Windows XP crash

  • Thread starter Thread starter MOB
  • Start date Start date
Svengali said:
As I mentioned in my reply, I am trying to fix the same problem. I
have few questions that I hope some one can answer. I have already
pulled the drive, connected it to my desktop, and backed it up to an
external USB drive using the Windows backup utility. However, I would
much rather just copying the Document and Setting folder to the USB
drive. I am not familiar with how the back-up works and how to
restore the data, etc.

When I tried to get into the Document & Settings folder, I got
"Accessed Denied". I tried to take ownership as directed in the KB,
but I was unsuccessful. Does any one know the answer to this problem?
I have admin rights on all accounts on both machines. Does my desktop
have to be booted in Safe Mode to get access to admin rights? I don't
understand why this happens since the backup utility copied the
folder without any problems.

Second, if I get one of these boot CDs, and can get to the DOS
prompt, will it allow me to copy the Document and Settings folder
directly from the laptop drive over to my external USB drive? I have
a Windows password on the machine but no boot password.

Third, if I elect to repair the registry by replacing it with an older
version that I know worked or follow the KB instructions for doing a
repair using the files from the System32 repair folder, will my data
stay intact? Also, how does it affect the programs installed? For
instance let's say that I installed a program that is not included in
the old registry files. Couldn't this lead to another crash when I
restart Windows? I am being really painstaking about this because
there are some applications that I am trying to save. Thanks.
Click to expand...


You should have just been able to drag your data to a new folder on your
desktop machine with out using the Backup utility.

The first two CDs boot up a version of XP, the last is a Linux OS. You may
need to have your USB device pluggen in and turned on when you boot the CDs.
The resultant OS (and I have used Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
http://www.ubcd4win.com/ successfully to recover data) treat your hard drive
as a data drive and you should have no problems just dragging the data to
the external device.

Things can and do go wrong so before fiddling around with the registry back
up your data.

One thing, if you have been using EFS you need to recover your encryption
keys etc otherwise your encrypted data will not be accessable if you
reinstall the OS.
 
A live CD is a bootable CD, it does not install anything to your HDD. Once
the operating system on the CD has loaded you can use the facilities there
to transfer your data to an external usb device (eg thumb drive, external
hard drive).
Some recovery disks provided by some companies just give you a destructive
restore thus returning your computer to the state it was in when you
purchased it.
Another alternative is to remove the HDD from your laptop, place it in an
external enclosure and then, attach the enclosure to a working computer and
transfer your data that way. >
Click to expand...

After trying the "Recovery Console" CHKDSK /r feature with no
successful outcome, I took my laptop to Best Buy. The tech used what
was apparently a boot cd as you've described above, which allowed her
to transfer my data onto a Flash drive.

That was a full week ago. Since Windows still didn't launch, I had to
leave it there. I don't know why it should take a full week just to
"do Diagnostics" as she wrote on the tag.

My crash was, I believe, the result of my having manually turned off
the laptop with two programs "frozen" on the screen--WordPerfect and
Eudora. A primary learning from this incident has been that data that
you truly wish to keep private, like journals in this case, should
probably be kept on an external drive. Crashes requiring outside tech
intervention are rare, but they do happen.
 
You should have just been able to drag your data to a new folder on your
desktop machine with out using the Backup utility.
The first two CDs boot up a version of XP, the last is a Linux OS. You may
need to have your USB device pluggen in and turned on when you boot the CDs.
The resultant OS (and I have used Ultimate Boot CD for Windows
http://www.ubcd4win.com/ successfully to recover data) treat your hard drive
as a data drive and you should have no problems just dragging the data to
the external device.
Things can and do go wrong so before fiddling around with the registry back
up your data.
One thing, if you have been using EFS you need to recover your encryption
keys etc otherwise your encrypted data will not be accessable if you
reinstall the OS.
Click to expand...

I'm still not clear on what's doing what. For example, If I had that
boot CD, would that have been all I needed to "see" my data? Or did
my laptop have to be connected somehow (USB?) with another computer,
like my desktop?

I suppose if that was the case, I could have Moved the data I wanted
to keep private to my desktop and not left it on the laptop at all.

My confusion shows in the fact that, when she used her CD to "see" my
documents on my laptop, I don't know if she put the Flash drive into
my laptop or into the store's computer next to the laptop on the
counter.
 
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