***PLEASE*** Help me find a lost/hidden file.

[keybowvio]

Backup what data you need. format, and do a clean install.

I have no idea why this is not an option.

because she is looking to obtain data on the pc that she can use in a court case, not destroy all of the possible evidence that the pc might contain.

[MomNEEDShelp]

Ok, let me add this....

I am sure the porn is NOT spam nor something he accidentally came across. How do I know this?? Because I checked his cookies. There are tons of web addresses, with dates and time stamps.

I hear you all that 16-18 is ok, but how do I know they were not 13 year olds? Is it not better to be safe than sorry?

Has this thread gotten way to deep? YES. I simply wanted help from someone with lots of PC knowledge to help me find hidden files. I gave a bit of the story to make it easier for someone to know how to assist me knowing what was hidden.

I don't know if any of you have young children and I am sure you are mostly men, but please understand I have nothing about YOU viewing porn. I am only concerned about the content of porn MY EX HUSBAND was viewing.

PLEASE, if you have an opinion about my situation, don't reply. I am here for PC support, not therapy.


Thanks in advance to any PC wizards who may still have an idea on how to find missing files.

[contrex]

Has this thread gotten way to deep? YES.

Sorry. I forgot you paid a lot of money to come here and get this advice. Of course that gives you the right to rant at us. I'm so sorry, please forgive us!

I don't think shouting at us in capital letters and telling us how to reply is your privilege, given that this is a free forum where you haven't paid anything. Anyway, seriously -- have you given any thought to what you'll do if you find anything, especially if this thing might have legal significance? You would be better off taking your computer to a licensed forensic computer examiner, especially if you want whatever may be found to stand up in court. I don't think "I found this and my sicko husband put it there" is going to cut much ice with a judge, frankly, and might even work against you.

[DeltaSlaya]

I must say that it's getting a bit off topic and this is a computer forum, not a pornography or family guidance forum.

I am 100% in agreement.

I agree with contrex too.This is forum not a family affair discussion.

Thanks

Why are you agreeing with contrex? You should be agreeing with me, seeing that I said that...

the OP feels that they have been obtained by intentionally searching for illegal / underage models. If this was indeed the case I personally have no problem with her choices.

Sixteen to eghteen is not "illegal" or "underage" in any country of the European Union, where I am proud to live.

How can we judge?

With our consciences and our moral sensibilities, how else?

Firstly, I never defined an age group. I clearly stated illegal, we do not know if the pictures are or not but again, the OP feels that it is best that they take action in order to in whatever way against whatever threat towards their daughter. Yes we can judge, but we are not in their shoes and do not know all the sides to the story, so we can not make a fully justified judgement.

Has this thread gotten way to deep? YES.

Sorry. I forgot you paid a lot of money to come here and get this advice. Of course that gives you the right to rant at us. I'm so sorry, please forgive us!

I don't think shouting at us in capital letters and telling us how to reply is your privilege, given that this is a free forum where you haven't paid anything. Anyway, seriously -- have you given any thought to what you'll do if you find anything, especially if this thing might have legal significance? You would be better off taking your computer to a licensed forensic computer examiner, especially if you want whatever may be found to stand up in court. I don't think "I found this and my sicko husband put it there" is going to cut much ice with a judge, frankly, and might even work against you.

I sorta agree...

[michaewlewis]

download this program:
http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/uk/welcome.htm
It can scan the hard drive and undelete several different file types.
If you don't want to risk overwriting anything by installing the program follow this link:
http://www.e-fense.com/helix/downloads.php
Using a different computer, download and burn one of the iso files to a cd.
Once you have the cd, boot the computer in question and once windows has started, insert the cd. Using this CD, you can actually find out a lot of information about the computer, even deleted materials.
However, if you find anything, it still may not hold any value in court because the jury wouldn't know for sure if you planted the images and/or videos on the computer. The best bet is to send it to a professional or to tell the  judge or your lawyer that there is evidence on the computer.

[contrex]

However, if you find anything, it still may not hold any value in court because the jury wouldn't know for sure if you planted the images and/or videos on the computer. The best bet is to send it to a professional or to tell the  judge or your lawyer that there is evidence on the computer.

That's twice now that point has been made. It's no good just finding it, you have to do it the right way.

[MomNEEDShelp]

I am sorry. I did not think my last reply was considered yelling. (I am new here. No offence meant) I was simply stating that I need help finding hidden files. Maybe I should not have said why. I just thought stating the need would help someone know better where to help me look.

I thought there was a way to show time/date stamps on all files created. I also thought these things were not able to be edited.

I know I will need a professional to be able to use this in court, but if I could tell them where to look, the final cost would be less because they would have had to spend less hours searching.

My story is not that cut and dry. There is much more that does not need to be discussed here. I was just here for hidden file help.

My guess is there is no easy fix. I will have to wait till I have some extra money to hire a professional.

Thanks to all who have tried, I really appreciate it very much.

[michaewlewis]

If you did find a whole bunch of files and then told a professional, he would still do a complete search of the computer.

[Fed]

Have you used your computer's search function?
What did you search for and what were the results?
Did you set your computer to show hidden files and folders?
Do you have admin rights?

[MomNEEDShelp]

Yes, I did a search and searched for hidden files and folders. No luck.

Admin rights? I can tell you I legally own this computer now.

Thanks fo all your help (FED)

[Fed]

But what did you type into the seach field?
Hopefully things like *.zip *.jpg *.gif and of course quarantine.
You should have received many results from these searches but it wouldn't take long to scroll through them looking for key file names like 3746365896.

[CBMatt]

I don't really care what the motives here are.  The guy's pictures probably weren't illegal.  If a judge determines that they are...great for your case.  If not...no harm done.

There isn't really a whole lot we can do from here, however, especially if anything is password protected.  I suggest you use the search function, like has been suggested above (look for *.rar in addition to zips).  You might also want to install Picasa, which will search for all pictures on your computer.  I think this is probably the best we can do for you.

I am sure the porn is NOT spam nor something he accidentally came across. How do I know this?? Because I checked his cookies. There are tons of web addresses, with dates and time stamps.

That actually doesn't mean anything, because the cookies could have been from advertisements.  You don't only get them from visiting a site.  But like I said, whether or not he actually did anything wrong isn't much of a concern to me.

[street1 (RIP)]

This makes me think a second hard drive....which could be bought cheap.

Set it as master and don't use the one with evidence...Perhaps,maybe,
really,indeed,of course.