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My hard drive is failing and I cant boot my windows help!

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Hans - Jan 13, 2015 at 08:19 AM
KY_WD Posts 2053 Registration date Thursday October 23, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 28, 2017   - Jan 14, 2015 at 05:05 AM
Hello,

I would like to ask for advise on how to go about my problem.

My main hard drive which has my OS (Windows XP) has failed, (The SMART test deemed it as bad and to be replaced) unfortunately I had not backed up my files because the crash was so sudden. I also want to ask if the hard drive is failing and I clone/back it up to a healthy drive will it work as it did before?

Going on to the problem...

Currently my computer will not boot up it will get stuck on the windows xp loading screen the one with the windows logo and the tiny loading bar but not frozen since the loading bar keeps going on (I've left it for more than an hour previously and no luck)

I can't get into safe mode either since it gets stuck at the infamous Mup.sys file and never moves on so I couldn't perform chkdsk.

I tried plugging it in other computers and using my other boot drives that I had before, it would boot but when the failing hard drive is plugged in it makes the computer REALLY SLOW and hangs a lot so I couldn't salvage it through that either. but I did get to access the device manager and my drive is split into 4 partitions the first one is the one that contains the OS and the last one has become unformatted and I dont know why, the other two seem unaffected.

Then I tried using Hiren's boot cd I couldn't get into the Mini Windows XP which was a shame since I thought I could fix it there but when I click the mini windows it just stays stuck on the wallpaper screen and nothing loads after it.

I could get into the Linux rescue environment but then I couldn't mount the hard drive due to the errors it gave me.

I tried using testdisk I was able to retrieve some data from the "unformatted drive" but not from the OS drive it says filesystem is damaged..

So I was desperate and tried to clone with clonezilla but then it didn't work since it gave me an error saying that chkdsk is supposed to run on the drive but I can't run chkdsk because it stays stuck at stage 2 for DAYS at 0 percent...

I was also using the other programs included in the hiren's boot cd and I could literally see the files I have it's just that I couldn't access them or back them up but they would show up in the programs... So I have a feeling my files aren't lost but I just can't back them up/access them at all I can just see them.

I really have no idea what to do I really don't want to lose those files so any help would be greatly appreciated.
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2 responses

Answer 1 / 2
KY_WD Posts 2053 Registration date Thursday October 23, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 28, 2017   122
Jan 13, 2015 at 10:54 AM
Hello Hans,

Here in the knowledge base of MicroSoft I've managed to find some information regarding similar problem?:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/822800

Also, you can try these steps:
1.Restart your computer system using the Windows XP CD.
Welcome to Setup screen appears.
2.Select "To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console" by pressing R.
3.Press the R option.
4.Enter the number of Windows installation that you want to access and then press the Enter key.
5.When prompted, enter the Administrative password
6.At the command prompt, enter the below-mentioned commands.
Note: Press the Enter key after every command.
cd \windows\system32\drivers
ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old
7.At the command prompt, enter the below-mentioned command and then press the Enter key:
copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers
8.Remove the Windows XP CD.
9.At the command prompt, type Quit and then press the Enter key to quit the recovery console.
10.Restart your computer system.

Hope that I helped.

KY_WD
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Hans
Jan 13, 2015 at 12:02 PM
Thank you for your response but unfortunately I tried to do that before but when I put my XP cd inside my computer it loads the setup but then the choice of a repair install is not available. It will only ask to install a new installation. Is there a solution to this?

Thank you
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KY_WD Posts 2053 Registration date Thursday October 23, 2014 Status Member Last seen February 28, 2017   122 > Hans
Jan 14, 2015 at 05:05 AM
Hi again,

If you clone a corrupted drive to a new one, the image may also be corrupted too.
If you could try bringing it to a data recovery company, it would be good, but it will cost a lot, I think. And if you agree to loose all your data, then probably, you could write zeros to it and try to use it as if it's new.
But like ChrisWood3 said, if there's a mechanical problem, I really doubt that you could use once again.

Good luck!

KY_WD
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Answer 2 / 2
ChrisWood3 Posts 12 Registration date Friday November 7, 2014 Status Member Last seen January 14, 2015 6
Jan 14, 2015 at 12:28 AM
The disk is broken, and has damage its physical structure. So it is impossible to recover the data. That's why we need do backup data regularly.
Re-installation and backup your system/important files with Todo Backup, which is really useful.
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