Page 1 of How can I recover my files from a filling Win XP bootup?

Hello,

Just built myself a top spec computer, and installed Win XP pro and all was working fine, until tonight, when is started bringin this nasty message up and not loading windows. I have files on this computer **which** I want, e.g photos etc, and want to try recover them on CD-R or something like that. It seems to be to do with the windows activation thing, however it was activated and I have not upgraded it and no hardware has been changed since a built the computer.
It apears that it thinks it is a different computer.

I have tryed to repair the master boot records etc with the Win XP CD as I ran the check disk thing and said the master boot records where coprut.

So question is, how do I get my work?

Any ideas?

I think Microsoft have done a nice one in that you cannot recover your work, even if the hard disk is in the computer on which it was installed.

Hope some one can help, and thankyou in advance...

regards, John72.

So what is the exact message that you are getting?

Have u tried going into safe mode and repairing it from there? Or at least backing up your files?

How have you managed to leave this message?

Thankyou for your reply.

I cannot remember the exact message now, however, it goes something like this: Your computer has had a problem and has shut down...blar blar blar....if this is the first time you have seen this message, try checking your hard disk for errors useing chdsks (sumthin in the recovery console thing)

then it has

**STOP and gives some debuging dumps, sorry I can`t rememer too much.

It is on a blue screen. I don`t get that now, as I tryed to repair the Marster Boot Records and the boot sector in the recovery colsoe thing, and now I`m gettin to the message that asks me if I want to start up in safe mode etc, but they all just restart the computer and it just keeps on doing that with out ever getting to windows.

Hope someone can help me, thanks again in advance,

John72.

John72,

Go into your BIOS and select your CD drive as the first bootable device then boot up with your XPPro CD in the drive and choose the
`REPAIR` option, once that completes you should be fine.

Let me know how you get on

I have already tryed this, however since it does not detect the installtion of Win XP, there is nothing that it can repair.

A thought that I have is, since all my work is stored in the My Documents folder, and there is some others in another folder on the c: drive, if I was to just reinstall Win XP, would it leave my files intact and just repair Windows? (Just replace the Win XP files, repair the Master boot records and boot sector at the same time but leaving my files intact.)

Hope someone can answer this as I really do not want to have to reformat the hard drive.

Thankyou in advance, John72.

I had a similar problem and had to reinstall Windows XP, but it left everything that was there OK. BUT, read everything as you reinstall as it might wipe out what was already there if you click on the incorrect options (it is a pig).
Also you have to go into BIOS and make sure the CD is the first it finds to boot up on.
Think it was this stupid Activation thing as I had to do that again also. it sometimes had to be reactivated when new hardware is installed as it is "not the same computer".
Dumb M$, I know.
Good luck.

Yes I belive you are right about the stupid Activation thing, it must have thought that it was on a different computer and then scrambled the master boot records etc....however, what I can`t underestand is that nothing was changed sine I installed it.

Can I be absolultely sue that my work in My Documents will be fine?

Thankyou, John72.

Probably nothing to do with activation, hardware prob mate (i`ve had it on a dodgy motherboard) you should be able to reinstall xp but just DONT select format drive first, your files should be on there, or if u have 2 HDDS, install xp on the other one (making sure your needed drive is plugged in but not being written too) that may let you boot of one drive and then recover your files, then you can back them up and install xp on whichever drive you prefer.

I have tryed putting the HD in another computer as SLAVE, it will see the drive, but says:

E: is not accessible.

The disk structure is corrupted and unreadable.

When I started the computer, before the windows logon screen, it checked the disk for consituancy and said the master boot tables where damaged and corrupt.

Is there anyway of repairing the boot tables, or some thing to at least make the drive readable again, without losing the work?

One thing that I must say, I`m never going to trust Win XP in the way I have done, and I`m going to make backups of everything onto CD-R.

Thankyou, John72.

Just format that drive, and start again.
Annoying, but it`s really exciting when you know you have a nice clean install to start again with :)