Copying files in Recovery Console (no Xcopy?)

  • Thread starter Thread starter No Such Luck
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No Such Luck

Hi All:

I recently had a laptop running Win XP. It will no longer boot in safe
mode, safemode with networking... anything. It has been like this for
weeks, and after many attempts, I am passed the point of trying to save
the installation of windows. What I'd like to do is unload the contents
of the disk to an external hard drive, and reinstall Windows on the
laptop using the factory restore disks.

I can boot to Recovery Console using the XP setup CD, and from there
can access all the files and directories on the disk. The external
harddrive has been formatted NTFS, and is also recognized in RC. Using
copy, I can copy files to from the hard drive to the external
harddrive. However, I don't want to have to manually do this for every
directory and subdirectory.

Xcopy.exe is present in c:\windows\system32, however it is not
recognized in this directory, even when called by absolute path. I've
even copied the exe to the root of both the hard drive and the external
hard drive, referencing is by absolute path, and it's still not
recognized.

What can I do to get Xcopy to function in Recovery Console? And if not,
what method is there in RC to copy all directories and subdirectories
from one hard disk to another?

Thanks for any help. It feels foolish to be so close to accessing the
data, and to be held up by something as stupid as this.
 
No said:
Hi All:

I recently had a laptop running Win XP. It will no longer boot in safe
mode, safemode with networking... anything. It has been like this for
weeks, and after many attempts, I am passed the point of trying to save
the installation of windows. What I'd like to do is unload the contents
of the disk to an external hard drive, and reinstall Windows on the
laptop using the factory restore disks.

I can boot to Recovery Console using the XP setup CD, and from there
can access all the files and directories on the disk. The external
harddrive has been formatted NTFS, and is also recognized in RC. Using
copy, I can copy files to from the hard drive to the external
harddrive. However, I don't want to have to manually do this for every
directory and subdirectory.

Xcopy.exe is present in c:\windows\system32, however it is not
recognized in this directory, even when called by absolute path. I've
even copied the exe to the root of both the hard drive and the external
hard drive, referencing is by absolute path, and it's still not
recognized.

What can I do to get Xcopy to function in Recovery Console? And if not,
what method is there in RC to copy all directories and subdirectories
from one hard disk to another?

Thanks for any help. It feels foolish to be so close to accessing the
data, and to be held up by something as stupid as this.
Click to expand...

One option is to use an adaptor and slave the drive to another XP
computer, then copy the data.
 
No Such Luck said:
Hi All:

I recently had a laptop running Win XP. It will no longer boot in safe
mode, safemode with networking... anything. It has been like this for
weeks, and after many attempts, I am passed the point of trying to save
the installation of windows. What I'd like to do is unload the contents
of the disk to an external hard drive, and reinstall Windows on the
laptop using the factory restore disks.

I can boot to Recovery Console using the XP setup CD, and from there
can access all the files and directories on the disk. The external
harddrive has been formatted NTFS, and is also recognized in RC. Using
copy, I can copy files to from the hard drive to the external
harddrive. However, I don't want to have to manually do this for every
directory and subdirectory.

Xcopy.exe is present in c:\windows\system32, however it is not
recognized in this directory, even when called by absolute path. I've
even copied the exe to the root of both the hard drive and the external
hard drive, referencing is by absolute path, and it's still not
recognized.

What can I do to get Xcopy to function in Recovery Console? And if not,
what method is there in RC to copy all directories and subdirectories
from one hard disk to another?

Thanks for any help. It feels foolish to be so close to accessing the
data, and to be held up by something as stupid as this.
Click to expand...

Another option is to boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD
(http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/#download), then use xcopy to
copy your files. Manufacturing such a CD is a somewhat
time-consuming process but it is a very handy tool to have.

The overall issue is, of course, that all important files must
be backed up to an independent medium at regular intervals,
e.g. weekly. Doing this prevents this issue from arising.
 
Hi All:

I recently had a laptop running Win XP. It will no longer boot in safe
mode, safemode with networking... anything. It has been like this for
weeks, and after many attempts, I am passed the point of trying to save
the installation of windows. What I'd like to do is unload the contents
of the disk to an external hard drive, and reinstall Windows on the
laptop using the factory restore disks.

I can boot to Recovery Console using the XP setup CD, and from there
can access all the files and directories on the disk. The external
harddrive has been formatted NTFS, and is also recognized in RC. Using
copy, I can copy files to from the hard drive to the external
harddrive. However, I don't want to have to manually do this for every
directory and subdirectory.

Xcopy.exe is present in c:\windows\system32, however it is not
recognized in this directory, even when called by absolute path. I've
even copied the exe to the root of both the hard drive and the external
hard drive, referencing is by absolute path, and it's still not
recognized.

What can I do to get Xcopy to function in Recovery Console? And if not,
what method is there in RC to copy all directories and subdirectories
from one hard disk to another?

Thanks for any help. It feels foolish to be so close to accessing the
data, and to be held up by something as stupid as this.
Click to expand...


not to be snippy, but perhaps now you begin to understand
the importance of keeping everything backed up.

My computer gets so flaky, and I "get so busy", that it has
literally taken me over a YEAR to actually, finally get 1
CURRENT backup of everything. But I finally did it. It's
already a week old, but the IMPORTANT stuff is now on 9
disks, and the 3 most current are "complete'.

I have ye to get my dozen or so images all reduced to the
"key 3 or key 4", but that's not NEARLY as important as my
docs. (I'm a writer)

Back to you...

an interim step before fdisking and reformatting ...

Have you tried merely a RE-Install OVER the old copy of XP?

not saying it's going to work.

But if you have critical stuff to backup that you haven't
backed up, a re-install without formatting is definitely an
in between step to try..

I'd say 2 of the 5 times I've tried a re-install over a
corrupt copy of XP, it worked, and got me back up long
enough to get a GOOD backup onto an external HDD.

But I HIGHLY recommend the external (usb) HDD ANYWAY. It's
an EXCELLENT quick-and-dirty solution.

I also HIGHLY recommend that you hop onto eBay and grab an
external 250 mb usb Zip drive.

I just got one, and WHEN I NEED a "quick, reliable" backup
of 50 documents, or 5 new utilities, I pop a 250 mb Zip disk
in, and Zip-- I'm backed up.

Remember it's magnetic!

But it WORKS for what it does!


Good luck!

Tallahassee
 
Another option is to boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD
(http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/#download), then use xcopy to
copy your files. Manufacturing such a CD is a somewhat
time-consuming process but it is a very handy tool to have.
Click to expand...

And here's one more way to get the data off - with Knoppix, a Linux
distro on a live cd. You will need a computer with two cd drives, one
of which is a cd/dvd-rw OR a usb thumb drive with enough capacity to
hold your data. To get Knoppix, you need a computer with a fast
Internet connection and third-party burning software. Download the
Knoppix .iso from www.knoppix.net and create your bootable cd. Then
boot with it and it will be able to see the Windows files. If you are
using the usb thumb drive, right-click on its icon (on the Desktop) to
get its properties and uncheck the box that says "Read Only". Then
click on it to open it. Note that the default mouse action in the
window manager used by Knoppix (KDE) is a single click to open instead
of the traditional MS Windows' double-click. Otherwise, use the K3b
burning program to burn the files to cd/dvd-r's.

Good luck,

Malke
 
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