All mys desktop files are gone!

[bemuratt]

All my desktop files are gone!

I was working on a paper, using Word and the preview. I had lots of stuff on the desktop, the most important were ma paper's references. Since I upgraded to Yosemite the computer started freezing and got slower, this time it froze totally, i had to turn it off and when i turned it back on the files were gone. I've searched on spotlight and nothing, they are not on finder, they are not hidden.I used data rescue 3 to see If I could find something, and I did find some files, but just a few. What else can I do??

 

[RadDave]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

Did you have a Time Machine backup or the files at least on an external HD or USB flash drive? Dave

 

[bemuratt]

Thanks!

No I didn't

Bernard

 

[McBie]

I think you should mentally prepare yourself to accept that these files are gone, or at best corrupted.
I also suggest to start making backups of your data.

Cheers ... McBie

 

[bemuratt]

Yep, lesson learned. At least the paper I was working on was not at the desktop.

Better start working with time machine now.

Should I reinstall the OS X because of the freezing that's been happening?

 

[McBie]

Before you decide to take action , it would be good to try and identify what the problem is.
Are there any error messages in the log file ? This can be an indication that something is wrong.
What exactly happens when the machine freezes. Are all applications affected or just one ?
What machine are you using and what are the hardware specifications ?
How much free space do you have on your hard disk ?
Have you updated all your applications to the latest ( Yosemite compatible ) version ?

Cheers ... McBie

 

[bemuratt]

Well, when the machine freezes, even the apple logo behind the motor stays turned on when I close my laptop.

then everything screen turns black and everything turns off. But now i remember that i had some freezing issues with the Mavericks. They faded when I updated everything and reinstalled the OS X through a flash drive.

I'll update everything and check the log

thanks

it is a Mac Book 13 late 2012 4gb intel i5 1.8mhz. I have already partitioned my HD in order to use time machine and it is working, i keep lots of things like movies music and some games on a external HD.

 

[McBie]

When you say you " have already partitioned my HD in order to used Time Machine " ?
It is not a good idea to keep your Time Machine backups on a disk together with other data. You are defeating the purpose of making backups.
Also, be aware that Time Machine does not make a backup of external drives, only the main internal boot drive.
To make backups of external drives, have a look at Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper!

Cheers ... McBie

 

[bemuratt]

I'm aware that Time Machine makes only the backup of main external boot drives.

So I must use Time Machine with an external hard drive or something like that? What if I don't bring the external drive with me? I'm always on the move. Sorry about my lack of knowledge ..

 

[MacInWin]

The reason for making backups with TM is twofold. The primary reason is to be able to recover your files if and when the HD dies or gets corrupted. The secondary reason is to be able to go back to a previous version of a document, or to a document you accidentally deleted or was damaged, and recover it so you can continue your work. Using your internal drive for the first reason I gave is counter-productive because if the drive failed, you would lose the backups as well. The second reason CAN be accomplished with TM pointed to the same drive, but again, if the drive fails you lose EVERYTHING and have to start from scratch.

So, yes, most of us use External drives for TM, although it is not technically required. If you turn TM on and don't have the drive with you, it makes what are called "snapshots" on the source drive until it gets reconnected to the backup drive and can make a proper backup.

Does that help?

 

[bemuratt]

It helps, a lot! I have already changed to a external drive now! Thanks!!