Member Avatar for guardianxangel1

My gateway notebook crashed recently and i have no back up files. all of my files will be deleted with the repair. how can i save the files?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by ian_tec234

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Useful, safe next steps to protect user data before attempting any repair.

The replies from , and point in the right direction, but the priority is: stop any writes to the disk and make a sector-by-sector copy of the drive first. Imaging the disk preserves recoverable data and gives you a working copy to run repairs on without risking the original.

Immediate checklist (in order):

  • Power down the notebook and avoid further boots or repairs that might write to the disk. If the drive clicks or makes unusual noises, do not continue — that is a sign to stop and seek professional recovery.
  • Create a read-only image of the drive (use another machine or a Linux live USB). For failing drives, use tools built for this job such as GNU ddrescue or Clonezilla; ddrescue is preferred when there are bad sectors because it maps and retries intelligently (GNU ddrescue, Clonezilla).
  • Check drive health with SMART utilities (smartmontools) before heavy operations so you know if the media is degrading (smartmontools).
  • Work only on the image copy. Recover files or repair partitions from the image using tools like TestDisk/PhotoRec (TestDisk/PhotoRec).

Example ddrescue invocation (run from a Linux environment):

ddrescue -f -n /dev/sdX /path/to/drive_image.img /path/to/ddrescue.log

If imaging fails or you are uncomfortable performing these steps, stop and consult a professional data‑recovery service. Imaging and recovery are time‑sensitive on failing drives; acting carefully and quickly gives the best chance to save your files.

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Member Avatar for crunchie

Doing a repair only will not delete the files. Only a reformat will do that. If you want to format, remove the hard drive first and hook it up to another pc and transfer the files you want to save.

Member Avatar for Rik_

The moral is, if you cant loose data, always always always back it up.

Member Avatar for Xlphos

You could get a linux live CD and possibly transfer the files to an external source e.g external hard drive.

Member Avatar for ian_tec234

Easier way to do it is install another windows in that same hard drive. Parallel install. But do NOT format the drive. After you have salvaged your files reinstall the whole thing clean

Good luck

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