Help with recovering lost media and documents.

[Milk 1027]

So, the computer was put through a system restore and now all the pictures, music, documents, etc... are gone.
I tried this

1. click on start menu

2. on the start search box type regedit and press enter

3. then on the regedit go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

4. on the right pane check if you can see the missing files or folders (under Name column) has the default %USERPROFILE% location (under Data column) for it.

5. right click on the missing files or folders and click modify

6. Type in the default location of the missing personal user folder, then click OK.

7. Close regedit.

8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to restore the folder.

But I'm not sure on steps 4-6.

Any help?
Or is there an easier way to do this?

[DGthe3]

I'm no expert, but it sounds like that method is for 'misplaced' files and folders. You know where they are, but the computer doesn't. But when files disappear via a restore, they usually just go 'poof' and aren't heard from again.

I take it you don't have a backup of any sort?

[DevilsReject97]

If you did a system restore, it means you most likely set your system back to factory specs. Unfortunately, that means pretty much everything has been "soft formatted". Basically, it wipes out all the locations/history of said files...

There's software out there that will let you recover the files...but if you have the option, the best route is to use another PC to do this....

Is it a desktop/laptop?

[DevilsReject97]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

So, the computer was put through a system restore and now all the pictures, music, documents, etc... are gone.
I tried this

1. click on start menu

2. on the start search box type regedit and press enter

3. then on the regedit go to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Curre ntVersion\Explorer\User Shell Folders

4. on the right pane check if you can see the missing files or folders (under Name column) has the default %USERPROFILE% location (under Data column) for it.

5. right click on the missing files or folders and click modify

6. Type in the default location of the missing personal user folder, then click OK.

7. Close regedit.

8. Logoff and logon, or restart the computer to restore the folder.

But I'm not sure on steps 4-6.

Any help?
Or is there an easier way to do this?

Okay, Step 4 means this basically.....

On the right hand side of the screen, you will see the following:

Name: basically a description of the file

Type: basically what the folder does

Data: Where the file is located

What they are asking you to do, is look at this data and see if you see anything that doesn't match. Such as seeing one say "john" instead of "data". If so, they want you to restore the file to it's default option.

Unfortunately, the registry is a pain in the ass to screw with if you don't know it, and even doing all this doesn't guarantee your files back...

I'm including a copy of my registry window (windows 7 64-bit).

[Milk 1027]

I figured it out.
Although the pictures and music don't show up anywhere on the computer, they still show up on windows media player. So, I'm just extracting them with a flash drive before the computer takes a dump on itself.

[DevilsReject97]

Originally Posted by Milk 1027

I figured it out.
Although the pictures and music don't show up anywhere on the computer, they still show up on windows media player. So, I'm just extracting them with a flash drive before the computer takes a dump on itself.

Well, if you want more help, let me know...it's what I do for a living..