I'm stumped

i just got done reinstalling xp home now i can't find my files. i put them all in my documents before reinstalling and i did not reformat. also my drive (80 gig) only has 7 gig free (about where it was before reinstall).

does anyone have any idea where to look?

[edit] mostly i am more worried about the missing space :/
i really need it, i can't work with 7.17 gig out of 76
please help me if you have any information x/

Format. My Documents is empty'd during installation, I never suggest installing Windows over a existing Windows.

Should've made a Partition and placed your files there.

So I suggest, formatting and fully reinstalling.

Recall the name of a file that was in that My Documents folder. Run a search on the C: drive for that file. When it comes up on the result list, right-click on it and an option for "Open Containing Folder" should appear. There should be that file, and all the files with it.

I'm for the idea of not installing Windows over Windows. Usually if a person is at that stage it is much more beneficial to format and install fresh. Computers simply need a format every so often anyway as junk builds up over time. However I would always have an independant O/S partition, and a 'storage' partition where you keep all your files. Or at the very least can copy all your files to in the event of a reformat.

Even better - multiple HDDs. Or one step further, RAIDs. Okay, I'm getting out of scope now...

In the future I'd recommend creating a seperate Windows partition and a files partition, that way if you ever are completely screwed and need to reformat, you can just kill the Windows partition... the partition with your personal files will still be waiting for you when you get Windows loaded up again on its partition.