Hmmmm. I use YM 8.1x and have one main Yahoo ID but also one other that I occasionally use. I've never lost anything from either ID. I just checked and everything is still where it's supposed to be. I also use these two ID's on my other computers... Windows XP and Vista H.P. from time to time.
The archives are kept on the actual computer, where the chat took place, whereas the friends list is kept on Yahoo servers. Where there is always the possibility that Yahoo servers could have a glitch and one would not see their friends list (although I haven't seen this personally)... Yahoo has published that they are moving their server farms around and will have glitches from time to time... the archives should still be on the host computer. The default location for a YM user's archived chats is: C:\Program Files\Yahoo!\Messenger\Profiles\(Your Yahoo ID)\Archive (then there is a Messages folder and a Conferences folder) You can look at the list of DAT files with Yahoo ID names and dates but you cannot actually read any of the files from Windows. Besides the YM archive DAT file reader built into YM, there are a couple of 3rd party apps for reading archive DAT files. Check to see if they are there. If they are not there, check the Recycle Bin (hopefully it hasn't been emptied since the archives disappeared), since inadvertently deleting this folder would place it in the Recycle Bin. Another possibility is that your YM was hacked or got a virus that did the nasty deeds. I have been seeing quite a few of my YM friends with the YM virus/trojan that sends out SPIM (Spam IM's) to me and I'm sure every one else on their friends list. The SPIM is a paragraph about some weight loss berries and a link to a website. If someone falls for the SPIM and visits the website, they will also get infected unless their computer is properly secured. Another possibility is that someone cracked your password and signed in on their computer and deleted all of your friends.... but they would have to hack your computer in order to delete your archive files. Is your computer secure? Good firewall, antivirus, antispyware, etc? I use Comodo Internet Security as my first line of defense.. set the Firewall and Proactive Defense levels to Safe Mode and they will catch/block 99.9% of stuff. I also run SpywareBlaster and update it weekly. Also Spybot and update weekly and Immunize each time. Also MalwareBytes Anti-Malware and A-Squared FREE for weekly scans just to make sure every thing else is working. Occasional online scans. All of these are FREE and either these or comparable security programs should be used by ALL computer users who get on the internet. Last but not least, this is another reason why folks should back up their computer files. I have been using Mozy https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI for many years, even Beta testing it in the beginning. Check it out. Everyone should be backing up their computers and files in some manner. The first 2 gigs of backup are FREE. Unlimited file backup is only $4.95 a month. I use the FREE version on a couple of my computers and the paid version only on my main computer where I keep 99% of my files. Lenny Vasbinder http://lennyvasbinder.blogspot.com FREE and automatic online remote backup of your documents, photos and files... https://mozy.com/?ref=SY4ZSI Check out how simple and secure it can be to use the Mozy remote backup system. Mozy will back up your most important files and folders every day/night while you aren't using your computer. -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of whitney Sent: Monday, April 20, 2009 9:00 AM To: [email protected] Subject: [Y!M] I've lost my contacts list. There are two users on this computer. User 1 was logged on, then got logged off and user 2 logged on. After a bit of time, User 2 was logged off, and User 1 logged back on. When that happened, the entire contact list for User 1 was gone, as well as all archived conversations. Any idea what could have happened? It's YIM 8, on a XP OS.
