Data Problem

[xavxen]

G'day all

Right, just fitted a new MOBO, and since I couldnt remove the heatsink from the CPU, I tried to slot it in. Obviously I couldnt get to the ZIF lever, so took the PC to a shop to get it fixed!

They sorted it all out, BUT they said that its possible that I may lose all my data on my HDD. Due to the re-install of XP.

Obviously this isnt good, and I was wondering what the best plan of action is now.

The guy in the shop told me to get another PC, plug in the IDE drive and copy the data over. Then copy it back again if the data is lost.

There is about 40-50Gb of data on the drive, but I dont have another PC.

I can use my mates', but he's (understandably) worried. How can I copy the data over? Can it be done in the BIOS or is there another way to do it?

Sorry about the questions, but I really need to get the PC up and running within the next week.

Hope someone can help, Im at a loss!

If ive missed out any important info, then tell me im a tard!

xav

[Dougal]

erm

1) Ddgy that the CPU and HSF couldn't seperate!

2) Any good comp shop should not loose ur data AT ALL, no risk or anything.

3) Run a CD like UBCD to copy data to another drive installed in your machine.

If you want to have no risk, stick the XP cd in and DO NOT FORMAT but continue to install as normal, it should say you have an install at this location, do you want to repair?

Selct yes, all ur reg and data will be there.

[vincent]

ask yourself this question...

did your hard drive work before you turned the pc into the shop?

[xavxen]

The shop hasnt touched my HDD, but they said that if I wanted to get it up and running again, then I MAY lose the data. The guy said it wasnt certain, but to be safe I should make a copy.

The shop I went to did a free diagnosis. But if I wanted them to do anything then I would have to pay. I figured I could probably carry out the work myself, thus saving money.

So the pc would be ok to boot up, and if i stick the XP reinstall CD into the drive, it will ask me if I want to format the drive (which I obviously dont)...right?!

Trouble is, the guy in the shop said that the copy of XP we have will only work with the old mobo, which is shot.

He said "its like going to bed in the evening, then somebody picking up your bed and moving you to another house, where you dont know where you are, where the light switch is etc"

I thought that was a good analogy!

Does this change anything?

Many thanks for the suggestions though!

xav

oh, and the HDD did work before I took it to the shop!

[peterb]

Get a new hard drive, install XP on that from scratch, then install old drive as a slave and continue to use it as a data drive. (You can delete the old XP install from it once the machine is up and running.) If you DO decide to go that router, it is always a good idea to create at least one or more extra partitions and use them for specific purposes. I usually keep the C drive for the OS, create a D drive for applications, and then an E drive for data. Slightly tedious setting it up, but pays dividends if you do get a problem with the OS (and you ARE using windows... ) Note that this does not protect agains a total hard drive faiilure though.

[Olly1234]

Well as Dougal says above as long as your using the same Xp as before it will give you the option of a repair install, don't choose the initiail recovery consolve repair mind you. Then it'll just re-install XP and keep all your apps and their reg settings, chance of you loosing anything is fairly small, i've done it many times without issue

[killie99]

Word of warning with XP home and XP Pro when it comes to getting data off a drive - if you have a drive that was part of an XP Pro setup you will not be able to read the data on it if you put the drive in a system with XP home. It will tell you the drive is foreign and will not let you import it! Not sure of the other way around ie a disk from an XP Home system will be read in an XP Pro system.
Good old microsoft, don't you just hate them when they do things like that?

[iranu]

^^Rubbish!!!

If the drive is read as being foriegn simply right click "my computer" select "manage" > "disk management" . You will then see the drive as foreign > right click this and click import - job done.

[xavxen]

Cheers all, those suggestions are really useful.

I think Ill just have a go and try and repair XP. Trouble is, its not a full version, only a reinstall disk that came from Medion (the PC manufacturer). Since ive changed the Mobo, will this cause any trouble..

Sorry if iim repeating people, but I just wanna make sure that Ive got it all straight, otherwise I could well be killed by my parents if I lose the data! LOL!

Thanks again!

[killie99]

sorry iranu but I don't think you've ever tried doing this with XP Home. I can assure you if you put a disk from an XP Pro system into an XP Home system you will not be able to access the data. The IMPORT option is not available in XP Home. Haven't ever tried going XP Home to XP Home so I can't comment on that but I believe XP Home does not support dynamic disks so I'd be surprised if it works (although it may not see the drive as being dynamic or foreign since it was used on a XP Home system and so it might work).

If you put an XP Pro disk into an XP pro system then what you say will work.

[xavxen]

OK...an update!

I turned on the PC, and its going round in a loop now.

I can enter the XP Recovery Console, but it says that it needs an "XP Administrator Password"

Is this a generic password. I dont think its your log in password for XP I tried that password, and it says that its wrong.

Any ideas anyone?

[OmarSantiago]

It's asking for the administrator password the machine was first given when XP was installed. If you're using an XP recovery disk you may find the only option really available is to do a complete scrub and reinstall which will wipe out all of your data. If you've changed the motherboard you may just make things worse as recovery disks are usually ghost images pre-loaded with the correct drivers for the machine's original motherboard and components.

If this is correct so far then your options are along the lines of:

1: Buy a new hard drive and install a fresh and fully patched copy of XP and install the drivers yourself. Once it's ready, simply connect the hard drive to your PC, reboot if the system asks for it and you'll find new drives in 'My computer'.

If you have trouble reading the volume, go to right-click on the start button and go to explore|tools|folder options and at the bottom there's an option to use simple-file sharing which you need to disable before restarting the PC.

2: Find a willing friend who'll allow you to attach the drive to a spare IDE (or SATA) port in their system. As long as they set it as a slave device they won't be booting off your drive and you can just copy the data across.

[xavxen]

Ive been searching on google for people with similar problems, and some suggestions are that there isnt a password, and you should merely press "enter", which then allows you to repair XP.

I shall go and try this when I get home. But if THAT doesnt work then I shall re-assess the situation!!! Grrrr....all this trouble just through changing a mobo!!!

Oh well, at least im learning!

[xavxen]

All done dudes!

I booted from the XP Disc, then repaired it! No data lost, all sorted, WAHEY!

Makes me a happy guy and my parents think im a god!! ROFL!

Thanks for all your help people!

Helped me out there!

Cheers

xav