Aino Minako-chan

A quick question for the more computer inclined (or at least a question for people who are not at work and have time for Google Fu):

Apparently my parents' computer crashed while Dad was at home, so he went ahead and immediately reinstalled Windows. (I tried to not start shrieking "data recovery" at the top of my lungs when I read this email.) Anyway, I've got a couple questions, just curious if any computer gurus on my FL have the info on hand:

1. What's the simplest way to copy music from an iPod back onto the PC? I'd prefer a free method, but I had to write a mini-manual to explain to my mother how to rip a CD, so probably the simplest method is the best.

2. Does anyone know of data recovery methods that my parents could try? All I know about the situation is that my Dad went outside to do some work, came back in, and the screen said he had to re-install Windows, so that's exactly what he did. (I'm baffled both by the fact that Daddy knew where the original Windows install disks were and that he managed to install it correctly by himself.) Mommy said that there's nothing on the computer anymore, but there's a good chance that there's still something somewhere, right? I'm sure that they'd be happy if there was an easy method they could use to at least recover some of the information; Dad said he had backed up a lot of files, but they're both missing (and I mean missing in every sense of the word) their address books.

Big hugs to anyone who can help!