Fran, I know the feeling personally. I had a laptop stolen out of my car a few years back. You come upon the scene and feel violated. In my case, not only was the laptop missing, but I had a broken window as well to get repaired. What Peggy said is true. At that time, I search the local trash bin and found the carry case. They had extracted the charging unit and left everything else. Since that point in time, I password protect the BIOS of my laptop. That way, should lowlife steal the laptop, they will be locked out and changing the hard drive will not fix the situation for them. Basically, without the password, the laptop is a hunk of junk. Good luck recovering your efforts!

Didn't you know that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. That's why eyedrops and rose-colored glasses are needed.