Recover files after clean install to Windows 7

[premi]

A local computer place convinced me not to do an upgrade but do a clean install. OK but now I am having trouble finding my files and when I do I'm not certain how to recover them.
EG found Outlook Back Up file folder.
Backup Office Data File 317,457 KB
Contacts. Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Value File 126 KB
Contacts. Office Data File 1,505 KB

How can I recover all the information to Outlook?

Some files parked in "Local Disk (C:). Users. Admin. My Documents.
My Music files and My Pictures contain no files but I found my Pictures in another file.
I realise I shall probably have to get some one with knowledge to try to sort it out but I would like to see if I can recover Outlook files

Suggestions appreciated

[Transfusion]

Did you do the clean install to the same partition as your original Windows Installation? If so there should be a "Windows.old" folder in the root of your C: Drive where your original Windows installation(and your documents) should be preserved.

[premi]

Thanks Transfusion

The install was done by the computer shop.Have been unable to locate a "Windows.old" folder, just a "Windows" folder containing many files which have no meaning for me!

[Transfusion]

A "clean install" is when you wipe your hard drive and install a fresh Operating System on it to ensure that no errors persist if you upgrade from an older operating system.
The best thing to do would be to contact the computer store and ask if they have done any backups of your data.

EG found Outlook Back Up file folder.
Backup Office Data File 317,457 KB
Contacts. Microsoft Office Excel Comma Separated Value File 126 KB
Contacts. Office Data File 1,505 KB

How can I recover all the information to Outlook?

A "Comma Separated Value" file can be opened by Notepad.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comma-separated_values

[premi]

Thanks Transfusion

I'm familiar with a "clean install"operation. The computer shop told me they would back up the files before installing Win7, preiously Vista, and they appear to have done so but they are all over the place on my computer. As far as they are concerned they have done what they said thy would do and I wouldn't trust them with the computer any way!
My main concern is to recover my Outlook files (ref above) and to find out how to do that as well as other files I come across !
I appreciate its probably a "hands on" situation.

[Transfusion]

Are you not able to open the backups of the files by simply double-clicking on them? If not, try renaming the file extensions to the corresponding file type.


If the PC repair shop simply scattered your backup data all over your hard drive, recovery will be pretty difficult...

[soybean]

For your Outlook data, do a search on *.pst.  That should find your Outlook data if, indeed, they restored it to some location on your hard drive.