files in backup drive are gone

CCleaner for Windows CCleaner Windows Bug Reporting
1

I ran CCCleaner 3.19 1721. A Windows window popped up and said "Windows could not save the J: drive" etc.

I opened the J: drive (it's a Western Digital backup) and all my directories are there, but all the files that were in them are gone! I don't usually have the J: drive on, but it had been turned on to backup some files and not been turned off before running CC.

I use the default selections in CC. What the heck happened and how do I prevent this from happening again? I can recover these files, but on another computer I have files that are resident only to its backup. I will be careful not to have the backup turned on when I run CC from now on. However, surely this should not have happened????

2

I suggest giving more details such as Operating System and the size of J:\ and its file system - i.e. NTFS or FAT32,

and also what software performs what sort of backups to J:\.

Did you clean the registry ?

I would guess that backup software was running and making use of TEMP files that CCleaner purged,

and that caused the backup software to go crazy.

3

In CCleaner, under Windows, RegEdit is checked.

OS=Windows XP

FAT32, 186 GB, free=98.8 GB

To back up files, I've just dragged and dropped to the J drive. Haven't been able to get whatever software there was to ever work, so I quit trying to use it. I don't remember what it was or if it's still on the comnputer. The backup is a Western Digital MediaCtr.

sorry to be so ignorant, but that's all I know. CCleaner was recommended by an IT guy where I used to work and nothing bad has ever happened before. Only the window that came up about the J drive gave me any clue there was a connection.

4

I am not concerned by the RegEdit checkbox which simply deals with the history of your use of RegEdit.

My concern was whether you had clicked on the left hand icon labelled Registry,

and if you had then clicked on "Scan for Issues" and "Fix selected Issues..."

I now assume that you avoided the danger of "Fix selected Issues..."

https://en.wikipedia...al_Media_Center

The above shows "(either 160GB or 250GB)"

What is your 186 GB, Used Space or Total Size ?

Your numbers are consistent with 186 GB Used Space in a 285 GB Partition

or 87 GB Used space in a 186 GB Partition.

The "good news" is that the 87 or 186 GB of files are not missing but hidden - or inaccessible.

I suggest downloading the free tool

http://www.jam-softw.../treesize_free/

You can use this to scan drive J:\ and it will quickly show you all the folders and the files inside.

It shows me that I have 14 Files and Folders totaling 3.8 MB within C:\System Volume Information

whereas Windows Explorer refuses to look inside.

In less than 1 minute you may see the folder structure and the names and sizes of the files.

I think you may be able to simply and quickly UN-Hide the "missing" files,

or Recuva may be a better solution.

I do not do disasters (often) so have limited experience at this sort of recovery,

and will not risk giving the wrong advice.

I suggest you report what TreeSIze shows you and receive further recovery advice from others.

Suggestion to moderators - perhaps this topic should be moved to the Recuva forum.

5

No, I did not select the left hand icon labelled Registry or click on "Scan for Issues" and "Fix selected Issues..." I've never used anything but Cleaner.

186 GB is Total Size.

will get TreeSize. Thanks.

6

TreeSize shows the directories are empty. The only file in the drive which shows a change on 5/31/12 (which is when I last ran CCleaner) is autorun.inf.

7

The TreeSize data is inconsistent so I would like you to report the following :

Using Windows Explorer, if you select Drive J:\ and right click and choose the option Properties.

Does this confirm that the File System is FAT32 ?

what are the GB numbers reported for each of :-

Used Space

Free Space

Capacity

Using TreeSize to scan Drive J:\ you should now see the size of contents which TreeSize can detect.

What is the top number shown against J:\

Is it really zero ?

I would have expected it to match the "Used Space" shown by Windows Explorer.

Below this you should see a folder tree showing the names of folders and how much each contains.

If you can see any folder with a non-zero size then you should be able to click on the folder to expand and see where the non-zero size comes from,

you should eventually see the names of files.

8

This is very weird. Got that message again about Windows not being able to save the J data, and this time all the directories were gone from the J drive. So I turned it off, turned it back on, and then they all reappeared!

Re post above - answers are after the reappearance of the files:

Using Windows Explorer, if you select Drive J:\ and right click and choose the option Properties.

Does this confirm that the File System is FAT32 ? Yes

what are the GB numbers reported for each of :-

Used Space 87.3

Free Space 98.8

Capacity 186

Using TreeSize to scan Drive J:\ you should now see the size of contents which TreeSize can detect.

What is the top number shown against J:\ not sure what you mean by "top number."

Is it really zero ? I saved the reports when I scanned it before and just now if that's a help ...see attached.

TreeSize JDr 060212.pdf

TreeSize JDr 060112.pdf

9

This is very weird. Got that message again about Windows not being able to save the J data, and this time all the directories were gone from the J drive. So I turned it off, turned it back on, and then they all reappeared!

I assume this means the panic is over and there is no need to use any File recovery.

I see from the report dated 2nd June that the "top number" was

89,466.0 MB J:\

which closely corresponds to 87.3 GB.

I call it the top number because it is on the first row immediately below the menu bar and the icons

It is the row above the line which tells you

58,928.4 MB Retrospect Backup

It now seems to me that Tree Size and Windows Explorer are in good agreement.

I think that your external drive is too clever for your own good.

It possibly is running some software for your benefit.

For some reason when CCleaner runs your external drive gets confused/off-line/inaccessible,

and it stays like that after CCleaner closes,

but when disconnected and reconnected then Explorer.exe re-establishes contact and normal operations resume.

N.B. It can be useful to select the first row that shows the total space held by the drive

and click on menu bar item "Expand" then the option "Full Expand ..."

This will "explode" the tree to show the space occupied in every sub-folder and every file.

10

Haven't been able to get whatever software there was to ever work, so I quit trying to use it. I don't remember what it was or if it's still on the comnputer.

That "Haven't been able to get whatever software there was to ever work" is the probably cause of your grief,

and when CCleaner does its thing the malfunctioning software throws a hissy fit and knocks off-line the Drive J:\.

Every time the Drive is connected that whatever software It is probably launched by AutoRun.inf

(which is infamous for the Conficker worm)

To avoid knocking off-line Drive J:\ when CCleaner runs I suggest renaming AutoRun.inf as #AutoRun.inf.txt

(if this advice is wrong then you can put the name back as it was.