XP Corrupt folder

I have a windows xp machine with a strange issue. A folder that contained hundreds of files and folders has gone empty. A few small shortcuts but everything else gone. Properties show about 5mb and there would be hundreds. Thought maybe someone deleted them since its a shared machine. Here is the strange part. When you explore to c:\docs and settings\user\recent you can see the folders that were in the now empty folder. If you click on one of these you can see and open the files that were in there! Now when you go to one of these folders and look at the address bar its tells you that you are at c:\docs and settings\user\desktop\jobs This jobs folder is the one that is now empty! If you explore to the jobs folder now it is empty, but when going thru that recent folder, you can see most, if not all of what should in there and you can open it. I have tried a system restore but it didnt help. Nothing appears to be hidden, and toggling hidden and system files doesnt do anything. So its like they are there but they are not. Please help!

 

Before you do anything, grab a USB stick, or an external hard drive or a CD or DVD and copy the recent folder with the jobs you want to it. Be sure to copy not move. If you have a hiccup and you are copying the files still remain on your computer. If you move instead and the computer hiccups, you lose the file.

After this is done, put a new folder on your desktop, maybe named jobs_again and copy what you see from recent folder to it.

After you have the files you need in there, erase the empty jobs folder on the desktop. Rename the jobs_again folder back to jobs.

 

The problem is I dont think they all show up there, alot do but not all. Here is the stranger part. When I type in the windows address bar c:\docs and settings\user\desktop\jobs\folder1 I can see and open all the files in there along with folder2 folder3 etc... But if I browse to the jobs folder its empty! So I know that the folders are there because I can put the full address in for them but they dont show up in the jobs folder at all. And I cant remember all my folders so I need to figure out how to get them to show up.

 

billfaith...

Do you have backup of your files and folders?

How many MBs of your files have you been able to recover so far 1. Using plodr's method with recent documents 2. By typing in the folder path in the address bar of Windows Explorer?

If search will turn up the files and folders, maybe you could try:
1. Search C:\Documents and Settings\jobs leaving the search bar blank. This should turn up all the folder names if the search will find them (It would in XP if the search feature located the folders). If they do show up, copy and paste them into the folder plodr advised you to create, and you will have them all.

-OR-

1. Search Documents and Settings\jobs folder using keywords of important file names that you can remember. If one turns up, copy and paste the file into the jobs_again folder plodr advised you create
2. Search Documents and Settings\jobs folder using keywords you can remember of folder names. Then copy and paste the results into the jobs_again folder the same way

That way you could recover as many of your files and folders as possible and then you can search for a way to recover the rest or a way to have your folders and files restored somehow. At least hopefully you'd have a good many of your files.

 

CHKDSK can do wonders for file systems that have become corrupted. I would run it asap.

 

chkdsk did the trick! It looks like I might be missing a couple things but the majority is back. Weird but when it was done and the files were back they were all hidden then. Does this possibly mean my hard drive is going bad or was it hopefully a one time thing?

 

If your drive is deteriorating it won't be long before you see other signs, like chkdsk running at boot. But hopefully it was a one-off, cause unknown.