Help! CompUSA reinstalled OS, now everything is gone!

Question

Had a problem last week with my Dimension 4400 ,XP Pro, saying something like system32\config.sys missing or corrupted.....   not being too handy with these type of problems, I brought it to my local CompUSA store with the Dell XP reinstallation disk. They charged me $79.95 to 'reinstall OS'. When I picked it up the paper work said 'reinstalled OS, no data lost'. When the computer comes on, the users are gone, my programs are gone, all my photos are gone.     I searched for all pictures and didn't find them. I searched for the installed programs I need, (Quicken, Turbo Tax, for example) and I can find misc small files relating to each, but no .exe files.    I recreated the users thinking that the  programs would then reappear, but no luck. I can reinstall the programs, but an concerned with the data.  How can I find the hundreds of .jpeg photos that I had all neatly stored in folders. Windows explorer doesn't show them.  Any aftermarket data recovery programs worth trying?

fireberd · Answer

Apparently they reformatted the hard drive.  The data is, for all practical purposes, gone.  There are recovery programs that MAY recover data if the sector has not been written to - but that's a slim chance.  There are companies that can recover data from crashed discs but their prices start above $500.   Sadly, the lesson learned here is BACKUP BACKUP BACKUP.  Periodic backups of user data would have prevented this.

Bobmitmen · Answer

Not only backup...but it seems that all that might have been needed was to run a repair on your current installation...which would not have cost you your data.  Before you bring your machine to CompUSA again...ask here...many are here that could have helped you...   Bob

CPSSFly · Answer

Bobmitmen wrote:

Not only backup...but it seems that all that might have been needed was to run a repair on your current installation...which would not have cost you your data. Before you bring your machine to CompUSA again...ask here...many are here that could have helped you...

Bob

Thanks Bob, heres what I posted last week:

I'm having the exact same problem XP Pro won't start, " missing or corrupt file \windows\system32\config\system"

I read the above article regarding System Hive and it seems pretty complicated to repair, well I'm an electrician, not a computer expert! Any other simple advice?

My system is a Dimension 4400, about 4 years old

There is a warning in the Microsoft Article 307545 saying "not to use this procedure if your computer has an OEM-installed operating system" Is a Dell installed XP Pro what they mean?

Got no other responses...................:smileysad:

jmwills · Answer

I would demand a refund.   In retrospect, the users here could have saved you that money by showing you how to do that.  Worst case scenario would have had youpurchasing a new small hard drive to act as the main drive to reinstall the OS onto and then use the odl drive as a slave and pull the data from it, format it, then replace the data.

mombodog · Answer

You can mount the drive in another PC and use this software to try and recover data, do not install this on the drive you are trying to recover.   http://www.runtime.org/gdb.htm

Windows General

Help! CompUSA reinstalled OS, now everything is gone!

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