OT- NEED COMPUTER HELP ASAP!!!

I had this happen at work, I went into the "search" under the "start" button and typed in "restore", it walked me through a series of possibilities, I then found one that gave me the option of back dating my restore date, so I recovered everything that had been blipped into oblivion. Sorry I can't be more help, but I came across it bey being nosy and annoyed at the situation!

Hi all, Will the restore system actually restore lost (thought to be deleted) files? I am so glad to hear this. I have used restore when I have had 'problems' with my computer but never thought about the restoration of files or pics.

I haven't written my memoirs or confessed to anything memorable but this thread causes me to wonder - is there any way to certainly and absolutely delete something from a computer? I am so boring that when the highway patrol sets up a roadblock to check driver's licenses, they wave me on through without looking. But. I do wonder. What if I wanted to make something totally gone. Can that be done? Polly

Howdy!

Yep, we've done it a couple of times, on purpose! When discarding the old models, that would be anything w/ Microsoft , we've erased everything on the hard drive. Last time when the computer started to eat itself we had a friend finish erasing whatever survived (he had a safe system to do that, keeps a couple of suicidal computers on hand for trial & error stuff, more Twilight Zone techno stuff).

So, Polly, noting that you asked this question so smoothly and innocently, where have you been on that machine? Just what kind of data are you wanting to eliminate? (I've obviously read too many Dr.Bombay columns, he's always going right to the "stop searching the porno sites!" advice.) VBG Yeah, sure, you were only searching for quilt sites when that x-rated stuff just appeared on the screen! (happened a few years ago w/ one of the quilt magazine sites; a creep took over their site and sent us all to some icky place full of NOT-quilty pictures--those girls didn't have a stitch on!)

Ragmop/Sandy -- keeping myself in stitches ;-D

In Windows, when you delete a file, all it does is take the name of the file out of its directory, and makes the space available to write over. If you haven't saved anything, or opened and closed a large program. the file you just 'deleted' is physically still there, and can be restored .

Cathy > Hi all,

You can buy a program that will totally delete every vestige of a deleted file, or you can waste a day or two and run 'Defrag' two or three times, or if you really want to make sure that its gone, reformat your drive (but don't really do that, or your computer won't work any more, and you will also lose everything else)

Cathy > I haven't written my memoirs or confessed to anything memorable but this

You should have see what turned up when I googled for fairy wings, prior to making the set on my web site... One site was just rows and rows of fully erect willies, decorated with sweet and pretty little fairy wings made of organza, feathers, sequins... Totally hilarious! I laughed for hours over that one - never seen anything so daft in all my life! My mum giggled about it when I told her. I just keep the experience in the back of my mind when googling for anything a little esoteric in the costume line. Thigh high boots and corsets are other things you need to be careful about.

No computer help from me....but just had to comment that your roadblock comment almost made me fall off my chair laughing! I think any post from Polly Ester has an unwritten spew warning. We just have to warn the newbies! KJ

The deletion of files is actually just deleting the address. Its like loosing your address book. The houses and phone numbers still exist, but you don't have a good way to find them. The restore functions try to recreate the addresses/locations of the files. By the way, this only works for so long, as new files can be built at the old locations. (that's the RCTQ computer minute for today) Frank Reid

Kate, that is the funniest story I've ever heard. Just the image in my mind of "rows and rows of fully erect willies, decorated with sweet and pretty little fairy wings made of organza, feathers, sequins" -- I'm sorry but I can stop laughing. If I ever happened on a site with that kind of photo, I'd have to bookmark it and save it for those days when you just want the world to stop turning and the big old rock to come hide you. Instead, I'd pop on over to the "fancy willie page" and laugh my head off. Oops, no pun intended. Thank you for the story and the image, which I may have to recreate in a quilt someday.

Sunny