Long version:
I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP. My system had xp
home but I decided to install xp pro. I had several hard drives, one for
apps, one for docs and an old one with misc crap from years ago. I did the
install and xp pro seemed to do some weird merging thing between the
drives, pulling files from an old My Documents folder onto my main drive.
Now my secondary hard drive that I use for docs is missing bajillions of
files but the hard drive is still full as if they are there! So I thought
maybe they were hidden, clicked on show hidden files but they are not
there. So WTF? What am I missing? (besides files, har har)
Click to expand...

<shot place="dark">
recycle bin?
</shot>
 
Mac said:
Long version:
I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP. My system had xp
home but I decided to install xp pro. I had several hard drives, one for
apps, one for docs and an old one with misc crap from years ago. I did the
install and xp pro seemed to do some weird merging thing between the
drives, pulling files from an old My Documents folder onto my main drive.
Now my secondary hard drive that I use for docs is missing bajillions of
files but the hard drive is still full as if they are there! So I thought
maybe they were hidden, clicked on show hidden files but they are not
there. So WTF? What am I missing? (besides files, har har)

Short version
There is no short version, sorry.
Click to expand...
Apparently you are missing a backup.....
 
Long version:
I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP. My system had xp
home but I decided to install xp pro. I had several hard drives, one for
apps, one for docs and an old one with misc crap from years ago. I did the
install and xp pro seemed to do some weird merging thing between the
drives, pulling files from an old My Documents folder onto my main drive.
Now my secondary hard drive that I use for docs is missing bajillions of
files but the hard drive is still full as if they are there! So I thought
maybe they were hidden, clicked on show hidden files but they are not
there. So WTF? What am I missing? (besides files, har har)

Short version
There is no short version, sorry.
Click to expand...

A second version OS on another logical/primary partition may coexist,
but easier to take the whole thing, make a directory called X, and
toss everything into it. To be safe don't explore, index, otherwise
manipulate that drive w/ the new OS. When you do - do it very
carefully and with backups -- I run with three operational-system
backups dating back a month or more, and never do added or subsequent
program installs into the physical location of the operating system.
Something doesn't turn out right, I've older OS backups without
installed registry links or added ancillary OS program-install files,
and can delete what I don't like elsewhere without messing within the
OS.
 
philo:
You may need to take ownership of the files/folders that are in your
previous profile.
Unless you formatted the drive where your data was...it should all
still be there
Click to expand...

I found it. I hilighted all the folders then unclicked show all hidden
files and for some reason a whole bunch of directories appeared named
chk.00x and there were all my files.

Here's what I think might have happened. I think the drive might have been
formatted fat32 (although it shouldn't have been) and xp pro converted the
drive to ntfs and somehow these files were misplaced in the process.
 
Flasherly:
do it very carefully and with backups
Click to expand...

I have backups. I just wanted to know where the files were since the drive
was still full, but I found them, see other post. Thanks for the response.
 
Sjouke Burry:
Apparently you are missing a backup.....
Click to expand...

Where did I write that I didn't have a backup?

Yes, I could have reformat the whole drive and restored the backup but
that would have been a stupid way to fix the problem.
 
Mac said:
philo:


I found it. I hilighted all the folders then unclicked show all hidden
files and for some reason a whole bunch of directories appeared named
chk.00x and there were all my files.

Here's what I think might have happened. I think the drive might have been
formatted fat32 (although it shouldn't have been) and xp pro converted the
drive to ntfs and somehow these files were misplaced in the process.
Click to expand...

Not too likely. The CHK.00X are the result of a disk check which finds
problems in the file system (for instance, disk space allocated but not
accounted for in the directory structure.
 
Long version:
I decided to reformat my hard drive and reinstall XP. My system had xp
home but I decided to install xp pro. I had several hard drives, one for
apps, one for docs and an old one with misc crap from years ago. I did the
install and xp pro seemed to do some weird merging thing between the
drives, pulling files from an old My Documents folder onto my main drive.
Now my secondary hard drive that I use for docs is missing bajillions of
files but the hard drive is still full as if they are there! So I thought
maybe they were hidden, clicked on show hidden files but they are not
there. So WTF? What am I missing? (besides files, har har)

Short version
There is no short version, sorry.
Click to expand...

When you say "bajillions of
files", are all your old files missing? Can you see ANY file or bit of
data that was on the old xp install?
 
Ofnuts:
Not too likely. The CHK.00X are the result of a disk check which
finds problems in the file system (for instance, disk space allocated
but not accounted for in the directory structure.
Click to expand...

But the only way a problem could have developed was when XP pro read the
drive for the first time. I didn't have the drive attached when I
installed then when I was up and running I connected the extra drive. XP
ran a chkdsk and thats when everything went kaplooey.
 
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