Re: Where's the saved files from deleted users

Bill wrote:

Administrator account and see if the folder is then visible. I'm not
sure if you have XP Pro or Home; if Pro, at the Welcome screen, press
Ctrl-Alt-Del twice in quick succession and you should see a login box
pop up. Unless you renamed the built-in admin account, type in
Administrator for the user name. The password by default is blank. If
you have Home, you'll need to boot to Safe Mode, when you should see the
Administrator account as an option at the Welcome screen.

If you can then see the folder and file, try opening it. If you get an
"Access Denied" message, you might need to seize ownership of the
folder: see this link:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

A power user friend told me that windows file system can get confused and
not reflect what is actually on the hard drive. What about my idea of using a
Move cmd in Dos?


I'm going to give some advice about how to do this in Dos.
First, from C:\ I would use the "tree" command, C:\tree
which gives you a list of all directories and sub-directories.
Actually, C:\tree > tree.txt which gives you a Notepad file. Or,
next, C:\type tree.txt |more which shows one screen at a time
(type the space bar to move forward) so this can produce:

WayJoe
├───Desktop
├───Favorites
│ ├───Links
│ ├───Media
│ └───Microsoft Websites
├───My Documents
│ ├───Copy of My Pictures
│ ├───Downloads
│ ├───My eBooks
│ ├───My Music
│ │ └───iTunes
│ ├───My Pictures
│ │ ├───2007_10_29
│ │ ├───2007_11_30
│ │ │ └───merc monterey
│ │ ├───2008_01_07
│ │ ├───2008_01_09
│ │ └───TT paint scheme
│ ├───My Received Files
│ ├───My Videos
│ ├───Nero Home
│ │ └───TV
│ ├───PlayerNotes
│ ├───Roxio
│ ├───SnagIt Catalog
│ │ ├───Instant Messenger
│ │ └───Program
│ └───TT Installer Logs
├───Outlook Express Backups
├───Start Menu
│ └───Programs
│ ├───Accessories
│ │ ├───Accessibility
│ │ ├───Entertainment
│ │ └───System Tools
│ ├───MagicISO
│ ├───MozBackup
│ ├───Startup
│ ├───Teleport Pro
│ ├───ThumbView_Lite
│ └───WinRAR
└───WINDOWS
└───system

SH: I think this "tree.txt" is a handy chart to have, and the
little C:\ icon at the top of the Dos Window, expands an edit menu.

Next, open a second Dos window and create a mirror (sub)directory
structure somewhere safe. Methodically, reproduce every folder and
any sub-folder. Then populate with the files that belong there(s).

For instance: From C:\Documents and Settings\WayJoe\Desktop
you would type "copy *.* C:\Backup\WayJoe\Desktop" <enter>,
without the quotes. There are four arrow keys on the bottom
right side of your keyboard. The up arrow key, ^, repeats
the last line you have typed in the Dos box. If it isn't
enabled type C:\doskey (enter) which enables this behavior.

So after doing Desktop above, you would cd (change directory,
C:\Documents and Settings\WayJoe\Desktop type cd .. <enter>
which takes you up one directory back to the folder, WayJoe.

C:\Documents and Settings\WayJoe then type cd Favorites
which takes you C:\Documents and Settings\WayJoe\Favorites

Now the advantage of the Doskey upper arrow macro appears,
you can circulate through your previous typed commands to
"copy *.* C:\Backup\WayJoe\Desktop" and now you just have
to change the last part of the command by using the right
arrow key to the end of the command line and append (or delete)
Favorites, like so "copy *.* C:\Backup\WayJoe\Desktop\Favorites"
then <enter>.

I would use the copy command rather than the move command
because the move deletes the file being copied. You should
wait and see that you've done this all correctly and then
if so, nuke the not needed folder and sub-folders then.

Check that you have access to all the folders you created
in the safe spot (C\:Backup here)with Windows Explorer(WE).
You should be able to copy and rename the parent User name
to Broad or whatever after you copy it with WE multiple times.

If not, that isolates your problem to one of permissions.
This actually takes more time to type and explain than it
will take to do it, = 15 minutes at most.

There is something I'm not clear on. Did you say you could
do a search and find the user Board? Are you unable to
right-click on Board in the resulting Search Window and
choose copy? Right-clicking also gives Properties in the
dropdown menu which has the option of clearing a few attributes.
There is also a handy utility named Attribute Changer, that
after installation, becomes part of the right-click menu or
context menu, which offers more information and actions.
One other useful Dos command is "dir" listing folder contents.

Cheers,
Stephen




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