Too many operating systems

[annapolis]

ok, this probably sounds crazy, but i have a computer two hard drives, one for OS and one for storage. I had XP on the OS drive and went to install windows 7. when it asked me which drive i wanted to use, they weren't labels "C" and "D" as usualy, so i couldn't tell. naturally, the one i chose was the wrong one! now i have two operating systems, and windows 7 wiped out all my stored data! first, I assume there's no way to restore the storage drive? secondly, i can't tell from windows explorer which drive is XP and which drive is windows 7! are there certain files or folders i can look for as clues? i want to format the drive that had XP on it now, so i only have one OS.

 

[Rabbit01]

Programs like Recuva or Testdisk/Photorec might be able to help w/ recovering some of the files.

Windows 7 doesn't have a "Documents and Settings" folder. Instead, it's "Users". These are in the root directory.

 

[annapolis]

thanks

Rabbit01 - thanks for the response.
I'll check the folders and give "recuva" a try.

 

[Rabbit01]

Recovery depends on whether the data was over-written by the OS installation. So, depends on the file type, it can be a full, partial, or zero recovery. Also, run the recovery program from a flash drive instead of installing it onto the hard drive. That way, it won't over-write anything. BTW, Recuva has a deep scan option, it'll take longer but has a better chance of locating files. Good luck.