WinXP SP2 boot failure after reboot from standby

[Guest]

I really need some help. My computer was having trouble getting out of
standby mode this morning. I just did a cold boot, but it said something
about system not found, and suggested that I run the Windows Recovery
Console. I did as it said, and ran "fixboot.exe c:". After that, the
computer actually said ntldr is missing. I subsequently copied the root
directory from my wife's desktop also running Windows XP SP2, and copied the
entire root (including ntldr, boot.ini, etc.) to a floppy disk. Booting from
that, it said hal.dll not found. When I tried to view the directory of my
different hard drives, my secondary partitions like d: and e: listed my
folders, but for c:, it just showed some weird symbols. I worry about
running fixmbr.exe because it said something about permanently damaging my
files. Can someone please let me know what's the best way to recover my
data?! My last backup was 6 months ago, and I have lots of wedding stuff
like photos and such on the harddrive. Your help would be much appreciated.

 

[Guest]

I just tried running fixmbr, but nothing works. Using recovery console, c:\
shows some random symbols, while d: and e: shows a regular folder structure.
Is it possible that the drive is corrupted? What's the best way to recover
my data? I just attached an EIDE drive, install windows on that, and viewed
the c: drive. It looks like it has no data. Please advise.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I really need some help. My computer was having trouble getting out of
standby mode this morning. I just did a cold boot, but it said something
about system not found, and suggested that I run the Windows Recovery
Console. I did as it said, and ran "fixboot.exe c:". After that, the
computer actually said ntldr is missing. I subsequently copied the root
directory from my wife's desktop also running Windows XP SP2, and copied
the
entire root (including ntldr, boot.ini, etc.) to a floppy disk. Booting
from
that, it said hal.dll not found. When I tried to view the directory of my
different hard drives, my secondary partitions like d: and e: listed my
folders, but for c:, it just showed some weird symbols. I worry about
running fixmbr.exe because it said something about permanently damaging my
files. Can someone please let me know what's the best way to recover my
data?! My last backup was 6 months ago, and I have lots of wedding stuff
like photos and such on the harddrive. Your help would be much
appreciated.

If you're seeing just symbols in place of the files, stop.

The best and fastest way to back up the data right now is to remove the
drive, attach it to another XP system that has enough space, and make an
image of it. Use something like the trial version of Acronis True Image.

www.acronis.com

Examine the image for your files, and if you are definitely able to access
them, you can consider how to proceed. But I would suggest taking that
drive out and leaving it alone right now.

You can also just copy the data, but it's sometimes hard to tell where all
of it is. It's better to set that disk aside and work at it carefully,
when you have everything in place and have a plan of action.

If you don't have another system handy, put a new large disk in, install XP
again, and use that for imaging.

I would suggest that it's much cheaper than replacing the data to get
another hard disk. Install it, and reinstall Windows and your apps. Copy
the data from the image you made.

You may need to run chkdsk on the old drive, but don't do that until you
have succesfully made an image of it.

Yes, it may take you a few hours to do this, but it's a lot less time and a
lot less stress than wondering if you are in the process of trashing your
data as you fix the drive.

I see new 320 gig drives for under CDN$100, so this shouldn't be a huge
investment.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I just tried running fixmbr, but nothing works. Using recovery console,
c:\
shows some random symbols, while d: and e: shows a regular folder
structure.
Is it possible that the drive is corrupted?

Sure is.

What's the best way to recover
my data? I just attached an EIDE drive, install windows on that, and
viewed
the c: drive. It looks like it has no data. Please advise.

You may also need data recovery software, but if you have extra drives,
make an image and work on clones of the original - not on the original
itself.

Then, if you just can't get it to work, you can consider using a
professional service bureau, without the worry that your efforts made the
problem worse.

HTH
-pk