IE& Crashes, Documents Folder Empty

Earlier today, for no reason as far as I know, I lost IE7. I could not open it even after rebooting 4 times. I also could not access any files on desktop that needed IE to work. Using FireFox I accessed the Microsoft website & downloaded IE8. I seem to have everything back except the Documents folder. The folder icon is on desktop but it's empty. I didn't have a lot of files in there but I do need the ones I did have. Are the files that were in this folder hiding somewhere else on the computer? Is there any way I can recover the missing files? I had intended to reinstall IE7 but that option was not available on the Microsoft side.

 

And the documents folder isn't accessible from anywhere else? From the start menu or C:\Users\YOU\Documents.

 

The Documents folder is there but it's empty. None of the files that were in the folder before IE7 crashed are there.

 

See if this gives you any results:
click on Start>My Documents. When you do this, what do you get?
If this gives you success you can create a new icon for the desk top...
Vicks

 

I get nothing. The Documents file will not open.

 

I tried Recuva. It didn't find the files.

 

Just to clarify. The document folder is empty or it wont open? Two different problems with two different solutions.

 

There is a Documents file - there is nothing in it. I don't know if it's a separate folder than what I had w/IE7 or it's the same folder w/all the files missing.

 

No problem. I hadn't checked that actually. I just did - files still missing. Is there a way to get rid of IE8 & reinstall IE7 or has MS made that impossible? I don't know if it would help or not. I'm also now not able to open my BookSmart software (photobook site) that ran perfectly before the crash. The BookSmartDataFile was in the Documents folder. I'm still waiting for BookSmart customer service to respond to my emails. Thx

 

I tried but it didn't work. Actually, I've had this computer w/Vista since June 2008 & I've never been able to use System Restore. Can someone tell me how I can uninstall IE8 which will supposedly automatically give me back IE7? I've found various blogs that say IE8 is an update, not a download & you need to find it in updates to uninstall it. I can't find the uninstall option anywhere. IE8 is not listed as a program, it's not showing up anywhere in Downloads. It's not on a list of files that can be Removed. I tried to find help on the Microsoft site but they want $50 just to email someone. What a ripoff!! This has been a hellish 2 days & I still think IE8 has something to do w/the problems w/my BookSmart software altho their technie doesn't think so but his instructions to get access to the site didn't work either.

 

It's obvious that the files in My Documents folder are gone forever. I had also lost access to the Blurb BookSmart website & the 2 photobooks I was working on. Blurb Customer Support told me that Blurb does not support IE8 which is why I couldn't access it. I also have FireFox on my computer & I was able to download the book site from there. I'm now redoing from scratch the 2 books I was working on. I've tried to find out if it's possible to uninstall IE8 & go back to IE7 but I think Microsoft has made that impossible. IE8 is not considered a program - it's an update. I have been unable to find IE8 listed anywhere on the computer. It's not in programs or downloads. I guess I have to live w/IE8. I want to thank everyone who offered me advice on how I might fix the problem. I apprecaite it very much.