I seem to have a problem and I need some advice on recovery of lost information ...?

Question

WHAT A BONEHEAD !!!! As it turns out , I accidentally erased my disk which contained all of the software product information files, which includes the product code or serial numbers required for installation. I'm no moron and have a hard copy back-up...or so I thought. The location I chose for storage was unfortunately damaged by a leak and all of the data ( written in ink ) is now too faded to decipher. Some programs had been registered with the software companies and others were put on the, "I'll Do It Later" , stack. Guess what .................? So any advice would be most generous and greatly appreciated.

WHAT ? I'm the only person this has ever happened to ? Now that makes me feel special .

Thanks to the only two(2) other people on the planet to have ever lost any data in cyberspace. Perhaps I'll interest Keaneu enough to take me to see Morpheus for the answers to my lost information. Somehere in the technoplasm lies the answers to the reasons behind computer-ilogic,as I call it out of respect. Answers to the question of why it is that Windows will often reply to a request as: "Windows does not recognize the word "TASK". To me that is remarkable when considering the word 'task' is only used 1000 times in their operation system. What about the reasons for many files that reveal ,"UNKNOWN APPLICATION" , in the property values. If this were simply a hidden file that were snuck in via a download , I'd understand but when it is a part of the data that came with the XP operating system and Microsoft doesn't know the applicational integrity of the file....I want answers. I will find the truth. For now, I'll make my choice for best answer and will wish continued good luck to all

Answer 1

You might want to try a data recovery software like StompSoft's Recover Lost Data. This application will allow to retrieve data from the following media types: IDE, SCSI, Serial ATA (SATA),
RAID, External Hard Drives, USB Pen Drives, Digital Media (CompactFlash, SmartMedia, flash memory, memory sticks),
FAT16, FAT32 and NTFS Drives, Floppy Diskettes and Jaz/Zip removable media. Y

You can download a free demo just to see if it would work for your situation

Answer 2

download Belarc advisor

it will pull up all registered cd keys on your current system from the registry.

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

you can save and print the report.
Good Luck