# i've lost everything! i don't understand?



## Coconut28 (Jul 5, 2005)

(I have an ibook, 10.3.9 G4, purchased march 2005).

Tonight I noticed my computer was running a bit slow, so i figured it needed a restart (it has happened before). This time, when it started up again, everything from my desktop was GONE. Everything.. it's all gone. Except for those icons on the dock (safari.. msn...) other than that, everything was gone.

These are folders I created for my photographs, videos, songs.. things like that.. so nothing like MSN or Itunes.. 

Is it actually gone? or is there someway I can get it back? I don't know what to do! This has never happened.


And what the bloody heck causes everything to just leave like that!??


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## Del (Aug 31, 2001)

Click the Apple at the top left and click on System Preferences. When it opens, click on Accounts and see if you have more then one user account. You may have booted into a different user and not have the same desktop icons.


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## Coconut28 (Jul 5, 2005)

i'm the only user for this computer.. but i looked and it's just me


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## Nytemagik (May 3, 2005)

Open a finder window, and navigate to the <local hard drive>=>Users folder.

If your identity still exists, it'll be in a folder here.

Let us know.

There have been a couple of issues like this recently, on various flavors of OS X and it has always worked out to being a new account.

If not, then the account is gone and unless you had a recovery agent running, probably gone for good. hate to say.

If you are familiar with command line, you can try looking that way as well.

We're you backed up?? Even our beloved Macs are not immune to gliches.

John


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## emoxley (Jan 6, 2004)

Do you have Norton Disk Doctor installed? If so, there is a utility included that's called "Un-Erase". You can usually retrieve lost files with it, if you haven't used the computer much, and overwritten them. Worst thing you can do, if you're gonna try to retrieve lost files, is go online with THAT computer. The browsers automatically dump the cache every so often, and that's when files tend to be overwritten.
Good luck on figuring something out!


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## Coconut28 (Jul 5, 2005)

emoxley said:


> Do you have Norton Disk Doctor installed?!


wow.. no i do not have that. i'm beginning to think i should invest in that now. thanks a lot


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## Coconut28 (Jul 5, 2005)

Nytemagik said:


> Open a finder window, and navigate to the <local hard drive>=>Users folder.
> 
> If your identity still exists, it'll be in a folder here.


okay i checked where i'm pretty sure you meant and my identity is still there. i did finder.. then clicked on HD, then users, then "omygawdgirl" (which is me) and when i did that it brought up everything i had stored there, but what i had lost on my desktop were not there.. where do i go after that?


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## Nytemagik (May 3, 2005)

OK, since you said the account has disappeared from the account page, this is a bit tougher, but not undoable.

If it were there, you could just delete the account, using the archive function to save it all, create a new one and then import all the files.
But

Here's what you do:

1. move that entire folder somewhere. Firewire drive, burn to CD, whatever.
2. create a new account in the accounts prefernece pane.
3. relog in as the new user.

Now is where it can get tricky. Problem is we have basically a Unix system under the hood. You'll probably run into file permission problems.

I use a utility called BATCHmod to fix these but under the info panel you can too. just takes longer.

1. Bring the data back
2. Highlight the folder and use <apple+I> to open the info pane.
3. Under the Ownership and Permissions section, reset everything to read/write for you. Be sure to check the 'enclosed folders and files' check box.

When you run the changes it should set all the files in the data folder to be opened for you. Then simply move the files back where you need them. i.e. desktop to current desktop, documents to documents, etc.

Let us know.

John


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## Coconut28 (Jul 5, 2005)

Nytemagik said:


> OK, since you said the account has disappeared from the account page, this is a bit tougher, but not undoable...
> 
> Let us know.
> 
> John


hi john!
thank you so very much for your help! but now i feel completely stupid.. i think maybe i looked at the wrong "users" folder... beside the "user" folder there was a "user guide and information" folder, and for some reason i just ended up clicking there and it said "desktop" and all my folders were there! so now everything is back to normal!

but i def saved everything you wrong in case this happens again!

but thank you so much for your time! 

- andrea (who hopes she never has to ask a question again!)


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## Nytemagik (May 3, 2005)

andrea, if you never have a question, then what will overworked geeks like me ever do.

to fall back on that overused cliche, no question is ever stupid except the one not asked.

I have posed a few ones of my own where I did the Homer Simpson slap when I got help here.

It's all good

John


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## MSM Hobbes (Apr 23, 2004)

Even tho' this potential remedy has already been mentioned, thought be good to have the 'official' version here to help too: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107854

Has anyone review of the following? http://www.subrosasoft.com/MacSoftware/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1
http://www.macosxcocktail.com/
http://www.bresink.de/osx/TinkerTool.html


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