With Linux, you don't even need a CD, if your PC allows it, you can boot from USB stick, see here.

Mogrim.

Gotcha, will do.

RichMars.

Yeah, I noticed that while having a quick scan on the Ubuntu site.

Might be a bit too ambitiouus for this time though.

The well worn path by those who have gone before me, will, hopefully, be safest / most likely to succeed.

Right, I'm off now to Argos, then home. The next time I post, it could all be just a memory…

Thanks muchly.

Later
😉

L

that's the time to play about reinstalling Windows.

I don't recall anyone suggesting reinstalling Windows.

I was recommending booting off the Windows CD to get to a command prompt (the recovery console), so that the OP can run a couple of commands which should fix the issue.

In essense, this exactly what people are suggesting with Live CDs and such, only using tools he already has rather than buggering about burning CDs.

you can boot from USB stick

That's extra work, not guaranteed to be supported by his laptop (UFD booting can be hit and miss), and doesn't gain you any advantages other than saving the price of a CD-R.

Ubuntu really isn't the optimal LiveCD to go for in this situation – it will work for just copying files, but it's not set up with all the repair tools. You ideally want something designed for the job – there's a list on Wikipedia.

There's less to download (the Ubuntu livecd includes the OS and a load of applications), and they have a load of tools specifically for fixing broken PCs.

As far as I know the recovery console tools are fairly basic? Format /mbr etc?

Linux makes baby jesus cry 🙁

Errm, I cant imagine why you would be sitting logged into a Unix box at work, and not know how to recover the data on your windoze machine?? 😀

Hi 🙂

LoL at mtb_rossi's remark 🙂

ScottyJohn.
My customer requires I use their computer system, and they use Unix.
I'm a Catia V5 Jockey / Engineer, nothing to do, normally, with this level of system badness.
🙂

So. I'm here now, got the XHD, got true image, have made the true image media build CD, but when I point the sick-computer to boot from the CD drive with the True Image cd in it, it tries to continue in windows, but then goes to the HD, where it then comes up with:
Invalid Partition table !.

Should I be putting the XP cd in first ?

Ever booted off a CD before? (Ie, do you know you to / know that it works?)

Acronis rescue CD should be bootable. Could be a duff burn, could be you've got the discs mixed up?

Cougar.

I can't recall if I've booted from a CD before, the last time I had to do anything like this was over two years ago.

I appear to be missing the part where I create a CD that allows windows to run from it, so that I can then, I suspect, run the true image program.

I'm currently downloading the Ubuntu file, a massive 658mb.

Am I correct in assuming that I create the Ubuntu CD, get some sort of windows working, then put the true image cd in ?.

With Acronis, you install it, then there's an option to create a rescue CD. Create that, and boot off it.

Stop buggering about with Linux (for now at least), you're overcomplicating things. (-:

If you get Linux running from the CD then step 1 would be to try and get your data off first. If you can access the disk then copy all your files and docs off somewhere safe in case your repair goes tits up.

In terms of booting off a CD, it varies between PCs but typically you press one of the F-keys to get a one-time boot menu at startup, look for a message that says "F2=setup, F12=boot options" or similar. The alternative is to go into BIOS and change the boot order so that the CD comes first, then the hard disk. Again, this varies between PCs as to its exact location.

Cougar.

Hey 🙂 yeah, I've got the CD working, I'm about to clone the Sick-HD.

Then it'll be trying to fix whatever is required.

Thanks

🙂

Excellent.

I_Me.

Yes, that would be ideal, but if I've understood this correctly, then that would require some sort of fix first, and as it seems that attempting a fix may not yeild the result I'm after, I'd rather clone the sick-HD before I attempt to fix it.

If all goes well, then my plan is to get a new HD from Dell, and reinstall / reload everything, to hopefully be back where, err, I was last Thursday.

I've never worked so hard to get back in time…
😀

I think you have too much money. (-:

There's possibly nothing wrong with the disk, these things happen sometimes. What I'd do once it's fixed is get a proper backup policy in place and then wait and see what happens. It could be broke, or it could just be one of those things.

Theoretically, with an invalid partition table, your data should still be recoverable with the right tools. There's worse errors to have, put it that way. If the Recovery Console doesn't repair it, the next step would be the Linux and Testdisk route as others have suggested.

Btw – you said it's a Dell, right? What vintage? Model?

(just suddenly thought, there might be a recovery partition on there, which may complicate things slightly)

Cougar.

Too much dosh ?, Far from it 😉

Yes sick Hd has two areas, one for recovery. I tried finding a way into the other partition, through the F2 and F12 keys, but to no avail.

Its a Dell M1330. It came with Vista, that was truely terrible, esp as I couldn't run Catia, and so couldn't design my lights, etc.
And even though I did finally manage to switch the UAC off, god that thing tested me to breaking point.
So Vista had to go.

So, reluctantly, I installed XP, going and collecting all the drivers, etc, that Dell kindly made available, in order to get all the other stuff to work with XP, like the in-built webcam, the sound card, etc.

So there was my new M1330 with vista, actually running on XP Pro and doing everything I needed it to.

Then, at a meeting on Thursday night this week, with the Co that makes my light housings, we were reviewing a light design in Catia and all was well.

After that meeting, when I got home, I thought I'd get a head start on the next phase and get some data sent out to them.

Went to switch the comp on, and got the error message

Which brings me up to this point.

I've recieved a warning from Acronis, telling me that all partitions on the destination drive will be lost. This means I may lose the GoFlex back-up progs the xHD came with, but I have used Acronis to archive them first, to the old laptop (worth a go I thought).
I've Ok'd the loss of partition on destination HD as the software wouldn't continue the clonning process unless I did.

Cougar

Oh, yes, hearing you about the HD. If all goes well this weekend, then the Sick HD will have been repaired, I will clear the cloned HD from the xHD and then back-up the repaired HD to the xHD and just keep running the HD.

Then if this happens again, I know I need a replacement HD.

🙂

WooHoo !.

I've just finished cloning the sick HD, thought I'd have a look at what has been transfered to the xHD, and wouldn't you know it ?, ALL MY FILES ARE THERE YIPPEEEEEEEEE

🙂

Err, right then.

Now to try to fixing the sick HD….

I think its going well, so far…

Hhmmm. XP Recovery console. Ask which drive to access, I select C:, it then asks for admin password.

No idea what that is.

Sorry for the delay, was out shopping.

You should have been prompted to set an Administrator password when you installed XP. If you didn't, the default password is blank, try just pressing enter when prompted.

Is it XP Home or XP Pro? It's been a while, but I think perhaps Home defaults to blank and Pro prompts you. Maybe.

Cougar.

Yay !. Thanks for getting back.

All seems to be good, so far. However, I'm now stuck.

I've been wrestling with trying to get the testdisk utility to run.

I've been trying to find an simple guide to creating a boot disc that will allow me to not only get a dos prompt (I've managed that with my special XP install disc), but also to run TestDisk, as John suggested.

I tried making a disc using nlite, didn't work though.

I typed fixmbr at the prompt booting from my current XP disc, but got quite a scary warning message so deferred going any further along that route, at this time.

Did as you suggested with fdisk and chkdsk and all worked well, no nasties.

I was about to look at making a Ubuntu disc..But seeing as this may make baby Jesus cry, I was having second thoughts.

So. Current situation is:
Files and data are off the sick HD and on xHD AND readeable.
That is a massive score in my book, and is all as a result of kind STW contributors helping here 😉

If I'm right, then at this stage I've saved my files and I could just re-format the sick HD and re-install everything.
But, that will be a major PITA as there was loads of progs and stuff I had all set as I wanted. And the printer, don't even get me started on that sucker.

So, its learning how to run TestDisk, or giving Ubuntu a go

What do you reckon ?.

EDIT: I at least want a crack at repairing the partition table file, with aid of some software, of course, but its how to go about it.

Yeap, just put the Ubuntu disc in.

I think I can see why it makes baby Jesus cry, now

I typed fixmbr at the prompt booting from my current XP disc, but got quite a scary warning message so deferred going any further along that route, at this time.

What was the warning?

Did you try fixboot?

Out of interest, can you boot off the external drive?

If you can by some twist of fate, you could just Acronis the bugger straight back again.

Cougar.

What was the warning?

A
This computer appears to have a non standard or invalid master boot record

FIXMBR may damage your partition tables if you proceed

This could cause all the partitions on the current hard disk to become inaccessible.

If you are having problems accessing your drive, do not continue

Not all the commands suggested to me on this thread, are available.

At C:\WINDOWS

When I type "help"

The relevant choices I get are:
"CHKDSK"
"FIXBOOT"
"FIXMBR"

There may be others, but I'm not sure, what from the list, is relevant to trying to attempt a partition file fix.

I'm embarrased to admit that I don't know how to create a "testdisk" boot CD, and its frustrating.

Thanks

L

EDIT: FIXBOOT doesn't appear to have worked.

Skip fixmbr, it's probably not an MBR issue anyway.

Do,
chkdsk /p
fixboot

Cougar.

Did all that, no dice I'm affraid 🙁

Can't understand people who put stuff on the web to fix this sort of thing (testdisk), and can't describe how to use the software they make available, to the average Joe. Don't know about others, but that cgsecurity webpage is terrible for finding the info one needs.
I just don't understand why it should be that way.

I've not a backround in computer science, but I can follow clear instructions, yet for the hours I've now spent trying to find instructions on how to create a testdisk bootable CD, actually making it available kinda defeats the object, imo. I've got testdisk on this laptop, but getting it to run on the other one, is a total f'ing mystery.

I've tried all, kinds if ideas, and still nothing. I've used the xHD, accessed it through Ubuntu, found the testdisk.exe file, tried to run it and still nothing.
(baby Jesus is Howlin !)

Got to break-off now. Been at this all day, enojoyed the initial 'success' and happy I've got my files.

But p1ssed I can't even get a shot at fixing the PF

Must say, very grateful to you for sticking with me. Sincere thanks 😉

I'm no expert on testdisk but, it comes with Gparted – build a Gparted Live CD maybe?

Perhaps some of the Linux advocates here can help with the actual running of it?

Also,

Out of interest, did you try booting off the external HDD?

Where are you geographically, btw?

Cougar.

Hi.

Yeah, tried booting from the xHD, it didn't like it.

I live in Norwich
😉

Have found "Ultimate Live cd" which may be worth a look

Ta
🙂

How did you get on Luminous?