Harddisk after power failure

[Guest Stu]

I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where the

Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10 seconds

into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the setup

routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted the

boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D. Am

I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

would be deeply appriciated.

 

Stumann

[Guest Malke]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

Stu wrote:

> I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

> doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where

> the Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10

> seconds

> into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

> hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

> reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the

> setup

> routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

> partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

> drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

> format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted

> the

> boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

> up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

> directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D.

> Am

> I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

> something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

> drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

> would be deeply appriciated.

 

Although only running a drive diagnostic utility will answer the question as

to whether the hard drive was physically damaged, the partition table is

obviously messed up. You can try retrieving the data by software means, as

detailed below. However, if the data is crucial and expense is not an issue

I would not mess about with it and just send the drive to a professional

data recovery company like Drive Savers. This will not be cheap, but only

you can make that decision. After the dust has settled, create and

implement a backup strategy. You should also consider purchasing an

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) battery backup. A good one will cost

around $60. I like the Belkin 550 but APCs are also good.

 

Here is my full "data recovery boilerplate" so you can make choices:

 

*****

*IMPORTANT* - If there is any question that the drive is at fault - it's

making noises for instance - and the data is crucial DO NOTHING FURTHER ON

THE DRIVE. Every time you spin that drive up you may be destroying data. If

this is the case, send the drive to a professional data recovery company

like Drive Savers (my preference) or Seagate Data Recovery. General prices

run from $500USD on up. Drive Savers recovered all the data on a failed

laptop drive for one of my clients and it cost $2,700. He thought it was

worth the money; only you know what your data is worth. I understand that

some insurance companies are now covering data recovery charges so check

with yours.

 

Drive Savers - http://www.drivesavers.com

Seagate Data Recovery Services - https://www.seagatedatarecovery.com/

 

*IMPORTANT* - If you think the drive is physically healthy, it may be

possible to retrieve the data by software methods. DO NOTHING FURTHER ON

THE DRIVE. The data is still on the hard drive but if you overwrite it, it

will be extremely difficult or impossible to recover it. If you use data

recovery software, install it on another machine and either use it from

that operating system or create a bootable cd/floppy and work with that. If

you don't have the skill and/or equipment to do these procedures and the

data is crucial, take the machine to a professional computer repair shop

that has experience in doing data recovery. This will not be your local

version of BigStoreUSA. In-shop data recovery is usually not exactly cheap

(for ex., my charges are generally $150-350USD), but it normally costs less

than sending the drive to a company like Drive Savers. You need to make the

determination of the value of your data and decide what to do.

 

So, here are some things to try to recover your data:

 

1. Pull the drive and slave it in a computer running a working install of

XP/Vista. Depending on the target drive's characteristics, you may need a

drive adapter; i.e., laptop-to-IDE or a SATA controller card, etc. A

usb/firewire external drive enclosure works very well, too. Use the working

Windows Explorer to copy the data to the rescue system's hard drive and

then burn the data to cd or dvd.

 

2. Often XP/Vista will not boot with a slaved drive that has a damaged file

system. In that case, boot the target computer with either a Bart's PE or a

Linux live cd such as Knoppix and retrieve the data that way. If you need

help with Knoppix, let me know.

 

http://www.knoppix.net

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ - Bart's PE Builder

 

3. If a Bart's PE or Knoppix won't work, you can try using data recovery

software. Here are some links to various programs. I use Easy Recovery Pro,

but it is expensive. People whom I respect have recommended R-Studio and

Restoration. YMMV.

 

http://www3.telus.net/mikebike/RESTORATION.html

PCInspector File Recovery -

http://www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/welcome.htm

Executive Software ?Undelete? -

http://www.undelete.com/undelete/undelete.asp

R-Studio - http://www.r-tt.com/

File Scavenger - http://www.quetek.com/prod02.htm

Ontrack's EasyRecovery - http://www.ontrack.com/software/

*****

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Andrew E.]

RE: Harddisk after power failure

 

Once at xp cd boot menu,press r For recovery,at that window,xp asks which

OS you'd like to enter with,press 1 For C: Then password,press enter key.If

that text isnt present,simply type youre cmd.Like,Fixboot Agree,type:

CHKDSK C: /R Once thru,type:EXIT However,if the default text doesnt show,

this usually means the OS is corrupted & none was detected.Also,how did you

come upon "reload xp" w/o being in windows.At boot menu,the selection is to

install xp,new or repair..From where youre now at,try recovery,after "repair"

xp,if both fail,& important files are on old OS,purchase new hd,install xp

to it,

once done,set old as slave,locate files....

 

"Stu" wrote:

> I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

> doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where the

> Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10 seconds

> into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

> hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

> reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the setup

> routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

> partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

> drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

> format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted the

> boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

> up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

> directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D. Am

> I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

> something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

> drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

> would be deeply appriciated.

>

> Stumann

>

>

>

[Guest someone watching]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

Malke, your response was quite helpful and detailed but neglected a step

which I would implement if it was a data critical situation, that is,

clone the HDD to another before attempting software rescue. This way

there is always a safe copy.

[Guest Stu]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

I don't know if this is significant, but I went into CMOS setup. IDE

Primary master lists None, but IDE Primary Slave lists a drive (ST3160812A)

which I think may be the hard drive in question. I only have one HD on the

machine. Shouldn't it be the master drive? Could it somehow have switched

places? If it should be the Master, how can I move it?

 

"Stu" <stumann1@mindspring.com> wrote in message

news:Ewprk.3569$Ks1.129@newsfe02.iad...

> I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

> doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where

the

> Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10

seconds

> into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

> hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

> reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the

setup

> routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

> partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

> drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

> format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted

the

> boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

> up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

> directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D.

Am

> I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

> something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

> drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

> would be deeply appriciated.

>

> Stumann

>

>

[Guest Malke]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

someone watching wrote:

> Malke, your response was quite helpful and detailed but neglected a step

> which I would implement if it was a data critical situation, that is,

> clone the HDD to another before attempting software rescue. This way

> there is always a safe copy.

 

That is a very good point, "someone watching" and I will add it to my notes.

Thank you.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Malke]

RE: Harddisk after power failure

 

Andrew E. wrote:

> Once at xp cd boot menu,press r For recovery,at that window,xp asks

> which

> OS you'd like to enter with,press 1 For C: Then password,press enter

> key.If

> that text isnt present,simply type youre cmd.Like,Fixboot Agree,type:

> CHKDSK C: /R Once thru,type:EXIT However,if the default text doesnt

> show, this usually means the OS is corrupted & none was detected.Also,how

> did you come upon "reload xp" w/o being in windows.At boot menu,the

> selection is to install xp,new or repair..From where youre now at,try

> recovery,after "repair" xp,if both fail,& important files are on old

> OS,purchase new hd,install xp

> to it,

> once done,set old as slave,locate files....

 

Andrew, this is bad advice. The OP might lose data if he did that.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Malke]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

Stu wrote:

> I don't know if this is significant, but I went into CMOS setup. IDE

> Primary master lists None, but IDE Primary Slave lists a drive

> (ST3160812A)

> which I think may be the hard drive in question. I only have one HD on

> the

> machine. Shouldn't it be the master drive? Could it somehow have

> switched

> places? If it should be the Master, how can I move it?

 

Remove the hard drive. Now, with the drive out of the machine, clone it as

suggested by "someone watching". That was a great suggestion. If the drive

won't clone, it may be physically damaged. Then you will have to make the

choice about professional data recovery. I like Acronis True Image for

cloning/imaging.

 

With the drive out of the machine, enter the computer's BIOS and reset it to

defaults. Turn off the machine and replace the hard drive. If it is seen

correctly, proceed with whatever data recovery steps you want to take. If

it is not seen, your motherboard has been damaged by the power surge as

well as the drive and possibly other components.

 

Malke

--

MS-MVP

Elephant Boy Computers - Don't Panic!

FAQ - http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/#FAQ

[Guest Colon Terminus]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

"Stu" <stumann1@mindspring.com> wrote in message

news:Ewprk.3569$Ks1.129@newsfe02.iad...

>I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

> doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where

> the

> Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10

> seconds

> into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

> hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

> reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the

> setup

> routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

> partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

> drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

> format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted

> the

> boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

> up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

> directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D.

> Am

> I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

> something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

> drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

> would be deeply appriciated.

>

> Stumann

>

>

 

 

Your hard disk file system is hosed.

Run chkdsk /r from the Recovery Console.

I've had good luck with this in similar situations.

 

 

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[Guest Stu]

Re: Harddisk after power failure

 

I bought a new hard drive today. I then attempted to install XPpro. After

several minutes, I get a blue screen that says windows has been shut down to

prevent damage to your computer. It asks to check hardware and software. I

disconnected all the hardware I could with the exeption of the video card

and the CD crive that I have the windows disc in. Still the same blue

screen. Is this a good indication of a motherboard problem? There's

nothing else I can remove....

 

Stu

 

"Stu" <stumann1@mindspring.com> wrote in message

news:Ewprk.3569$Ks1.129@newsfe02.iad...

> I experienced some power interuptions at my home and now my main computer

> doesn't boot up (I'm using the laptop now). It gets to the piont where

the

> Wondows Logo is on the screen with the moving bar under it. About 10

seconds

> into that, it shuts off and starts over. I disconected all the external

> hardware (printers, scanner, modem, etc.). Still nothing. I attempted to

> reload windows XPpro from the CD and it went through the start of the

setup

> routine, loading files. If I press enter to set up XP, all it shows is a

> partition1 [unknown] of 131072 mb. ( I don't remember the size of my hard

> drive, but I know it's around 40gig). If I press enter, it wants me to

> format the partition, which I don't think I want to do. So I restarted

the

> boot from CD and this time I chose "R" for Recovery Console. This brought

> up a C:\ prompt. If I type "dir", it says "an error occured during

> directory enumeration". Changing to d:\>dir gets me the directory of D.

Am

> I correct in assuming that my hard drive 'bit the dust'? Or could it be

> something much simpler (I'm hoping)? There's a lot of stuff on the hard

> drive I wish I had saved. I know, always back up..... Any help with this

> would be deeply appriciated.

>

> Stumann

>

>