So, I went to my My Pictures folder to do a bit of arranging when I noticed one of my sub-folders was missing. It's not one I would have ever, in any sane state of mind, deleted, but it was neither hidden nor, as far as I can tell, moved. That particular folder was aptly named 2006, as it was the archive of all photographs I'd taken this year, and I have no idea what happened to it. A diagnostic of my drives tells me they are free of viruses and spyware. My account is password protected and I don't really think anyone would want to delete it anyway, but this leaves me with the question of what happened to it. At the very least, I have the consolation that some of the pictures were backed up, but that is some and not all, and it upsets me to lose even a simple image I would have preferred to keep.
