I tried to carry out a Windows 10 software update but when I came to restart my laptop, it would not work and kept restarting indefinitely. Eventually, I had to reinstall Windows 10 using a USB but it seems that most of my files and programs were deleted. At least that’s what it looked like but upon further inspection, it seems that my C drive (hard drive) and D drive (SSD) have very similar layouts and folders. They both contain the following folders: PerfLogs, Program Files, Program Files (x86), Users and Windows. However, it seems that only the versions of these folders on my D drive are what I am looking for as they are the same as my files and programs before Windows crashed. How can I make it such that I can recover those files and programs and have them being used as the primary rather than those folders in the C drive. I can of course transfer everything manually which is fine for documents but the main problem is that this doesn’t recover all the programs I had installed and when I reinstall them, they do not seem to be using the program data from the D drive and is just like a new install.
Things I have tried :
- using recovery software and reinstalling the programs I used before – program data not being applied
- using File history for backup – no File History to use
- using Windows.old – only present in C Drive and no files are showing despite the fact that properties says that there are 57 files and 8 folders present but I cannot see them for some reason (I have ensured that I can view hidden files)
- changing user – I thought maybe there was a different user with all my programs and files but that doesn’t seem to be the case
What is the easiest way for me to retrieve the the same state as I had prior to Windows crashing (especially finding a way to have the programs I had previously with the same program data)?
Any help would be greatly appreciated as I had some important files/programs that I have failed to back up and need them quite soon. Thank you
