help help help

Electronics Computer Programming Q&A
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dacflyer
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help help help

Post by dacflyer »

i installed the free trial of winzip.. had to have it to unzip a file from Garmen ( GPS )
i was having difficulty. ( not familliar with the new winzip ) i cannot remember what popped up,
i did not quite understand what it said.. something about a folder change..
but anyway something happened.. and now all of my pix and videos and musik files are gone..the folders are still there
but they are all empty.. what could i have done ? i never saw anything like delete etc.
i tried a system restore but it says restore point not possible..
my virus protection did not show anything either..
someone please tell me how i might find them.. some can be replaced, but others not.
now any pix i have in my downloads folder, they are still there..strange..
please help me...
cae2100
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Re: help help help

Post by cae2100 »

only thing I can think of is to check to see the filesize of the folders to see if they were hidden, or just check around the root of the C drive, maybe they were moved around or something. I havnt used winzip in ages due to issues like this with it, I just use winrar on windows, and that's about it, or 7z if I cant open something, which is almost never.

Also, system restore in windows is honestly useless when it comes to personal files, it's designed to restore the programs installed and registry settings to an earlier date only.

If that doesnt help, try looking in your documents folder, under the "My Winzip Files" folder, it may be there from what Ive read.
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dacflyer
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Re: help help help

Post by dacflyer »

what is 7z ? i saw this at the end of the file from Garmin..
all folders show 0 bites
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dacflyer
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Re: help help help

Post by dacflyer »

update..strange enough stuff in MY DOCUMENTS folder still seem to be intact.
but everywhere else they are not to be seen.
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Lenp
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Re: help help help

Post by Lenp »

Try searching for a known file name that is missing.
It might put you on the trail of the others!
Len
Len

“To invent, you need a good imagination and a big pile of junk.” (T. Edison)
"I must be on the way to success since I already have the junk". (Me)
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dacflyer
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Re: help help help

Post by dacflyer »

i have...they are gone poof...
anything that was stored on the desktop is gone...anything in my documents is safe
i did loose some files else where also.. like .wav, .jpeg , mp3's you know.. pictures, music videos etc..
my Malware program and virus scanner never said a thing..so i am not sure what happened.
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jwax
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Re: help help help

Post by jwax »

That sounds bizarre dacflyer!
Does anybody else have access to this computer?
Do you have Malwarebytes? They have a free download and a paid for version. It has found nasties that other malware programs have missed, in my experience.
Have you tried different dates to go to in System Restore? Perhaps only some restore points are dead.
Also, was this winzip file from a trusted source?
WA2RBA
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dacflyer
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Re: help help help

Post by dacflyer »

i do have malware bytes ( paid version )
as for the win zip site, i cannot remember.. i did scan it before i used it.. so i assume it was a clean copy.
and i am the only one that uses the laptop..exclusively
i tried several restore points..all no go.. i thought you should be able to goto any restore point you wanted, or do they do dead after so long ?

i am running a data recovery software program right now,, so maybe it will help me,,i hope
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jwax
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Re: help help help

Post by jwax »

Back-up, back-up.
Maybe Carbonite will pay you for your testimonial! :smile:
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cae2100
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Re: help help help

Post by cae2100 »

dacflyer wrote:what is 7z ? i saw this at the end of the file from Garmin..
all folders show 0 bites
7z is called 7zip, it's a free program I believe that supports an insane amount of archives, and works great. Most people prefer it over winzip or winrar, but everyone has thier own personal preferences.
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dacflyer
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Re: help help help

Post by dacflyer »

well as far as me and a friend can figure, the winzip i down loaded was a spoofed version, and somehow it renamed or rearranged all the pointers for my pictures, videos and mp3's etc
a lot have totally disappeared. or they are in a format that cannot be read..
we are using a program called system mechanic by Iolo. it has found a lot of stuff so far. but it has not been easy..many of the files are ending in numbers like 01
we did find that the winzip program had a program on it asking me to sign up for a PC optimizer i kept closing it to ignore it, but i guess i made it angry and it did its nasty work.
my malware bytes and avast never saw it or stopped it.
this sucks a**.
anyway i deleted the zinzip all together and i am now using the 7z program. seems to work way better.
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