How do I retrieve or restore a deleted chat log archive?

Hi!
I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily deleted half
of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How do I
restore or retrieve the missing conversation?

Thanks for your help.

Greetings,

My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature and use Messenger
Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only will it save logs as
the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed) but it also saves
the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation. Additionally, Messenger
restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus does not have this
restriction either.

If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to run a file
undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista Ultimate you can also
use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see the path of the
history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing Tools, then Options,
choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this folder' text field.

If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the exception of the Vista
Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it elsewhere), you
won't be able to get that back.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
Associate Expert
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
--






"A Mother" <A > wrote in message
news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
> Hi!
> I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
> restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily deleted half
> of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How do I
> restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
>
> Thanks for your help.

Hello Mr. Kay,

Quick question, I've ran the undeleter/restorer but couldn't find the
deleted HTML Windows live messenger chat log...I actually couldn't find a
file with the same name as the original file. Do you know the format name
that it would be listed?

Are these by any chance stored elsewhere? online perhaps? or only on the
hard drive?

"Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:

> Greetings,
>
> My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature and use Messenger
> Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only will it save logs as
> the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed) but it also saves
> the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation. Additionally, Messenger
> restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus does not have this
> restriction either.
>
> If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to run a file
> undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista Ultimate you can also
> use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see the path of the
> history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing Tools, then Options,
> choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this folder' text field.
>
> If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the exception of the Vista
> Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it elsewhere), you
> won't be able to get that back.
>
> --
> Jonathan Kay
> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> Associate Expert
> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
> You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
> --
>
>
>
>
>
>
> "A Mother" <A > wrote in message
> news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
> > Hi!
> > I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
> > restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily deleted half
> > of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How do I
> > restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
> >
> > Thanks for your help.
>
>

Hi JG,

The message history files from Messenger (not Plus) are .XML files, however depending on how
"damaged" (that is, if any other files have overwritten it) the deleted file is, it may not
be there or be anything more that a non-named fragment. Also, if anything has overwritten
it, it's gone and won't be coming back. It's really a luck of the draw.

I'm afraid Microsoft doesn't store it on their end - well, at least not that they're about to
tell us or provide us access to.

--
Jonathan Kay
Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger
MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
MessengerGeek Blog: http://www.messengergeek.com
Messenger Resources: http://messenger.jonathankay.com
(c) 2010 Jonathan Kay - If redistributing, you must include this signature or citation
--


"JG" <> wrote in message
news:6F34E84B-9869-4FFC-A4A3-...
> Hello Mr. Kay,
>
> Quick question, I've ran the undeleter/restorer but couldn't find the
> deleted HTML Windows live messenger chat log...I actually couldn't find a
> file with the same name as the original file. Do you know the format name
> that it would be listed?
>
> Are these by any chance stored elsewhere? online perhaps? or only on the
> hard drive?
>
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> Greetings,
>>
>> My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature and use Messenger
>> Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only will it save logs
>> as
>> the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed) but it also
>> saves
>> the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation. Additionally, Messenger
>> restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus does not have this
>> restriction either.
>>
>> If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to run a file
>> undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista Ultimate you can
>> also
>> use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see the path of the
>> history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing Tools, then
>> Options,
>> choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this folder' text
>> field.
>>
>> If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the exception of the Vista
>> Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it elsewhere), you
>> won't be able to get that back.
>>
>> --
>> Jonathan Kay
>> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
>> Associate Expert
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
>> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>> All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
>> You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "A Mother" <A > wrote in message
>> news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
>> > Hi!
>> > I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
>> > restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily deleted half
>> > of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How do I
>> > restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
>> >
>> > Thanks for your help.
>>
>>

Don't now sorry

"JG" <> wrote in message
news:6F34E84B-9869-4FFC-A4A3-...
> Hello Mr. Kay,
>
> Quick question, I've ran the undeleter/restorer but couldn't find the
> deleted HTML Windows live messenger chat log...I actually couldn't find a
> file with the same name as the original file. Do you know the format name
> that it would be listed?
>
> Are these by any chance stored elsewhere? online perhaps? or only on the
> hard drive?
>
> "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
>
>> Greetings,
>>
>> My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature
>> and use Messenger
>> Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only
>> will it save logs as
>> the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed)
>> but it also saves
>> the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation.
>> Additionally, Messenger
>> restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus
>> does not have this
>> restriction either.
>>
>> If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to
>> run a file
>> undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista
>> Ultimate you can also
>> use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see
>> the path of the
>> history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing
>> Tools, then Options,
>> choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this
>> folder' text field.
>>
>> If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the
>> exception of the Vista
>> Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it
>> elsewhere), you
>> won't be able to get that back.
>>
>> --
>> Jonathan Kay
>> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
>> Associate Expert
>> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
>> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
>> All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
>> You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> "A Mother" <A > wrote in message
>> news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
>> > Hi!
>> > I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
>> > restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily
>> > deleted half
>> > of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How
>> > do I
>> > restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
>> >
>> > Thanks for your help.
>>
>>

"jo" wrote:

> Don't now sorry
>
> "JG" <> wrote in message
> news:6F34E84B-9869-4FFC-A4A3-...
> > Hello Mr. Kay,
> >
> > Quick question, I've ran the undeleter/restorer but couldn't find the
> > deleted HTML Windows live messenger chat log...I actually couldn't find a
> > file with the same name as the original file. Do you know the format name
> > that it would be listed?
> >
> > Are these by any chance stored elsewhere? online perhaps? or only on the
> > hard drive?
> >
> > "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
> >
> >> Greetings,
> >>
> >> My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature
> >> and use Messenger
> >> Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only
> >> will it save logs as
> >> the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed)
> >> but it also saves
> >> the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation.
> >> Additionally, Messenger
> >> restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus
> >> does not have this
> >> restriction either.
> >>
> >> If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to
> >> run a file
> >> undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista
> >> Ultimate you can also
> >> use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see
> >> the path of the
> >> history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing
> >> Tools, then Options,
> >> choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this
> >> folder' text field.
> >>
> >> If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the
> >> exception of the Vista
> >> Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it
> >> elsewhere), you
> >> won't be able to get that back.
> >>
> >> --
> >> Jonathan Kay
> >> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> >> Associate Expert
> >> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> >> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> >> All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
> >> You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
> >> --
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >> "A Mother" <A > wrote in message
> >> news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
> >> > Hi!
> >> > I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
> >> > restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily
> >> > deleted half
> >> > of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How
> >> > do I
> >> > restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
> >> >
> >> > Thanks for your help.
> >>
> >> HI.
My name is Sati. i accidetly switched off my pc and found conversation chat
had got deleted. normammy, when u shut down a computer, all the history is
saved. in this case i shut it instantly. How can i retieve this conversation.
Thnaks in advance.
> .
>

"SATI" wrote:

>
>
> "jo" wrote:
>
> > Don't now sorry
> >
> > "JG" <> wrote in message
> > news:6F34E84B-9869-4FFC-A4A3-...
> > > Hello Mr. Kay,
> > >
> > > Quick question, I've ran the undeleter/restorer but couldn't find the
> > > deleted HTML Windows live messenger chat log...I actually couldn't find a
> > > file with the same name as the original file. Do you know the format name
> > > that it would be listed?
> > >
> > > Are these by any chance stored elsewhere? online perhaps? or only on the
> > > hard drive?
> > >
> > > "Jonathan Kay [MVP]" wrote:
> > >
> > >> Greetings,
> > >>
> > >> My first suggestion would be to stop using Messenger's history feature
> > >> and use Messenger
> > >> Plus! Live's log feature instead (http://www.msgpluslive.net). Not only
> > >> will it save logs as
> > >> the conversation is going (as opposed to when the conversation is closed)
> > >> but it also saves
> > >> the emoticons and other "rich" aspects of the conversation.
> > >> Additionally, Messenger
> > >> restricts its own conversation archives to 2MB in size; Messenger Plus
> > >> does not have this
> > >> restriction either.
> > >>
> > >> If you've deleted the archive; you've deleted the file and will have to
> > >> run a file
> > >> undeleter/restorer application. If you're using some versions of Vista
> > >> Ultimate you can also
> > >> use the Previous Versions feature to get it back. You can quickly see
> > >> the path of the
> > >> history files by pressing the Alt key in any Messenger window, choosing
> > >> Tools, then Options,
> > >> choose the Messages category and note the 'Save my conversations in this
> > >> folder' text field.
> > >>
> > >> If the file has been overwritten by a new conversation, with the
> > >> exception of the Vista
> > >> Previous Versions feature (where you could retrieve the data and save it
> > >> elsewhere), you
> > >> won't be able to get that back.
> > >>
> > >> --
> > >> Jonathan Kay
> > >> Microsoft MVP - Windows Live Messenger/MSN Messenger/Windows Messenger
> > >> Associate Expert
> > >> http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone/
> > >> Messenger Resources - http://messenger.jonathankay.com
> > >> All posts unless otherwise specified are (c) 2007 Jonathan Kay.
> > >> You *must* contact me for redistribution rights.
> > >> --
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >>
> > >> "A Mother" <A > wrote in message
> > >> news:7208C6B2-790E-4175-9533-...
> > >> > Hi!
> > >> > I accidentally deleted a messenger chat archive. How do I retrieve or
> > >> > restore it? Also, in a a separate problem, messenger voluntarily
> > >> > deleted half
> > >> > of a chat. It saved the first two hours but deleted the other hour. How
> > >> > do I
> > >> > restore or retrieve the missing conversation?
> > >> >
> > >> > Thanks for your help.
> > >>
> > >> HI.
> My name is Sati. i accidentally switched off my PC and found conversation chat
> had got deleted. normally, when u shut down a computer, all the history is
> saved. in this case i shut it instantly. How can i retrieve this conversation.
> Thanks in advance.
> > .
> >