System Status

Posted by Astryl on May 29, 2013, 3 a.m.

Alright, let me take this one step at a time.

Firstly, I hate Microsoft. OK. Done.

Secondly, I hate my forgetful/rambling mind. Done.

Now, yesterday, on an impulse, I decided to 'finally' update to Windows 7, so I could unlock the full power of my PC. XP, even with the SP2 drivers, can only use 2 of my 4 cores, can't use my SATA drive's AHCI mode, can't use my video card's full functionality and basically can't do much of anything with my hardware.

So, we have this Windows 7 'Recovery Disc' lying around that came with my dad's PC, provided by a "Microsoft Partner", and already slipstreamed with basic drivers and software.

Also, it's got the worst gypped installer I've ever seen in my life. With no prompts, no warning, and without even asking me whether I might actually speak Portugese, Windows 7 completely bulldozed my entire hard-drive (Using the aforementioned AHCI mode, so it was damned fast too).

Of course, prior to attempting this installation, I backed up my key files to a USB drive. Notably my 'Tracking' folder, along with all my music, samples and some VSTi collections.

I also managed to grab the C:\Dev folder, containing my self-built SFML folder, and my personal code libraries.

I even managed to remember to back up some of my Steam save games…

So I am left to wonder how the hell I forgot the damned folders right under my nose. On my desktop, I had two important folders. "Completition" and "Projects". They were even centered, so I had to see them every time I saw my desktop.

Suffice to say, I forgot them, and Microsoft devoured them.

Anyway, I'm empirically assuming I lost everything. I will attempt to run a file recovery once I am able, and I do have some of my projects backed up on disc somewhere (Exile, notably).

Otherwise: Hunter and it's rats are dead. That SHMUP and it's pretty graphics are dead.

I'm going to be taking a week to sort everything out. I have yet to install Windows 7, as after so politely assuming I didn't just want to upgrade Windows XP, it couldn't use my SATA DVD-RAM drive to read several sectors on it's own disc.

And this on a disc that's never been used, and is in pristine condition.

My current task involves downloading an ISO, prepping a USB drive, and doing things that way.

Wish me luck.

Comments

Acid 11 years, 3 months ago

Yeah, as a note to ANYONE READING: Never touch your OS without backing up your files first…

As a matter of fact, don't USE YOUR PC without backing up your files first.

And update your backups at least once a week.

Astryl 11 years, 3 months ago

@Acid: My problem was that I forgot, thanks to XP, that I was using two partitions for my HDD, not two separate drives. So I thought that all the stuff I put on my "D" drive would be safe.

@eagly: Sure, I can still work on them…. starting from scratch again.

@Visor: I got over it really quickly.

Now, on the note of recover, I went through my backup discs from this year, and found very little (I backed up music, videos, some of my art, and…. forgot everything else)

Interestingly, I have found Exile's source code. Aggravatingly, it is an old update from November 2012. Meaning that all my new features are gone…

Then I ran TestDisk/PhotoRec, and managed to recover a huge block of data from the formatted drive. A few problems: There are millions of text files, hundreds of thousands of source files, and nowhere near enough time to sort through them all (Given that they have such wonderfully creative names… Like 'f27629288.txt').

So it looks like I'm just going to have to suck it up, and start work on Hunter or Exile again, even if I have to start over. Did it once, can do it again.

eagly 11 years, 3 months ago

Well, I'm glad you're being so positive about it. :)

Good luck and I hope we can see even more rat AI soon! :D

Astryl 11 years, 3 months ago

I have this gut feeling that I'm going to struggle to animate anything as well as those rats for a long time…

flashback 11 years, 3 months ago

Quote:
Then I ran TestDisk/PhotoRec, and managed to recover a huge block of data from the formatted drive. A few problems: There are millions of text files, hundreds of thousands of source files, and nowhere near enough time to sort through them all (Given that they have such wonderfully creative names… Like 'f27629288.txt').
grep is your friend.

Astryl 11 years, 3 months ago

Tried it as soon as I got MSYS installed. Two fragments of the Exile source code remain intact. And they're pieces I have already (The old map system and the sprite system).

Also, I found the background from my SHMUP, so I might reuse that.

As for anything else, I quite honestly have no idea what to search for…

Moikle 11 years, 3 months ago

as long as the HDD didn't get scrapped, you can recover things with a linux install on a USB stick

edit: nvm, late to the party