About to loose all data!

hga77 2004-12-25 18:39:26 UTC #1

Happy Xmas

My pc has just crashed and now i cant even get to windows when i reboot! I get this message on DOS saying that my windows/system32/config/system is missing or corrupt. Tried using the xp CD to fire up the windows repair utility but that crashes also. So my only solution is to format. Problem is i need to backup all my stuff first. I have a single FAT32 hard-drive with 2 partitions C and D. I basically need to move the stuff i need from C onto D, then format C.

Now if i use xcopy DOS command, this would mean all the files/folder would have different names (eg. doc~1) since wont be able to retain long file names.

Is there another solution??? A program that can run from dos? I need to work from dos and retain the long names when copied.

HELP

hga77 2004-12-25 18:41:25 UTC #2

i need to work via DOS. So basically i need a way to move/copy folders from C to D. And i cant afford to move ALL C to D cos D dosnt have enought space. So only the folders that i nead. Is there a way??? Please

xtacydima 2004-12-25 23:00:54 UTC #3

DOS 7.1 can handle long filenames

check this out:
http://mike.warpedbelief.com/dos/msdos71/

Agent_007 2004-12-26 05:20:12 UTC #4

Hey, I had that exact same message on my sister's machine some months back. I searched at Micro$oft & found an article describing how to rebuild the registry without having to reformat & re-install (a complete pain in the ass) - it worked beautifully!

Here is the article: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307545

It may seem daunting, but if you follow the article step-by-step, you should be OK. BTW, I've assumed an XP system here!

bcn_246 2004-12-26 05:51:27 UTC #5

What about if you connected it to a different computer as the slave drive, then booted, took the files of, then re-installed windows?

Ben

DiiZzY 2004-12-26 06:37:43 UTC #6

What bcn_246 suggested is probably the easiest/smoothest solution unless you like to play around with NTFS drivers etc.
//Danne

coathi 2004-12-26 09:26:40 UTC #7

Yes bcn_246 option is the easyest if you have access to another PC. If not you can use a Linux Live CD like Knoppix or most other Linux's have one and move your files and if you have a CD or DVD Burner in the PC then you can Burn all your Data onto CD or DVD.

xtacydima 2004-12-26 10:03:53 UTC #8

Yes, not everyone has a second PC, agreed.

He says its FAT32

Have you considered installing the O/S on top of the O/S you have now, you would do extra work then killing the reinstallation, but it would give you the ability to backup by various means any important files you need.

ckin2001 2004-12-26 19:38:30 UTC #9

a live cd would be the best/easiest way to do this with one computer - if you have access to one. knoppix is probably the best option. as long as the drives are mountable...

coathi 2004-12-27 03:33:42 UTC #10

Yes Knoppix is a good option! But itâ€™s a full version of Linux with lots of programs and extras on it, that you donâ€™t need for recovering data from a HD and 600 MB is a bit too much to down load if you donâ€™t already have it. I always use a live CD called Linux Tool Box itâ€™s about 48 MB and only has the tools for recovering data of HDâ€™s and keep it on a mini CD. You can find it on the Net at one of the Linux forums.

Why shouldnâ€™t they be mountable ? all you do is run â€œ mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/windows â€œ or edit '/etc/fstab' and run "mount -a", that mounts all filesystems in fstab.