Unintentional new install

Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic

Not really a new install - Here's what happened:I initiated a restart, the proper way, to correct a minor issue then went away for awhile.
When I came back and woke the laptop up I had a new vaguely familiar, but not my expected desktop
Somewhere in the process my simple restart ended up with a wipe clean and totally new version.  It's almost as if I just opened the box and powered it up the first time.  

It has a few utilities (actually one) that I have installed in the past but there are no documents, no pictures, no history of anything and the browser as no Favorites or History.

I've just started checking things but thought I'd drop by to tell of  my odd experience.

Author	Message Share Topic Printable Version Google Delicious Digg StumbleUpon Windows Live Yahoo Bookmarks reddit Facebook MySpace Newsvine Furl Topic Search Topic Options Post Reply Create New Topic
Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Location: Piney woods Tex Posts: 11105	Quote Reply Topic: Unintentional new install Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 2:29pm
	Not really a new install - Here's what happened: I initiated a restart, the proper way, to correct a minor issue then went away for awhile. When I came back and woke the laptop up I had a new vaguely familiar, but not my expected desktop Somewhere in the process my simple restart ended up with a wipe clean and totally new version. It's almost as if I just opened the box and powered it up the first time. It has a few utilities (actually one) that I have installed in the past but there are no documents, no pictures, no history of anything and the browser as no Favorites or History. I've just started checking things but thought I'd drop by to tell of my odd experience.

Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Location: Piney woods Tex Posts: 11105	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 2:58pm
	My first action was to go to System Restore. I had only one restore point - Friday 27Jan12 so I chose the only choice. It took a long time but it did restore to my previous and proper state, thank goodness. All is as before. I just checked restore points and now have a number. It's as if this laptop had an amnesia attack for awhile.

Randy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Location: USA, Georgia Posts: 15255	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 5:11pm
	I've seen that happen when, for whatever reason, it boots into a default profile (for lack of a better term). Your stuff is still there under your original profile. I think I'm going to go make another restore point just for the heck of it. You never know when it'll come in handy.

Don Watkins Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Visit Members Homepage Add to Buddy List Admin Group Admin Joined: 14 Mar 2008 Posts: 22206	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 5:15pm
	Yup, I'm better it booted into a new previously unused account.

Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Location: Piney woods Tex Posts: 11105	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 6:13pm
	Whatever it did it had me more than a bit concerned for awhile there. I didn't think about 'other' accounts. I've got an image around here, umm ... somewhere. I gotta develop a better strategy because these things happen.

Karl_db Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 29272	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 7:37pm
	Whew. Good for you. Bet you were sweating bullets on that one. A different profile sounds logical. Although why it wouldn't show the other restore points sounds like a mystery...or odd. There is a MS thing to do a restore from a boot. I say "thing" because I can't remember if it's a boot disk to download and made from MS site. Or if it's something off the install disk. (Which if from the install disk might not help since you probably don't have any with your laptop?)

Randy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 22 Mar 2008 Location: USA, Georgia Posts: 15255	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 10:23pm
	You can make a repair disk from your sustem that gives you the option to restore from a restore point or from an image. I'm pretty certain you can do both from an install disk. The reason you don't see the restore points in a new profile is that they are only visable to the user who made them.

Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Location: Piney woods Tex Posts: 11105	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 10:59pm
	Keerect, no install disk with this gadget. It has what is called "One touch restore" and I need to look into that as I know nothing about it at this point. This latest episode seemed like one of those 'cause I didn't do anything out of the ordinary.

Karl_db Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 29272	Quote Reply Posted: 29 Jan 2012 at 11:06pm
	There should be an option to let you make restore disks. And usually they only let you do it once. Which is a good thing to do. Just in case something goes whacky with the restore partition. Like happened to me with our first laptop, the Dell. (And I hadn't made restore disks.)

Bob Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 14 Feb 2008 Location: Piney woods Tex Posts: 11105	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jan 2012 at 12:20am
	Ah, I see another partition has been created. I went by Defragment and there is a new partition not there before. Therein is the mystery and for whatever reason it happened.

Karl_db Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 12 Mar 2008 Posts: 29272	Quote Reply Posted: 30 Jan 2012 at 2:39am
	Or their hidden partition which is now visible? (No idea how your laptop has theirs setup. The one I've been tinkering with for a coworker has some sort of "system partition" where Toshiba has their stuff hidden. Doesn't show up normal like with Explorer...but does if using defrag or "computer management" tools.)