Recovering files and data

[greendarragh]

Hi there. My PC has recently decided not to work, giving me the common message "c:\windows\system32\config\system is missing or corrupt....". I have it under good authority that the way to fix this is to reinstall windows (I've tried fixboot, chkdsk, etc...). However, if I do this I will loose all of my data. The folks at my local PC World said I could back up all my files by starting the computer in safe mode, but when I try to do this it just restarts - the only way I can make any sort of progress with the machine is by booting it via CD. What I want to know is is there any other way of backing up my files? I was half-thinking along the lines of a Linux CD (I read something about this but didn't fully understand it). And if not, could I guarantee that data recovery software would be able to get my files back after having reinstalled windows?

Thanks in advance for any help, I'm in dire straights right now.

[cguan_77]

hi, you can install windows and during the installation choose repair windows, you will not loose your data it will just repair the system files..

[greendarragh]

Thanks, i'll give that a try, but is that not the same as trying to repair it through the repair console? Cos I tried that and it didn't work :(

[caperjack]

if you have a regular winxp cd and not a recovery cd,you can reinstall windows over top of existing windows ,here's how .
boot to the cd,don't choose the R for repair ,choose to reinstall windows when asked ,then you will be giving the option to install or R for reapair the second time ,choose R and it will copy over existing winxp install .

[greendarragh]

Thanks a lot, i hope that will work. Any more suggestions?

[greendarragh]

Sorry, I think I just understood your post caperjack. Will this not just loose all my data,? because thats what my local shop said. If it helps, when I press repair having booted from the cd, and it asks which drive to I want to use, there is no windows option (i.e. no C:\WINDOWS). The only selection available is E:\MINIT, which I'm guessing is the CD. I'm thoroughly confused :(

[cguan_77]

hi, make sure which drive is your HDD, if you followed the right procedure to reinstall windows it should be ok, or if you have a USB HDD enclosure use that one to back up your data and plug it to other computer..

[greendarragh]

Okay, so just to clarify: installing windows again will not put all of my old files and stuff in risk of deletion?

[hamada_1990]

no trust me i tried it billion gazilion times i always miss system32 .dll files i always choose repair and it always workin and te reason i lose .dll files is cause of damn viruses :@

[caperjack]

Sorry, I think I just understood your post caperjack. Will this not just loose all my data,? because thats what my local shop said. If it helps, when I press repair having booted from the cd, and it asks which drive to I want to use, there is no windows option (i.e. no C:\WINDOWS). The only selection available is E:\MINIT, which I'm guessing is the CD. I'm thoroughly confused :(

follow htis .
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

[greendarragh]

I tried to repair install it, but after having accepted the license agreement there was no option to do so. All it showed was a box with three options (partitions): one from the E: drive, one from the C: drive and then one other one without an assigned drive. When I tried the C:, it said it needed to be formatted because it was damaged, and that as a result I would lose all of my files.

Does anyone know what I should do now?

[dewabo]

Here is an option for you. Pull that hdd out and try it on another computer, if you can access it on the other computer, then do a file back up to a cd or dvd. If you don't have access to another computer, then go buy another hdd, if this hdd is bad you'll have to replace it anyways. install the new hdd as the master in your computer and slave the old hdd in by changing the jumbers . Install xp on the new hdd and then using the transfer wizard transfer your files to the new hdd. If you can do this then formatt the old hdd and use it as a storage drive.
If you cann't access it as a slave drive, take it back out and put it in the refrigarator for a couple hours, reinstall it can try to access it then and do the file transfer. As crazy as that sounds it does work sometimes.
By the way, how old is this computer, if it is more than three years old, that hdd sounds as if it is about to go south on you. Hdds do have a failure rate to them, and if this is the hdd that came with that computer then it could be nearing it's life expectance.

[greendarragh]

Its only about 18 months old, and it doesn't get used extensively so it shouldn't really be a faulty hard drive.

[hamada_1990]

i sugest u to buy a new harddisk and backup the old one there

take my opnion at my own risk :P:P

[caperjack]

Its only about 18 months old, and it doesn't get used extensively so it shouldn't really be a faulty hard drive.

not true ,new drive could die any day

[hamada_1990]

no that is totally not true i got a harddisk lived with me 3 years and i removed it from old pc pntium 3 and installed new mother board pentium 4 and repaired the windows xp an it is still workin fine i even transferred the other documents and stuff in it to a newer harddisk and made my oldone the game zone i got over a dozen of the coolest games nfs carbon most wanted yuri anythin u name it as a matter of fact i've been using the old harddisk the most it is of the computer 24 hours and when i install it it becomes the most usable drive when i uninstall it again or (unplug it)it is as hot as the fire but it is still workin never had problems with it mmmmmmmm well i did have a slight problem once but it was just sum viruses and malwares and adwares and stuff i just installed avast anyhow the point is that new drives can die any day that is pure BS!!!

[dewabo]

Here's the poop on hdds, if a hdd has been droped, bumped hard or even had the ic board touched by static, it IS subject to fail. It doesn't matter if it just came off the assembly line or has been working for years. Even in the specs for a hdd it will give you the failure rate. The space between the read write arms are so small that if they EVER touch the disc the hdd has had it. It is just as important to always ground yourself before handling a hdd as it is for handling the processor or memory chips. STATIC KILLS!!!!!

[caperjack]

anyhow the point is that new drives can die any day that is pure BS!!!

any piece of electronics can die the day you plug it in !!!

[dlapointe4]

Hello - we had to reinstall XP when the system wouldn't start & choosing repair didn't work - so we ended up reinstalling it. Is there any way to retrieve the documents and settings we had - there was no way to back up since it just crashed on us. Can you help????

[caperjack]

Hello - we had to reinstall XP when the system wouldn't start & choosing repair didn't work - so we ended up reinstalling it. Is there any way to retrieve the documents and settings we had - there was no way to back up since it just crashed on us. Can you help????

there was a way ,you needed to take drive out and slave it in another computer to remove files ,sad to say now you need to take it out and have someone who makes a living at data and file recovery .