# Trying to salvage my files thru DOS



## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

My laptop quit booting and I have been trying to rescue my files.

It will not go to WINXP anymore

I can get to DOS and it has zero bytes free.

I want to rescue my docs and pics.


Also I would like to create some room for WIN to boot.

but cannot delete any files 

it just tells me invalid directory


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## cwwozniak (Nov 29, 2005)

Martel said:


> It will not go to WINXP anymore
> 
> I can get to DOS and it has zero bytes free.


How are you getting to a DOS command prompt?

I was under the impression that there is no underlying MS-DOS on a Windows XP installation. With Windows XP running, you can get to a command screen that looks like the MS-DOS interface.

Do you know if the Hard Drive is FAT32 or NTFS formatted?

If you are concerned about loosing anything on the drive, you might be safer pulling the drive and putting it in a suitable external USB enclosure. You could then plug it into a PC running data recovery software.


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

The way I got into DOS (or what I thought was DOS):
I install my recovery disk, when it displays the recoverey screen ( and says this will overwrite all files do you want to continue? ) I choose cancel and it puts me to C:\

Like you mentioned above I must be in the common screen that looks like MS-DOS
It understands dir and dir/p and cls and cd directoryname and cd.. and cd\ and ver

The other way is I downloaded the Ultimate Boot CD from http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html and it has lots of tools that I don't have a clue how to use
It has the following choices...

Mainboard Tools
Hard Disk Tools
File Syatem Tools
Other Tools
User-Defined Tools
DOS/Linux Boot Disks
*Boot First Hard Drive
*Boot Second Hard Drive

About the NTFS FAT32:
I have no idea which it is. 
I tried to Google it and it was way over my head.
I looked here http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/determining-filesystem-type.html

And on rescue:
I tried attaching the drive to an external USB enclosure and my desktop can see it under My Computer but when I click explore it goes sluggish. And never reads.


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

Newsflash!

using the Ultimate boot CD I found that it is NTFS
looks like two sectors
Pri 1


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

Did you see two partitions ??? ... explore the big one.
The smaller (usually D) is probably an HP recovery Partition (Fat32) .. about 6 gig worth


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

I don't know how to get to the other side.

Kinda like that show Land of the Lost

I HAVE these drives showing up under disk tools

Volume in drive Q is MS-RAMDRIVE
Volume in drive T is UBCD410
Volume in drive A is NwDsk342fds
Volume in drive U is Navigator Open Source Project


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

Martel said:


> ....but when I click *Explore* it goes sluggish. And never reads.


I'm not familiar with using the Ultimate Boot CD .. and your wording "Explore" is confusing me.

Every time I've hooked up a HD from another computer that was still functional,
but wouldn't boot for whatever reason .... Using a USB external enclosure, or USB Adapter ...
I've been able to OPEN it in "My Computer" … And Browse it to Find and Extract the data files.

Just a long shot (and a bump) .. But have you tried this simple way ??


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

By *Explore* I mean Browse



> Every time Ive hooked up a HD from another computer that was still functional,
> but wouldnt boot for whatever reason .... Using a USB external enclosure, or USB Adapter ...
> Ive been able to OPEN it in My Computer  And Browse it to Find and Extract the data files.


Me too I have always been able to hook full sized hard drives into a USB enclosure and read them.

This is my first experience with 40gig a 2.5" drive



> Just a long shot (and a bump) .. But have you tried this simple way ??


Yes, I tried that and it causes my desktop machine with XP to go sluggish.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

I wonder what would happen if you run this ... http://www.runtime.org/
The free trial will let you know if it can read the drive ... But you have to buy it to get the files.
There's other freebies ... but I've seen this one work when the freebies wouldn't.


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

I will try it now

Thanks

I will let you know if it can.


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

> I wonder what would happen if you run this ... http://www.runtime.org/


I connected it and let it run, it saw the drive and started looking, after about ten minutes I went back to check on it.

It was showing 8 hours and 50 minutes till completion

I believe it is able to analyze the files by going very slowly.

Also,
I took the 2.5: drive connected to a USB and tried to copy it to my desktop.
I get the message "*error performing inpage operation*"


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

Martel said:


> I took the 2.5: drive connected to a USB and tried to copy it to my desktop. I get the message "*error performing inpage operation*"


I sure would NOT try to COPY the Drive ... But just fetch what you need.


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

> I sure would NOT try to COPY the Drive ... But just fetch what you need.


Yes, good idea, I was unable to view the files and in a desperate last ditch type of effort I tried to drag and drop it.

I feel stranded in the wild against the elements, where common sense gives way to sheer panic driven dementia.

I stare hard in the sky (XP desktop) searching the horizions acutely aware of the tiniest sound.
My heart races and I am flooded with joy and new found hope when I see "Reply to Thread"
But my rescue plane flys by unable to see me screaming jumping wildly with flailing arms.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

By any chance .. Do you have Acronis True Image, to go with your External HDs ??
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

No, I had never heard of it till now.


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## Noyb (May 25, 2005)

If you'd backed up your Laptop with ATI ... to a data file in an External ..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832200004
You wouldn't have this problem.

Just wondering if ATI would make a backup disc "Image" from the USB ..
Then you could mount this "Backup Image" as a Virtual drive ... and read it.

It's a real long shot ... But doesn't seem like anyone else has any ideas.
Besides .. You can't be a full fledged TSG member unless you have/use ATI


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

*Noyb*,
Thanks for the help I haven't forgotten about you, and will try that as soon as I get my malware problem solved.


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## Shajahan (Apr 6, 2008)

You can download NTFS 4 DOS to copy files in your computer to another hard drive connected to it.

For Dos USB drivers, you may ask with somebody else.

If your malware is something like what I experienced, Read here
http://forums.techguy.org/malware-removal-hijackthis-logs/700904-how-i-removed-malware-my.html

Thanks


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## Martel (Mar 13, 2008)

*Shajahan*,

Thanks for the post, the problem I am having with my laptop hard drive is different than the problem you experienced.

However, I have another computer that is giving me trouble and it is adding the global entries, I think it may be similar to the malware you had.


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## mickcaine (Aug 12, 2005)

I am far from a computer guru, but twice knoppix has saved me. Several months back my drive letters disappeared, and the other day Win Xp would not boot on my laptop.

Knoppix is a "live cd" that allowed me both times to access the drive, burn the stuff I needed to dvd or cd, or even put it on a thumb drive. I also wiped the drive and repartitioned it with the included tools on the cd.

I even took the hard drive out of my laptop, booted up knoppix and surfed the internet.

I know there are a lot of people here that could have circumvented my problems I encountered in a heartbeat, but if you are like me and are not so tech savvy, or in a hurry Knoppix is a great way to go.

You can download it for free, or you can buy it already burned to a cd or dvd for a couple of bucks.

There is a book by O'Reilly on how do do a bunch of stuff with Knoppix, with that book and a knoppix cd you will not ever have to worry about this happening to you again.

I don't know anything else about Linux, but I can use this cd and would recommend it to anybody.

Hope that helps.
Micky


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