hello im new here could somebody please help me

[pleasehelp]

my problem is that i accidentally deleted the notes gadget on windows vista that contained some vital information.

I have searched arround for methods to recover it and have found this on your site: Retrieve Lost Notes Of Windows Vista Sidebar Notes Gadget.

I typed in this: %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar and it came up with two paragraphs of technical language preceded by the headings "{root} and {hashes}. Is this the missing data?

The Microsoft MVP's following instructions confuse me as i am poor with computers so if anyone could give me a walkthrough as to how to convert it back into my notes i would be extremely grateful. thankyou in advance

---------- Post added at 07:33 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:02 PM ----------

i am unsure of the technical name for the format of text that it is currently in, but can anyone please inform me as to how to change it back into english. thanks again.

[knightrider™]

Welcome to the forum

When you type "%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar"
in Run and hit enter you will get a Gadgets folder and a settings.ini file

Now open settings.ini file in notepad and give a search for PrivateSetting_GadgetName.You would get some line where it is used.If that line is not the line you are looking fore Hit F3 button to find next and search You should get some thing like this

PrivateSetting_GadgetName="C:%5CProgram%20Files%5C Windows%20Sidebar%5CGadgets%5CNotes.Gadget"

Your notes will be numbered depending on how many notes you have.
0= <1st note>
1= <2nd note> and so on.

[pleasehelp]

thankyou for your reply.
i apologise for my ignorance but i assume run is the bar at the top of the screen containing the web address. This creates a folder in Local>Microsoft>Windows Sidebar with a file folder called "Gadgets" and a "configuration settings" called "Settings". Is this the "settings.ini" file? This appears in the form "notepad" and is the strange form of text. Am i correct so far? Does it matter that its "notepad" and not "notes"?
I then searched for PrivateSetting_GadgetName but that is not followed by any numbered notes, only three more lines beginning with "PrivateSetting", then its the end of the page. Could you please go over the last segment of instructions regarding the numbered notes. Apologies for ignorance. Thankyou for your response and your time.
ps. just to confirm it is "notes" not "notepad" that i am looking to recover.

---------- Post added at 12:20 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:55 AM ----------

the only thing that appears is the antivirus software which is currently in the sidebar. Is there any way to do a search for a previous date. ie sunday? This would be extremely helpful.

[seti]

Have you tried doing a complete system restore? Choose your restore point from before you lost everything and then see if you get everything back. That is the only thing that I can think off.

[pleasehelp]

is there a thread describing how to do that as i am unsure? thanks for your idea - it would definitely work, i am just unsure of how to do it.

[Corrine]

i assume run is the bar at the top of the screen containing the web address

No, that is the address bar. Click the Start Orb and type run in the search box. Run will be shown in the search results under Programs.

For System Restore questions and instructions, see System Restore: frequently asked questions.

[HappyAndyK]

Yes, try a system restore, else then I will walk you through the WVC tutorial

[pleasehelp]

knightrider,
is there any way to do a search result for a previous date. Is this what you were referring to when you said hit the F3 button?
thanks to everyone for their responses.
when i hit the F3 button it just comes up with information about my battery.
how do i do a search for sunday (before i deleted the notes) for example:
"%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar25/10.
thanks.

[seti]

knightrider,
is there any way to do a search result for a previous date. Is this what you were referring to when you said hit the F3 button?
thanks to everyone for their responses.
when i hit the F3 button it just comes up with information about my battery.
how do i do a search for sunday (before i deleted the notes) for example:
"%userprofile%\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows Sidebar25/10.
thanks.

Please alllow Andy to walk through the system restore with you, because you seem to be getting very confused. Andy is an MVP as well as Forum Admin. OK

[pleasehelp]

brilliant im all for it. r u sure that would bring back what was written. I haven't uninstalled or deleted the program, just what was written on the notes gadget.