pc crash..need help!!!

While trying to clean up after my adult son left some nasty stuff on my pc I encountered a problem. I clicked on something to delete it and everything went black. I then got an error message "NTLDR is missing" hit Ctrl, Alt Delete to re-start. When I did that, it just kept coming back to that same screen. So I got out my Windows XP system recovery CD's and tried to do a system restore, and now I have a really big mess!!! All my documents are gone, programs are gone and some won't open. Lost my address book and can't even get Hotmail to open. Lost all favorites and email contacts. I really could use some help getting this thing back in shape. I've been trying to re-install some of my programs and update some other stuff. I was working with some a few weeks ago on here with a trojan problem and never really got that finished before this happened. Not sure if one thing has anything to do with the other. Anyone willing to help me tackle this mess, I would really appreciate it! Thanks...............Chris

 

I have used this link for the same problem:


http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000465.htm

 

I would suggest the Run me/Read me in the Malware forum, then post your logs and wait for the experts advice.

 

Actually, I had just finished doing all that two weeks ago and posted the logs and no one ever got back to me. That's why I did the recovery.

 

Found your thread and Dr. Moriarty and Kestrel both responded to you.

 

Have you tried doing a restore by using a Restore Point?
Take your machine to a time before this problem started.

 

Not sure if I can undo what I've done. I used my system recovery CD's that HP sent me a few yrs. ago when my pc crashed. I didn't do the full restore because it said I would lose all my data. I thought I was just doing a repair but now I've lost all my documents, pictures, favorites, etc. Is there any way to undo this?

 

No problem, I know you guys are really busy. Not sure if those logs are any good now anyway since I did this system recovery everything has gone back in time to 2002! Need to know if there is any way to undo this. Maybe a restore? Any thoughts? Really appreciate any time you could spare to help me. I have 7+ yrs worth of data, pic, etc. on here and would really hate to lose all that, unless it's too late for that.

 

Well just went to try a restore and it will only let me go back 2 days. Does this mean there is no way to undo this and that all my data is gone???

 

The Recovery CD's you get with a typical PC usually reformat the drive and restore the PC to an as new state. ie. with all the original software and settings minus anything you added since. Data is sometimes backed up in a C:\Windows\<Previous Installation> directory. Open My Computer and have a look to see if you have a folder which is out of the ordinary. Or you could simply run a search on a file name you know existed before you did the recovery.

 

Also searched for some stuff I used regularly and didn't find anything. All the folders in My Documents are empty.