Recover data after hard disk failure

  • Thread starter Thread starter Dave
  • Start date Start date
D

Dave

I have a Dell Inspiron 8200 laptop, upon which I dropped a
large heavy object (not on purpose). Now when I start the
computer it flashes "NTDETECT failure" briefly, then
restarts, and repeats.

I'm running Windows XP Pro, and I tried booting from the
CD, which gives me the option to run Windows Setup or
Repair. I tried Repair, and ran FIXBOOT, but no help.
FIXMBR gave me a warning about overwriting the partition,
so I didn't proceed.

I can see my files using DIR at the C: prompt, so I know
at least some of them are still intact. What's the best
(least risky) way to proceed to try and recover as many of
my files as possible, before I send it back to Dell for
repairs? Should I reinstall Windows?

Thanks.
Dave.
 
Rich, thanks for the suggestion. My real goal is not to
get XP running again, because I know the hard drive is
bad -- won't pass a CHKDSK. So, I need to do the minimum
necessary to get files off of the hard drive, if possible,
before sending it back to Dell.

BTW, I have a CD/RW, but not a floppy. Any way to copy
files to a CD outside of Windows?

Any comments appreciated.

Dave.
 
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