recovering data from HDD with winxp O/S on

  • Thread starter Thread starter p.mc
  • Start date Start date
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p.mc

Hi

I've been trying to help fix a mates pc. It powers up, but there is no
signal to the monitor.

1 - I reseated all the hardware inside and checked cables....(still the
same)
2 - Put in a new working P/Supply....(still the same)
3 - Put in different Graphics card....(still the same)

He did have a problem with the CPU fan which he changed, also mentioned he
caught the MOBO with a screwdriver during the process, so now he'd like me
to recover the data from his Maxtor HDD.

Can someone advise me on how best to do that?

My sys specs are below, and will be the machine his HDD will be put into.


--
Regards
p.mc

WinXp Pro Sp2
P5N32-E SLI+
2GB RAM
Pentium C2Duo
Nvidia GeForce GTX8800
Creative GIGAWorks G550 Wireless
SoundBlaster X-Fi
 
p.mc said:
Hi

I've been trying to help fix a mates pc. It powers up, but there is no
signal to the monitor.

1 - I reseated all the hardware inside and checked cables....(still the
same)
2 - Put in a new working P/Supply....(still the same)
3 - Put in different Graphics card....(still the same)

He did have a problem with the CPU fan which he changed, also mentioned he
caught the MOBO with a screwdriver during the process, so now he'd like me
to recover the data from his Maxtor HDD.

Can someone advise me on how best to do that?

My sys specs are below, and will be the machine his HDD will be put into.
Click to expand...

There are various ways of doing this but my preference is to remove the
HD and put it into an USB/Firewire external enclosure or adapter. This
minimizes the effort by not requiring the opening of a second computer
case and fiddling around with its internals.
 
GHalleck said:
There are various ways of doing this but my preference is to remove the
HD and put it into an USB/Firewire external enclosure or adapter. This
minimizes the effort by not requiring the opening of a second computer
case and fiddling around with its internals.
Click to expand...

Hi

I slaved "his" HDD on "my" machine, now wants me to wipe "his" HDD (format -
re-format?).
I noticed if I right click "his" slaved drive, it gives me the option to
format.

Note!...**He wants me to install the HDD into another old machine he has as
the primary HDD (PATA)**

1...Should I format it in "my" machine as mentioned above, then format it in
"his" other machine?
2...Should I put "my" winxp CD in and re-format in "my" machine?
3...Should I install it in "his" other machine and use it's winxp cd to
re-format?

Sorry for the long winded post, but I want to make sure I'm doing the right
thing for him.
 
p.mc said:
Hi

I slaved "his" HDD on "my" machine, now wants me to wipe "his" HDD (format -
re-format?).
I noticed if I right click "his" slaved drive, it gives me the option to
format.

Note!...**He wants me to install the HDD into another old machine he has as
the primary HDD (PATA)**

1...Should I format it in "my" machine as mentioned above, then format it in
"his" other machine?
2...Should I put "my" winxp CD in and re-format in "my" machine?
3...Should I install it in "his" other machine and use it's winxp cd to
re-format?

Sorry for the long winded post, but I want to make sure I'm doing the right
thing for him.
Click to expand...

If you format this hard drive, all of its contents will be lost. Do not
do it.

As for putting the HD into another machine, it might or might not even
boot, depending on the differences between the 2 machines, the version
of Windows XP that is involved, among others.

The solution proposed by GHalleck is the safest for situations like this
and avoids the dilemna you are facing. Avoids all sort of problem areas
such as deciding whether the IDE cable is a straight-IDE one or is it
one for Cable Select, jumpering issues, pre-sets on the friend's HD, and
so on.

Good luck. Have fun. And ask the mate for the backups.
 
p.mc said:
Hi

I slaved "his" HDD on "my" machine, now wants me to wipe "his" HDD
(format - re-format?).
I noticed if I right click "his" slaved drive, it gives me the option to
format.

Note!...**He wants me to install the HDD into another old machine he has
as the primary HDD (PATA)**

1...Should I format it in "my" machine as mentioned above, then format it
in "his" other machine?
2...Should I put "my" winxp CD in and re-format in "my" machine?
3...Should I install it in "his" other machine and use it's winxp cd to
re-format?

Sorry for the long winded post, but I want to make sure I'm doing the
right thing for him.
Click to expand...


p.mc:
The answer, of course is your "option" 3.

We're assuming, of course, that you're dealing with a non-defective HDD.

Does "his other old machine" contain a functioning HDD with the XP OS? Would
cloning the contents of that HDD onto this "new" HDD (assuming you or he
have a disk cloning program) be an option or of any use? Or does he simply
want a fresh install of the XP onto that "new" HDD? If the latter, then just
go ahead with installing the "new" HDD as Primary Master in that "old"
machine and install XP (partitioning & formatting as you go along). If you
go that route, disconnect the "old" HDD (and any other HDDs/storage devices)
that may be installed before you undertake the XP installation. You can
later reconnect his "old" HDD as a secondary HDD in the system if he still
wants it.

I assume that in the meantime you've copied/backed up any data that your
friend needs or wants from that "new" HDD while it was connected in your
system.
Anna
 
Anna said:
p.mc:
The answer, of course is your "option" 3.

We're assuming, of course, that you're dealing with a non-defective HDD.

Does "his other old machine" contain a functioning HDD with the XP OS?
Would cloning the contents of that HDD onto this "new" HDD (assuming you
or he have a disk cloning program) be an option or of any use? Or does he
simply want a fresh install of the XP onto that "new" HDD? If the latter,
then just go ahead with installing the "new" HDD as Primary Master in that
"old" machine and install XP (partitioning & formatting as you go along).
If you go that route, disconnect the "old" HDD (and any other HDDs/storage
devices) that may be installed before you undertake the XP installation.
You can later reconnect his "old" HDD as a secondary HDD in the system if
he still wants it.

I assume that in the meantime you've copied/backed up any data that your
friend needs or wants from that "new" HDD while it was connected in your
system.
Anna
Click to expand...

Hi Anna

Basically he's got 2 machines and now buying a "new" machine with xp
pre-installed etc...etc.

1...His 1st bought machine is in full working order, but has no HDD's
installed...(so not working at present)
2...His 2nd bought machine has the initial problem of no signal to monitor.
(it looks as if he's damaged circuitry
on the MOBO).

I've backed up the data from his non-defective HDD, but now want to
re-format it so it can be installed into his "1st bought"
machine, to be used for his kids educational/games etc..etc.
My concern was did I have to format it in my machine before installing it to
his "1st bought" machine, particularly because
it had an O/S installed on the Disk. I thought it may not boot up.

So all I need to do is install the HDD into his "1st bought" machine and
re-format with that machines XP CD?

Regards
p.mc
 
p.mc said:
Hi Anna

Basically he's got 2 machines and now buying a "new" machine with xp
pre-installed etc...etc.

1...His 1st bought machine is in full working order, but has no HDD's
installed...(so not working at present)
2...His 2nd bought machine has the initial problem of no signal to
monitor. (it looks as if he's damaged circuitry
on the MOBO).

I've backed up the data from his non-defective HDD, but now want to
re-format it so it can be installed into his "1st bought"
machine, to be used for his kids educational/games etc..etc.
My concern was did I have to format it in my machine before installing it
to his "1st bought" machine, particularly because
it had an O/S installed on the Disk. I thought it may not boot up.

So all I need to do is install the HDD into his "1st bought" machine and
re-format with that machines XP CD?

Regards
p.mc
Click to expand...


p.mc:
Yes, your final sentence of your last post is the way to go. You will be
making a fresh install of the XP OS onto that HDD. I assume you know the
process. As you undertake that install process you will have an opportunity
to delete any & all partitions on that drive, create one or more partitions
as you please, and format same. You will continue to install the OS using
that XP installation CD. There is nothing more you need to partition,
format, and install the XP OS onto that HDD other than the XP installation
CD.
Anna
 
Anna said:
p.mc:
Yes, your final sentence of your last post is the way to go. You will be
making a fresh install of the XP OS onto that HDD. I assume you know the
process. As you undertake that install process you will have an
opportunity to delete any & all partitions on that drive, create one or
more partitions as you please, and format same. You will continue to
install the OS using that XP installation CD. There is nothing more you
need to partition, format, and install the XP OS onto that HDD other than
the XP installation CD.
Anna
Click to expand...

Hi

Should I take out the GFX card/sound card/pci adapters etc on his "1st
bought" machine, before re-formating, then add them one at a time after the
O/S is installed, or doesn't it matter?
 
Hi
p.mc said:
Should I take out the GFX card/sound card/pci adapters etc on his "1st
bought" machine, before re-formating, then add them one at a time after
the O/S is installed, or doesn't it matter?
Click to expand...


No, there's no need to do this. Leave the graphics card connected. The only
devices that should be removed from the machine prior to the XP installation
are storage devices like HDDs, flash drives, ZIP drives, etc.

After the XP OS is installed you will (probably) have to install drivers of
one sort or another from the motherboard's installation CD. On the other
hand it's entirely possible XP will "pick up" the necessary drivers during
the installation of the OS. If drivers do need to be installed following the
installation of the OS but you do not have the motherboard's installation
CD, then you will need to access the manufacturer of the MB to
download/install whatever drivers are necessary.
Anna
 
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