Win7 reloaded - Files have gone away

[cmipilot]

Hi All; so win 7, installed on an SSD, got corrupted. 2TB hardrive with everything else on it not affected. Reloaded win 7 pro from original disk on the SSD; now can't see any of my original programs or files on the pc which is a self-assembled DIY unit. What happened and how do I recover from this? Thanks guys.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

You reinstalled Windows, now you must reinstall all of the software as well. The reinstallation wiped and replaced the registry, which now knows nothing of your programs.

 

[eggbrook]

When you reinstall windows it formats the disk, wiping any and all data on it. The disk now only has windows installed, and previous files that were on the disk need to be reinstalled or restored from a backup. If you read the pages of the installation, it clearly states that all files will be deleted.

 

[cmipilot]

Just to clarify, the operating system was on the SSD by itself, for booting only. When I installed programs and/or saved files, it was always to the regular hard drive. Was I doing something incorrectly then?

 

[USAFRet]

Just to clarify, the operating system was on the SSD by itself, for booting only. When I installed programs and/or saved files, it was always to the regular hard drive. Was I doing something incorrectly then?

Your applications installed to the SSD (C drive) because you simply accepted the default.
Almost all current applications allow choosing where it gets installed to.

For saving files, see this:

Win 7 & 8: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-1834397/ssd-redirecting-static-files.html
Win 8.1 & 10: http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2024314/windows-redirecting-folders-drives.html