Saturday, August 28, 2010

Problem of Black Screen in Microsoft Windows Vista

Are you getting a blank black screen on Windows Vista computer after BIOS or after logon? Well, it is one of the most frequent problems with Windows Vista operating system, which generally occurs after an unexpected system shutdown. The problem renders your system unbootable and you can not get into the system and access data from Windows hard drive. It leads to serious situations of data loss, in case a clean and current backup is not in place. At this point, you are required to use Windows data recovery solutions to get your valuable data recovered.

As a practical example of this problem with Microsoft Windows Vista operating system-based computer, consider the following scenario:

Your system can not boot up after an improper system shutdown due to power outage.

A black and blank screen appears after BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).

You try to perform Startup Repair using the Windows Recovery Disk and the process continues for about one hour.

You get an error message after completion of Startup Repair process, stating:“Unable to repair the problem”

You reboot the computer after the above error and get further error message that states:“Error code 0xc000000f winboot.exe is missing from system32 folder.”

You can not see the Windows folder in your C:\ drive.

The size of disk and amount of free space is intact, as it was before this problem.

Data remains inaccessible even if you try to access the drive by attaching it to another computer.

When such a situation occurs, you can not log into your system and retrieve data from the hard drive. In such cases, you need to figure out the root of this problem and recover Windows data by fixing it.

Cause

This behavior is caused by missing, corrupt, inaccessible, or damaged system files or data structures of your Windows Vista hard drive.

Resolution

Since Recovery Console is unable to fix the problem, you need to format the hard drive and reinstall operating system. It replaces the corrupt files and data structures. However, it removes the stored data from the media and puts you in need of windows data recovery software.

Windows recovery tools are designed to scan the drive, extract the lost files/directories, and recover them. They offer safe and easy recovery through read-only behavior and interactive user interface.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most advanced and effective application to tackle all data loss scenarios. It is designed for Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000 operating systems. The software helps you to recover data from exFAT, NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, VFAT, FAT16, and FAT 12 file system partitions.

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

How to resolve - "Sector not found/read" error

We use hard drive as the primary storage media for most of the desktop and laptop PCs. For our convenience of storing and organizing data in a better way, we use to divide the space in the hard drive. This task of dividing the storage space into different partitions/volumes is known as disk partitioning. Furthermore, a disk can be divided into at most four and at least one primary partitions.

A primary partition carries the file system and can become an extended partition which can be further divided into secondary partitions or logical partitions. We can reap many benefits by installing different operating systems into different primary partitions. However, with multiple operating systems, many errors arise while booting, leading to loss or inaccessibility of data. Windows data recovery software recovers your lost data and relieves you from these panic instances of data loss.

Let us assume that you have created 2 primary partitions with Windows and one of the Windows partition is again sub divided into 2 logical partitions. However, when you are attempting to boot your Windows partition up, an error is popping up and the drive is becoming inaccessible thereafter. The error message may be similar to the following:

“Sector not found/read error”

Cause:

There are two primary reasons behind the occurrence of the above error message as listed below:

Corruption in the partition table of the hard disk.
Any damage to the MFT of the hard disk.

Resolution:

In both the above cases, though it is important to rectify the error, however the most important thing is that, your valuable data lies with the troubled hard drive and safe recovery of the data is the foremost priority. Furthermore, in case of partition table corruption as well as MFT damage, the repair process is very complex and slightest of the mistake can cost you the whole data. Hence, as the best possible way to repair the drive to normality, is to format the drive and reinstall, it better advised to recover the data trapped in the drive with Windows data recovery software.

These Windows data recovery software are built with powerful scanning methods to fetch the partition information first and then, they find the partitions and recover them. Though the process is not that simple, the way it is told, however, we may never witness its complexity because of the cool, simple and interactive user interface of these software.

We may find many demanding Windows recovery software in the market, Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most popular one and for its risk free policy it has been the most trusted one. This magical Windows recovery utility can guaranty recovery of your deleted, formatted and inaccessible data from any FAT, exFAT and NTFS file systems. Moreover, masking, clone drive, create image, drive status, raw recovery, save scan etc options are awesome.

Friday, August 20, 2010

Incorrect boot.ini file failure in Vista upgrade

In the Windows systems, the Boot.ini file is very critical for startup purposes. This file contains the listing of the operating system to load during the boot process, among many other things. However, despite being a system file this is not marked as read-only. Because of this, at times this file gets modified or start containing incorrect entries, which could easily lead to startup problems thereby making the system insecure. You should try to edit the boot.ini file and restart the system and see if the problem is solved. If it is not, then you should use a hard drive recovery software to recover hard drive.

Take a real-world example in which you are trying to install Windows Vista but are unable to select the Upgrade option. Also, in the Install Windows dialog box, the following error message is displayed:

Upgrade has been disabled

- Windows cannot determine if another operating system exists on your computer. Try repairing the boot configuration, and then begin the installation again.”

Cause:

The problems in installing Windows Vista in this case may arise due to the corruption issues in the Boot.ini file. The Boot.ini file is having incorrect entries. Also, it may be possible that the boot path in this file is having incorrect location for the Windows directory.


Resolution:

To overcome this problem, you should modify the Boot,ini file to correct the invalid entries. However, you should backup the boot.ini file before doing anything modifications in order to avoid any further damage to it. To save the boot.ini file, you should perform the following steps

  • Click Start | Run and enter 'sysdm.cpl' and press the 'Enter' key.

  • In the 'Advanced' tab, click the 'Settings' option in the 'Startup and Recovery' section.

  • In 'System Startup', click the 'Edit' option to open the file in Notepad for editing.

  • Click File | Save As and save another copy of the boot.ini file.

  • In the original Boot.ini file, edit the settings as per the individual options.


Please note that you should edit the boot.ini file in the presence of a trained technician as it could lead to further damage, if badly done.

If you are unable to upgrade to Vista even after modifying the boot.ini file, then you should a third-party Windows recovery software to recover the inaccessible data. These read-only tools are very helpful as they use extremely safe scanning algorithms to recover hard drive.

When it comes to recovering hard drive, the best third-party software is Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery, which extracts data from various memory devices. With the capability to extract data from FAT, NTFS, and exFAT file systems, this hard drive recovery software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.


Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Relation between System files and data accessibility in Windows

There are so many system files that are needed for a healthy start up in Windows. Also, whenever you upgrade to a higher version such as Windows XP some files may escape out thereby disabling the system from booting.

In such situations, the Windows files get inaccessible and you are unable to access any data. One should try to find ways to resolve this case. If nothing works out, then the use of a third-party Windows data recovery software is the best option to recover Windows files.

Looking at a practical scenario, you are unable to start your Windows XP system. The following error message is displayed in this regard:

Windows could not start. The following file is missing or corrupted \windows\system\vgaoem.fon.

You can attempt to repair this file by starting Windows setup using the original setup CD-ROM. Select 'r' at the first screen to start repair.”

Cause:

Such booting problem may appear when the Vgaoem.fon file is either corrupt, damaged, or missing.

Resolution:

To overcome this situation, you should perform the following steps to restore the vgaoem.fon file:

  • Adjust the boot preferences so as to boot the system from a bootable CD-ROM.

  • Insert Windows XP Setup CD in the CD-ROM drive.

  • Press a key to boot the system from the CD, when the 'Press any key to boot from CD' message is displayed.

  • Press R to start the Recovery Console, when the 'Welcome to Recovery Console' screen is displayed.

  • At the command prompt, enter the following command, and press Enter:map

  • Enter the following command to copy the missing file in the system from the CD:expand d:\i386\vgaoem.fo_ c:\windows\system

  • If the file is successfully copied, the following message is displayed:

Vgaoem.fo_

1 file(s) expanded.

  • Type 'exit' and restart the system. The system should start normally now.


If you are still unable to boot your computer, then the Windows data remain inaccessible, which is not at all a desirable situation. To escape from such miseries, I would advise you to utilize the services of a third-party Windows data recovery software. Using these Windows data recovery tools allows you to recover Windows files without any damage to the original data.

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

How the Data Loss in Windows can be avoided?


Having backup of all the data, is the best and most adopted way to avoid data loss. But the user should also follow some measures to avoid the operating system . If a user faces a data loss situation , then he needs to opt for Windows data recovery.

There is no fool proof way to completely prevent Windows data loss, but there are ways to reduce its impact. Enlisted below are a few ways that can be used to prevent Windows data loss including:


  1. Running to many programs simultaneously is taxing for the computer. Use only those applications that are required.

  2. Make sure your disk has ample free space. If not remove software that you no longer use. This would reduce the load from the system, and help you work better too.

  3. Keep a reliable antivirus ready on your system. Update it regularly. Enable it to automatically update itself everyday.

  4. As much as possible do not open emails and attachments from unknown people. These may contain virus, malware, or a spyware.

  5. Keep a backup of your files at different locations. It is generally advisable to verify that your backup is working fine. Also, if possible keep more than one backup.

  6. It is generally advised that you keep saving your work frequently. This generally helps when the system shuts down while working, and you are in the middle of something important.

  7. Keep your system up-to-date by upgrading your system and whenever patches are available using them.

  8. Ensure that your system registry or other settings cannot be accessed or modified by anyone.

  9. Defragment the system frequently.

  10. Keep your system in clean and dust free area.

  11. And most importantly, keep it away from moisture and heat. A cool environment does a lot of good to the system.

In case a user has already lost his data – either by formatting the hard drive or through accidental deletion , he should opt for a third party windows data recovery software..

How to remove these STOP errors: 0x00000050 or STOP 0x0000008e

The STOP errors occur in Windows after encountering a critical trouble with the system. This ends to shut down your PC. These are caused by ccur in order to prevent the irreversible damage to the integrity of the system. However, the center of panic lies with the data saved in the inaccessible storage media and hence, need of an effective Windows data recovery software surfaces.

Scenario:

While surfing on Internet, your computer automatically restarts and on logging in, says that it has recovered from a serious error. Underneath, there is a link to learn more about the problem and on clicking, the STOP error details can be seen. The same process of restarting at regular intervals continues making your data inaccessible and leave you with no other option expect any Windows data recovery software. The STOP error messages may read any of the follows:

“STOP: 0x00000050 (0xf8655000, 0x00000001, 0xfc7cc465, 0x00000000)
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (50) ”

OR

“STOP: 0x0000008e (0xc0000005, 0x00000120, 0xfd28eaa4, 0x00000000)
KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M (1000008e) ”

Cause

The primary cause behind the problem may be the infection of the computer with a variant of the virus, HaxDoor. The virus, HaxDoor creates a hidden process that hides files and registry keys.

Resolution

To resolve the above issues, you need to modify the registry. Follow the steps below to accomplish the task:

Try to click on START, click on RUN, type 'regedit' and then click OK.

Try to locate the below registry sub key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ Notify

Try deleting any entry in the registry sub key that reference to 'drct16' or 'draw32'.

Then, insert the installation CD of Windows XP and restart the computer from the CD.

Keep pressing the key 'R' to go to the Windows recovery console.

Select the number 1 to choose the Windows installation and repair it.

At the command prompt, use 'cd' command to move to the folder C:\Windows\System32.

Use the command 'ren' (rename) to rename all the files found in the folder. Furthermore, if you receive a "File not found" message, move to the next file in the list.

If you want to delete these files when you are finished, type del *.bad.

Remove the Windows XP installation CD, and then type Exit to restart the computer.

While restarting the PC, click on Start, click on Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

Try to locate and delete any entries that contain the names, such as: vdmt16, vdnt32, winlow and memlow under any registry sub key.

Furthermore, locate and delete any entries of the file name, Mszx23.exe under the any registry subkey.

Lastly Quit the Registry Editor.

After these long list of measures, it is likely that the problem will be resolved. However, if it fails and you don't have updated backup available, then, you have to run any Windows data recovery software to get back your valuable data. Sometimes, the already done corruption of the data and the tedious, fault making process may propel you to think of data recovery.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

Solution to the Error-STOP: 0x00000050 or STOP 0x0000008e

STOP errors are the kind of errors that your Windows-based system issues after encountering a critical trouble with the system. This ends to shut down your PC. Furthermore, these errors occur in order to prevent the irreversible damage to the integrity of the system. However, the center of panic lies with the data saved in the inaccessible storage media and hence, need of an effective Windows data recovery software surfaces.

Scenario:

While surfing on Internet, your computer automatically restarts and on logging in, says that it has recovered from a serious error. Underneath, there is a link to learn more about the problem and on clicking, the STOP error details can be seen. The same process of restarting at regular intervals continues making your data inaccessible and leave you with no other option expect any Windows data recovery software. The STOP error messages may read any of the follows:


“STOP: 0x00000050 (0xf8655000, 0x00000001, 0xfc7cc465, 0x00000000)
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA (50) ”

OR

“STOP: 0x0000008e (0xc0000005, 0x00000120, 0xfd28eaa4, 0x00000000)
KERNEL_MODE_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED_M (1000008e) ”

Cause

The primary cause behind the problem may be the infection of the computer with a variant of the virus, HaxDoor. The virus, HaxDoor creates a hidden process that hides files and registry keys.

Resolution

To resolve the above issues, you need to modify the registry. Follow the steps below to accomplish the task:

Try to click on START, click on RUN, type 'regedit' and then click OK.

Try to locate the below registry sub key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon\ Notify

Try deleting any entry in the registry sub key that reference to 'drct16' or 'draw32'.

Then, insert the installation CD of Windows XP and restart the computer from the CD.

Keep pressing the key 'R' to go to the Windows recovery console.

Select the number 1 to choose the Windows installation and repair it.

At the command prompt, use 'cd' command to move to the folder C:\Windows\System32.

Use the command 'ren' (rename) to rename all the files found in the folder. Furthermore, if you receive a "File not found" message, move to the next file in the list.

If you want to delete these files when you are finished, type del *.bad.

Remove the Windows XP installation CD, and then type Exit to restart the computer.

While restarting the PC, click on Start, click on Run, type regedit, and then click OK.

Try to locate and delete any entries that contain the names, such as: vdmt16, vdnt32, winlow and memlow under any registry sub key.

Furthermore, locate and delete any entries of the file name, Mszx23.exe under the any registry subkey.

Lastly Quit the Registry Editor.

After these long list of measures, it is likely that the problem will be resolved. However, if it fails and you don't have updated backup available, then, you have to run any Windows data recovery software to get back your valuable data. Sometimes, the already done corruption of the data and the tedious, fault making process may propel you to think of data recovery.

How to resolve Windows 2003 server problem in case of hard drive damage?

So a volume of your Windows 2003 server based system is corrupt, and you are facing automatic reboot of your system every time you are trying to fix that volume. Or, are you facing Stop error messages when trying to fix that volume? Repairing that volume is of utmost importance as it has a lot of important data saved in it, but you don't know how to do that?

So what to do? Running Chkdsk utility doesn't help in case of severe damage to the volume. But don't worry, you have an updated backup, that can be used to perform Windows data recovery. The problem only comes, if you do not have backup with you!

The other day, I found that one of my volumes of the 2003 server hard drive was corrupt. Unfortunately, running chkdsk/f command line utility did nothing to fix my problem. Instead, my computer rebooted unexpectedly, and gave me the following Stop error message:

Stop 0x00000024 ( parameter1 , parameter2 , parameter3 , parameter4 )

Apart from the error message, when you check the System Log, following event is marked in it:

Event type: Error

Event source: EventLog

Event category: None

Event ID: 6008

Date: Date

Time: Time

User: N/A

Computer: ComputerName

Description: The previous system shutdown at PreviousTime on PreviousDate was unexpected.

This problem is caused due to passing of incorrect SCB (stream control board) pointer from the Ntfs.sys to the system, when Chkdsk.exe flushes its target volume. In case of corruption of target volume, the NTFS file system marks the target volume with a 'dirty' flag.

There are two ways of resolving this problem.

  • Download the hotfix that is available on Microsoft website. On applying the hotfix, chances are that you will recover your partition along with all your data.

  • But if in case it doesn't help you, then you'll have to format your hard drive to fix the file system problem. This needs to be followed by recovery of all the data that was saved in the drive using Windows data recovery software. A recovery software uses high-end scanning technique to scan and then gather together the pieces of data that have been deleted owing to formatting.