Lost puppy

[IrishAyes]

I lost a very precious, extensive set of bookmarks last week when I re-installed a fresh Windows 7 OS on my computer. Didn't think to save those bookmarks first (also had to install a new Chrome browser) and no one on the regular Chrome help community has answered my question: Is there any way to recover those bookmarks? They're not in old windows, and previous restore points no longer exist either. Does Google Chrome archive my bookmarks anywhere?

I also lost track of a cloud account in which I'd posted pictures several years ago and can't find anyone to tell me if there's a ghost of a chance of retrieving that, or how. Or where. I haven't found Google helpful about anything.

[ohheckyeah]

1. From what I see...

Google Chrome does not archive your bookmarks anywhere.

Sorry - I think you are out of luck.

[RC]

2. Those bookmarks are long gone.

Your best bet is to try Googling/surfing to those sites you remember and book-mark them, before your memory fades to much.

[RILib]

3. random thoughts

Does installing a fresh Windows 7 OS wipe this disk completely?

Does installing a new Chrome browser wipe the chrome area?

Firefox saves backup copies of bookmarks, several sets. For Firefox on my system they are at C:\Documents and Settings\myname\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\something or other\bookmarkbackups\ I would set see hidden files and then rummage in Application Data or whatever Windows 7 calls it.

Be careful about opening Chrome in the mean time, as Firefox overwrites one set of backup bookmarks every time it is opened.

Obligatory remark: do you not do at least weekly backups?

[IrishAyes]

4. Thanks

Obligatory answer: Yes. Sometmes.

The reason I reinstalled Win7 from scratch was because my hard drive was too full to suit my tastes. I actually thought I had transferred all the bookmarks to disc before starting this, but apparently I missed a big batch somehow. Still missing a few pictures, too. After the fresh installation I'd planned to open a new cloud account and keep my bookmark and photo backups there in the future. Unfortunately I was a few days late and a few $ short. This urge for electronic housecleaning also struck at the worst possible time to indulge, when I suddenly found myself up to my ears in alligators about other things. Considering how much could've gone wrong, I know I got off somewhat easily. My docs are always just copies of things I wrote elsewhere, like email and DU; so they're never hard to find somewhere. I'm very glad DU lets us keep a journal here - I add to it virtually everything except the most cryptic remarks.

None of this stuff had to do with business. A lot of the bookmarks value to me was as a reading list for things I found when in a hurry. Also shopping archives, because I have unusual tastes and some things I want aren't available on every website. The larger and less urgent items generally have to wait up to a year or even more before I can dream of buying them since I have such an aversion to debt. I'm one of those nuts who pays everything off every month. I'd consider carrying cc debt on something like a first edition of Michael Collins' only book, with verified signature - which I once did - but that's what it would take.

But I digress as usual. I'll try your suggested steps and see what happens. Some of my 'lost' stuff I found in the Sent folder of my email because I tend to share a lot of pictures. If the rest are never recovered and if I can't find some special shopping item on my want list, I guess I'll have been refreshed on a hard lesson long forgot. But I appreciate everyone's efforts to help me.