That message does NOT mean the data is lost. The drive has lost it's ability to boot the computer, but not necessarily be accessed. If you have your Windows disk. That disk can boot the computer and do a repair of the disk.
Check your bios configuration before you do anything else. If the bios recognizes your hard drive, then check the boot order.
If that is all ok, then make sure you don't have any removable media inserted eg, floppy's, cd's, usb memory sticks, etc.
If nothing there, then use an xp(I am assuming that is your os) cd and boot to the recovery console. First, run chkdsk /R. If it reports that it found errors and fixed them, then reboot. If you still have problems, go back to the recovery console and run fixboot. This will write a new boot sector to the hard drive.
IF none of this works, as pawtucket says, it STILL does not mean you have lost your data. Also keep in mind that I do not have your computer here to troubleshoot it so if you follow any of the advice I have given you to do in the recovery console you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. It is very hard to troubleshoot computer problems without being able to physically inspect the machine.
PurpleCow kindly stayed up all night in the chat room and directed me in the ways you have described...unfortunately, we are at the stage where my HD isn't recognized at all...and PC suspects an overheating problem, as do I.
However, following the doctor's orders, I'm repeating my steps.
and I bought a n/used lappie off Ebay last night, and once this is sorted, I'll be happier. It's good to know the data can be retrieved, though I despair of having everything I need for Tuesday's lab.
Follow protocols through chkdsk and attempts to reinstall XP through recovery console.
chkdisk never gets any farther than 58% at one point.
The Lavender Bovine (PurpleCow) hand holds me through latptop surgery. I take out the hinge cover, lift up keyboard, vacuum out machine, clean it up, replace parts. Open memory cover plate, re-seat memory. Re-seat the HD several times. While the computer then runs *cooler* and doesn't sound as dire, chkdsk /r is still unsucessful.
I acquire a "2.5" USB 2.0 One Button Back-Up HDD Enclosure". Again, the Periwinkle Prince (PurpleCow) leads me through removal of the lappie HD from its case, remove adaptor, straighten pins with a human surgical implement, affix it to HDD and hook it up to this machine.
Use PC Inspector File Recovery tool to start trying to get data from HD. Sometimes I see a tree, sometimes not. Sometimes the process locks up this machine. Sometimes not.
A friend over in the UK has suggested Stellar Phoenix. He is making that available for me today off his server. I will update my success with that as I get it.
Today, I will be working with PC Recovery and hopefully Stellar Phoenix.
Effort thus far: 1 weekend devoted to project, and still counting...5 total hours sleep...and more owed to PurpleCow than I can begin to say.
However, I'm willing to owe vig to anyone else too. SO, other suggestions are very appreciated.
Oh, and yes, Hape4me and rhino have leant their advice--most gratefully accepted. And many sincere thanks to all the sympathetic chatters!
CMAN, thank you very much for the idea. I've stored it away too.
My update is that this HDD external thingy worked well enough for me to retrieve the vast majority of my data.
You've all been wonderful...I'm not sure what to do next...reformat it, I suppose and reload XP, but, the most important things like my writing, my school work, lab work, and psd files are all safe and sound, on THIS machine's HD and a thumbdrive too, for extra protection.
PurpleCow, Hap, Bluzeman, Paw, Cman, you're all terrific...
and thanks too, to my chat buddies, who commiserated!
Copied and Pasted from a PM to QT just cause it's faster and I'm pressed for time to get to work....
*yawn* good morning Jessica
The buffer for chat doesn't scroll back very far but it seems to indicate you got some data back. YAY!
I did see the question about whether you should format now.
If you have all the data you want/need or you're at the point you feel you've recovered all that can be salvaged then I'd say yes but do all this after putting the hard drive back in the laptop.
You will want to do more than just format though.
Seeing as how the hidden diagnostics partition is inaccesable you wil also want to remove that.
As part of the XP install process you have the option to repartition the hard drive.
You'll want to do that.
So, remove all partitions on the hard drive then create one new one using the full capacity of the drive.
Then have XP setup format the drive using the NTFS file system and install XP.
Hopefully all will go smoothly.
Needless to say, prudence needs be exercised in using the laptop for important projects until the laptop has proven it's stability.
I've not had the courage to follow La Vache's instructions yet...I'm a little non-plussed, but I'm sure I'll think of some way to entice him into helping me. I rather think PC likes a puzzle!
However, the novel pages have been sent to the editor, before deadline even. Whoohoo!
My work projects are safe and sound and in progress...
and the lappie I scoffed off ebay Saturday night arrived today. It even seems to work!
So, things are looking up. I really want to re-work the present laptop though...
with humble apologies to Jonathon Swift for completely nicking his sonnet, A description of the Morning
A Description of my Computer
--an ode to PC repair
Now hardly here did I think to find such a coach
Appearing, because of my laptop's death approach.
Now, me from my tangled bed had flown,
and softly stole to post these problems my own.
The slipshod fan inside the Dell Inspiron was poor,
gummed with hair, drop'd once too often to the floor.
Now, PurpleCow read these boldly posted cares
And came into GSC chat to catch me unawares.
The lavender bovine with bookmarks began to trace
The repair plan, guiding my hand in his place.
The periwinkle PC's command was read, with text deep,
Til drowned in my pitiful wails the error tones did beep,
With each successive attempt, and a part bought fairly cheap,
I performed assisted surgery and a sense of hope in me did creep,
Until the repair guru's instructions caused life in my lappie to leap.
The chatroom flock returning day by day sees,
A Cow and a Thinker's progress and impassioned pleas.
They watched, helping, on the forum and from the stands
until, at last, I was able to present, a working lappie in my hands.
And it is with great happiness that I report my laptop seems to have made an eleventh hour turnaround. It is off life-support, no longer intubated and dependent on my desktop for its life processes. The patient appears to have made a strong recovery, and I can only, once again, thank everyone who helped me--especially PurpleCow who gave so much of his time, when he didn't have to do it. And to everyone here who posted, or cheered in the chatroom...I say thank you and thank you and thank you.
And here, I do sincerely hope, ends the tale of the Laptop Very Sickly.
Recommended Posts
pawtucket
That message does NOT mean the data is lost. The drive has lost it's ability to boot the computer, but not necessarily be accessed. If you have your Windows disk. That disk can boot the computer and do a repair of the disk.
Link to comment
Share on other sites
Bluzeman
Check your bios configuration before you do anything else. If the bios recognizes your hard drive, then check the boot order.
If that is all ok, then make sure you don't have any removable media inserted eg, floppy's, cd's, usb memory sticks, etc.
If nothing there, then use an xp(I am assuming that is your os) cd and boot to the recovery console. First, run chkdsk /R. If it reports that it found errors and fixed them, then reboot. If you still have problems, go back to the recovery console and run fixboot. This will write a new boot sector to the hard drive.
IF none of this works, as pawtucket says, it STILL does not mean you have lost your data. Also keep in mind that I do not have your computer here to troubleshoot it so if you follow any of the advice I have given you to do in the recovery console you do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. It is very hard to troubleshoot computer problems without being able to physically inspect the machine.
Rick
Link to comment
Share on other sites
QuietThinker
Thanks Paw and Bluzeman...
PurpleCow kindly stayed up all night in the chat room and directed me in the ways you have described...unfortunately, we are at the stage where my HD isn't recognized at all...and PC suspects an overheating problem, as do I.
However, following the doctor's orders, I'm repeating my steps.
and I bought a n/used lappie off Ebay last night, and once this is sorted, I'll be happier. It's good to know the data can be retrieved, though I despair of having everything I need for Tuesday's lab.
Thank you both!
~QT
Link to comment
Share on other sites
QuietThinker
OK...here's the latest.
Initial problem stated.
Follow protocols through chkdsk and attempts to reinstall XP through recovery console.
chkdisk never gets any farther than 58% at one point.
The Lavender Bovine (PurpleCow) hand holds me through latptop surgery. I take out the hinge cover, lift up keyboard, vacuum out machine, clean it up, replace parts. Open memory cover plate, re-seat memory. Re-seat the HD several times. While the computer then runs *cooler* and doesn't sound as dire, chkdsk /r is still unsucessful.
I acquire a "2.5" USB 2.0 One Button Back-Up HDD Enclosure". Again, the Periwinkle Prince (PurpleCow) leads me through removal of the lappie HD from its case, remove adaptor, straighten pins with a human surgical implement, affix it to HDD and hook it up to this machine.
Use PC Inspector File Recovery tool to start trying to get data from HD. Sometimes I see a tree, sometimes not. Sometimes the process locks up this machine. Sometimes not.
A friend over in the UK has suggested Stellar Phoenix. He is making that available for me today off his server. I will update my success with that as I get it.
Today, I will be working with PC Recovery and hopefully Stellar Phoenix.
Effort thus far: 1 weekend devoted to project, and still counting...5 total hours sleep...and more owed to PurpleCow than I can begin to say.
However, I'm willing to owe vig to anyone else too. SO, other suggestions are very appreciated.
Oh, and yes, Hape4me and rhino have leant their advice--most gratefully accepted. And many sincere thanks to all the sympathetic chatters!
*trying to look on the bright side, still*
Yours most terrierishly,
QT
Link to comment
Share on other sites
cman
if you have a friend with a laptop
perhaps you can remove your hard drive set it to slave-is that possible?
connect your hard drive to the other laptop
and read your info from the other laptop
i had the exact problem with a desktop and this works for a desktop
but i do not know if it will work for laptops
i'm not familiar with the available settings and configurations
like having two hard drives
or can a laptop hard drive be accessed by a desktop by setting it to slave
i don't know.........
Link to comment
Share on other sites
QuietThinker
CMAN, thank you very much for the idea. I've stored it away too.
My update is that this HDD external thingy worked well enough for me to retrieve the vast majority of my data.
You've all been wonderful...I'm not sure what to do next...reformat it, I suppose and reload XP, but, the most important things like my writing, my school work, lab work, and psd files are all safe and sound, on THIS machine's HD and a thumbdrive too, for extra protection.
PurpleCow, Hap, Bluzeman, Paw, Cman, you're all terrific...
and thanks too, to my chat buddies, who commiserated!
yours data-storingly,
QT
Link to comment
Share on other sites
PurpleCow
Copied and Pasted from a PM to QT just cause it's faster and I'm pressed for time to get to work....
*yawn* good morning Jessica
The buffer for chat doesn't scroll back very far but it seems to indicate you got some data back. YAY!
I did see the question about whether you should format now.
If you have all the data you want/need or you're at the point you feel you've recovered all that can be salvaged then I'd say yes but do all this after putting the hard drive back in the laptop.
You will want to do more than just format though.
Seeing as how the hidden diagnostics partition is inaccesable you wil also want to remove that.
As part of the XP install process you have the option to repartition the hard drive.
You'll want to do that.
So, remove all partitions on the hard drive then create one new one using the full capacity of the drive.
Then have XP setup format the drive using the NTFS file system and install XP.
Hopefully all will go smoothly.
Needless to say, prudence needs be exercised in using the laptop for important projects until the laptop has proven it's stability.
One more cup of coffee and I''m off to work.
It's been an enjoyable challenge Jessica.
Anything esle just holla,
John
Link to comment
Share on other sites
excathedra
is everything okay now ?
Link to comment
Share on other sites
QuietThinker
It's better and better, Excath :)
I've not had the courage to follow La Vache's instructions yet...I'm a little non-plussed, but I'm sure I'll think of some way to entice him into helping me. I rather think PC likes a puzzle!
However, the novel pages have been sent to the editor, before deadline even. Whoohoo!
My work projects are safe and sound and in progress...
and the lappie I scoffed off ebay Saturday night arrived today. It even seems to work!
So, things are looking up. I really want to re-work the present laptop though...
Now, it's personal
*mwahahahahahaa*
Yours PC-Geekingly,
QT
Link to comment
Share on other sites
QuietThinker
A Poem about my Computer...
with humble apologies to Jonathon Swift for completely nicking his sonnet, A description of the Morning
A Description of my Computer
--an ode to PC repair
Now hardly here did I think to find such a coach
Appearing, because of my laptop's death approach.
Now, me from my tangled bed had flown,
and softly stole to post these problems my own.
The slipshod fan inside the Dell Inspiron was poor,
gummed with hair, drop'd once too often to the floor.
Now, PurpleCow read these boldly posted cares
And came into GSC chat to catch me unawares.
The lavender bovine with bookmarks began to trace
The repair plan, guiding my hand in his place.
The periwinkle PC's command was read, with text deep,
Til drowned in my pitiful wails the error tones did beep,
With each successive attempt, and a part bought fairly cheap,
I performed assisted surgery and a sense of hope in me did creep,
Until the repair guru's instructions caused life in my lappie to leap.
The chatroom flock returning day by day sees,
A Cow and a Thinker's progress and impassioned pleas.
They watched, helping, on the forum and from the stands
until, at last, I was able to present, a working lappie in my hands.
And it is with great happiness that I report my laptop seems to have made an eleventh hour turnaround. It is off life-support, no longer intubated and dependent on my desktop for its life processes. The patient appears to have made a strong recovery, and I can only, once again, thank everyone who helped me--especially PurpleCow who gave so much of his time, when he didn't have to do it. And to everyone here who posted, or cheered in the chatroom...I say thank you and thank you and thank you.
And here, I do sincerely hope, ends the tale of the Laptop Very Sickly.
Yours high-speedingly,
~QT
Edited by QuietThinkerLink to comment
Share on other sites
doojable
Edited by doojableLink to comment
Share on other sites
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.