Windows XP Will NOT Boot - Idiot Knoppix User Trying to Fix.

[dpatchen]

My Dell laptop (D600) running Windows XP died on me this weekend. Windows will not boot. When I run diagnostics I reviece the following error: DST Short Test Fail. Error 1000-0146. I alspo receive Error Code: 0F00:1A44 during IDE Disk Verify Test and Error Code: 0F00:0244 during IDE Disk Read Test. I contacted Dell Tech Support. They informed my the HD is toast. My company's IT department wants the HD, but I'm afraid they'll pull the Ole Reformat Game on me. Unfortunately, I haven't backed any of the data of the machine in a good long time. I'm trying to use Knoppix to troubleshoot / recover the data from my HD. With Knoppix booted, I can see the HD, but the folder / file names are not legiable. Does Knoppix have utilities to run scandisk or defragmet? Or any other suggestions would help.

[ckamin]

The Windows recovery console might be the first place you should go before doing more damage to the drive's contents. You should not attempt to write to a Windows NTFS partition using Linux, unless you are willing to lose all of the data. For information on thw Windows recovery console, try searching the Micro$oft site for answers. If the drive is damaged, it's possible that you may not be able to recover the contents without some specialized software. This is exactly why data backups are so important and why the data recovery services seem to flourish.

[dpatchen]

Where can I find the Windows Recovery Console on my machine?

[ckamin]

Where can I find the Windows Recovery Console on my machine?

Here is a good start for your research:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=314058

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_overview.mspx?mfr=true

Go to www.Microsoft.com and search for recovery console information. Go to Google or some other preferred search engine and do the same. Read what information you can and then act accordingly. I'm NOT about to do all of your homework for you. It is no longer a Linux or Knoppix related question. You would be better served by looking at what Microsoft has to say about their product, and how to recover it. You may be required to use installation disks, and if you do not have those, look to the system manufacturer, since they should be supplying their customers with the proper disks and documentation to service their machines. If they don't, then make sure the next system you buy comes properly equipped. There is also a forum or community at the Microsoft site where you might be able to look for solutions.

If all of this is beyond you, you might consider the help of a professional that does this sort of thing for a living. I'm sure they get a lot of practice with Windows.

[dpatchen]

Homework Done. Microsoft's website was the next place I turned. Dug out my Windows XP CD. Attempted to use Windows XP Recovery Console on my machine. No love. CHKDSK will only run about 25% and then says there is 1 or more unrecoverable errors. OOOPS!! That doesn't sound good. When using DIR command, there is an "enumeration" error and no files found. Also removed HD from laptop and installed it in an external case. Connected it to my home PC's USB port to see if Windows XP could see the drive. The drive is there and the Device Manager says it's operating properly, but I cannot see any of the files on the drive. I think it's time for Geek Squad. :cry:

[Harry Kuhman]

I think it's time for Geek Squad. :cry:
OH My GOD! NO!
This is the worst thing that you could do.

See answer #5 if you have any data that you need to recover, then wipe the disk and start fresh.

[ckamin]

I think it's time for Geek Squad

When I said "professional", I don't think they were on my mind. :)

Harry's link might not have worked, so here is the gist of it: http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/User:Harry_Kuhman Then to http://www.knoppix.net/wiki/Rescue_FAQ There are other things you can try, but it appears that your drive suffered a major brainfart (technical jargon for HOSED). Your data may not be recoverable by any easy methods and it is rather expensive to have it done by a data recovery service. I would not be using the drive as a main drive in the laptop again, since it appears to have issues. It should be replaced and everything installed on the new drive instead. That is my opinion. You could run diagniostic programs on it and verify it's function, but 9 times out of 10, they will just fail again. Laptop drives take a beating and are prone to failures. I would keep searching and doing a little reasearch in the community pages on the microsoft site and see if you can find any similar issues with a resolution. Sometimes you get lucky and sometimes you don't. I would try to recover whatever data I could and then be certain to do frequent backups in the future. If your IT department has a spare drive, you might have them install it and see if you can keep the old one in order to try the data recovery. They also might have some tools that they could use to help you out. It is a wise person that makes friends with the resident computer gurus. I have been lucky sometimes by trying some disk imaging software. Ghost might work sometimes, but Acronis True Image surprised me several times by recovering some drives that Ghost choked on. Got most of the data, but sometimes not all, or it may be slightly corrupted. Best I've done is about 95% by that method. There may be alternative tools in Linux that could do the same, but since I have the others, I have no real need to experiment until a serious issue arises.

[Harry Kuhman]

I have to agree with ckamin, replacing the drive may be the best option. And certainly better and cheaper than involving the Geek Squad and then having a drive that you can't trust back in the system. The unfortunate truth is that XP itself is prone to screw up drives at times (we see plenty of reports of that here), so we can't be certain that there is a hardware issue with the drive, but we can't rule it out based on what you have told us. Getting a replacement hard drive may be best. You should also be able to buy a small inexpensive (less than $20, maybe less than $10) external USB self-powered case to hold the current drive. That would give you a nice external storage option. I would suggest that as long as the current drive seems to work that you use that space for regular backups of your new drive, a critical step when you use Windows that you seem to have skipped doing this time.