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A lost computer file

I just accidentally deleted a document I've been working on for over an hour.

I am torn between jumping head-first into the snow outside or screaming at the top of my lungs.

Since I can't do the latter (dd is sleeping upstairs), I am going to do it here:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Yes, I was saving it. But then I hit some button (yes, too many screens open, multi-tasking gone bad), and a few seconds later I realized that I'd deleted it.

When I checked the deleted folder I realized that I'd saved the file as a temp file -- it was a doc I downloaded from my email -- and deleted temp files are set to not be saved on my pc.

I am going to attempt to stay calm here. So I thought I'd vent. Since I know many of you guys have probably been there...

OK, one more:

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

13 comments so far...

ooh that SUCKS! it is seriously one of the most frustraiting things EVER! did you change the setting so you save temp files now too? :)

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Kate on 23rd January 2008
That totally sucks! Sorry to hear that.... sometimes it's easier to redo the work then spend over an hour trying to recover it :( It totally sucks and I get so angry when that happens to me (mostly at myself and my computer :)

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Victoria on 20th January 2008
Thank you guys for all the suggestions and just your nice comments -- it made me feel a lot better! We did try to do a bunch of things to recover the file, but because it was a temp file that I stupidly did not resave as a regular word file, it was gone. I re-did the work last night and it's now saved (every 2 mins while I was doing it:) -- but ugh, hadn't happened to me in a while and was really frustrating! Lesson learned -- again!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 20th January 2008
That happens to me too sometimes. I hate that.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Susan on 20th January 2008
Oh, that's so frustrating! All that wasted time, and the fear that you might not be able to replicate it as well the second time. (Which is usually groundless, but still very real at the moment.) And yes, I've done it, too -- who hasn't? I have no words of wisdom, but if it's any comfort to you, I groaned aloud when I read your plight. You can't yell, but it happened by proxy!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by MaryP on 20th January 2008
Sorry Nataly!

Some of the ladies have already posted some good advice for this situation. But I would like to add: From this point forward, periodically save a back up copy for all your work.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Uhura on 20th January 2008
Nataly,

Now is the time you get up from the keyboard and get a nice cup of tea and chill for about a half hour. Then regroup and tackle the problem when your emotions have calmed down.

Each software acts differently so it matters what software you were using. I've been able to recover documents in MSWord when nimble fingers here hit "those magic keys" and the document disappeared. It wasn't in my recycle bin but in the directory I had saved it in originally.

I'll say a little prayer that the PC fairies help you.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mary Jane on 20th January 2008
What about the recycle bin. A lot of time when you delete it goes there first.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Christy on 20th January 2008
Too bad you're not on a Mac! They've got this great new feature called Time Machine and it recovers files by the dates. I'm sorry this happened to you. I've been there and done that too. Best advice I guess would be to slow down. I know, easier said than done, right?!!

Flag as inappropriate Posted by DandiK on 20th January 2008
All may NOT be lost. Check out the following links:

http://tech.yahoo.com/gd/how-to-recover-almost-anything/202992

http://www.technologygoal.com/2007/09/19/tech-how-to-guides/how-to-recover-almost-anything-recovery-tips-for-you.html

These should be able to help you recover the document.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by JKLD on 19th January 2008
Ahh, to know one is not alone...may not provide comfort, but it's bound to crack you up eventually.

How many times have I done what you did? How many files have I lost after working for hours? Too many to count.

And I get so pissed and I get so irritated by the whole thing I want to chuck my computer or myself out the window.

Mandy may be right, my husband can someitmes retrieve my lost files. He's here in California, where the weather is nice.

See you around dinner time?
:)
Nataly! Oy! Jump up and down three times. Then get some chocolate.( this is my own personal solution)...OY

Flag as inappropriate Posted by on 19th January 2008
I accidentally did the same thing. I was working on a 20 page paper got to page 15 and somehow managed to delete the whole thing. Boy was I ticked.

Flag as inappropriate Posted by Jacqueline on 19th January 2008