Upgraded iPhone 3GS to iOS5 software on PC, backed up everything - but all my contacts are gone. Why is this, and how can I retrieve my precious contacts that I saved before the upgrade?

I seriously need these contacts back, because I forgot some of the numbers, fearing that I will never be able to reach such people again unless I meet them in person. This is tragic! Should I go to an AT&T retailer? The Apple store?

When my phone restarted during the upgrade, I merged everything to the iCloud - and the contacts were gone there, too. I had to manually re-add the contacts whose numbers I remembered!

As for those I didn't remember...here's the tragedy. It blatantly says, on "iOS: How to Back Up" that my device settings would be saved, including the 20+ contacts I had saved prior to the upgrade. All my device settings came back, except for the contacts. I don't even know the numbers to some, and now I feel completely hopeless. Is there a solution?

Contacts are AWOL - need them back!🙂

I tried all "possible" ways to recover them (including "import SIM contacts")...and they all failed. =(

I can only back-up to points after the upgrade. Shame. These contacts cannot be gone forever!!

Thank you for your help))

-Masha