I am hoping to recover some files from the hard disk before I have to reformat the disk and reinstall XP.... I tried some software but that didn't work. Any ideas on software / hardware that will help with this? (hopefully I don't have to spend >$100). THANKS!
2006-12-31 13:43:08 · 5 answers · asked by Arjun R 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Software
The best way to retrieve your info is to install another hard drive, set this one as master and the one your want to retrieve from as a slave, when you boot your system install windows on the new one. once your done you can go to the other drive and get all the info you want off of it. that answers the question....now I have a question, what was the last thing you did before you rebooted to get this message. find the answer to this question and you can fix the problem without reformatting the original hard drive. hope this helps.
P.S. there is no way to get to the dos prompt before windows takes hold of your system on boot without a boot disk, thank microsoft for taking that away from us. its there little way of saying they know whats good for you and whats not.
2006-12-31 14:10:41 · answer #1 · answered by thepopeyebob 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
There's a way to get to DOS, but not before Windows loads. XP doesn't give you that luxury like Win98 did. There are several things I'd suggest you try before you do the worst and reformat. This could very well be a registry error, and if so, you may be able to clean the registry and save all the work. Use Microsoft's Live OneCare Cleanup Scan to safely and quickly clean the registry and get rid of a lot of temporary files.
http://safety.live.com/site/en-US/center/cleanup.htm
I don't think it's because the disk needs to be defragged, but this is the best defrag utility I've ever used. Very fast, very thorough.
http://www.auslogics.com/disk-defrag/index.php
If you have to get to the DOS prompt, after XP loads, click on Start, Run and type cmd. This will take you to the DOS screen, and I hope you know how to navigate from there. Good luck, I hope this helps!
2006-12-31 21:53:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Assuming you are getting this error after the Windows logo appears...
Try repeatedly pressing the F8 key during bootup until you get a screen that offers you the option to go into Safe Mode. Hopefully that will get you around the configuration error and into Windows.
2006-12-31 21:47:46 · answer #3 · answered by dewcoons 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
unfortunately the best stuff that works is norton ghost, try looking for a older version.
2006-12-31 21:47:13 · answer #4 · answered by lowrider6204 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
press F8 at post or at beep...choose safe mode command prompt.
2006-12-31 21:45:53 · answer #5 · answered by T G 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋