Lost My Documents on drive D after committing stupid error


  1. Posts : 5
    Win Ten
       #1

    Lost My Documents on drive D after committing stupid error


    Running Windows 10 on a Gigabyte motherboard based tower PC.
    Have the OS on an SSD and I had mapped "My Documents" to an HDD, assigned drive letter D with volume name "Stores".
    The install is about 3 years old

    I stupidly disconnected the HDD with assigned drive letter D and swapped in another HDD temporarily.

    Now that I have reconnected my original HDD, Windows recognizes the drive and assigns it as D, the Volume name is still "Stores" but none of my original folders in the drive are visible or accessible.

    The drive does list these folders:
    Recycle Bin
    found.ooo
    System Volume Information
    Users

    the folder found.000 is not accessible.
    "Users" folder contains a folder called OEM_User which is the user account I use but it contains only a couple empty folders.
    Drive shows 32GB used

    Is there any way to recover this?
    I don't think my data has been removed or deleted but Windows does not know how to go find it.

    What options are available to resolve this?
    I posted this on the Microsoft Win 10 forums a few days ago but have not received many responses. Hoping the Ten forums can help.

    Thanks for any suggestions.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 42,963
    Win 10 Pro (22H2) (2nd PC is 22H2)
       #2

    Hi, this describes found.000
    https://www.howtogeek.com/282798/wha...le-in-windows/

    I'm going to guess you've already been recommended data recovery programs and tried those, including any 'Deep scan' or equivalent options. Is that correct?

    I had mapped "My Documents" to an HDD,
    - was that using the Location tab or by some other means?
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 3,274
    Win10
       #3

    You could try recovering the files inside the folder found.000 using one of the tools mentioned here:

    7 Ways To Recover CHK Files Created by CHKDSK and SCANDISK • Raymond.CC

    Although having never tried it myself, I don't know the success rates of any of the tools mentioned.

    ( ps: If found.000 is showing as access denied try taking ownership of it using this tenforums tutorial:
    Add Take Ownership to Context Menu in Windows 10 | Tutorials )
    Last edited by das10; 19 Feb 2019 at 12:24.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 29,078
    Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043.1023
       #4

    And another suggestion . . .

    Get Minitool Data Recovery; since you say the hard drive has 32 GB used and the free version will only recover 1 GB, you probably need to get the paid version. However, if you think you only have 1 GB worth of files, free might work. The personal version is $69, but well worth it if you can't afford to lose important files.

    MiniTool Software Store

    Personally, I'd try the methods @dalchina and @das10 suggested; however, you didn't list anything CHK in your post, so I'm not sure about that.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 4,802
    Windows 10 ProWorkstation -- Whichever is highest build number.
       #5

    I certainly wish you success retrieving your documents. I keep some documents on my drives, but I back ALL up to the cloud. There they are very safe. If anything should happen, say everything gets burnt to a crisp, you still have all your documents. I also do this with my coding work.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 5
    Win Ten
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Thanks all for your comments, it will take me some time to follow up.
    In response to some points:
    • I don't recall how I mapped My Documents to drive "D" but I remember following a Microsoft tutorial to do it. This was several years ago now
    • I have not tried any data recovery tools yet
    • I have not run CHKDISK or anything else, I have been trying not to use the PC in hopes that I don't make anything worse
    • I understand the oft touted perceived benefits of the cloud. I am not a trusting soul and prefer to live and die by my own wits.
    • None of the data is critical, I have a backup that is several months old but would suffice. Biggest loss would be pictures. Better half is the nominal master of photos so only a few that I kept would be lost.


    I will follow up with more info as I make progress.
    Thank you again to all for your comments.

    One thing I would like to understand is this:
    What does Windows do in the scenario I experienced? What actually happens when Windows detects a different physical drive than expected and data structure is different than expected?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 5
    Win Ten
    Thread Starter
       #7

    Update and solved


    An update for those interested.
    I ended up using tips from both dalchina and das10. The link dalchina provided got me access to the found.000 contents and das10's pointer to retrieving chk files lead me to my solution.
    I downloaded and ran the unCHK tool mentioned in the link das10 provided. The utility advised it could not find any chk files. I started looking more closely and realized that what I had were directories with a chk extension. I started digging into the directories and found all my folders and files. I was able to simply copy them back into the desired directory structure on the Stores volume (D:).
    I had two directories labeled with a chk extension but between the two, all my files and folders were available.

    Thanks to all for suggestions and guidance.
    Hope this helps someone else in the future
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 29,078
    Windows 10 21H1 Build 19043.1023
       #8

    mssusr9501 said:
    An update for those interested.
    I ended up using tips from both dalchina and das10. The link dalchina provided got me access to the found.000 contents and das10's pointer to retrieving chk files lead me to my solution.
    I downloaded and ran the unCHK tool mentioned in the link das10 provided. The utility advised it could not find any chk files. I started looking more closely and realized that what I had were directories with a chk extension. I started digging into the directories and found all my folders and files. I was able to simply copy them back into the desired directory structure on the Stores volume (D:).
    I had two directories labeled with a chk extension but between the two, all my files and folders were available.

    Thanks to all for suggestions and guidance.
    Hope this helps someone else in the future
    Very good, Mssusr. Now the only thing left to do is mark the thread solved.
      My Computer


 

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