Since the fellow at the computer repair store is trying to rip me off, I wanted to ask how I would go about backing up some small files from off of my old computer with the BSOD(Fatal Exception Error) from off of the HDD?

The files that I need are all small(mostly notepad documents with addresses and a couple of Mothers recipies).

I have heard that there is software out there that will allow the computer to boot from a floppy or CD-R and allow you to do basic operations such as back up the files from a corrupt hard drive. I know that there are techs here who do it everyday, so I wanted to ask what I would need, and how I would go about it. A link would be fine, books, or whatever format that you choose.

If I could back up everything, that would be nice too, but I need these smaller files at least.

Any advice?

-FF
1986 Fiero 2M6

The usual method at a shop is to remove the hard drive from the computer and connect it as a secondary drive to the shop machine. We then copy all the files to the shop machine's hard drive and return the drive to the first machine for a format and reinstall of windows. Then we hook it back up to the shop machine and copy the files back.

If you don't have access to a second computer, you can boot off of a CD using things like knoppix or that bootable windows XP, but then what do you do with the files you want? If you have a CD drive AND a CD burner, you might be able to boot into whatever from a CD and then burn your files.

Don't pull it out. Use another PC to download Knoppix 4.0.2 live CD and burn the .iso file to a CD. It's Linux that runs from your CD.

Boot your machine to Knoppix. Start up Samba and transfer the files off over your home network to another machine.

there are a couple of ways they can fail. if it's just the OS, you may be able to boot from a floppy or install CD, but then you'll need some way to copy the files off the drive like a network or USB drive.

if you can get it to boot this way, if you have another hard drive, you may be able to install it as a secondary or slave and copy the files over

if you have another computer you may be able to put the "bad" drive in as a secondary or slave and copy files off.

if the Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) are fried, i think youre doomed. lady lurker's computer failed a couple of weeks ago, the drive goes "click-clack, click-clack" and never boots. when i tried swapping it to slave with another master boot drive, it just goes "click-clack, click-clack", wont boot. when i installed it as a slave in another computer, it goes "click-clack, click-clack", computer wont boot. i think the drive is dead, naturally no backups. first HDD death for me in 20 years of computers.

these guys are more informed than me, but I just had a HD failure (not an OS issue) and used BartPE along with Get Data Back for NTFS to sucessfully retreive the contents of the entire drive. You want to mess with the bad HD as little as possible, so I got another drive of the same size, made an image of the entire drive, and then retrieved my data from that image.

lurker, try the freezer trick if you've got nothing to lose

quote Originally posted by JD86GT350: lurker, try the freezer trick if you've got nothing to lose

freezer trick? i'm all ears.

Okay I need to fill in some more facts. I had written a lengthy post, but cut it down because I thought it had too much information.

The hard drive WILL boot, because the tech has a copy of the entire hard drive on a computer at his shop. The problem is that he wants to sell me a used computer for $300.00 that has all of my files on the hard drive, that only includes what parts he can't scavenge off of the old computer. In other words, he is holding my data hostage and trying to sell me an old computer for way more that it's worth. I basically told him to plug the HDD with the copy on it into his own ISA port.

That is why I am asking here.

I also have no home network.

I'm paying attention, please keep the information coming.

-FF
1986 Fiero 2M6

well it sounds like your drive has physically failed, perhaps the armature or obviously one of the moving parts if its making a racket like that. the temperature will cause the metals to contract and sometimes you can get the drive to work again, obviously for a short period of time.

from http://www.ozzu.com/ftopic32802.html

quote Actually, there is a good reason why freezing you hard drive works. A lot of times why an old hard drive will fail is the internal parts becoming worn and the heads starting to make actual contact with the platters. Freezing the hard drive for an hour or so will make the metal contract enough so that the heads are lifted back off the platters and your data can be read from it. Of course, once it thaws back out, the heads will crash back on to the platters and kill it some more, so this is only a last chance soution to get important data off the drive.

here are a few other links for you

http://www.meetmyattorney.com/slink/mt-archives/000275.html

http://www.webdeveloper.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72999

I researched this a bit when I had my problem, but I didn't have the clicking.
Most guys recommend a freezer bag or a ziploc.

and don't do it this way.... :P

http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1028112728

quote Originally posted by JD86GT350: do you have a jump drive? willing to buy one? might be a quick and easy way to get the data off the computer without having to burn or buy an extneral hard drive.

I'm all ears, fill me in.

BTW this is a 166 Mhz Pentium running Windblows '95 if that would make any difference.

The freezer trick is the first thing everyone suggests when there's a hard drive problem, but it's only going to fix a very rare problem with the bearings locking up and preventing the disk from spinning.
If he can get your data off of it himself, there's nothing wrong with your hard drive.
A USB jump drive probably won't work on your computer, as I doubt it has USB. Plus that won't help you start into windows.

quote Originally posted by JD86GT350: Most guys recommend a freezer bag or a ziploc. and don't do it this way.... :P

i'll try it, thanks. ziplock bag it is. +.
oops, too late, already had you at +.

[This message has been edited by lurker (edited 08-05-2006).]

quote Originally posted by lurker: so the drive can read, but wont boot. this is good. so many choices. 166 mhz? win95? it sounds like you could use a newer computer anyway, so you might want to just get a new one. then you could copy the files youself. or: get your drive to a friend with a working computer, have them install your drive as a slave and copy your data. it's not hard. or: get the shop to burn your data to a cd. pay the man for the copy service. or: let the shop sell you a good new computer with your data. find out what kind of computer he's trying to sell you. for $300 you can get a MUCH better computer nowadays, for example wal mart was selling a 1.8 ghz machine with USB ports, cd burner, 256 megs of ram, 80 gig drive for $300.

This is just a back-up computer that I have that I keep things on. I have a couple of newer computers.

I removed the corrupted hard drive tonight, and put it in a ziploc bag to prevent ESD. Tommorrow I am going to break out an old Packard Hell computer that I have in mothballs, and set the IDE indicators to make it act as a slave. From there, I am going to see if I cannot get it going as a slave, and then copy the files that I need to the other computers hard drive, then to a floppy and then to the computer that I am on now. I may even leave them on the other computer for awhile, while I get the old one back on it's feet. The computer was made in 1996, so I think that it's time for a new, small hard drive. The one that is on it is 1.7 GiG.

As a transplant to another computer seems to be my only option, we will see what will happens tommorow.

-FF

If you ever get the bright idea of opening a hard drive, you can replace parts and fix them, but it has to be done in a clean room. Oddly, your bathroom will do. Run the hot water and steam the room out. Shut off the water. As soon as the mirror completely unfogs on it's own, go to work. You have about 10 min. The steam pulled all the dust out of the air. One tiny particle of dust will destroy a HDD.

You DON'T EVER want to open a hard drive and try to replace parts in them. If the data is that important, pay someone to do it. Your bathroom ISNT clean enough, and you can't be gentle enough to do that kind of work. It's more delicate and dirt-intolerant than open heart surgery.

Okay, here is what I got done yesterday:

I took the corrupted hard drive out of the failed computer and set it as a slave in the computer that I'm copying to.

From there I was able to access it using the other PC's OS(as D: drive), and I did a drag and drop of every folder and file on the entire corrupted hard drive to a folder on the good computers hard drive. I now have a copy of my corrupted computers hard drive on a good hard drive.

Here is my main question:

Have I copied EVERYTHING that I should need now? I went into the old system and unchecked the boxes that hide files like .dll , however I did a boot of an old Napster program, and am recieving a message "A required file XXXX.dll was not found". All of the other things that I played around with work fine. They will all boot from the folder that has the HDD copy on it.

I'm thinking that it may be that some of the .dll files are corrput.

So far so good. "+"'s all around. I just need a little more help to get this thing running again.

Thanks!

-FF
1986 Fiero 2M6

quote Originally posted by Fieros_Forever: BTW this is a 166 Mhz Pentium running Windblows '95 .

I used to have one of those! Got tired of shoveling coal to keep it running though.

Seriously, it's time to upgrade.

Dell is selling brand new P4s all the time now for $399 including monitor and if you watch, you can get free shipping and free DVD and flat screen upgrades too.. Don't spend money on that old computer. Just my opinion...

------------------

4th Annual California Coast Run
October 27-29, 2006
San Simeon, California

[This message has been edited by Songman (edited 08-07-2006).]

quote Originally posted by Toddster: I used to have one of those! Got tired of shoveling coal to keep it running though. Seriously, it's time to upgrade.

quote Originally posted by Fieros_Forever: This is just a back-up computer that I have that I keep things on. I have a couple of newer computers.

quote Originally posted by Songman: Dell is selling brand new P4s all the time now for $399 including monitor and if you watch, you can get free shipping and free DVD and flat screen upgrades too.. Don't spend money on that old computer. Just my opinion...

My primary concern, and reason for this thread is not to save the crashed computer. It is to recover several files that I have on the hard drive that I do not want to loose, like several of my out-of-state friends addresses, some documents that I have composed and two recipies that my late Mother dictated to me from her death bed.

I would like to see it run again sometime in the future, because it ran ten years almost 24/7 and this is the first major problem that I have ever had, but mainly because my Mother, who is now passed away gave it to me as a gift from out-of-the-blue. I came home one day to find it sitting in my den. It has sentimental value because of that.

I would like to be able to run some of the older programs that I cannot get anymore. I have a newer computer. I need to save all I can off of this one.

I'm asking if I need to copy more files.

Anyone? Buller? Bulller?

-FF
1986 Fiero 2M6

It sounds to me like you copied the executables (programs) in their entirety, over to the working drive.
Sometimes that works, if the program is old or primative enough. Many times it doesn't.
When you run the setup program, lots of things happen besides the copying of files. There are new registry entries and .dll files among other things.
Since your old OS is Windows 95 <<shudder>> there is a possibility that those programs are old enough to run without the regular "setup" being run. But I wouldn't count on it.
If you used email on the old 'puter, be sure to hunt down your email data. Look for .WAB and .PAB files for your address book. I don't remember where 95 kept them.
If you had special wallpaper (desktop images) that you particularly want to keep, grab them as well.
They should be in C:\windows\system or system32. They'll be .BMP files.

One other suggestion... If the drive is readable (as a slave) but just not bootable, you may be able to install an upgrade (Windows 98?) onto it, and still retain most of your settings.
It's been so long since I messed with 95, that I don't remember most of it. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

^^ That's ^^ exactly the kind of answer that I wanted to my last question about the files. Thanks Raydar! "+" for you.

I understand that I may not be able to use all of the programs off of the old hard drive. That is a consequence of loosing the hard drive. I do want to save all that I can, which is why I asked if there is anything else that I need to do before migrating the data to another PC.

I have gotten all of the files that I really wanted. The hard drive seems to be in good shape when connected to a bootable OS. I will just have to play around with it to see what and how I am going to move everything over.

Thanks again!

-FF
1986 Fiero 2M6

Raydar already said what I would have, get your data, the programs you probably won't be able to save.

Keep an ear on that drive while its installed in the new computer, if it starts making noise know that your time with it is limited.

copying all the visible directories will ordinarily copy all of your data. the problem with running programs is that usually all the programs were installed and configured to run on C:, but now theyre on D:. it's generally not worth while to try to unscramble them, if you must have them, re-install.