[RKinner]

I assume you looked in the Recycle Bin to make sure the folder had not just been deleted?  Did you search on your drive?  Sometimes things get moved accidentally.

 

There are several free file recovery programs but the thing to remember about any recovery program is not to install it or any other program on the same drive where the lost object lived as it may overwrite the thing you want to recover.  Best to install it on a USB drive or on a bootable CD/DVD.  Also do not allow Windows to "Optimize" (Defrag) the disk.

 

I haven't had to use one in a while so don't remember what I used.  Have you tried the portable version of Recuva?

https://www.lifewire...e-tools-2622893

 

If you didn't do anything to the folder you may have a hard drive failing.  Once you either recover the folder or give up on it I would run 

chkdsk /r c:

from the command prompt(Administrator):  Sometimes it will recover files in the process if it finds a file that has lost its pointer.  Windows used to store recovered files in a folder called:

C:/FOUND.000 but I don't know if it still does.

 

Just remembered something:  Sometimes Windows has a problem reading your profile and will log you in with a temporary login.  If that happens you will get a clean desktop with just a few shortcuts on it.  Any files from your original login may not be readable without going into Properties of C:\Users\YourOriginalLogin and changing the permissions.  Use File Explorer to look at C:\Users and see if you see any new logins that might be new.

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Well, I lost my internet for over three weeks, as my local provider supposedly couldn't get a part needed at the nearby "node" and that shut the DSL system down. I finally upgraded to "U-verse" but even that took some days to happen and getting that done changed the line running to the computer room from phone + DSL (on one pair) to both pair dedicated to data. Even worse, the wiring at the house inlet became a bird's nest of micro-crimped connections, making my adding a new line difficult, and some of the old wires seemed too short to reconfigure, meaning I had to go under the house to check/work on them and also to route that new line through there.

Meanwhile, other things have come up that required nearly all my free time, some of which necessitated my getting the system running and then dedicated most of my time preparing and sending documents through it.

 

Once back online, I managed to move ~12 Gb of space from D to C drive and the mouse problem, which had already decreased over the last month, finally seems totally gone. I still need to get rid of extraneous files and would like to do some of the tasks mentioned earlier in the thread, but am unsure if I'll get most of them done this year, if ever. All that considered, would it make sense for us to close (mark Solved) this thread? If I ever get the time, I can do those tasks myself, given the good explanation accompanying them.

 

Thanks again,

TN2

[TooNew2]

Well, I lost my internet for over three weeks, as my local provider supposedly couldn't get a part needed at the nearby "node" and that shut the DSL system down. I finally upgraded to "U-verse" but even that took some days to happen and getting that done changed the line running to the computer room from phone + DSL (on one pair) to both pair dedicated to data. Even worse, the wiring at the house inlet became a bird's nest of micro-crimped connections, making my adding a new line difficult, and some of the old wires seemed too short to reconfigure, meaning I had to go under the house to check/work on them and also to route that new line through there.

Meanwhile, other things have come up that required nearly all my free time, some of which necessitated my getting the system running and then dedicated most of my time preparing and sending documents through it.

 

Once back online, I managed to move ~12 Gb of space from D to C drive and the mouse problem, which had already decreased over the last month, finally seems totally gone. I still need to get rid of extraneous files and would like to do some of the tasks mentioned earlier in the thread, but am unsure if I'll get most of them done this year, if ever. All that considered, would it make sense for us to close (mark Solved) this thread? If I ever get the time, I can do those tasks myself, given the good explanation accompanying them.

 

Thanks again,

TN2