How to Find Those Lost Computer Files

Many computer users download a file to the computer and forget exactly where the file was placed. I've downloaded computer files many times and thought that they were stored in the download folder. And to my surprise they were not there when I checked the file! Sounds like a real frustrating problem. But, actually it's not a big problem at all. Windows has a very good way to find those lost files hiding on the hard drive This post computer help you to find your lost file and folder.

Open any folder on your computer desktop and click the search button located at the very top. A search box appears on the left side of the folder.

A few options are displayed on the search box. Check the display box. And select an option.

Now type in the name of the file that you are searching for on the computer. Type the complete computer file name to speed up the search results. Typing in a partial name brings up all sorts of files that might not have anything to do with the search file.

Hit the search button. Now the computer searches through the computer for files with that name. If files are found that match your search term
they should display in the window. Check the results. And click to open the file that matches your search.

Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP

This post discusses the several Safe Boot options that Windows supports. These options load a minimal set of drivers. You can use these options to start Windows so that you can modify the registry or load or remove drivers.


To use a Safe Boot option, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. On a computer that is configured for booting to multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot Menu appears.
2. Select an option when the Windows Advanced Options menu appears, and then press ENTER.
3. When the Boot menu appears again, and the words "Safe Mode" appear in blue at the bottom, select the installation that you want to start, and then press ENTER.

Description of Safe Boot options

Safe Mode (SAFEBOOT_OPTION=Minimal): This option uses a minimal set of device drivers and services to start Windows.
Safe Mode with Networking (SAFEBOOT_OPTION=Network): This option uses a minimal set of device drivers and services to start Windows together with the drivers that you must have to load networking.
Safe Mode with Command Prompt (SAFEBOOT_OPTION=Minimal(AlternateShell)): This option is the same as Safe mode, except that Cmd.exe starts instead of Windows Explorer.
Enable VGA Mode: This option starts Windows in 640 x 480 mode by using the current video driver (not Vga.sys). This mode is useful if the display is configured for a setting that the monitor cannot display.

Note Safe mode and Safe mode with Networking load the Vga.sys driver instead.
Last Known Good Configuration: This option starts Windows by using the previous good configuration.
Directory Service Restore Mode: This mode is valid only for Windows-based domain controllers. This mode performs a directory service repair.
Debugging Mode: This option turns on debug mode in Windows. Debugging information can be sent across a serial cable to another computer that is running a debugger. This mode is configured to use COM2.
Enable Boot Logging: This option turns on logging when the computer is started with any of the Safe Boot options except Last Known Good Configuration. The Boot Logging text is recorded in the Ntbtlog.txt file in the %SystemRoot% folder.
Starts Windows Normally: This option starts Windows in its normal mode.
Reboot: This option restarts the computer.
Return to OS Choices Menu: On a computer that is configured to starting to more than one operating system, this option returns to the Boot menu.

Rasdiag.exe Support Tool in Windows XP

This post descrive how to use Rasdiag.exe Support Tool in Windows XP.The Remote Access Service Diagnostics Tool (Rasdiag.exe) collects diagnostic information about remote support services and places that information in a file. Administrators can use this tool to work with Microsoft Product Support Services to troubleshoot remote connection issues by taking a snapshot of the configuration data and capturing an attempted remote connection.

To start Rasdiag, click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then press ENTER. At the command prompt, type rasdiag.exe, and then press ENTER. Rasdiag.exe uses the following command-line switches.
Collapse this tableExpand this table
Parameter-------------------Description
-r (ipaddr)-------------------Enable remote sniff.
-t ---------------------------Enable remote routing table collection (requires -r).
(Filename.rdg)--------------Extract Rasdiag file (for example: rasdiag.exe sample.rdg).
/?---------------------------Display Help.
-?---------------------------Display Help.

When you run Rasdiag, you see the following information:

Preparing WindowsXP for RAS diagnostics.

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RASDIAG - RAS Diagnostic/Troubleshooting Tool
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INSTRUCTIONS

1) At this time, please reproduce the problem you are seeing.
2) Once the problem has been reproduced, please return to this console
and press the space bar.
3) Wait for diagnostics and data collection process to complete. This
process will be complete the RASDIAG folder has opened on your
desktop. In this folder, you will find an .RDG file.
4) Please provide this .RDG file to your support contact.

NOTE: The netmon driver is actively capturing on this machine's
WAN and LAN interfaces. If you are able to successfully make a
connection, and the problem you are seeing is related to network-layer
connectivity, please perform the data-related action at this time
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STATUS: Waiting for you to REPRO and press the space bar in this console

After this is displayed, reproduce the issue you want to capture information about (for example, start a dial-up connection and log on to a server). After the action is completed, make the command prompt window the active window and press SPACEBAR. Pressing SPACEBAR causes Rasdiag to stop capturing information and write it to a compressed file with a .rdg extension. The name of the file is the date and time it was created. You can then send this file to your support contact.

This file contains a Network Monitor capture (.cap) and Rasdiag.txt file. To extract the files, type rasdiag filename.rdg. The contents of the compressed file are extracted in the same folder.