[Martel]

My laptop quit booting and I have been trying to rescue my files.

It will not go to WINXP anymore

I can get to DOS and it has zero bytes free.

I want to rescue my docs and pics.


Also I would like to create some room for WIN to boot.

but cannot delete any files

it just tells me invalid directory

[cwwozniak]

Originally Posted by Martel

It will not go to WINXP anymore

I can get to DOS and it has zero bytes free.

How are you getting to a DOS command prompt?

I was under the impression that there is no underlying MS-DOS on a Windows XP installation. With Windows XP running, you can get to a command screen that looks like the MS-DOS interface.

Do you know if the Hard Drive is FAT32 or NTFS formatted?

If you are concerned about loosing anything on the drive, you might be safer pulling the drive and putting it in a suitable external USB enclosure. You could then plug it into a PC running data recovery software.

[Martel]

The way I got into DOS (or what I thought was DOS):
I install my recovery disk, when it displays the recoverey screen ( and says this will overwrite all files do you want to continue? ) I choose cancel and it puts me to C:\


Like you mentioned above I must be in the common screen that looks like MS-DOS
It understands dir and dir/p and cls and cd directoryname and cd.. and cd\ and ver

The other way is I downloaded the Ultimate Boot CD from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html and it has lots of tools that I don't have a clue how to use
It has the following choices...

Mainboard Tools
Hard Disk Tools
File Syatem Tools
Other Tools
User-Defined Tools
DOS/Linux Boot Disks
*Boot First Hard Drive
*Boot Second Hard Drive

About the NTFS FAT32:
I have no idea which it is.
I tried to Google it and it was way over my head.
I looked here http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoyne...stem-type.html


And on rescue:
I tried attaching the drive to an external USB enclosure and my desktop can see it under My Computer but when I click explore it goes sluggish. And never reads.

[Martel]

Newsflash!

using the Ultimate boot CD I found that it is NTFS
looks like two sectors
Pri 1

[Noyb]

Did you see two partitions ??? ... explore the big one.
The smaller (usually D) is probably an HP recovery Partition (Fat32) .. about 6 gig worth

[Martel]

I don't know how to get to the other side.

Kinda like that show Land of the Lost

I HAVE these drives showing up under disk tools

Volume in drive Q is MS-RAMDRIVE
Volume in drive T is UBCD410
Volume in drive A is NwDsk342fds
Volume in drive U is Navigator Open Source Project

[Noyb]

Originally Posted by Martel

....but when I click Explore it goes sluggish. And never reads.

I’m not familiar with using the Ultimate Boot CD .. and your wording “Explore” is confusing me.

Every time I’ve hooked up a HD from another computer that was still functional,
but wouldn’t boot for whatever reason .... Using a USB external enclosure, or USB Adapter ...
I’ve been able to OPEN it in “My Computer” … And Browse it to Find and Extract the data files.

Just a long shot (and a bump) .. But have you tried this simple way ??

[Martel]

By Explore I mean Browse

Every time I’ve hooked up a HD from another computer that was still functional,
but wouldn’t boot for whatever reason .... Using a USB external enclosure, or USB Adapter ...
I’ve been able to OPEN it in “My Computer” … And Browse it to Find and Extract the data files.

Me too I have always been able to hook full sized hard drives into a USB enclosure and read them.

This is my first experience with 40gig a 2.5" drive

Just a long shot (and a bump) .. But have you tried this simple way ??

Yes, I tried that and it causes my desktop machine with XP to go sluggish.

[Noyb]

I wonder what would happen if you run this ... http://www.runtime.org/
The free trial will let you know if it can read the drive ... But you have to buy it to get the files.
There's other freebies ... but I've seen this one work when the freebies wouldn't.

[Martel]

I will try it now

Thanks

I will let you know if it can.

[Martel]

I wonder what would happen if you run this ... http://www.runtime.org/

I connected it and let it run, it saw the drive and started looking, after about ten minutes I went back to check on it.

It was showing 8 hours and 50 minutes till completion

I believe it is able to analyze the files by going very slowly.

Also,
I took the 2.5: drive connected to a USB and tried to copy it to my desktop.
I get the message "error performing inpage operation"

[Noyb]

Originally Posted by Martel

I took the 2.5: drive connected to a USB and tried to copy it to my desktop. I get the message "error performing inpage operation"

I sure would NOT try to COPY the Drive ... But just fetch what you need.

[Martel]

I sure would NOT try to COPY the Drive ... But just fetch what you need.

Yes, good idea, I was unable to view the files and in a desperate last ditch type of effort I tried to drag and drop it.

I feel stranded in the wild against the elements, where common sense gives way to sheer panic driven dementia.

I stare hard in the sky (XP desktop) searching the horizions acutely aware of the tiniest sound.
My heart races and I am flooded with joy and new found hope when I see "Reply to Thread"
But my rescue plane flys by unable to see me screaming jumping wildly with flailing arms.

[Noyb]

By any chance .. Do you have Acronis True Image, to go with your External HDs ??
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing...cts/trueimage/

[Martel]

No, I had never heard of it till now.