Oh FFS, Vista! Deleted all files.

ic1male · 18 Sep 2007 at 20:57

Has anyone else had this happen to them? I selected a few folders in the right-hand side of Windows Explorer and pressed Shift+Delete to get rid of them.

Vista then proceeds to delete everything that was in the parent folder on the left hand side. 35GB of stuff just vanished in the blink of an eye. I am well gutted.

Is it just me not paying attention to what I'm deleting or has anyone else had this happen to them?

daven1986 · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:06

you have to be careful. i find that if i select stuff with shift or control, then vista sometimes selects the previously highlighted file too.

i managed to delete a file i wanted to keep, so now i make sure that it is all correct or i just use delete and then have the safety of the recycle bin.

ajgoodfellow · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:16

If you're careful you should be able to use some data recovery software to recover your data

Don't do too much with the disk though to avoid overwriting it!

EDIT: I should say that I've been there and done that too. Thankfully I managed to recover it. It was a little while ago using PC Inspector File Recovery - it's freeware. http://www.pc-inspector.de/default.htm?Language=1

chesterstu · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:25

With our being offensive, i highly doubt Vista did it. The computer is stupid and only do as you tell it to

Jokester · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:28

I deleted a huge amount of files in a similar manner to yourself, luckily most of it was backed upped but not all of it was so it was a major pain. It definitely behaves differently to XP in this respect, so double check what's selected before you press delete.

Jokester

Uhtred · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:30

i find vista very very random when selecting files

Participant · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:47

I find that Vista selects exactly what I ask it to and only perma-deletes things when I tell it to. Funnt that :confused:

. User error tbh.

stickroad · 18 Sep 2007 at 21:52

Robbie G said:
I find that Vista selects exactly what I ask it to and only perma-deletes things when I tell it to. Funny that . User error tbh.

True True.

thecremeegg · 19 Sep 2007 at 01:27

Robbie G said:
I find that Vista selects exactly what I ask it to and only perma-deletes things when I tell it to. Funnt that . User error tbh.

Spellcheckers obviously not up to scratch either

cavemanoc · 19 Sep 2007 at 14:34

Robbie G said:
I find that Vista selects exactly what I ask it to and only perma-deletes things when I tell it to. Funnt that . User error tbh.

There are two kinds of users when it comes to deleting stuff by accident: those that have; and those that will!

Thanks for the heads-up on the control/shift holding stuff from previous sub-directories - I can see how it could be a useful tool, but boy it must have been a surprise finding out about it the hard way. You have my sympathy and my thanks