Quote Originally Posted by weters
1. What could've caused my problem?
2. Is it possible to fix this so windows will work again without a re-install?
3. Why is it that Linux can view these files but Windows cannot?
4. Any suggestions on how I can try to edit my Windows files so I can try to fix my problem?
1. No idea.
2. No idea.
3. Linux can view many file formats and iffy files that Windows cannot. Windows generally regards 'reinstall Windows' as the solution to anything but the most trivial problems.
4. Not really, but you can maybe use Linux to copy the files to somewhere safe, such as a usb drive or connect another machine & save them via a network connection. Be very careful about attempting to write to the ntfs filesystem on the HD, you must use captive ntfs or you will damage the ntfs filesystem.
You could try partitioning the HD with QTparted then copying the data to the new drive (if the data survives the partitioning process, which it might if you use QTParted). The data will not survive if you use a Microsoft partitioning tool.
If/when you reinstall windows, partition the HD into at least two partitions first so you can keep your data on a separate partition from the O/S.