Urgent---> Lost or Deleted Section in OneNote Notebook

[chiron]

Help!!! I have a notebook set up on a networked drive that is shared by three
computers, each with OneNote on it. One of the sections in my notebook has
disappeared. I don't know how or why it disappeared. It is an improtant
section. None of the other sections are gone. I did not delete it (at least
not knowingly, and it requires a confirm to delete), but the section is gone.
When I opened OneNote on one of the three computers, the section was there
for a moment and then gone as though it had been deleted when the notebook
was updated from the network drive.

When I go to the network drive and look in the file where the notebook is
stored, there is a temp file with the name of the lost section. Can I use
this temp file to recover the lost section? Is there any other way to recover
a section lost from a network drive storage place? How could this possibly
have happened? I love OneNote, but I am scared to use it if it is going to
make my sections disappear or if it is possible for an experienced user to
delete a section unrecoverably without knowing that he is doing it.

Any help appreciated greatly.

Chiron

 

[Ilya Koulchin]

First thing you should do is try to open one of OneNote's automatic
backups. Go to File->Open Backup, and see if one of the three computers
has a recent backup. You may also be able to change the extension of the
temp file to .one, and OneNote might be able to open it in that case.

To determine what happened I'd need to know a few things about the
network storage:
Are you using Windows Offline Files, or any similar offline caching/sync
tool on the folder in question? If so, I'd recommend disabling them for
your OneNote notebooks, so that OneNote can handle the caching/sync itself.
Also, is the server where the notebooks stored a Windows machine, or
something else? There have been some reports that notebook optimization
might be hitting server errors on some Linux servers, which would
account for the creation of the temp file.

Ilya

 

[chiron]

thanks for both suggestions. i did recover a relatively recent backup on one
machine, but i would still like the version that disappeared. i am not usi9ng
windows offline files. the network drive is connected to my wireless router
and appears as a network device.

How do i change the file extension. obviously not with rename--it just
inserts the .one before the .tmp.

Peter

 

[Ilya Koulchin]

thanks for both suggestions. i did recover a relatively recent backup on one
machine, but i would still like the version that disappeared. i am not usi9ng
windows offline files. the network drive is connected to my wireless router
and appears as a network device.

How do i change the file extension. obviously not with rename--it just
inserts the .one before the .tmp.

You'll need to enable file extensions in explorer. Open up windows
explorer to the notebook folder, go into Tools->Folder Options, select
the View tab, and uncheck "Hide extensions for known file types". You
will then be able to change the extension directly. After you're done, I
recommend restoring the setting back to what it was.

If I may ask, which particular brand and model of the network drive are
you using?

Ilya

 

[chiron]

Thank you again. The network drive that I am using is a Buffalo Linkstation
(no other verbal designation), 300gb. I am running xp pro.

 

[Tier 3 Questions]

I have the same problem with my Buffalo TeraStation and renaming them
temporarily returns the section. If you then copy and paste the contents
into a newly created section, then the section renaming doesn't persist,
though it can occasionally still return.

 

[jmphd]

Chiron,
I know this is an old posting, but maybe you can help me. I actually
deleted a Section of a Notebook (I was working too fast and intended to
delete only a page...). You said in your posting that it required a confirm
to delete; I didn't get that prompt, the tab simply vanished! Any tips on
how to get it back? I created the notebook today and put a considerable
amount of information in it without exiting OneNote, so there's no back-up.
If OneNote 2007 allows you to simply delete things and never get them back
(no Undo, nothing), I'll have to reconsider using it...
Thanks for your help,
JM

 

[Stephen Giff(msft)]

I realize that this is an old posting, but a similar thing just happened to me.
After much panic, I eventually found the 'lost' notes in the 'Mislaced
Sections' folder.