recovering data after windows format

[skinlab]

hey guys,

i tried upgrading my winxp (pirated) to winxp sp2 (original, bought and paid for) and some problems occured, so i decided to just do a clean format.
while on installation page, i decided to install on the same partition and location as the old install, in the hopes that the 'my documents' folder wont be wiped out
to my dismay, it was, or so i thought
i was just checking the disk space and it says i have 17gigs free out of a total 75 - now correct me if i'm wrong, but isnt a format supposed to wipe out all data?

so here's my question - how can i access the old 'my documents' folder from the old user prior to format - all i really want to do is get my music and pictures onto my backup drive and then i can go ahead and do a complete format all over again, i still havent install anything so it's fine.

please let me know if you can, i'd really appreciate the help.

cheers

[rapperwith1p]

Simply installing over the old partition won't wipe out the disk. My guess is the data is still there and all the reinstall did was wipe out the Windows folder if anything. Try looking in c:/documents and settings/ (see if there is an old user there).

[Langford]

I had to recover files from a busted striped-raid array a couple of years ago, and I used a probram called DiskExplorer. Worked well, kinda a shame I havn't had a need for it sense. Still though, if you use it, you could still only get files that had not been overwritten yet.
http://www.runtime.org/diskexpl.htm

[Lou Cypher]

I did the same thing once.
I used GetDataBack and I recovered everything with no problems

http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/Search/getdataback.html

[dbwillis]

Another vote for GetDataBack, works great and can pay for itself if you help a few friends recover files too !

[skinlab]

thanks guys, i'll give it a shot tonight once i'm back from work
regarding the folder in Document and Settings, my old user folder is there, it shows at 0kb and i cant even open it
i tried a demo program yesterday and it found all my files are still there, so i'm hoping one of the aformentioned programs will work.

thanks again.

[djnes]

thanks guys, i'll give it a shot tonight once i'm back from work
regarding the folder in Document and Settings, my old user folder is there, it shows at 0kb and i cant even open it
i tried a demo program yesterday and it found all my files are still there, so i'm hoping one of the aformentioned programs will work.

thanks again.
Take ownership of it, and you should be able to access it. I'd be surprised if the data wasn't there. In the future, always back up your data if you are re-installing to something like an external USB drive, etc.

[skinlab]

got my data back - not surprisingly there is some corruption but that saves me about 30gigs of downloads, so i'm happy

[-(Xyphox)-]

Another vote for GetDataBack, works great and can pay for itself if you help a few friends recover files too !

Another Vote for GDB It is Great!
Also check out Spin Rite by GRC
www.grc.com