Recover deleted user profile data folders

[tech7131954]

Have a strange one ....

Running WIN 2003 R2 Standard on our Dell 2950.

Have a C: main drive for OS & applications

Have E: Data drive for all data storage

On the E: drive have a folder specifically for each AD user's profile data and documents - about 15 user folders total including mine.

This am - I was remoted into the server and was just adding permissions to a few shared and other data folders for a user. Everything seemed to have been fine. I logged out and when I arrived at the office - all users were not able to access their documents in the profile folder.

I checked the master profile folder ... and ALL user folders were gone except my folder??? Very strange.

I checked everything possible and couldn't find the folders.

We are not running "shadowing" that drive .... and my 4 TB NAS server crashed last week and at manufacturer's being repaired.

So I don't have current backups of those folders to restore.

There has been no data saved to the E: dataa drive since I found this problem so we could attemptan undelete without having any sectors overwritten with new data.

I loaded Enterprise version of Undelete SW and ran the adv scan and there was no sight of the deleted folders found? The Sw found many files I had recently deleted in january while cleaning up the data drive for more space. No Problem - all were there ... but Nada on the user profile folders.

I really need someone who has either experienced this type of file deletion in SVR2003 and has a solution or can direct me.

Thanks

 

[goombawaho]

Did you try the trial version of GetDataBack for NTFS to see if you can see your lost data?? No harm in trying if you install it on the C:\ drive.

Run the "recover deleted files" first. It will only take a few minutes and you'll have a quick answer. IF you see nothing, try one of the other scans.

 

[tech7131954]

Found the folders/files ....

Again - very strange ... the entire master profiles folder had been copied to another folder on the server .... found it by accident ... then all users profiels had been deleted from the original master profile folder except mine???

All good now.

 

[cmeagan656]

My guess is that you accidentally moved the folder by still having a mouse button depressed when in Windows Explorer and then moving the mouse. If the folder that the master profiles folder was moved to was on the same drive then the folders would have been moved not copied.

The reason that your user profile wasn't moved was because it was in use and therefore couldn't be moved.

I've seen it happen before although not to the profile folders. It usually happens during file management by an employee that is trying to work too fast.

Hope this helps.

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