Hard drive won't boot 3

[jadams0173]

Hey all! I have a friend (really, it's not me!) who's child quickly power cycled the power strip(I had told him to connect it directly to the wall outlet) his PC is connected to while the screen saver was running. Now the PC won't boot. I had though maybe the power spike had killed the power supply so I took the drive and hooked it to my PC as the master boot drive. It still won't boot. My pc recognizes the drive properly but after the POST and such when windows should start to load the PC just sets with a black blank screen.

If hook the drive up as a slave I can see the system folders. I was really hoping there was a way to revive this drive without formatting. You see he has a small business and hadn't backed up his data in 2 MONTHS!!! I'm trying to get his files off but I can't find them.
He says there were in his briefcase but I've searched the HD several times for *.xls files and all the search returns is the sample files that are installed with Excel. Can anyone help with a possible way to revive this drive or just get the data off?

 

[guitarzan]

You can't just hook up another hard drive to your computer as the master drive and expect it to boot.

Since you are able to see the other drive when connected as a slave on your computer, it sounds like the drive is OK. You should back up his data before proceeding. What "briefcase" is he using??? Yahoo Briefcase?

Once you have backed up his data, you can put the drive back in the other machine and proceed with troubleshooting... A bad power supply seems a good place to start, although you didnt really give any details other than "PC won't boot".

 

[G0AOZ]

Not sure what you're using to search for the wanted files, but first make sure you're not missing 'em because of a hidden attribute, etc.

I think I'd try running something like GetDataBack. Get the trial version from here:-

http://www.runtime.org/data-recovery-software.htm

This will allow you to see if the data you're seeking is still there or not. In order to copy the data off however, you'll have to buy the full version of the programme. This software has enabled me to retrieve many users' valuable data over the years - I can recommend it.

(Thinks... I must be in line for some commission on this product, the number of times I've suggested its use! -- I wish!)

ROGER - G0AOZ.

 

[vacunita]

If you can see folders, the drive is probably fine. As guitarzan said, you can't hook up a hard drive to another computer and expect it to boot.


If you can see the folders, then GetDataBack is not really necessary.

I would manually navigate to the My Documents folder, and see if there is anything there. It would be located in: C:\Documents and Settings\*username*\My Documents

It could also be in the Desktop folder.
C:\Documents and Settings\*username*\Desktop

The search may be hindered by the fact that you don't have access to the folders where his data is, if that's the case you may need to take ownership of the folders the files are in.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[jadams0173]

Thanks for the tips all. When I say it won't boot in his machine or mine, after POST the screen goes black and just sits there.

The briefcase I'm talking about is My Briefcase on the desktop. I've searched the paths described by vacunita, but I couldn't find the data.

The searches I did were Windows searches with the drive connected as a slave. The is one folder in C:\Documents and Settings that says access denied. I'm thinking that may be where the data is located.

I'll post back and let you all know how it goes. Thanks again.

 

[vacunita]

Thanks for the tips all. When I say it won't boot in his machine or mine, after POST the screen goes black and just sits there.

Even if everything were fine, the drive will not boot in anything other than the machine it came from. Additionally your friend's computer may have something else wrong with it that prevents it from booting. Possibly the Windows MBR may have gotten scrambled. You'll need to run Recovery console once its back in his computer and try to fix it. Or run a Windows Repair installation. He'll loose any Windows Updates but data and applications should be untouched.

The searches I did were Windows searches with the drive connected as a slave. The is one folder in C:\Documents and Settings that says access denied. I'm thinking that may be where the data is located.

That's probably it. You'll need to take ownership of it to get the files.





----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[linney]

Have you run ChkDsk /r from the Recovery Console on the drive?

How to install and use the Recovery Console in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307654&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

While in the Recovery Console look at the FixBoot and FixMbr commands.

They are best performed from the original machine.

HOW TO: Create a Boot Disk for an NTFS or FAT Partition in Windows XP(Q305595)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q305/5/95.asp

How to Use System Files to Create a Boot Disk to Guard Against Being Unable to Start Windows XP (Q314079)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q314/0/79.asp

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP (Q308421)

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q308/4/21.asp

Error Message: "Access Is Denied" When You Try to Open NTFS File System Folders

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;Q823306#appliesto

Is this Briefcase using any Encryption?

 

[jadams0173]

Thanks to all of you who have given me answers!! The software that was recomended by G0AOZ was great. I was able to see the files I wanted. I decided to try to take ownership of the folder in question.

When from my HD I booted to save mode (WinXP Home) and logged in as the adminstrator I could access the folder and see ALL the files. I tried to take ownership and restarted my PC and went to the slave drive to try to acces the folder and once again ACCESS DENIED! Back to safe mode as the admin and the files are there.

Has to something I'm doing wrong when I try to take ownership of the folder. I'm going to try again this evening and I'll post back. But for now stars around!!!

Thanks again.

linney, those links were most helpful and I will use them to try to repair the HD in my friends machine without reformatting first!

 

[vacunita]

Are you using another user in normal mode? When you take ownership in Safe mode, you use the Administrator account. meaning that's the user who will then have access to those files.

If your regular mode user is a different one(I suspect it is) you'll need to add your normal mode user to the allowed users list for that folder so you can access them with that user.



----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[linney]

If you can access these files From Safe Mode, then while in Safe Mode you should be able to copy them to a USB flash drive and at least put your friends mind at peace.

 

[jadams0173]

If your regular mode user is a different one(I suspect it is) you'll need to add your normal mode user to the allowed users list for that folder so you can access them with that user.

Hey again! Vacunita you were exactly right. I gave my user name access to the files while in safe mode and was then able to access them and burn them to a CD. Thanks again to all who responded!

 

[vacunita]

Glad you got it sorted out.

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.