Data Recovery from System Crash

[Guest]

I'm running the latest and updated copy of XP Pro. During a recent
application uninstall process via the control panel, the PC crashed (Dell
1.93 Mhz, 512 MB memory) and won't re-boot beyond the black screen with the
"safe mode"..."last known setting" selections. When any of these options is
selected, it recycles back to this screen.

That being said, how can I recover my data files on this drive? Does XP let
you reinstall from a down rev verison of the disk (no patches) to fix the
missing or corrupt registy keys/files? Can I reinstall XP without erasing
the data files by, perhaps, creating a new drive partition?

I'm less concerned about having to rebuild my operating system if i can
recover my data files first.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'm running the latest and updated copy of XP Pro. During a recent
application uninstall process via the control panel, the PC crashed (Dell
1.93 Mhz, 512 MB memory) and won't re-boot beyond the black screen with the
"safe mode"..."last known setting" selections. When any of these options is
selected, it recycles back to this screen.

That being said, how can I recover my data files on this drive? Does XP let
you reinstall from a down rev verison of the disk (no patches) to fix the
missing or corrupt registy keys/files? Can I reinstall XP without erasing
the data files by, perhaps, creating a new drive partition?

I'm less concerned about having to rebuild my operating system if i can
recover my data files first.

There are several safe ways to recover your data. Here are
two of them.

a) Temporarily install the disk as a slave disk in some other
WinXP/2000 PC, then copy the data to some other disk.
b) Boot the machine with a Bart PE boot CD
(www.bootdisk.com), then copy the data to some other
disk.

After saving your data, consider if you can afford to ignore
the basic rule of computing: That all important files must
be backed up to an independent medium at regular intervals,
e.g. once every week, rather than waiting until a disaster
strikes. A hard disk in an external USB case costs only a
moderate amount and is very easy to use.

 

[Malke]

I'm running the latest and updated copy of XP Pro. During a recent
application uninstall process via the control panel, the PC crashed
(Dell 1.93 Mhz, 512 MB memory) and won't re-boot beyond the black
screen with the
"safe mode"..."last known setting" selections. When any of these
options is selected, it recycles back to this screen.

That being said, how can I recover my data files on this drive? Does
XP let you reinstall from a down rev verison of the disk (no patches)
to fix the
missing or corrupt registy keys/files? Can I reinstall XP without
erasing the data files by, perhaps, creating a new drive partition?

I'm less concerned about having to rebuild my operating system if i
can recover my data files first.

There are various ways to try and recover the data files. Here are a few
suggestions:

1. Slave the drive in a working XP box. If the data files are seen, copy
them to the good hard drive with Explorer. You may need to take
ownership of the files.

2. If #1 doesn't work (or if the working XP box won't boot with the
slaved drive), try booting the data with Knoppix or a Bart's PE.
Knoppix is a Linux distro that runs from CD.

3. You might be able to do a parallel install, but I'd be very hesitant
to do anything further like partitioning (and you'll need a third-party
partitioner) on that hard drive until you get the data off.

http://www.knoppix.net
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ (Bart's PE)

Malke

 

[Plato]

That being said, how can I recover my data files on this drive? Does XP let

Just copy them back from the backups you made. You did, of course,
backup your important files right?

 

[Guest]

Unfortunately, my last backup was 3 weeks ago.

Just copy them back from the backups you made. You did, of course,
backup your important files right?

 

[Guest]

Thanks. I'll give this a try.

Unfortunately, my last backup was 3 weeks ago.