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Reformatting your pc without erasing the docs & files in your disk is a complex work. If your disk does not boot normally & you want to format it, just get another HDD (disk), make sure your new disk is not corrupted by viruses and have the OS installed already.
Set the jumper setting of your new disk to master, then your old disk (you want to fix) to slave, so that when your pc starts, your new disk will boot 1st and you can copy the important files & docs from your old disk to the new one. After copying remove your new disk from the system unit then return the original settings. You can now reformat your corrupted disk without worries because you've copied your files to the other disk.
After formatting set now your formatted disk to master then the other one to slave (vice versa) inorder to transfer your files to your original disk. But before doing this I reccommend you to install 1st anti-virus software so that when you copy your files, the virus that accompanies your files will be terminated to make sure your formatted disk will not be corrupted again.
Hope this will help you out a little... ^__^

FrozenFlame

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Both and point toward the right goal: extract user data before any destructive action. Their suggestions are useful but leave out a few practical and safety-critical details that matter today (imaging first, encrypted volumes, driver/SATA-mode issues, and how to handle a failing or unreadable disk).

Prefer making a read-only image of the suspect disk before any file-level work. An image preserves all data and allows recovery attempts without further stress to a failing platters/SSD. If the disk can be mounted, an external USB-SATA adapter or an external enclosure makes the drive accessible to another machine for imaging or file copy. For encrypted volumes (BitLocker), the recovery key is required before any extraction. If the OS still boots, consider an in-place repair/refresh or Windows "Reset" with the keep-files option rather than a full format.

When preparing a reinstall on a new drive, install Windows on the same hardware or run sysprep/generalize before moving a preinstalled image to avoid driver-SATA-mode mismatches and blue screens. Match BIOS/UEFI storage settings (IDE vs AHCI) to the intended install and load storage drivers during setup if needed. Scan all recovered files with up-to-date AV/rescue tools on a clean system before restoring; avoid copying unknown executables from Windows folders.

Quick checklist:

  • Create a read-only image of the disk first.
  • Export Documents, Desktop, Downloads, browser bookmarks, mail stores (PST/DB), and license keys separately.
  • Scan copies offline with updated AV/rescue media.
  • If the disk is unreadable, image it and then run recovery tools (TestDisk/PhotoRec) on the image.
  • After reinstall, restore user files only — avoid reintroducing potential malware by restoring programs or system files.

Example safe copy on a working Windows PE system:

robocopy "E:\Users\Owner" "F:\Backup\Owner" /E /COPYALL /R:1 /W:1

This builds on the ideas from and while stressing imaging-first, encryption awareness, driver cautions, and controlled restoration.

Member Avatar for caperjack

have the OS installed already.

hi, i have issue with this part , you gave no instructions on install windows on the new drive ,a new drive will have to have windows install in your machine ,not come with windows allready installed ,because of chipset/ driver conflicts ,you will just get blue screen of death ,but your info is heading in the right direction .
There is simpler way and no need to buy a new hardrive,download knoppix in my signature ,burn to cd and boot to it ,it runs from the cd, you can then use a large capacity usb thumb drive [you need to right click on the usb drive and mount it ]and copy the file to it

Edited by caperjack because: n/a
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