Those of you who know me know I care for my elderly mother.. This is a family project.. Both my younger sisters help.. One sister pays for my ISP, which is MSN,, I was having a problem with my my e-mail crashing when I open attechments.. So, I called their tech support for help.. After several attempts to "fix" the problem, none of which worked I was moved up to a supervisor.. He took me through several steps.. I won't go into detail as it would take too much space.. The upshot of it was he had me delete all my image files.. I have tried several file recovery programs.. Nothing seems to be able to find them, so I asked for compensation.. I was offered one month of free service.. When I refused that they sent me on to the legal department.. They won't talk to me, because I'm not a lawyer.. So my friends, beware the Giant Microsoft.. It cheats it's customers.. Oh, yes.. MSN still crashes when I open attachemnts.. Poor Morwyn has to start over again..

customer service is dead .... remember when they used to check your oil, clean your windows while pumping 35 cent gas into your tank ... smiling the whole time

er .. not Microsoft .. the gas station people .. ;o)

Thanks.. I remember those days.. If I had a choice I would dump MSN.. MSN tech is extremely good at cleaning out your hard drive.

I hope you folks are reading this and passing the word on just how badly Microsoft treats their customers..

I am very anti M$. I don't know what you have tried to recover your lost files, but there are some very good programs...however, if you have done a bunch of stuff, it will be much harder for them to be recovered. I'll talk with my geek friends and see what they would suggest for you. Good luck...and don't worry, I never say anything good about M$!!!

Thanks..Spread the word..

Please read and spread the word.. Microsoft destroys my art, and refuses to pay decent compensation..

I take it you didn't have them backed up? Did the supervisor ask you about their backup status when he told you to delete them?

No he didn't..What he had me do was create a new profile, then cut and paste the My Pictures folder into that new profile.. When that didn't fix the problem, I told him I didn't want the second profile.. It was taking space on my hard drive I couldn't affort to use.. That I wanted to put the computer back the way it was, he told me just to delete the profile.. I was part way through the process, when it hit me what was happening.. That's when he hung up on me.. I hadn't made any backups since early December.. Because the idiot told me to cut and paste, not copy and paste.. I trusted MNS techs to help me not destroy months of work.. I wish I know more about computers.. If I had it never would have happened.. I hadn't made backups because I didn't have the money for the disks.. MSN has admitted fault, but their lawyers won't talk to me.. They only talk to other lawyers..

Ahhh ... but, with the 'news' on your side, perhaps they will.

I am not sure about whether you have some consumer advocates in your area Ann, but, we do have a number available in mine. There is the newspaper and then TV. Annnnd ...

Since everyone loves a David and Goliath story, particularly where the individual concerned is "a retired small business owner caring for her mother" ... sounds like they would jump at the opportunity to put some egg on Uncle Bill's face.

Go here for some political clout and possible advice. Here's another (not sure if these are one and the same):

CONSUMER PROTECTION DIVISION
Attorney General's Office
670 Law Building
P.O. Box 30213
Lansing, MI 48909
Ph: (517) 373-1140

Hours: 8:00 - 12 noon and 1:00 -5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.

Services: Handles consumer complaints in areas such as retail, advertising, landlord/tenant, manufacturer warranties, or can refer cases to appropriate agency. Can take legal action against companies, etc. Free pamphlets are available.

Eligibility: No restrictions.

Cost: All services free of charge.

Then check your local TV stations and newspapers for additional troops.

Keep the faith and don't give up. I am sorry for your loss as I can only imagine what it means to you.

Thanks fior the information.. So far the local tv doesn't seem interested.. I just think it's rude of Microsoft to not return my calls..