Renamed a folder, now 90% of it's content are GONE! Please help!

[draperdrums]

I'm not sure where the right forum would be for this.
As the title says, just earlier today I changed a file from 'August Projects' to 'September Projects'.
A few hours later I went into the folder to arrange files and I noticed that instead of 40 or so file folders, there were only 6!!
What the hell? What could have happened here?

(I'm a musician/producer)
This is the most current/important things I have been working on, and it is imperative to recover these some how. I do not believe they are completely gone, just 'hidden'.


Please and thank you so much for any help- these files are a big part of the life I'm trying to create. I was JUST about to back everything up together on an external hard drive..

I'm running OSX 10.6.8

[Satcomer]

Change the name back to it's original name to see if this helps. Plus are you running a Time Machine backup?

[draperdrums]

I'm not using Time Machine (I didnt think I would ever need to, Mac is supposed to be somewhat trustworthy)

But I will try changing the filename back to the original and see what happens.

[draperdrums]

I tried changing the file name back to 'August Projects', as it was before. No luck, still no files.
The files that ARE still there are the first six in alphabetical order. Which makes less sense to me. Its not the most recent files or anything like that.

[MisterMe]

Files don't disappear because you renamed the folder that holds them. It is possible that your hard drive is having issues. However, it sounds more like you inadvertently moved the files. If this is the case, the files are probably lingering elsewhere on your hard drive--perhaps in plain sight. Use Spotlight to search for one of more of the files.

[jbarley]

I'm not using Time Machine (I didnt think I would ever need to, Mac is supposed to be somewhat trustworthy)

Mac computers usually are quite reliable, it's quite often the person using it that causes the problems, which is why backups are a good thing.
I doubt you ever heard anyone recommending not to back up.

[Doctor X]

I'm not using Time Machine (I didnt think I would ever need to, Mac is supposed to be somewhat trustworthy)

Indeed, but as jbarley has indicated, the vast majority of "problems" come from the user and you . . . yes . . . YOU! . . . admitted to causing the mistake!!11![!--Ed.]

A lot depends upon what files are. Some, like Adobe product, do not "wike" to have their folders renamed. The program in question cannot "find" them. Usually, however, that is not the case.

A couple of things already listed can be going on:

1. Failing Hard Drive
2. Volume corruption--not necessarily top choice.
3. You Did Something You Did Not Know You Did

Awesome

Right, we are not here to judge you . . . severely . . . we are here to help you. Most of us are HERE because WE did "something" and washed up in searching for answered to "WHAT THE FRELL HAPPENED."

This is what you must do:

1. Take $100 and get a BigAss External HD [Ex-HD--Ed.]
2. Obtain a Cloning Program: free Carbon Copy Cloner or not-so-free but excellent SuperDuper!

The reason for the above is to make a bootable clone of your system--"you." TimeMachine would not do this in the past so some of us never bothered. If that is no longer the case, you may get away with it. Basically, you want to be able to restart, hold down the Option key, and then boot to your clone.

Now you can do whatever you want. For example, I am cloning my Int-HD as we write ["We?"--Ed.] to see if I will like the FireFox latest update. I will boot to my clone. If I do not "wike it" I will ignore it.

The reason for all of this is IF it is a HD failing or volume corruption, you want "you"--your "stuff"--backed up. The diagnosis and correction of these things can make matters worse. In the case of a failing HD . . . when it fails . . . it fails. The good news is you can then boot to your clone, order your spanking brand new and AWESOME HD . . . still surf those highly embarrassing French Country Western music sites . . . and then when you replace the HD, you simply clone your clone to the HD.

3. Obtain the Free Program EasyFind--I find--see what I did there?--EF finds things faster and easier than Spotlight. IF it cannot find it . . . it is not there.

Assuming you do find the renamed files consider moving on to diagnose if you have an actual HD/volume problem. There are FAQs on that.

If you do not find them, then we have to move on to such. Let us know.

I highly doubt they are "gone" gone.

Let us know how you progress

--J.D.

[draperdrums]

I appreciate all the responses, even the sarcastic ones.
I've tried spotlight.

and no, this wouldn't be user error. I changed a folder name containing files. These are my MAIN WORK FILES. Its impossible I would have just moved them. I dont regularly suffer from amnesia.

They're most likely gone unless I spend 900-3000 on a hard drive extraction.
Apple is lucky I invested 1400 in my computer, or else it would have been out the window a long time ago (between the machine's performance, and the quality of apple's customer service/genius bar)

Sadness.