Computer gurus - I need help!!!

[TritonGlenn]

Came home today to find that my wife had "cleaned up" the computer of programs that she thought neither of us used any longer. She deleted my Mozilla Thunderbird program, which I had tied into my Gmail account in order to file important emails. I found it in her recycle bin, but when I restored it from the bin, it still doesn't work. It says it's "searching" for the thunderbird.exe file, but cannot find it. Neither can I. All of my email files were in there - work related being the most important, but also had a whole bunch of sponsor communications with emails, phone numbers, etc... in there.



I also tried a system restore, which for some reason, has never worked on my Dell XPS400. It looks like it's working, but the first time you log into an individual account, it pops up with a notice saying that the system could not be restored to that date, and asks you to pick another date. But it doesn't matter what date you pick, because none of them work.



Am I completely screwed, or is there a way to get my information back???



Any help would be very appreciate.

All the best,

Glenn

 

[Steve Rizza]

You can try a file recovery program like this one. The files are basically hidden away until the space is used up by another.












http://www.komando.com/downloads/category.aspx?id=2837

 

[Jim B]

Glenn,

Did she just delete the shortcut on the dekstop or did she run add remove programs to remove it? Also are you using pop3 or imap to get your mail from gmail?



The good news is your data should be safe. If you uninstall thunderbidr in theory it leaves the datsa untouched, just the program is removed. What i would do is run the backup tool i put a link to below to back up your thunderbird profile. once you have it backed up download the latest thunderbird and install it then restore your profile using that same tool. That should do the trick.



One other thing to think about. If you are using pop3 is switching to imap if thunderbird supports it( im not sure since i dont use it). The ince thing about imap is it syncs the messages with gmail instead of downloading them(you can configure pop3 to leave them on the server but its not a true synch) that wayt if your pc ever went down you could use the web client and have everything you need still up there.
http://kb.mozillazine.org/MozBackup

 

[TritonGlenn]

Thank you gentlemen.



I tried that recovery program, but couldn't find the Thunderbird files. I did, however, find tons of files on my computer that are deleted, but still on the drives. I didn't know the computer did that. No wonder my machine has been running slow! Ha!



Jim B - before I came back and saw your response, I had given up hope and just downloaded the latest version of Thunderbird to my computer to start over again. Imagine my suprise when I opened up the program and found all of my folders and data intact - like nothing had ever happened. Reviewing what you wrote, I hope I didn't inadvertently mess up my files though, as I had not performed that backup.



I greatly appreciate both of your inputs. I'm back in business (without problems I hope), and I thank you both very much for going the extra mile to help me out.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[TritonGlenn]

Sorry Jim B. I forgot to answer the question you asked. She deleted the whole thing from the program install / remove screen. It was completely non-existent. The only thing that came back when I tried to un-delete it from the recycle bin was the desktop icon. When I would click on the icon, it would say it was looking for that thunderbird.exe file, and a short time later would come back and say it couldn't be found. I looked for it in that list of files that the recovery program brought up, but thunderbird.exe was nowhere to be found.

 

[Jim B]

You should be in good shape then. When you do the uninstall is should have left your data instact. The only reason i suggested backing up the profile is a just in case when you reinstalled.



That program i mentioned would be a good idea as well for periodic backups of that email data. If you ever lost a hard disk( whish can and does happen often) a good backup would a good thing to have.

 

[Jimmy Easterling]

System restore on all the computers I have tried it on since Service pack 2 was installed does the same thing. I haven't tried it since Service pack 3 but when working it still will not restore programs just drivers for hardware stuff. Glad you got your data back.

 

[Greg Meyer]

Glenn,



Among the many reasons why you should not use "Users Profiles" that are "computer Administrators" is the one that won't let plain vanilla "users" install or remove programs. If you are interested in this send me an email and I'll send you a link to an article of how and why. It isn't real simple but it is pretty straightforward (no hidden glitches) to accomplish.

 

[TritonGlenn]

Greg,

Although I would LOVE to do something like that, do you know the problems that it would cause if I removed administrative priviledges from computer for my WIFE?



I probably wouldn't hear the end of it until I returned those priviledges.



I think after yesterday's episode, she has learned something - don't delete anything without checking with me first.



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Tornado]

Glenn, glad you got it fixed. I was about to recommend you to a local fisherman who's really good at this sort of thing. If this or something else happens let me know and I'll give him a call.



Jim

 

[TritonGlenn]

Jim,

Thanks. I appreciate the thought. Hopefully, after yesterdays episode, I won't have to go through that again.



Did you ever jump into your bilge area to add the extra battery? If you need a hand, give me a shout. My tournament season is over - just fun fishing now. Probably heading to Choke on Friday to test a loaner prop (Fury 25 pitch).



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Bass Tracker]

Sorry i got here late. Glenn, I work for IT so if you need anything just let me know. I will be glad to help.



-Jason

 

[TritonGlenn]

Thanks Jason. I appreciate that. I just might take you up on some advice at a later date.



My wife laughs - I am a technician, qualified to do everything up to and including micro-miniature repair... but I can't work with computer software worth a hoot. :lol:



All the best,

Glenn

 

[Bass Tracker]

lol ya alot of IT people complain about "users" not being able to use a PC correctly. But I tell them, If everyone knew how to fix thier own pc's we would not have jobs..so i dont mind..

 

[Bruce Yeaton]

Glenn



Do yourself a favor and purchase an external hard drive and start backing up all your data on a regular basis. If you keep up with it, your losses will only be minimal.

 

[Tornado]

I don't have enough dimes to get it done right now, probably in the fall.

 

[Jim B]

lol ya alot of IT people complain about "users" not being able to use a PC correctly. But I tell them, If everyone knew how to fix thier own pc's we would not have jobs..so i dont mind..

LOL... Im right there with you Jason. I look at Microsoft software as job security.....

 

[TritonGlenn]

tornado,

Perfect. Cooler weather! :lol: Let me know if you need help then.

All the best,

Glenn