New computer and missing files

[Playbill]

I got a new computer from a small local shop last week. They said they would transfer all my data from the old machine onto the new one. The old machine had two 40gb hard drives and the shop put the info into two new files with a link to both on my new one's desktop. However, a lot of stuff has gone missing, Many word documents and photos are gone. Most of the missing things are from the last year that were on the primary hard drive. But some older files are still there.

I have dealing with shop for several years and always found them good and helpful. They put the main hard drive into a caddy so I could explore it better, but I still cannot find the missing items.

What is on the new computer seems to be the same as when I access it directly from the hard drive in the caddy, so where could my files have got to? Is it possible they got wiped during transfer; and if so, why just some of them?

[galeck1947]

They should have used a usb transfer cable to transfer the files across in that way you can can transfer each file as you want from the old one to the new one and place it in its right folder This way you wont loose any

[VHG]

You say you had two hard drives, could the files be on the second hard drive?

All versions of Windows have a search facility so why not search for all jpg files (digital photos all have an extension of jpg).

If you search for "*.jpg" (that is an asterisk, then a full stop, then the letter jpg) that should find all files with the extension jpg.

You could do the same with "doc" for all the word documents (search for *.doc).

You dont say what version of Windows you were on, but Windows tends to keep all personal files in folders called "My Documents", "My Pictures" etc, so that is the obvious place to look. Check the "Desktop" folder as well.

But they may be in other folders so if you do the searches I mentioned above it should find them if they are in other folders.

[Playbill]

Thanks for the replies.

I was running Windows XP and my new computer is Windows 7. There was only one 40gb hard drive in my old computer. My son added a second and I moved most of my old files onto that and these appear to be intact. Most of the missing files were in 'My Documents' and these are the ones that are missing.

I have searched as you suggested VHG, but with no luck.

Spoke to my son just now and he says to put the old hard drive back into original computer and access 'My documents'. Sounds sensible so i will try that.