Computer expert needed!

jay helfert

jay helfert

Shoot Pool, not people
Gold Member
Silver Member
I'm feeling a little blue right now and I don't know where else to turn. I was working on my new book and had just finished another chapter and wanted to save all the most recent work to a CD. So I put in the CD that had the old manuscript on it, and tried to replace it with the new document, with four additional chapters.

Don't ask me how it happened, I guess I pushed the wrong button, but I somehow managed to erase the entire new manuscript, so only the old one remained. Is there any way to retrieve this or am I screwed? It represents about two solid weeks of work down the drain. I'm feeling pretty sick about it right now. Worst case scenario is I have to write them all again. It will be impossible to duplicate what I wrote word for word but I still know the stories and how I want to tell them.

Today I'm off to Vegas for the Mosconi Cup. Maybe it will be good for me to get my mind off this for a while. What a lousy feeling, all that work down the drain.
 
If you're using MS Word, go to FILE>>OPEN RECENT>>> and choose the new manuscript. You might get lucky.

Dave
 
Also, if you know the directory where you normally save your files, open it with Windows Explorer (not the web browser, but the file manager). I'm not sure which version of Windows you're running, but possibly, if you go into Windows Explorer, you could try this:

1) Navigate to the folder where you usually save your file

2) On the menu across the top of Windows Explorer go to Tools > Options. There should be an option in there that you can tick off to "always show Hidden Files". This might be an advanced setting.

3) You might need to refresh the view of the folder you're looking at. If you're lucky, there may be a file there in an auto-save state, that begins with a tilde (~) - you can open that file and recover your content from that last save.

Good luck!!
 
check and make sure the auto save feature is turned on, under tools, options and set the minutes to save every 5 minutes....if the autosave feature is turned on already, there could be a saved version of file on your computer.

if your using windows 7, and using ms word try the following folder location on your computer to see if there is a saved file "C:\Users\Jbryan\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\word\" instead of jbryan look for your name or administrator or whatever name your logged into your computer with.
 
Last edited:
I don't have time to explain more, I am at work.

First priority is DO NOT run that computer at all after the standard attempts are made (open recent etc).

You run the risk of overwriting the deleted file or temp file that might be rescued. Research the solution on another computer.

The best policy is not to boot the computer in question and to pull the hard drive to run it on a second computer as an external drive to rescue the files.

If it's really important then get expert help in person for file recovery. It can be expensive.

Lastly, always back-up everything you do. I have everything going back to my first computer backed up both on sight and in the cloud.
 
Also... to make you feel a bit better... we've all done this, but it's good to remember that it's MUCH easier to reproduce it the second time around! :D You've trained your brain to tell your story the way you wanted to tell it, and that was the hard part when you first wrote it. Second time should be a lot more smooth. Good luck - loved your first book!
 
I'm using a Mac computer, OSX version operating system. I'm resigned to having to rewrite it all. I so wanted to get this book out early next year. God willing it will still happen.
Thanks all for your support. It makes me feel not so alone at a time like this. The last couple of months I've sat in front of this computer trying to get this book banged out. I was feeling so good about my progress until now. :embarrassed2:
 
Last edited:
What software are you using? Word 2007? 2010? Do you still have the file(s) open? If you still have the program/file open, a simple "Ctrl" + "Z" (keyboard shortcut for "Undo") might do the trick :)

Side note: I'd recommend using a USB thumb drive to backup data like this from here on out. They are much larger, fast and easy to use, and pretty darn cheap.

Edit: Just saw you are on a Mac, that would be Apple button + "Z" for the undo.
 
There is probably a small chance you just saved it somewhere other than where you were intending to save it. Open finder and do a search for what ever you think you named the document. You could also just do a search for all .doc files and then sort the list by date modified. It may be in a documents folder or some other folder on your hard drive.
 
Last edited:
jay helfert said:
I'm using a Mac computer, OSX version operating system. I'm resigned to having to rewrite it all. I so wanted to get this book out early next year. God willing it will still happen.
Thanks all for your support. It makes me feel not so alone at a time like this. The last couple of months I've sat in front of this computer trying to get this book banged out. I was feeling so good about my progress until now. :embarrassed2:
Click to expand...


Holy cow, that sucks. I have no technical advice, but I do feel your pain.

If it were me, I'd pack up the computer and take it straight to the nearest Apple store and beg for help. As others have pointed out -- don't run the commuter unnecessarily.

Lou Figueroa
 
Bank2Win said:
check and make sure the auto save feature is turned on, under tools, options and set the minutes to save every 5 minutes....if the autosave feature is turned on already, there could be a saved version of file on your computer.

if your using windows 7, and using ms word try the following folder location on your computer to see if there is a saved file "C:\Users\Jbryan\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\word\" instead of jbryan look for your name or administrator or whatever name your logged into your computer with.
Click to expand...

as Jason says.. if you're using a windows product, it should be set to auto save every x amount of minutes. I believe the default is 10 mins. Easiest method to find it would be to open windows explorer, open My Computer or Windows Explorer and go into the folder options and show hidden files and then click on my computer and put in the name of your file and search.

Easier to provide more info, if we knew what app you are using to write with and what version of windows you have.

But Jay, you are saving your files somewhere, aren't you.

Normally a person creates files and they're saved somewhere, THEN you burn them to a disc.

Feel free to give me a call if you need some help. I don't know if I"m in your phone, but I have you number from previous conversations.
 
jay helfert said:
I'm using a Mac computer, OSX version operating system. I'm resigned to having to rewrite it all. I so wanted to get this book out early next year. God willing it will still happen.
Thanks all for your support. It makes me feel not so alone at a time like this. The last couple of months I've sat in front of this computer trying to get this book banged out. I was feeling so good about my progress until now. :embarrassed2:
Click to expand...

Oh.. you're on a Mac:) I've never owned one. If you are using Microsoft word, it would still default to auto save even if it was a Mac version, one would think.

But you really need to get in the habit of clicking save ever few minutes just in case. Every now and then copy that file over to a USB stick, flash drive, pen drive whatever you want to call them:) Something you put a lot of work into, you need to have it in several places.

You can even email it to yourself every now and then... pick a web based email address you have like yahoo or gmail or something, so it's saved out on a server somewhere.
 
Jay,

If you're running the newer Mac OSX Leopard, you can try this:
http://www.ehow.com/how_5098628_recover-overwritten-file-mac.html

Otherwise, you'll need to use a third-party recovery tool (I don't know of any good free tools for Mac OS, unfortunately). If you want to try this, you should stop using your PC and try to recover the file asap, as the chances of successful recovery decrease the more the use the computer.

Vic
 
That sucks, Jay! I'm afraid that on a Mac I can't offer any suggestions. I do hope you're able to retrieve the files somehow, though. Chin up!
 
jay helfert said:
All good ideas here, I will remember them in the future. Thanks!
Click to expand...

It sounds like you've already given up. As others have suggested, take it to an Apple store. The Apple techies are super helpful and may be able to retrieve your file.
 
Last edited:
If you are on OSX, are you not using time machine to backup your data to an external drive? That would be the easiest way to retrieve your file. Otherwise there is software out there to help you recover deleted data such as this one:

http://sleuthkit.org/

Check your trash can folder too, maybe something is in there, or search on spotlight in case the file still exists somewhere.

If you are using Pages on OSX Lion, you might be lucky as it autosaves every version of your documents.

This only stands as a lesson, always backup your data. Time machine makes this task a snap, all you need is an external drive. Plug it in, enable time machine, you are set.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top