I lost all my photos

[MikeKing]

I was running out of space on Drive C:, so I decided to move all my bust half photos to Drive D:

 

well...today I looked at that folder I moved and it only copied 1807-1815. After that, NO PICTURES!!!!

 

I can't find them anywhere on the computer. The recycle bin is empty.

 

Does anyone know how I can recover this from my computer??

 

If not, I'll copy them all from my registry set. Unfortunately I'll still be missing pics.

 

Thanks for any help.

[jgrinz]

You first need to find out WHY .. is there room on D for the pictures

 

Do you have any hosting services where you can download them back to your computer

 

This kind of sucks...

 

 

[harvey8542]

Ouch dont know how to find them but I'll keep my that you do

[bsshog40]

Do you have some type of restore feature on your PC where you can take it back in time? Go-back, Wildfire, etc...

[MunkyMan95]

I agree with Bobby, most computers are set to a restore point. See if you can restore it to the settings before your pictures were lost.

[jgrinz]

Do you have some type of restore feature on your PC where you can take it back in time? Go-back, Wildfire, etc...

 

Files not being in The "BIN" concerns me .. sounds like bad sectors on Drive "D"

 

You are a PC and not a MAC right ??

 

[bsshog40]

Also, with nothing being in the BIN, you may have dropped them off somewhere else without realizing it. I would also try the search option to see if they pop-up somewhere else. Sometimes the D: is also protected by some computers and is only used for Backup purposes and may not be giving you all options needed to view the files.

[WoodenJefferson]

agreed, "D" has "Hidden Files" that will be protected...you are will be in some treacherous waters roaming around in that drive.

 

Best to select a time to revert back to, those files are in there somewhere.

[thehumantorch]

Hi Mike, not sure how computer literate you are so bear with me if something I suggest is elementary dear chap. First I would try using the search command (start button-search) and try to look for a particular photo from the missing photos or look for any file with the same file extension (last 3 letters). For example search for all files with file extension .bmp or jpg on drive c: and repeat for drive d:. It is possible the photos were in a different file than the file you thought they were in and a search for all files ending in .jpg might reveal a clump of missing photos.

 

Don't think using the Microsoft system restore will help but I would try. Click start button-programs-accessories-system tools-system restore. System restore does not restore documents or graphics but worth a shot.

 

Files that no longer appear in Windows may still be on the hard drive. Windows does not remove a deleted file from the hard drive it just pretends that it no longer exists. A file will still reside on your hard drive until Windows needs the space for another file. A number of programs have been designed to recover missing/deleted file such as Norton Save and Restore.

 

I am assuming you use a recent version of Windows, e-mail me if you have any further questions.

 

dave

[Oldtrader3]

Sometimes your virus program will restore files that have been lost or erased. Check if you virus software has a document recovery feature. Most have it. This feature has saved my bacon on several occasions. It should recover a list that you can pick an choose from on what you wish to save. Just don't press the shred all files button by mistake.

[MikeKing]

I really appreciate all this help. Thank you.

I'm using windows, have norton, searched everywhere and still can't find them.

I have a feeling that maybe while I was copying the folder to the other drive, I deleted the original folder prematurely. I must have wiped my bin clean afterwards.

[bsshog40]

Mike, Norton should have a "GoBack" feature to it. Have you checked this?

[MikeKing]

hi. thanks. i typed go back in the search window of the help file. the only info i could retrieve was how to restore from already backed up files.

[bsshog40]

Usually Mike, the GoBack feature is in your Norton program. If it's not there, then I'm not sure.

[ldhair]

One more thought for you Mike.

If your C drive was ever partitioned, each partition should have a separate recycle bin. The same holds true with drives. Each should have it's own bin. I have caught myself looking in the wrong recycle bin in the past. A file search on each drive is the fastest way to locate files but I seem to never know the right file name.

 

[Houston Investor]

Why not just use a flash drive (memory stick)? These have at least 1 GB capacity some more than that.

 

They are compact, inexpensive, easy to use, and fit in a USB port. These are great say if you have a desktop at home plus lap top you use at work, travel, or sometimes at home since I have a docking station for it at both home and work.

 

I use mine for many uses - backup files, photos, even my favorite war game - Empire for Windows (older game, does not take much space). If I still had it my old EA Sports College FB game that was just keyboard (you input 2 digits for the play you were calling) would be perfect too. The older games don't take much space.

 

ABOUT FLASH DRIVE SECURITY:

Just be careful about where you leave it in case the wrong person might pick it up. Some folks keep theirs on their key ring or say in a small container like an empty metal Altoids box you would keep in a briefcase or bag. Keep your briefcase or bag out of sight (Out of sight is out of mind). Be consistent where you keep your flash drive it so you don't forget where it is. If you are logged into a LAN say at work, an added precaution would be to disconnect the LAN cable from your computer to safeguard yourself say if the boss is trying to take an online peek at what your doing. Also position your computer in your office so someone does not readily see the screen right off the bat if they walk by or happen to come in. If they happen to come in, you can quickly flip to a work related file. Whatever you do, do not leave PB (personal business) related stuff in your office at work where someone could either discover it by accident or a thru a sneak search (there are low life scum who will do this when you are not there). Be cognizant of any superiors (or snoops) who might be walking around to see if people are actually working.

[pendragon1998]

If you have a norton protected recycle bin, right click it and click on "unerase wizard". Before giving up - and BEFORE using your computer a great deal more - if you really care about it, you can call a data recovery company who may be able to read your deleted files and recover them. 'Deleted' files on a computer are still in their original memory sectors. They are first marked as 'sent to the recycle bin', and once emptied from there, then their memory sectors are marked as being free to overwrite. If you haven't yet saved something to that sector, the original stuff is still there, but it is vulnerable to being rewritten.

 

This is a good reminder to everyone - myself included - to go out and pick up a cheap memory stick for backing up all of our coin photos. I intend to buy one this afternoon. I saw a good deal at Office Depot yesterday.

 

Mike, sorry you're having a hard time with your pics.

[MikeKing]

i really reallly appreciate all the input and suggestions from everyone and i want to thank you. i still haven't been able to locate the lost pictures so i saved them off my registry set and backed them up to Norton (norton 360 gives you cyberspace to back stuff up).

[RWB]

Sorry to hear of the loss of your images. I had a similar experience several years ago with hundreds of images intended for a book when a disk drive crashed. Had to rebuild the whole image library.

 

Lately, the only thing I think I've lost is my marbles....but that's not the computer's fault (except for Office 2007!).

 

[pendragon1998]

This is a good reminder to everyone - myself included - to go out and pick up a cheap memory stick for backing up all of our coin photos. I intend to buy one this afternoon. I saw a good deal at Office Depot yesterday.

 

I just checked my coin photo folder size and it's up close to 5 GB! Now I'm shopping around for a new hard drive and some more RAM. $5 just turned into $150.

[MunkyMan95]

I just went and backed up my photos to my memory stick and it was only 80MB

[zrlevin]

Mine are about 1.5 GB. They are all backed up and are also all online.

[IGWT]

Sympathy is all I have to offer.

[bsshog40]

Mine are only 147mb. I have a Cd-rw that I periodically back-up all my documents to since my pc crashed last year.

[TomB]

I also back up all our photos almost immediately and it makes sense since I only have 483MB of coin photos, but have nearly 10GB of photos of the family.

[ldhair]

I use my laptop as a back up for everything important.

[SatTech]

Ok, first thing is to not save ANYTHING else to your C: drive. Depending on how important these pictures are to you, use : http://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

 

I've used their software before and it works miracles. The trial software will show you all the files it can recover. In order to actually recover the files, you'll have to purchase it. I'd suggest reading through this page : http://www.runtime.org/peb.htm

 

That should be the safest way to use it, that way you're not putting anything new on the drive. If you're using WinXP or Vista you're going to want the NTFS version.

 

I used this program to recover a crashed RAID0 array.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

[thehumantorch]

Ok, first thing is to not save ANYTHING else to your C: drive. Depending on how important these pictures are to you, use : http://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

 

I've used their software before and it works miracles. The trial software will show you all the files it can recover. In order to actually recover the files, you'll have to purchase it. I'd suggest reading through this page : http://www.runtime.org/peb.htm

 

That should be the safest way to use it, that way you're not putting anything new on the drive. If you're using WinXP or Vista you're going to want the NTFS version.

 

I used this program to recover a crashed RAID0 array.

 

Hope this helps some.

 

Haven't used this softwear but a number of softwear providers sell softwear to recover files that Windows can no longer see. The files will still reside on the hard drive until the operating system needs to write new files or programs. Sattech is correct, if you hope to recover files from your hard drive don't create any new files or install new programs.

[ant]

i ost some one time and found them in a file called "recenlty changed" or something like that.

[WoodenJefferson]