New Install Lost Files

Days after trying to repair did a new install, said it would blow away all
my files. Fine (I have them on a backup drive).

Windows 10.

So install finished, look at 2TB drive, its reporting only 196GB left =
did not blow away files.

So I go looking for them.

Arrghhhhh

Cannot find, either by searching "DOCUMENTS" or specific docs I know are
in the old DOCUMENTS folder. Look in the Windows.old, no luck there either.
Recycle bin, nope. When I do the "DOCUMENTS" search, as typed, 4 folders
found, all empty.

Look at dskmgmt to make sure nothing funky about partition, all looks OK.

Do not want to run Disk Check because thats what blew up my prior installation.
Running a Disk Check blew up boot process.

There is something in my machine trying to kill me with stress. Its getting close
to working.....

Any ideas welcomed :).


Regards, Dana.

Meida creation tool, usb stick. Boot to recovery tools that
gave me option to do install either clean or save files. I used
clean install because save files wanted me to boot to windows
first, which the system could not do. Eg. non booting system
reason for reinstall. After days of recovery efforts.


Regards, Dana.

Sorry, do not remember.

I found on web a tool to find largest folder in system which should help with
detective work, running it now.

Win 10 had a storage settings option for use in finding apps/folders and sizes,
found a big "other" classification, but when I expanded it it said 1.6 TB of stuff,
showed 4 items only few hundred MB, and nothing about the rest.


Regards, Dana.

If you selected the existing partition to install to instead of deleting the partition and installing to unallocated space, then it is the windows.old folder taking up all that space.

The folder shows 0 bytes as properties, apparently because I have
no permission as admin to get into it.

Incredibly misleading time wasting implementation.....

I am running a permission utility, so should be able to see stuff soon.

Will close thread.



Regards, Dana.