[Katie E]

Hi yesterday my laptop reset itself to factory settings (asked me to create a user account), i thought it was going to restore itself to an earlier point because its just removed that horrid security tool virus.

anyway, ive lost all my documents, software- my microsoft word and itunes! I had an assignment half complete on there!

not got product keys, think mums lost my disks. i tried to restore it to an earlier point and it says there isnt one What the...!

please help!

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The Windows Product Key should be on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

Borrow a Windows CD/DVD (of the correct version), boot from it and then try a Startup Repair.

http://windows.micro...ns-in-Windows-7

[SpywareDr]

The Windows Product Key should be on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop.

Borrow a Windows CD/DVD (of the correct version), boot from it and then try a Startup Repair.

http://windows.micro...ns-in-Windows-7

[zbd]

If stuck with factory settings use pc decrapifier to get rid of unwanted pre-installed software:

http://majorgeeks.co...fier_d5223.html

especially norton antivirus:

http://us.norton.com...3834EN&ln=en_US

[Katie E]

Hi, i just did startup repair from the f8 menu and it quickly said that windows found no problems.

Also i know where my windows product key is. The problem is that i do not know where the product key for my micro office software and i do not want to buy another one.

[zbd]

Open office is free and better than microsoft office.

http://www.filehippo...penoffice/7653/

[Mythio]

Hi Katie E,

It sounds like the laptop put back the factory restore image. This means that the laptop is now back in the state it was after you got it out of the box and booted it for the first time.
If this is the case, it is unlikely you will be able to recover and files or data you had on there before.

Startup repair found no problems, because with this new windows installation there are no problems.

OpenOffice like suggested in the post before can be a solution until you are able to find your microsoft office key, but unless you find that key you can't (legally) put office on your laptop.
If you have prove you bought it, like a receipt or similar, you could try contacting Microsoft and asking them for help with this situation.

Hope to help,

Mythio

[Katie E]

Hi, thanks for your help. I am sure I will have the receipt with my laptop warrenty somewhere... I have just moved house so everything is a nightmare at the momement too with no internet!

There must be a way of retrieving files though... what about peado's?? the police can always retrieve pictures so it must be possible... otherwise Vista is an overatted piece of crap. SO angry that I have to replace all my software and lost 4 years of degree work!

I will contact Micro Office now and see what they can do.

Regards, Katie

[Mythio]

Hi Katie E,

If you go to "My Computer" and browse through your drives and files, are there any files left from before your laptop was reset?
If not, it is a strong indicator that your files are really gone.

You can try the freeware program Recuva from Piriform, that can retrieve files in some cases (this could be to difficult to do, so maybe you have someone in the family/friends who is good with computers if you don't want to try it yourself).
But because it seems Windows was reinstalled and thus the drive was partially overwritten again, I dont have much hope :-(

About the pedo thing, if cops surprise those creepy people there might not be time for them to delete all their wickedness from the drive. In other cases, their are options to retrieve data from a hard drive after data has been deleted or even after the drive has been formatted. These methods are very expensive though, and in most cases not available to normal consumers.

Mythio