Program Files Vanished

[sjakie]

I was just messing around with my computer, doing the usual computer stuff. Installing games, playing some shooters, surfing the internetz.

When I open "My Computer" after a while, I notice a lot of the files in it have suddenly changed. Maps that were previously somewhere else, now pop up in C. In addition, maps that I could previously not see before (those windows maps that are usually hidden) appear to have revealed themselves. Also, maps that seem to have belonged to the previous owner of this computer, my brother, have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And last but not least, "program files" has dissapeared!

Since all my games still seem to function fine, I figured program files could not be completely gone. They wouldn't work then, after all. When I use search however, its results show no sign of the map any longer. Instead, it shows strange maps such as "Roots" that show shards of my installed game's files. I'm really going to need acces to program files for technical reasons and such, but I have no clue on how to get program files back. Does someone on this forum happen to know what caused my problem and how to solve it?

 

[C-Death]

try going to start>run>and type in C:\Program Files and tell me what comes up.

 

[sjakie]

Awesome, I get my program files map . +rep!

Ok, at least I can reach it now, but I still dont know what caused the problem and how to solve it. It would be quite odd to have to go to the run menu every time I'd want to reach program files.

 

[Atreyu]

Create a shortcut.

 

[UnknowVector]

Open program files, right click a blank area, select properties and investigate the "hidden" option. If it's checked, un-check it.

>Maps that were previously somewhere else, now pop up in C

Please specify.

Which operating system are you running?

 

[Prometheus]

Run virus scan.

 

[sjakie]

Please specify.

Maps that I notice first are MSOCache, $AVG8.VAULT$ (contains files locked up by my virusscanner, I guess), BJPrinter, and Root. These are ones I'm fairly sure of they have never been in C:\ before. There may be more, I just dont recognize them as new ones. My memory is not that great .

Run virus scan.

Its not a virus, I think. My computer still functions perfectly fine aside from the scrambled maps. I have a whole arsenal of anti-virus software, anti psyware, all that sort of stuff. I've never had a virus on this computer before. Its like a fortress. I doubt it is a virus.

Create a shortcut.

Ofcourse, but I'm still wondering what caused it. I dont want history to repeat itself, after all.

 

[UnknowVector]

>psyware

You, sir, have just created the single best new word ever.

MSOCache is a folder microsoft office creates when it is installed. It contains packed (compressed and accumulated) versions of all the various add-ons that microsoft office ships with (like the speech-to-text functionality and the various language packs), but which you may not have installed. Unless you specified otherwise when you installed office, it should be a quintessential copy of your microsoft office disk.

bjprinter appears to be used by the drivers of certain canon printers, and $AVG8.VAULT$ is indeed used by AVG.

I don't know anything about C:\Roots, but all of the rest of these files are normally found in C:\. Do you remember them being somewhere else, or is this the first time you have seen them?

Can you see the file NTDetect.com in the root of your C:\ drive (i.e. C:\NTDetect.com)? Also, did you do anything with the microsoft office install disk recently? Did you install a canon printer?

O, and I'm working under the assumptions that "map" == "folder" == "directory", and that you are running windows XP.

 

[sjakie]

My computer indeed runs on Windows XP, but I didn't do anything with any sort of disk recently.

You're right when you say the files are familiar, though. Many of the files and maps that popped up appear to be connected to other computers in our house in some sort of way. One computer, for an example, indeed has a canon printer. Some pictures and files that recently appeared in "My Documents" appear to have belonged to my brother. Could it be some sort of network problem then?

 

[_whelp]

*Breathing In*

Try to show hidden files and folders, which is accessible by opening Windows Explorer(just a open a folder), then go to File-->then I think something like folder options-->then change it...

*Breathing Out*