Files missing - System Restore??? Vista Bugs and Problems Discuss Files missing - System Restore??? in the Windows Vista forums; Hey everybody. I have a seriously annoying problem with Vista which I'm desperate to find either an explanation or solution for. I recently upgraded a hard disk in my ...

[toonzer]

Hey everybody. I have a seriously annoying problem with Vista which I'm desperate to find either an explanation or solution for.

I recently upgraded a hard disk in my system to use for Storage of downloaded data. I then started shifting data from the Old HDD onto my C:\ as I had no spare IDE connections to my motherboard (C:\ HDD is 350Gb.). After moving approx 30Gb of data & fully restructuring the directory tree, I was happy thus far. I shut down the PC for the night and went back to it the next day. To my horror, something had gone wrong with my DVD-RW drivers and I used System Restore to go back to yesterdays settings with no problems EXCEPT the following horrific consequence. The 30Gb of data I had moved WAS still there but EVERY *.exe, setup.exe, install.exe, executable file within the newly restructured directory was MISSING and I cannot find them... I was livid!!! I went back to System Restore and even more horrifically, all the previous Restore Points had vanished!!! Only my C:\ had System Restore configured and as I said, after using it to fix a problem, all my previous points have gone... WHAT THE HELL HAS MICROSOFT DONE!!!
I have a total of 297Gb to sort out and you can imagine how livid I would have been if I had done the lot and this had happened! Does anyone have any idea about this or have seen this problem? I have heard of a similar situation before but there's no concrete evidence of why this occurs...
Any suggestions would be very, very appreciated. I absolutely refuse to continue processing any more data unless I know I can prevent the same ghastly situation from occuring again. I do not want anyone else to suffer this also...

[crabby]

I honestly havent a clue how any of this has happened.

My restore points are kept after being used.

If your restore was setup to not touch the external drive I dont see why it did (but I also don't know why you had it connected ).

The issue with your drivers was probably due to installation of a third party driver, quite a few third party installers create this problem.

crabby

[Snuffy]

That I am not sure either, have checked to see if this problem has been noted before... Only those that have played with the NORMAL DEFAULT settings of RESTORE have made any mention...
I use RESTORE constantly, and to the best of knowledge during BETA test I do not remember any problems...

The 30Gb of data I had moved WAS still there but EVERY *.exe, setup.exe, install.exe, executable file within the newly restructured directory was MISSING and I cannot find them..

There are many mentions of this problem occuring but it is DUE TO A TROJAN and/VIRIS that change the EXTENSION.
Another question arrises "How did you

After moving approx 30Gb of data & fully restructuring the directory tree, I was happy thus far.

the step by step method would/might help.

Have your tried any DATA RECOVERY Method on the OLD HD...?
How did you TRANSFER the DATA? (Method used)
what was the Format of ea HDD?
What version of OS are you using?

[felix8406]

Sorry if I sound a little confused, but in regards to your comment that you “upgraded a hard disk in my system to use for Storage of downloaded data”, does this mean you installed and additional HD in your system? And if so, is it connected as slave with your 350GB HD or with the DVD-RW? Another thing, concerning your “downloaded data”, what king of data is it?

[toonzer]

Thanks for replies folks but guess what?.?.? I'm running Vista Ultimate with Avast Pro AV and Spysweeper and I have been shafted by the old Venga virus. While searching for these lost files, I noticed another one disappear right in front of my eyes. Immediately powered down, removed my system HDD, plugged it into an external caddy and hooked it to my laptop running XP Pro SP2 with Avast Pro and Spysweeper, straight away noticed the virus therefore my system is in the throws of a major clean-up... The only thing I disabled security wise in Vista was User Account Control... Oh deary me... I'm very surprised at this result but oh well... I'll update this post with anything else I find, particularly if the clean-up works successfully... Oh, one last thing, my main system dual-boots XP Pro and Vista Ultimate (Seperate HDDs) yet XP is completely untouched, not a single error/problem. With the Vista HDD removed, XP booted and was scanned, Clean! I'm gobsmacked at this result thus far...

[crabby]

Wow! How did it manage THAT!!!

Glad you found the issue.

UAC is very useful and after the intial setup period isnt that annoying so i suggest you keep it on

crabby

[Snuffy]

Glad you found the problem.
UAC is rather neet thing to KEEP ACTIVE.
strange things happen when it is DISABLED.