Hard drive failure?
What could have caused this and is there any way to retrieve my files?
Answers:
Only way you could get your files of it is to have it as a slave drive behind another hard drive with an operating system on it
Install new HDD, install OS and progs on new disk then get a cheap USB caddy for the old drive and normally you can get all or most of your data off.
What you need is a new hard drive. The one you have now is really bad and from now forward until you get another don't save any important things. After you get a new hard drive you need to take the other hard drive to a computer specialization store and they might be able to retrieve the old files on to a new cd just depends on how bad the hard drive is. Good luck
If the hard drive has failed you need to replace it.
Is the computer under warranty?
If it is not under warranty you can get a new hard drive and install it as the primary or master hard drive then set the old hard drive as a secondary or slave.
You may be able to recover your data, there is a 50/50 chance that the hard drive may still be accessable.
If you keep working on tring to install the OS you will over write the existing files making recovery of them impossible.
Hope this helps, see my site for more tips and How to's.
That happened to me & after fitting a new hd & installing windows so it worked ok I fitted the old drive as a slave & this allowed me to retrieve my files etc.
I was very lucky as a couple of starts later it failed completely & became unusable.
Fit a new drive quickly to play safe.
Good luck...
I would download TestDisk on to another computer and add your disk to the computer as a slave and see what you can salvage.
Hi If it had not been shut down properly you would get that message. Did you manage to get the os booted ok.
if not try booting to safe mode and go from there. try restore to another date when you know it worked ok.
When you said you tried to reinstall windows did you boot from the windows xp cd then select recover or restore.
If you want to use your hard drive again try using fdisk and then format the drive.( dont forget you will loose any files already on the drive when you do this)
When you connected it to the other system did you set it to slave if not you would have had two master drived and theirfore would't see it try it again then save all your files pic's audio docs etc then transfer these to your new drive .
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