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Author Topic: Saving files from a sinking ship.  (Read 6896 times)

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Eddie31

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    Saving files from a sinking ship.
    « on: October 11, 2009, 03:36:43 AM »
    Hi,
    My laptop (acer travelmate 2414wlmi) is not loading xp at all. I turn it on, the acer screen loads, and then it's just permanent darkness with a flashing underscore in the top left.
    I would like to recover my files to an external hard drive before doing a full system restore. I ran check disk on the windows recovery cd, as well as avira antivir, but neither had any effect.
    I tried Ubuntu, which has worked for me before, but my files did not appear. Only system files and acer disc were visible.
    Is there anything similar to ubuntu I can use to recover my files?
    Is there anything else I could try?
    Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.
    Thanks,
    Ed
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    Allan

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    Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
    « Reply #1 on: October 11, 2009, 06:20:46 AM »
    What led up to this? Did you install new hw or sw? Was there a virus or a BSOD? It's unlikely this just happened out of the blue.
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    patio

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    Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
    « Reply #2 on: October 11, 2009, 08:12:25 AM »
                       


    2.5" Laptop to IDE converter....about 8 Bucks at any PC store.
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    Eddie31

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      Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
      « Reply #3 on: October 11, 2009, 08:38:53 AM »
      Quote from: Allan on October 11, 2009, 06:20:46 AM
      What led up to this? Did you install new hw or sw? Was there a virus or a BSOD? It's unlikely this just happened out of the blue.

      Hi Allan.

      I don’t know if this would have caused it, but  I lost connection to my wireless router a couple of days ago, and reduced the security level from wpa and wep to just wep, in order to connect to it.

      I have had virus trouble in the past, but nothing since my last reboot in april.
      There was no bsod or any clear signs of a virus.

      The only thing that had led up to it was attempting to connect to the wireless from another room. It failed and then would not connect any longer on high security settings. When I tried to use the orange livebox disc (which has worked previously) there was an error message. (unrecognised, or incompatible, or something, I can’t remember exactly)

      I live in the middle of nowhere so I don’t think any malicious locals have gained access to the network.

      Ed
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      Allan

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      Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
      « Reply #4 on: October 11, 2009, 09:02:46 AM »
      Can you boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r ?
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      Eddie31

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        Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
        « Reply #5 on: October 11, 2009, 09:21:23 AM »
        Quote from: Allan on October 11, 2009, 09:02:46 AM
        Can you boot to the recovery console and run chkdsk /r ?

        It didn't work actually. It only worked when I did chkdsk d: /r .
        When I tried to run chkdsk /r I got this message: The Volume Appears To Contain One or More Unrecoverable Problems
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        Allan

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        Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
        « Reply #6 on: October 11, 2009, 09:27:25 AM »
        Okay. That means your system partition/drive is shot. Patio's suggestion is probably best.
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        Eddie31

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          Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
          « Reply #7 on: October 11, 2009, 09:39:39 AM »
          Ok. Thanks for that.  I’ll make an investment. In the mean time, are there any other ubuntu like programs available that might help? Or is that error message pretty conclusive?
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          Eddie31

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            Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
            « Reply #8 on: October 15, 2009, 05:50:30 AM »
            Bought and tried an ide to usb adapter, and it has not worked. I could access G: Acer data, so I suspect theres no mechanical failure. However, I got the following message when I tried to access F. F:\ is not accessible. The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error.
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            patio

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            Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
            « Reply #9 on: October 15, 2009, 06:14:58 AM »
            I don't trust USB for retrieving valuable data...the one shown hooks it up to an internal IDE cable instead.
            Doesn't make sense that one partition would work and the other an I/O error...
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            Computer_Commando



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            Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
            « Reply #10 on: October 15, 2009, 01:08:20 PM »
            Quote from: patio on October 15, 2009, 06:14:58 AM
            ...Doesn't make sense that one partition would work and the other an I/O error...
            Depends on the adapter he bought.  USB powered will give those messages.  Externally powered are much more reliable.  It's usually due to the difference in current draw (amps) among laptop drives.  The difference is not large, but enough to shutdown a USB port temporarily.
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            dahlarbear



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              Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
              « Reply #11 on: October 15, 2009, 02:42:46 PM »
              Quote from: Eddie31 on October 11, 2009, 09:39:39 AM
              Ok. Thanks for that.  I’ll make an investment. In the mean time, are there any other ubuntu like programs available that might help? Or is that error message pretty conclusive?

              If conventional wisdom fails, try TestDisk data recovery.  It can be invoked from different media and different operating systems (including Windows XP).

              It is also available within SystemRescueCd.
              « Last Edit: October 16, 2009, 04:36:52 AM by dahlarbear »
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              Computer_Commando



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              Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
              « Reply #12 on: October 15, 2009, 02:56:55 PM »
              Quote from: dahlarbear on October 15, 2009, 02:42:46 PM
              If conventional wisdom fails, try TestDisk, Data Recovery.  It can be invoked from different media and different operating systems.

              It is also available within SystemRescueCd.
              I suppose "C" is where Windows is and "D" is where Ubuntu is?  There also could be a hidden Recovery Partition.
              This message:  "When I tried to run chkdsk /r I got this message: The Volume Appears To Contain One or More Unrecoverable Problems", says there is probably a problem with "C".

              Go Back to Recovery Console and type Fixmbr and then Fixboot

              http://www.computerhope.com/fixmbr.htm
              http://www.computerhope.com/fixboot.htm
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              Eddie31

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                Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
                « Reply #13 on: October 16, 2009, 09:50:24 AM »
                Is this a standard response to fixmbr?

                Caution
                This computer appears to have a non-standard or invalid master boot record,
                FIXMBR may damage your partition tales if you proceed.
                This could cause all the partitions on the current hard disc to become inaccessible.
                If you are not haveing problems accessing your drive, do not continue.
                Are you sure you want to write a new MBR?
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                Eddie31

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                  Re: Saving files from a sinking ship.
                  « Reply #14 on: October 16, 2009, 09:56:32 AM »
                  And do I need to specify device for fixmbr?
                  And drive for fixboot?
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