How could the files in my Vista user profile disappear only to be found by data recovery software?

October 2, 2009

Here is my situation. I was surfing the web on my two year old Dell Inspiron 1521 laptop with Windows Vista when the computer froze and locked up. I could not click on anything or do anything. I restarted the computer. As it restarted the Windows Startup Repair window came up. It scanned my computer and found errors that it could not fix automatically. It told me that there was no operating system installed. I went online and troubleshot the computer as best as I could. I did not want to lose the information on my hard drive so I went out and bought a new one and installed Windows Vista on it. After two months, no problems. I ordered a case and USB connector for the old hard drive. When I plugged it in to the computer and looked inside the files I was stunned. All the files under my username were gone. Windows said the folder was empty. How could this be? I found data recovery software that scanned my old hard drive and was able to recover all my files. The files were only lost; they were sitting on the hard drive but could not be accessed except after the data recovery software did its job. I have been trolling the web looking for answers. Can anyone explain why or how this could have happened? What can be done to prevent this from happening again?

Is there any way to repair system files in windows XP without using the XP cd?

September 26, 2009

FROM A WEBSITE ON SFC:

To protect your computer from old system files, Microsoft created a special service that is built into the operating system. This service monitors your system files, and if one is replaced or deleted, ICS will automatically restore the system file.

SFC works in conjunction with a utility called Windows File Protection that keeps the system file cache: (%Systemroot%\System32\Dllcache) uppdated with the newest Microsoft Approved files as they are installed on your system. I prefer to use the system backup for the ability to roll back to a former configuration however.

To manually invoke the system file checker, be sure you have administrative access then go to the command prompt and type:

sfc /scannow

The system will immediately begin to check all the current system files and restore the cached approved copies. You may be asked to insert the Windows CD as well during the restore.

IS THERE ANY SOFTWARE AVAILABLE TO DOWNLOAD SO THAT I DONT’T HAVE TO USE THE CD?

Error Message booing up a new version of Windows XP?

September 14, 2009

I formatted a 150 gig. HD and loaded Windows XP on my Compaq computer. Windows boots up properly when opened using the Compac. If i put the drive in my 2nd PC (no brand name) I get a message that Operating system cannot load, but both HD’s work fine with the Compac. The 150 g HD had worked previously on the 2nd PC running XP, which I did the same way, but it was an older version of XP. I was just doing a clean install with a newer version with SP including SP2. If I take the HD out of my Compac I get the same error message on that 2nd PC. I changed the ribbon cable and know I have the HD designated as Master and using correct cable position. Any Ideas are welcome! Thanks.

(2 hours ago – 2 answers )

Qustions about upgrading RAM?

September 10, 2009

I am wanting to add some more RAM to my computer. But I don’t know what to get. Mine is a custom built computer so I cant go by brand and model. I do however have the owners manual for my mother board.

This is the information listed;
FOXCONN 865A01 User manual. four 184-pin slots with DDR DIMM for installation of DDR 400/333/226 memory bank.

The computer that I want to add RAM to has never been hooked to the internet and has no virus or firewall software so internet diagnostic is not possible. That computer has been dedicated to at home gaming and personal projects. I want to get it upgraded and ready to hook up to internet to play WoW.

I looked inside, and I am only using two of the four slots. I remember them telling me when the system was built, it was shared RAM. But the original RAM was only 256MB and that went bad after about a year and they replaced it with 512MB RAM So that’s what I have, a total of 512MB of ram. I want to upgrade up to a Gigabyte.

Couple of questions; Can I just add a couple more memory banks? Does it matter if they are the same brand or not? Do I have to replace the ones I have and get all new when I do the upgrade. Does RAM have some kind of driver like video cards or is it some thing the computer just automatically recognizes and uses? which do I have the 400/333/226? If I can just add to what I have, what should it be?
Mother boards max RAM is 1G & my operating system is XP.

I understand the whole concept of third party software ; but shouldn’t Window Registry police itself?

August 30, 2009

Shouldn’t we be able to rely on the operating system to keep itself in stable condition? My registry cleaner found 6000 errors this month alone. Since the OS is such an important function of the computer; why can’t it pick up after itself?