Lost all files from upgrade

[Whitmore6]

Yet another problem with a computer i have.

i recently upgraded to vista ultimate and basicly my laptop is ... screwd=[

after the hours of waiting for it to install it finaly reboots for the last time and on reboot my screen size is a few inches smaller with back strips down each side of say an inch each side.
ontop of all that i have lost all my old files and programs which are pretty important as it is all my school stuff.
(when i say lost eveything is ina folder called windows.old and cannot be moved or anything-not good):(

I desperatly need help with this, anyone?
Thanks

[jonwoad]

you should be able to access files from that folder assuming it has got all your important documents in it...

moral of the story is to always keep a backup of your things before you do anything like that.

[wonderlust]

you may need to run explorer as an admin,

the shortcut to explorer is under accessories, right click on it and you should find run as admin,

then attempt to access your docs

[jonwoad]

then get yourself a pen drive or an external hard drive to keep a back up of things on :)

[Monkey]

And the black lines at the side probably means you need to change the resolution to its max supported resolution

[O.G.C.]

blak lines is commmon sometimes when i play games with my old pc
just press auto adjsut al monister have it aoutimatically scale screen to right size

[Whitmore6]

dont worry lads i sorted it *phew*

thanks loads