# Retrieving lost data from Google's cache **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 19, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479 "2008-11-19T17:31:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479/1 "2008-11-19T17:31:10Z")
Long, Pit-worthy story short: someone attempted to update a PHP-Fuzion forum to the latest version and bollixed it up. They claim that the user date–IE, two years of posts–on their end is completely gone. I’m leaving aside any question of whether they should have backed things up, because. . .well, it’s gone now. Damage done either way. I have a good enough memory that I can remember phrases to google, and, when I _do_ google them, I come up with the sites in question. However, when I try to view the cached pages, I get this sort of message: > [@](#): > > Your search - cache:A4Dbcn9Vc3YJ:www.ccs-gametech.com/forum/viewthread.php?forum\_id=27&thread\_id=2487 site:www.ccs-gametech.com whispering veil gabriel - did not match any documents. Now, the text–which is what I am wanting–is obviously there in some form, since I can search it to come up with the page in question. Is there any way that I can access just the text that they’re using to search? I imagine it has to be there if Google can search it; I’m just a a novice. My Google-Fu is weak. Help. (Also, if anyone knows a better way to search Temporary Internet Files, that’d be awesome, too). ---
**Author:** ![Roland\_Orzabal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c2a13f/32.png) [@Roland\_Orzabal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roland_Orzabal)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479/2 "2008-11-19T20:19:24Z")
Try plugging the URL of the site itself (not the Google cache) into the Internet Archive’s [Wayback Machine](http://www.archive.org/web/web.php). I’ve used it to recover many an article that was otherwise lost to the sands of time. As for searching temporary internet files, you can point [Google desktop](http://desktop.google.com/) at your TIF folder (generally _C:\Documents and Settings<username\>\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files_ in XP, or _C:\Users<username\>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files_ in Vista) to search by title, content, or both. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479/3 "2008-11-19T21:12:04Z")
It has happened to me that when I click to see the cached copy of a page in google it tells me it does not exist. I don’t get it. How can it tell me the page is there and give me a snippet but then tell me it’s not there? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2008, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479/4 "2008-11-19T21:30:28Z")
> [@Roland\_Orzabal](#): > > Try plugging the URL of the site itself (not the Google cache) into the Internet Archive’s [Wayback Machine](http://www.archive.org/web/web.php). I’ve used it to recover many an article that was otherwise lost to the sands of time. Woot! Thanks for that. I pay for webspace on a university server here and they decided to retire the one that has been serving my personal webpage since Mosaic V1.0. I managed to tar up my entire site and move it to a new server. The very first attempt at editing my old pages only managed to clobber my home page due to some SFTP snafu. You’d think I’d be able to find a backup copy of a document that has been around for more than a decade but you’d be wrong. Not even Google had an archive copy of that page, some of the others but not this one. The Wayback Machine served up every version of it since Dec 1st 1998. Cool. ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2008, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/retrieving-lost-data-from-googles-cache/473479/5 "2008-11-20T15:33:24Z")
I tried the Wayback machine already, but. . .no dice. It apparently never made it to the damned page. The problem I have is the one **sailor** does–it’s obviously searching the text, so it has access to it. . .but it can’t show me? Bleh.