Vista in Safe mode

[mom2dramaqueen]

Ok, my brand new computer that is only 2 weeks old has crashed. Hard drive
bad by the test dell had me run. I'm pretty pissed, and I'm really made
becuase I have data on the hard drive I want, some pictures and files and
emails.

I can get it to work sort of in safe mode, but no drives are enabled for me
to pu the files on a usb drive or DVD. Is there a way to enable a drive in
safe mode or does anyone have any suggestions for me?

If I open in regular windows things just lock up big time and I cannot even
open folders to get the files much less move them to a usb drive.

 

[UnswoleLilDude]

If you're up for a little challenge you can install the "bad" hard drive in
another working computer as a slave drive and simply browse to it from the
working computer.

 

[Kerry Brown]

If the hard drive is bad then every time you start your computer there is a
chance the drive will fail completely or the data will be scrambled even
more and become inaccessible. Remove the drive from the computer. Install it
in another computer or an external drive enclosure. Copy what you need from
the drive then replace it. If you don't have the ability to do this take the
computer to a shop that does.

 

[Charlie Tame]

Ok, my brand new computer that is only 2 weeks old has crashed. Hard drive
bad by the test dell had me run. I'm pretty pissed, and I'm really made
becuase I have data on the hard drive I want, some pictures and files and
emails.

I can get it to work sort of in safe mode, but no drives are enabled for me
to pu the files on a usb drive or DVD. Is there a way to enable a drive in
safe mode or does anyone have any suggestions for me?

If I open in regular windows things just lock up big time and I cannot even
open folders to get the files much less move them to a usb drive.

Okay, first off, what do you plan to do about replacing the drive,
because the place you got it from should do this and will have the
ability to recover your lost data (Or at least they should have to
recover much of it).

The first thing to try is install a brand new drive and reinstall Vista
on that, with the old drive removed from the machine.

Then, and it's probably a SATA drive in a new machine which makes the
connections a bit easier physically, put in the old drive and see what
you can read from it.

If you are going to buy a drive yourself I strongly suggest you avoid a
cheap Western Digital, they are usually the cheapest and that is for a
reason, Seagate or Maxtor are far more reliable. My findings with WD are
really appalling, 6 months to 12 months lifespan. I have had 6 die in
< 12 months, never had a failure with other brands in the last 6 years.

It may be possible to reinstall Windows on that drive and not lkose
everything, but if it is a drive problem as diagnosed the less you try
to do with it the better until a replacement is fitted.

If all else fails get it replaced by the dealer and ask to keep it if
they say they can't recover data. You have to understand that they
cannot possibly guarantee to recover everything, or even anything, but
they should have the tools and know how to at least give it a try.

 

[Bill Yanaire]

So you never thought the hard drive could go bad? Well, not matter what
brand, hard drives do crash. You should always make a backup of your
pictures and data. Even if you were running XP or that TOY OS Ubuntu.
Everyone should back up their data.

When you do get a new hard drive, look into a backup soltuion. The best way
is to backup to CD or DVD, because once you get a new hard drive, it might
last 5 years or it might die tomorrow.

I know that doesn't help you now, but it will once your system is back up
and running.

 

[GE]

We buy Dells here all the time at work, and for the most part are very
reliable, but of all the troubles we have
its the hardrives. Had one out of the box that was bad before first boot.