Topic: Crash! But Rising from the Ashes!!!

[OOK]

Dam computer crashed.....bad. real bad...........can't get it to recover...tried to intsall xp repair...........still f'up.  lost my most recent show I was working on...didn't burn a backup copy....yet but erased it from my card..........lost my most recent concert photos.........grrrrr....problem is when I went restall the fix I think I might have wiped the drive.....double grrrr.  been saving to replace the dam machine...........looks like it might have forced me into it.....

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

1. Download Ubuntu (on another computer obviously).
2. Burn a CD-R. Pop it in your CD drive.
3. Boot from the CD drive (this will probably require you to go into the BIOS and change your boot drive)
4. Run Ubuntu from the CD.
5. Mount your drive in your computer.
6. Copy the drive to a external drive (you will need to mount this in Ubuntu as well).

Obviously those are rough instructions, you will need to fish around in Ubuntu to get some of that done, but it's generally pretty easy.

http://www.ubuntu.com/desktop/get-ubuntu/download

Another option is to buy a new drive. Install Windows on the new drive, then use your old drive as a storage drive. One thing to consider is the computer may have crashed due to the drive being bad. Might not be a bad idea to just recover data from the drive that crashed and stop using it.

[OOK]

Thanks man but it didn't work..............

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

Thanks man but it didn't work..............

What didn't work?

If you got as far as mounting the drive(s)...you might need to try some sort of hard drive recovery/repair program. I've used SpinRite with limited success. It's $89...but if it doesn't work I believe they will refund your money.

http://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm

[OOK]

I can't even get the computer to boot it starts xp then blue screens...

I have tried safe mode..........again it won't complete the boot process...

I tried downloaded ubuntu....followed you insrtuctions....booted thru the bios........nothing.... retried followed the suggestions on the ubuntu site....couln't get it to work..

won't boot

[rastasean]

in bios, you're selecting the CD drive, right? You want it to read the CD first and then HDD later.

[OOK]

in bios, you're selecting the CD drive, right? You want it to read the CD first and then HDD later.

yep.....nothing

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

That is strange. I would choose to boot the CD drive and eliminate all other options from the boot order.

If that doesn't work, then try removing the HD and just keep the CD in the drive as the only boot option.

Some computers will also allow you to choose another boot option besides the BIOS. I think my laptop you press F12 during boot and it will bring you to a boot drive option. Might want to give that a try as well.

How old is this hard drive?

More often than not, Blue Screen during boot is a hard drive issue, but may also be bad memory. Here is a free Memory test option:

http://www.memtest86.com/

Might want to give that a whirl too. But you need to be able to boot from the CD drive first.

[TimeBandit]

the Ubuntu is an ISO, you should take the option "Burn ISO to disk" on the burning software.

[OOK]

How old is this hard drive?

http://www.memtest86.com/

The drive is 10 years old...............as is the machine.............Iknow Iknow I hear yeah time for a new one..............It ran solid..........right up until the blue screen....did weekly maintence keeping it clean, running scans, removing malware, virises etc etc...

I am saving for a new machine and software.....I have mics for sale that are going to help with this purchase once they sell....this just caught me off guard and renforces why I don't save stuff to hard drive....even tho I got ten years out of it you never know when they are going to go....

can't do the memory test.........have to get it to boot first...

[flipp]

you can run the memory test from a cd (it was included on some of the early Ubuntu live discs) and possibly from a floppy, no need to get the OS to boot

[OOK]

Thanks...

but I can't even get the cd to boot....

[OFOTD]

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/6174378/Hirens.BootCD.13.1

Download this torrent of HIRENS Boot CD.   When you get the image downloaded burn it to a disc.  You'll have to burn as an image NOT as a data disc.

Once you've burnt HIRENS put it in the cd tray and restart.  Most computers will allow you to access the boot menu via F12.  So as soon as the BIOS screen comes up start hitting F12.   When you get to the boot menu choose CD or optical disc, however your older BIOS calls it.   

HIRENS is a bootable version of Windows that should be very familiar to you.  The Ubuntu stuff is nice but not as practical for someone who has dealt with Windows for the most part.

You could start by running diagnostics but you'd be better served just copying you data to an external drive.

Ten years out of a HD is amazing.   That reason alone should be proof that you CAN trust a HD with your data. 

[OOK]

Alrighty this didn't work either.  burned as image....booted the rom drive only... boot failed systemed halted.

[Fatah Ruark (aka MIKE B)]

If the drive is 10 years old you can skip the whole deal booting from the CD. Just go buy another drive (make sure you get an IDE drive and not a SATA drive), you won't be able to salvage the old one. If you're lucky you'll be able to get the data off the old drive.

Remove the old drive from the machine (unhook it) and install Windows on the new drive. Then plug the old drive back in (you'll probably have to change the jumpers on the drive to set it to slave since it's going to be an IDE drive). Make sure you DISCONNECT the old drive when installing Windows to make sure you don't copy over your data (done that before...not good).

If you can read the old drive copy the data off of it, and then recycle the old drive. If you have sensitive data on it either run Darik's Boot and Nuke on it, or drill a hole through the whole thing.

You're drive probably has MANY MANY bad sectors on it. It's dead...probably past dead. One of the bad sectors contains data required to boot Windows which is why it blue screens on boot up. You will need to recover that data and move it to a new sector to get Windows to boot. You COULD do that with SpinRite (it will attempt to read the bad sector and then move the data to a good sector), but that costs more than a new drive, takes FOREVER to run (we're talking days or even weeks) and you're going to have to toss the old drive anyway.

When you get a new computer, I'd set up a main drive as the OS drive and then get TWO drives of the same size for DATA. I keep all of my data on a drive other than the OS, and mirror them.