Uninstalled Zandronum and complete Doom folder disappeared - Resolved

[Margi]

Hey everyone,

I've got this weird thing happening to me. I wanted to check out Zandronum to get back to online multiplay Doom. I installed it and leaved the "associate PWAD files" options ticked. I installed it but noticed that all the Zandronum files were scattered into my Doom folder and it's not the way I wanted it.

What I usually have is a main Doom folder and subfolders for mods like GZDoom, Skulltag etc. I wanted to make a subfolder for Zandronum too, so I uninstalled Zandronum in order to reinstall it in its own subfolder.

Unfortunately, when I launched the installer again and went on to locate the destination folder (which should have looked like D:\Doom\Zandronum according to my way of installing mods), I found with great horror that my whole Doom folder has been wiped clean. It's gone with all the mods and savegames and it's the latter that bothers me the most. I was having fun playing through Phobos Anomaly Reborn (PAR.wad) and went quite far, only for it to be swept away and got no chance to copy my savegames to some other place.

I planned on doing a clean reinstall of my Doom stuff anyway but not without keeping my savegames. I did a system restore and that didn't bring anything back.

Can anyone tell me if there's a way to get a hold of my magically disappeared folder ? I would hate to have to play all the way through PAR.wad to resume where I left or cheat by skipping levels and using idfa.

[Cruduxy]

The give "ItemName" Amount cheat in console -Give Shotgun for example- can help you restart that map with any amounts of weapons/Ammo you remember having.. All item names can be found on zdoom's wiki.. Dunno if those software that restore deleted files can help you since I didnt try one.

Also the take "Itemname" Amount cheat does the opposite and steals stuff from you.. can even steal your health by typing Take Health 50 in console.

[Ijon Tichy]

uh what

cruduxy what are you on about

also you could try using an undelete tool, preferably on something like a linux live USB so it doesn't access the hard drive, but it might be too late for a good amount of those files if you've been using your computer extensively between your post and now

[Watermelon]

You must have clicked somehow the bottom checkbox, I just tried the uninstaller and reinstaller and it worked fine for me. There is a checkbox at the bottom of the uninstaller that deletes the entire directory Zandronum is in (all the files) and it is unchecked by default, did you accidentally click that when messing with the checkboxes? I can attempt to double check again if you provide me with the exact settings you used.


There are programs that can recover deleted files, you will have to google them. Remember to always back up important stuff you do not want to lose.

[Jigsaw]

SmartUndelete is a choice.

[Cruduxy]

cruduxy what are you on about

A way to recreate his saved games if he remembers weapons/Ammo/Health he had :P

[Margi]

Thanks everyone for your fast and helpful replies !

You must have clicked somehow the bottom checkbox, I just tried the uninstaller and reinstaller and it worked fine for me. There is a checkbox at the bottom of the uninstaller that deletes the entire directory Zandronum is in (all the files) and it is unchecked by default, did you accidentally click that when messing with the checkboxes? I can attempt to double check again if you provide me with the exact settings you used.

I tried it and indeed, I remember clicking the 2 checkboxes that are unticked by default and one is 'Remove all files in the Zandronum folder'. Somehow my main Doom folder must have been "converted" to being the Zandronum folder and at the moment of uninstall, it performed just what I asked...

I might try a recovery tool like you all suggested, but Cruduxy's solution is a good alternative too.

Thank you all again.

[someoneelse]

God, that sucks. I would be furious if my few GB wad collection evaporated. I suggest you register on tracker and write a suggestion to prevent this.

[Margi]

All things considered, what happened to me is no big deal since I can skip levels and use the console to get back whatever weapons and ammo I had at the time, like Cruduxy suggested. As I said, I wanted anyways to do a fresh reinstall of my stuff, just not planned to do it so abruptly

But what do you mean by registering on tracker and writing a suggestion to prevent this ?

[someoneelse]

http://zandronum.com/tracker/ <- it's here. Tracker is a place when you report bugs, suggestions, etc.

[infurnus]

That's the feature and bug tracker. You no longer need to register to use the tracker, just log in using your forum account credentials.

[Konar6]

I don't think that this is a bug or it needs changing. If you knowingly tick the checkbox labelled "delete all files in the installation directory", it is pure user error. You have only yourself to blame.

[infurnus]

If you are using Windows, you can use this shareware to recover lost folders and/or files: http://www.piriform.com/recuva

Please make sure when installing things like Zandronum that you place it into a new folder and not into a preexisting folder.

[Margi]

I don't think that this is a bug or it needs changing. If you knowingly tick the checkbox labelled "delete all files in the installation directory", it is pure user error. You have only yourself to blame.

Oh believe me, I do You're right, it's not a bug per se and I'm going to change the title of this topic, saying that it is resolved.

If you are using Windows, you can use this shareware to recover lost folders and/or files: http://www.piriform.com/recuva

Please make sure when installing things like Zandronum that you place it into a new folder and not into a preexisting folder.

Corrected that. Now the only Doom related files I use stand in the 'Zandronum' folder and any add-on I like to play with is in the 'skins' subfolder. On one less happy note, I have not been able to recover my savegames but it's not the end of the world. I have plenty other maps to enjoy.

No need to post in tracker then, since my issue is in fact a non-bug.