Ok I have a Sony Viao Laptop and when I log on to it it tells me operating system not found. I have the option to Do a system restore but I cant because I need files off of my laptop for work and it will erase them. Is there any way for me to get my OS back or get the files off of the C drive without doing the system restore??
2006-10-02 14:11:57 · 16 answers · asked by Brian H 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
Sure, but you need at least another computer and maybe a special USB/IDE disk converter. Make sure you have not left a floppy disk in the drive, that still gets folks. If not see a computer guy.
2006-10-02 14:15:02 · answer #1 · answered by Computer Guy 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You will need:-
1. Second PC
2. Screwdriver
3. 2.5in Hard Disk External Enclosure (option 2)
Before opening any enclosure please discharge any static electricity by touching the metal surface of the PC/Notebook.
Option 1
Pry the hard disk out of its plastic casing. Open up the 2nd PC. Your existing installed hard disk on the PC would be a Master. The HDD is connected to the mainboard via a ribbon cable. Along this ribbon cable is a second female connector. Plug your laptop HDD to this. Connect power connector from the PSU. Close the lid.
During startup enter Setup and you will access the BIOS settings. Turn to the page where it detects your devices. If it is manual, change to auto detect. Escape BIOS settings and it will restart the PC.
Option 2
With the 2.5in EIDE adaptor/external enclosure, you can connect the HDD and connect via USB as a second drive. Some models need external power supply.
When windows load up, 1st thing to do is to scan for viruses.
There is a reason for crashing your HDD. One of it could be virus. The other is deterioration of the magenetic surface of the HDD. Scan for viruses first.
When you open windows explorer, you could see your 2nd HDD. If your files are not there the only thing to do would be to do a disk scan (not a virus scan), which checks for integrity of data and try to recover some lost bits.
Good luck!
2006-10-02 21:42:30 · answer #2 · answered by CentaurPrime 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are a few things you can do
you could boot your computer off a boot disc, using the boot for the operating system, then you could transfer the files you needed to a flash drive or CD or whatever, and then you could restore
you could also take the hard drive out of the computer it is in, and put it in another computer as the "slave" drive, and then you could get the files off that you need
you cannot access the drive without some kind of operating system, but you can get a CD based operating system or other drive operating system and use it for the access
2006-10-02 21:15:42 · answer #3 · answered by enginerd 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If I were you I would try hooking your laptop up to a network and copying all the files from your laptop to another computer. Of course I haven't done this so I don't know if it will work but its worth a shot. Or stick your hard drive into a computer with an OS so there will be two hard drives in it and then copy the files from one to the other... good luck.
2006-10-02 21:15:36 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Only if you made a emergency boot disc, or you can boot directly from the OS disc that came with the computer. You could then choose the repair option. Otherwise, no you cannot, because the computer is deaf dumb and blind at this point. Another good case for making that pesky emergency boot disc.
Of course you could use a data recovery service, but be prepared to spend some seriou cash.
2006-10-02 21:17:30 · answer #5 · answered by The Oldest Man In The World 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Do you have a boot disk, or a setup disk? You can boot from a CD, but you have to access the BIOS and change the drive order when booting to your CD drive, usually drive d first.
It's not that complicated and I wouldn't fret too much yet!! You can use a boot disk from any computer, not just yours. It loads the cd drivers so you can access your cd-rom and it will load a basic os so you can copy files to disks.
Good Luck, you can always take it to a pro who will be able to do it quickly for you! Good Luck!
2006-10-02 21:15:18 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Check to see if you have a non OS disk or CD in either of your drives before you power on your laptop. Which operating system is your laptop??
2006-10-02 21:18:21 · answer #7 · answered by DTrain1200 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Connect the drive in another system that already has an operating system and copy the retrievable files to wherever.
2006-10-02 21:14:11 · answer #8 · answered by HomeSweetSiliconValley 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
there are two ways first you can install new os in other drive (D:)
which will not erase the files of your c drive (choose Leave files intact option while intalling os)
or you can connect your hard drive to sme other pc with correct OS and you will be abler to acess your files.
2006-10-02 21:15:53 · answer #9 · answered by Avinav K 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Probably not without a backup...from what I've seen it might be your battery. If not...you should be able to get a system disk from IT at work.
2006-10-02 21:16:59 · answer #10 · answered by Reindeer_Breath 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋