keap_scooby

hi folks,
any local (falkirk) computer boffins who could help me out.
lastnight i upgraded my laptop (vista basic) to vista ultimate. well i cant get anything to work internet yes, emails no, programmes no; it looks like they are on the hard drive but not readable.
i have a back up of all docs, etc.
looking for help to get it back working, can anyone assist.

thanks

pmacFTO

I'm in Livi m8 and do this for a living. I work in Broxburn during the day so you could even drop it off. I can also do data recovery as your stuff sounds like it may still be there - even if it's had a full format tho it can be recovered - just try not to use the machine and def. don't install anything if you want to recover lost stuff!

Just one thing to check tho, look in the folder Documents and Settings and see if there is a folder there which has the username you used to use to log on to your machine (if you had one). Inside there may be a whole load of your old stuff. Look in My Documents in each folder inside the Documents and Settings folder and see if any of them have the stuff that was on your Desktop before you did the upgrade.

Also - have you got administrator access?

The programs that are not working - are they in Program Files or are they installed in custom folders (i.e. ones you made yourself when installing)

You can also do a search on your machine for any files or folders you know you had - maybe something with a distinctive name (like a place you went on holiday and took pics at etc.)

Let me know anyway

keap_scooby

hi there,

when reading up about it, i found that it does a snap shot of what is on the computer and calls it windows.old - i have been able to find this. found some information on transferring this information - documents, photos, programme files into the new set up, the element i dont know about is all my emails, it looks like it has created a *.pst file but dont know if it is transferable, also opening up a word doc it says that its for a different user name. some of the information on it i would not like to loose as its personnel.

deff not installing anything to try to fix it incase it goes pear shaped.

thanks for the information, if you are able to point me in the dirrection of recovering the rest great, if not then your offer of assistance would be appreciated.

regards

alan

pmacFTO

hi m8 - the .pst file is a good thing!
It means you are using Outlook rather than Outlook express so all your info is on one file (the .pst)

Do you still have your old PST? If so you need to go into Outlook and set up all your account details (your ISP website can give you the info) and then once it is set up it will create a PST file - shut down outlook and then get your OLD .pst and copy that over the new one. That way all your old messages will appear and your address book too.

The .pst is in a hidden folder so you need to go to Explorer or open my computer then go to Tools>Folder Options select View tab and then tick Show Hiddden Files and Folders. You should then be able to see a folder to drop your .pst in.
Path is normally: C:\Documents and Settings\$insert_your_username$\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook. In there you should see the .pst and it should be a small file until you copy your old one over it.

Hope that helps.

keap_scooby

pmacfto,

i will try that for the pst files, hopefully i will get it set up if not , i will be in touch for your asistance.
tying not to not do too much just in case i make it worse than it is.

thanks

alan

pmacFTO

well if you have the windows.old it only means you have anything which was in My Socuments/Desktop/Email/Program Files and a few other windows folders.

Did you have any other files you can't find now? Do you have a partition at all? i.e is there a C: Drive and also a D: drive (but not your CD/DVD drive). It's a good idea to have a partition for data etc and just have a decent sized one for the OS and your installed programs. That way you can do a clean install of your OS whilst not having to lose too much personal data.

You can also (for future reference) use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard

keap_scooby

hi there,

as you have said above, i have all the elements (windows.old) i require but they dont seem to show up in programmes, desktop, etc. --- can it be used to restore all the information i require, if it can how is it done?
yes i have both the C and D drives showing - C - OS and D - recovery.
hopefully when i get it all sorted our one way or another i will get it partitioned correctly and do a total back up of how it is set up.

thanks again.

using my other laptop which will get backed up once its all been sorted out.

keap_scooby

hi there,
i have sent you a pm regarding the computer problem.

thanks

pmacFTO

nice to meet you m8 - hope the PC behaves now