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Depending on how the files were lost, the steps will vary. In some cases, you can recover files using built-in features; in other cases, you’ll need data recovery software.

Recovering Deleted Files

If you’ve deleted the file, you may be able to recover the file using the Recycle Bin’s restore feature. Go into the Recycle Bin and see if the file is listed. If so, right-click the file and choose Restore. This will undelete the file and place it back in its original location.

The drawback to using the Recycle Bin is that it doesn’t always work. For example, if the Recycle Bin has been emptied, then the file is no longer there. Another problem is that extremely large files bypass the Recycle Bin completely, so this isn’t an option for many deleted files.

Recovering System Files

Windows comes with a built-in utility for recovering lost or damaged system files called the System File Checker. You will need your original Windows installation CD to use this utility. It scans your system for damaged or missing system files, replacing them with original files from the CD. To run System File Checker, go to Start> Run and enter: sfc /scannow

Recovery Lost Data Files

If you’ve lost data files and they are not in the Recycle Bin, you can use data recovery software to recover them. Data recovery software can only recover files that haven’t yet been overwritten by new data. When you delete a file, the file’s references are removed yet the file itself remains on your hard drive. Windows considers the deleted file as deleted and the space that it occupies as “free space” where new data can be stored. You have a window of opportunity to recover deleted files between the time of deletion and when new data is written over it.

The first step is to find a data recovery program. We recommend Data Recovery from ParetoLogic Software because it’s easy to use and effective. A free demo version allows you to see if the file you want to recover is still available for recovery. If so, then you can purchase the full version and quickly recover the file.

In this case, you would launch the software and click the Scan or Start button. The data recovery software will then scan your computer for recoverable files. It lists files by type. For example, all recoverable document files will be grouped together, all photos together, all music files together, and so forth. Once you find the file, simply click it and choose Recover. Depending on how you set up the software, the file will be recovered to a specific folder where you can then work with the file or move it to its original location.

If you know the file’s name or other characteristics, you can instruct the software to search for that file in particular, making for a faster recovery and less wading through results. However, it’s kind of fun (and amazing) to see how many files are recoverable on your computer.  

Can this program recover deleted emails from Facebook webmail?

Not specifically, in fact, Facebook’s official line is that once a message has been deleted, it is gone forever. If everything lines up correctly however, there is a possibility of getting a message or a message thread back as long as you got an email from Facebook announcing the message. I just tried it to make sure I wasn’t giving you false information, and it worked!

Show Deleted Messages

The first thing is to check and see if you got an email in your regular email account saying that you got a message from someone. If you did, and you still have that message in your inbox, then all you have to do is click on the link that is at the bottom of message in your email inbox. That link will take you to Facebook and the message center, even though you deleted that message or message thread. Under the message title, you will see a notice that you deleted that message or thread. Right next to that, you will see a link that says: Show Deleted Messages. Click on that, and the message or message thread magically appears just as if you never deleted it.

Recover Deleted Emails

You may encounter a problem if you deleted the email from your inbox that gave you the Facebook message notification. If you did delete the message, did you empty your delete folder? If not, then look there - do a search under “Facebook” if you have a lot of messages and aren’t sure when the original message was sent. If you did delete the message and then empty the delete folder, then you are going to have to go through a few more steps to recover that deleted email that contains the link to the Facebook message.

Data Recovery Software

In this instance, where you have deleted an email and then emptied the recycle bin or deleted email folder, a program such as Data Recovery Pro can help you. The program will let you preview recoverable files and has a good customer support base in case you have a problem. Once you have recovered the Facebook email with the link to the message, you should be able to follow the above steps and see your message thread.

If this was simply a message that you sent, and didn’t get a reply on that thread in your email inbox, then you very well may be out of luck. I have not found any other way to recover deleted threads or messages.

My computer was wiped after data had been backed up. However, when it was restored, I found my original Windows Mail was missing! A new one is in its place. Can my original Windows Mail be found and restored?

You can probably recovery your lost Windows Mail, but the method depends on exactly where it is at this moment. Is it possible that the file is just hidden? Go to My Computer and then choose Organizer and then Folder and Search Options. Click on the View tab, select Show hidden files and folders and click Ok.

Copy to New Windows Mail

If you can find the old folder, you can copy the messages and account information to the new Windows Mail.

1. First, go to C:\Users\ (Old mail folder)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail.
2. Select all files and the copy to: C:\Users\(New mail folder)\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Mail.

Transfer Mail Settings

You can also transfer your mail settings to the new folder. These are located in the registry, and you can recover them as long as the registry hive is still readable.

1. Go to Start and type in: regedit.exe. Click Enter.
2. Select HKEY_USERS. You will see the file menu. Choose Load Hive.
3. Go to C:\Users\(Oldmailacccount) and select NTUSER.DAT. Give this the key name: OldUserHive.
4. Now go to: HKEY_USERS\OldUserHive\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail and choose it.
5. Go to File, Export and Desktop. Give this a filename and Save.
6. Now select HKEY_USERS\OldUserHive. From File, select Unload Hive.
7. Go to Notepad. Open the file that you named in step #5.
8. Choose Edit and then Replace. Under “Find What”: HKEY_USER\OldUserHive
9. Under “Replace With”: HKEY_CURRENT_USER. Choose Replace All.
10. Save and close Notepad.
11. Go to Registry Editor again and choose File and then Import. Locate mailsettings.reg and open.

Now, you need to prevent Windows Mail from crashing because of a flaw in the Signature Key. Delete the “Signature” registry key. Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows Mail\signatures. Delete this key. Now you can add the signature manually. Go to Windows Mail, Tools and then Options. Choose Signatures and add yours manually.

Data Recovery Tools

There are several downloadable tools that you can use to recover data including deleted or corrupted emails if you don’t want to try to alter the registry.

Data Recovery Pro is a program that can even recover deleted emails from Windows Mail Vista, has a good support program and allows you to download a free trial before buying the program. If you prefer a freeware download, you can try a program like Advanced Windows Mail Recovery, but be aware they offer little if any support.

Hopefully, this advice will allow you to recovery your old Windows Mail files quickly.

If the motherboard is replaced, do I lose all the information of my laptop?

Whether or not you lose your data when replacing a motherboard depends on several factors. As with any type of hardware/software change on a computer, replacing the motherboard has the potential to create loss of your data. However, if you are careful when installing the new motherboard, you shouldn’t have any problems. If you have someone else doing the replacement for you, make sure that you tell them not to wipe the hard drive clean.

Where the files, applications, etc are stored

The data stored on a computer can be found on the hard drive. As long as you don’t wipe the hard drive clean, you should retain your files, etc. If you back up your hard drive onto an alternative storage media such as an external drive, secondary drive, flash drive, or CD, then you will have access to the information should the worst happen and you lose your data. You could probably use an application that recovers lost data to get it back for you as well.

Replacing the Motherboard

If you replace the motherboard with one that uses the same chipset, this strategy should allow the motherboard to automatically detect your operating system to install it. If not, it might take a bit for the operating system to detect your new hardware and boot up.

Replacing the Motherboard and Installing the Operating System

In some cases, you might need to reinstall your operating system. Therefore, if this happens you’ll need to either use the following directions or back up your data first.

If you have the option to run a repair installation or upgrade your Windows operating system, you shouldn’t have any problems. You can check your current version of Windows to see if it includes the option to create a repair install or upgrade feature. If it does, you can use one of these to place your operating system back on without losing any of your data.

Tips to consider when installing a new motherboard

Avoid static electricity that can destroy your motherboard by grounding yourself. Touch the metal casing of your computer or wear a static-free band.

Download the drivers for the new motherboard prior to its installation for a quicker install. This usually prevents any problems installing the motherboard and accessing your old data too.

I had Windows Vista and now have XP. I downloaded files to a USB stick and haven’t been able to get them open for several months now. I have tried downloading stuff from the net to open them but have yet to get them open. There are several people that cannot open theirs as well. I am very confused and not very good at this type of stuff. Can you please tell me how to open these files step by step with my XP PC? If not please send me in the correct direction to open them. Thank you very much for your reply.

Retrieving Files from a USB Stick

Try the USB Stick in another Computer to test

There are several possible reasons to explain why you aren’t able to open your files, which are hard to narrow down without more information. To begin, it is possible that there is a problem with your USB stick. If the USB stick doesn’t open and display your files when you insert it in your computer, then the problem could be the USB stick itself. The first thing to do is try the USB stick in another computer and see if it opens there. If the USB stick doesn’t show up or open, the stick itself might be faulty.

Run Updated Virus Scans

If the USB stick behaves differently in another computer, there could be a problem with your drive. Sometimes drive problems are the result of a computer virus so it is a good idea to run updated virus, spyware and adware scans on your computer and quarantine or repair any problems that they find. Once you have addressed the problems, run the scans again until they come up clean.

Run Windows Chkdsk Utility

If you can get the USB stick to mount and it is displayed as an icon on your desktop, you should be able to use the Windows CheckDisk utility to see if the file system on the USB stick is corrupt. Chkdsk will run and check all your system volumes for errors and attempt to fix any that it finds. You will need to be logged on as an administrator to run the chkdsk tool. The chkdsk tool can only check files and volumes that are not in use, so you should close all open programs, folders and files before you proceed. Expect the chkdsk tool to take some time and wait until it has completed its process.

How to Run Windows Chkdsk on XP

1. Click twice on My Computer, then right click on the name of the file that you want to scan - in this case on the drive letter assigned to your USB drive
2. Choose Properties, then Tools
3. Find the tab for Error Checking, then underneath it find and choose Check Now
4. A dialog box will open and present three options. The third option - to Scan for and Attempt Recovery of Bad Sectors - is the most comprehensive scan. Select it and click Start.

Alternatives to USB Sticks for Data Backup

It is possible that your USB stick is simply too old to function properly, or that it is corrupt and unable to open or display files. I know it is of no use to tell you this now, when you are grieving the potential loss of your files, but USB sticks are not the most reliable devices to use when backing up important data. CD-ROMs remain a good choice, or a copy saved to CD to compliment a USB copy will guarantee you retrieve your data.

Collect a List of Details and Symptoms for Diagnosis

If none of these tips address your problem, please write again and include more specific information, such as whether or not the USB stick is displayed on the desktop, whether or not the files show up in the contents but fail to open, what type of file they are, and whether or not you receive an error message when attempting to open your files.

Data Recovery

If your USB stick shows up as a drive letter, you may be able to use data recovery software to recover the files. Try the free demo of Data Recovery Pro and see if your files are recoverable. 

My computer recently crashed and we took out the hard drives and a so called computer guy transferred what data he could from them to an external hard drive. Computer now back up and running but nothing on hard drives and when we try to open documents and photos which were copied to external hard drive they just open up in undecipherable text and photos display no image! Is there any way of getting these documents back especially photos?

There are a lot of things that can happen when you find yourself in this situation. It’s possible that the data that your tech transferred was corrupted before the transfer, and that’s why you are unable to read them.

More likely, and hopefully the problem, is that the external hard drive is formatted in FAT 32 while your internal drive is in NTFS. If this is the case, it may be possible to reformat the data on the external hard drive and convert it to a format that your operating system can read. Converting to NTFS is usually a one-way street and you can’t convert back to FAT32, but without knowing the specifics, it’s hard to tell what happened.

FAT32 vs NTFS

A quick study of formatting files may help you understand what is happening. There are different ways for your computer to store and organize the information it contains. NTFS stands for New Technology File System and is a format that most newer operating systems use. FAT, specifically FAT 32, stands for File Allocation Table 32 (the 32 standing for the amount of space it contains) and is often used in external hard drives. Depending on how your tech saved your files to the external hard drive, you may be able to convert your FAT 32 files to NTFS.

Find Your Format

First, you should find out what kind of formatting your drives have. To do this, go to My Computer, and then right click on the drive that you are working with - in your case, you will check both the external drive and the internal drive that you are trying to transfer the files back to. Choose Properties and then see if it says FAT 32 or NTFS. This is all assuming that your system recognizes the external hard drive.

Convert FAT Files to NTFS

There is a way to convert your FAT 32 files to NTFS. Go to Start and then All Programs, then Accessories and Command Prompt (or just go to Start and Run). At the prompt, type in convert (drive letter):/fs:ntfs. You will need to insert the correct drive letter in the command. If you want to convert the external hard drive, and the letter for that drive is e, then the command would be convert e:/fs:ntfs . If you are converting the drive that contains the operating system, the computer will have to restart - you will see an error message to that effect if this is the case. If you are getting error messages while attempting this process, you can check with Microsoft Troubleshooting for conversion problems.

Data Recovery Programs

There are a number of freeware programs out there that can help you gain access to corrupted or accidentally deleted data. Without seeing exactly what is going on with your files, I can’t say whether it will work or not, but it might be worth a try. One popular program is Paretologic Data Recovery.

Hopefully, this has pointed you in the right direction. Because your files are important, it might be worth the money to take your drive to a professional rather than risking damaging the files to the point of no return. It goes without saying, that if you are able to get your information back, you should quickly create a reliable backup for your valuable photos and other data.