Installed new PSU - booted to OLD settings-lost tons

[Brookie]

My HP a1487c (over 5 years old) with XP Media Center was hit with an outage. Installed new PSU, and when it booted up, it booted to 2007 settings. Here are the issues:
1) Unknown hardware (about 6) cannot find drivers - included are the wireless network card and video card, and others that I don't recall what they might be.

2) The documents and settings were restored to 2007, my main user account, in which I had years of new documents and pictures, are NOT there.

3) As with 2 above, the desktop was restored also to 2007.

So, I wonder, how can I recover from this? Anyone?

 

[carowden]

well the first thing to do is to start getting your drivers back. you can do this on hp's website under support. if you cant access it from that computer you might need to do it on another computer and save the drivers to flash drive. then you can plug the flash drive into yours and install the drivers that way. after that you will want to do windows update (start-all programs, then at the top it will have windows or microsoft update). you will probably not get the data back but you can get your computer current again

 

[carowden]

The actual Driver website:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=228&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&sw_lang=&product=1847041

 

[inanition02]

Documents don't usually just vanish like that (i.e., your computer didn't decide to revert itself). Did you run some kind of restore?

 

[festerovic]

highly unlikely the data is gone, its hiding somewhere. Turn on options in Folder Options to see hidden files, and then also to show system files. Then dig around and cross your fingers.

 

[Brookie]

In response to all: no, there was not a restore that was done manually, or on purpose, or that I could at all see. When it booted up, it had extra large screen settings (didn't recognize the monitor, I take it) and it was as I described.

Is there no restoring to a period of time, like two weeks ago?

If not, I don't recall anymore what I have put in for video cards and other stuff. How would I find that?

And, I agree, WHERE'S the DATA!?

 

[womble]

Sounds almost like it has done a factory restore but I don't see how it do that without some decent warning. I'd do a spot of digging around in the user folders. If you can't find anything you try something like recuva from Piriform (a free download).

 

[Brookie]

I know it seems there should have been some kind of warning. I had left for a week vacation and while I was gone, there was a power outage, and perhaps a spike (surge protector must not have worked). When I returned, the computer wouldn't turn on and appeared to have no power. I searched for answers and found that it was either the PSU or the MB. I replaced the PSU, and it fired up, but to the very old settings I described. Anyone see such a thing or can suggest something more?

 

[Brookie]

BTW, I do have "show hidden folders" selected and have searched within the Documents and Settings but nothing other that 2007 files are there. It also appears as though all the folders under the C: drive have reverted to 2007 settings, too, so nothing that I created since then appears.

 

[Brookie]

I just looked in the System Tools folder and see there is only one program... there is no System Restore. And, my Start/All Programs do not show any of the programs that appear in my Programs Files folder.

What happened to my info???!

 

[Brookie]

More info: I just opened System Restore from the Windows\system32\restore location, but the calendar shows only August 2012 and does not allow me to go back to previous months/dates, as if there aren't any earlier restore points. Ugh.

 

[Brookie]

OMG! USER ERROR! All is well.

I wasn't seeing the second hard drive, so opened the box and attached the power to it! Now it reboots as is should with all my stuff. Sigh of relief!

Thanks for your responses. And if anyone has a good idea for backing up, either a full image for reinstall on a new box (when this one finally DOES fail), or generally for data only, I would be very appreciative.