Unable to access files

  • Thread starter Thread starter John King
  • Start date Start date
J

John King

I do hope somebody can help me.
I have a large number of folders of photographs I have taken in the past.
Recently, when I have tried to access some of these folders with either
Windows Explorer or Irfanview, after a few seconds the screen clears back to
the desktop. I have also had some occasions when I get 'Windows has
encountered a problem etc'.
The same thing happens when I boot in safe mode.
I presume there is a problem with one of the files in the folder but as the
Windows Explorer cleardown is almost immediate I don't know how to isolate a
file.
Any light you can throw on this will be much appreciated

John King
 
John said:
I do hope somebody can help me.
I have a large number of folders of photographs I have taken in the past.
Recently, when I have tried to access some of these folders with either
Windows Explorer or Irfanview, after a few seconds the screen clears back to
the desktop. I have also had some occasions when I get 'Windows has
encountered a problem etc'.
The same thing happens when I boot in safe mode.
I presume there is a problem with one of the files in the folder but as the
Windows Explorer cleardown is almost immediate I don't know how to isolate a
file.
Any light you can throw on this will be much appreciated

John King
Click to expand...

Maybe if you run chkdsk it will repair or remove the damaged file/folder
and you'll then have access.
 
John said:
I do hope somebody can help me.
I have a large number of folders of photographs I have taken in the past.
Recently, when I have tried to access some of these folders with either
Windows Explorer or Irfanview, after a few seconds the screen clears back
to the desktop. I have also had some occasions when I get 'Windows has
encountered a problem etc'.
The same thing happens when I boot in safe mode.
I presume there is a problem with one of the files in the folder but as
the Windows Explorer cleardown is almost immediate I don't know how to
isolate a file.
Any light you can throw on this will be much appreciated
Click to expand...

Since you can't get into those folders in Safe Mode, I think I'd pull them
off the drive using either Knoppix or a Bart's PE. The Bart's PE will allow
you to delete files - Knoppix won't if your XP install is on an NTFS
partition - so Bart's is probably a better choice for you. That way you
could burn the files to DVD/CD-R and then delete them from your hard drive.

If you want to use Knoppix instead, back up the files to DVD/CD-R and then
boot into either XP's Safe Mode or Safe Mode Command Prompt and delete the
files from there.

http://www.knoppix.net
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ - Bart's PE Builder

Malke
 
Thank you Malke, what you say makes so much sense. Will do it when I get a
spare moment.

John King
 
John said:
Thank you Malke, what you say makes so much sense. Will do it when I get a
spare moment.
Click to expand...

OK, John. If you need more help, please do post back.

Good luck,

Malke
 
I do hope somebody can help me.
I have a large number of folders of photographs I have taken in the past.
Recently, when I have tried to access some of these folders with either
Windows Explorer or Irfanview, after a few seconds the screen clears back
to
the desktop. I have also had some occasions when I get 'Windows has
encountered a problem etc'.
The same thing happens when I boot in safe mode.
I presume there is a problem with one of the files in the folder but as
the
Windows Explorer cleardown is almost immediate I don't know how to isolate
a
file.
Any light you can throw on this will be much appreciated
Click to expand...

John, one thing to know. Do not run chkdsk on a drive unless the data is
backed up. Chkdsk can cause data loss. Always backup first.

After you get the the data recovered, now is the time to set up a backup
solution so you don't have to agonize over what to do if a drive dies or
something damages the data. Always have a full and complete backup. That
backup should be on external media and for important data, it should be on
two different types of external media, such as a USB external drive and DVD.
 
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