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Solve : Waded in too far......need to recover essays due tomorrow? |
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Answer» Well, all I did was add two new user accounts (my kids) to this old laptop. Somehow, my computer decided to uninstall Windows 2003, and install XP. All of my data is now gone, and our memory stick only backed up very old files. Darn it. My SON's essays are lost and due tomorrow. Well, all I did was add two new user accounts (my kids) to this old laptop. Somehow, my computer decided to uninstall Windows 2003, and install XP. Computers just don't do things like this. Somebody isn't telling you everything. Quote from: Space Age Rookie on June 09, 2010, 10:40:42 PM Well, all I did was add two new user accounts (my kids) to this old laptop. Somehow, my computer decided to uninstall Windows 2003, and install XP.That is absolutely, positively 100% impossible.How did you try system restore if Windows is uninstalled? When you start the computer, exactly what happens? For example: 1. Press the power button. 2. Boot screen appears with manufacturer logo 3. Windows loading screen 4. Choose account and enter password 5. Desktop loads.I know it's a little late for your son's essay, but we could still be helpful in case something like this happens in the future. In order to be helpful, we need more info: 1) How did you add the user accounts? Did you a) Add them through Server 2003's LOCAL Users and Groups snap-in? b) Have Active Directory installed and you added them through Active Directory Users and Computers? Or did you...gasp... c) install Windows XP on top of Server 2003 and add the user accounts through XP? 2) How were you able to use System Restore? Windows Server 2003 doesn't have System Restore out of the box. Did you add/mod/hack it in? 3) Is this a dual-boot setup--meaning you had Server 2003 on one partition and XP on the other? 4) Are you sure this is running Server 2003? It's not uncommon for those with beginner experience with PCs to confuse Windows operating system versions. Sometimes people confuse versions of Windows with versions of Office (or its components, like WORD, Excel, Outlook)! Which leads to... 5) Was OFFICE 2003 uninstalled, rather than WINDOWS 2003? I noticed you didn't call it Windows SERVER 2003, which is what the operating system with "Windows" and "2003" is called. or...even more farfetched... 6) Same as #5...it's not WINDOWS that's uninstalled. It's OFFICE, except in this scenario, Office was not uninstalled. Instead, when creating a new profile (user account), and logging in as that new user, Office 2003 likes to do the "Please wait while installing Microsoft Office 2003..." ROUTINE. This could have been mistaken for an "uninstall." Or...just when you all thought i was done with these off-the-wall conclusions, hehe: 7) Same as #6, except the .doc file (Space Age Rookie's son's essay) is in the old user profile...probably on the Desktop or in the "My Documents" folder, and Space Age Rookie can't find the file, since it's "no longer in the same location." Log in as the original user and see if the file is there. ...and since I really, REALLY think that #5, #6, AND #7 are likely, there are some morals to this whole story: 1) Windows is NOT Office! 2) Office is NOT Windows! 3) Every user in Windows (from NT all the way to Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2) has their own Desktop and (My) Documents folder (among other things). If you log in as a different user, you will not...I repeat, N O T see the same files as you would see as if you logged in with the original user name (and password if it had one). Again, log out as the new user and log in as the original user, and see if the files are there. 4) Keep a copy of your installation discs handy. You never know when you'll need them. 5) If in doubt, OpenOffice can save the day if it's too late for #4 to apply here. Go to http://www.openoffice.org and download it from there. one other thing, check the amount of space you got left on your computer, that may be an indication that files are still on your computer, just somewhere and you just need to fish it out. |
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