Last week - laptop - 160GB SATA hard drive
Hope my readers understand what I wanted to mention above. Trying to have little different layout.
Well, come to the point -- It asked me to choose between, 'Start Windows Normally' or 'Launch Startup Repair'. I chose to start the system normally, instead of going through the recover windows options. But I got this abominable blue screen with the following message flashing across:
“A Problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
UNMOUNTABLE_BOOT_VOLUME
If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again follow these steps:
Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.
If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.
Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x000000ED (0x83449C90, 0xC0000185, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)”
Then I restarted my system and tried to 'Launch Startup Repair'. But I was stuck with the same blue screen.
A great problem now what to do?
I started to search the internet for ways to recover windows, so I could access all my files and folders.
• I tried Safe mode, safe mode with networking and safe mode with command prompt. But all in vain
• Then I used the installation disk to auto repair, but even that didn't work for me. The computer did load upto the vista background but that was it. It froze!
• Disconnected all the external devices, except the keyboard and the mouse, and then booted up. In the BIOS I disabled SATA and used the IDE configuration. But to no avail. My computer didn't respond properly.
• Then I went ahead and made small modifications by accessing 'Advanced Boot Options'. Here I selected 'Repair your computer'. Then at the command prompt, I ran chkdsk /f command. After this, I executed chkdsk /r. In case there are bad sectors that are preventing the system from loading, CHKDSK will try to recover those bad sectors. But, no, even this didn't allow me to view my desktop, or the files stored on my system.
When nothing worked, I got very frustrated, and completely formatted my system. I decided to reinstall the operating system, and then recover all my files from the backup.
With the installation disk, it was a matter of some hours when my system was up and running, as good as new. Then I attached my external drive which had all the backup. But it was not recognized. I was at my wits end, and didn't know what to do! Further research revealed hard drive failure of my drive, and called for recovery measures. But I also came across this information that formatted, and deleted data could also be recovered using Windows data recovery software.
In Windows systems, the System hive stores the backup of registries containing the keys, subkeys, and their values. For each user profile, there is a separate system hive. However, sometimes it may get damaged due to several reasons. In such situations, you can use various system recovery methods. If these methods do not work, then this situation calls for professional Windows data recovery software to recover hard drive.
Consider a scenario in which you restart your Windows 2000 system and it fails to start. The following error message is displayed in this case:
“Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEMced”
Note: The 'ced' letters displayed at the end of the error message is actually not part of the error. It is probably part of the previous screen, which was not overwritten when this error appeared.
In addition, you may get the following error message as well:
“System hive error”
Cause:
There could be the following causes for this problem:
• A PCI (Peripheral Computer Interconnect) controller card of Promise Technology, Inc. make is installed in your computer.
• The System hive in your system is either missing or damaged.
Resolution:
There could be the following resolutions for this startup problem:
• Removing the PCI controller: You should remove the PCI controller, then check the BIOS settings to see if the PCI controller is enabled on the motherboard. Restart the system.
• Restoring a backup of the System hive: You should use the Repair Console tool to restore the backup copy of the System hive. If your system does not have Repair Console, then you should run it from the Emergency Repair process.
• Reducing the System hive's size: At times, when too many resources are shared on the system the hive becomes too large and difficult to manage. In such cases, you should reduce the size of the System hive.
If the system is still not resolved, then you would need to use a third-party hard drive recovery utility to recover hard drive. Superb user interface along with the capability to recover data any damage are few of the benefits of these hard drive recovery tools.
Have you ever crashed your Microsoft Windows 7 and got all your files trapped in system? There is no doubt, Windows 7 is an updated version of the ever so robust and reliable operating system but it has some limitations? There are also some errors.
All I want to mention here is - An operating system is a software, and certainly likely to crash. But with effective Windows data recovery methods, it is possible for a user to recover Windows files, and folders.
Here are the steps helpful to avoid the issue:
Windows 7 uses high-end configuration. So make sure you have at least:
• 1 GHz processor
• One GB (32 bit) RAM, or Two GB (32 bit) RAM
• 16 GB (32 bit) space, or 20 GB (64 bit)
• And a DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher drive
Make sure your device drivers are updated and compatible with Windows 7.
Ensure there is enough disk space.
Above points are not a sure guarantee for preventing abrupt problems that may surface, but certainly go a long way in preventing Windows crash, and the data loss situations that accompany such crashes.
But for people, who are already facing data loss due to reasons not listed above, then don't worry. There are Windows data recovery methods available for you.
• For starter, you'll need to try and start Windows in safe mode, then undo the last changes and restart your computer.
• Damaged registry files might be a cause of the problems. In such situations you may have to opt for registry cleaning.
• But, if the above steps, fail, then you'll need to format your system, and then reinstall Windows operating system. This will remove all the data that is saved in your hard drive, but also rid you of all the problems. After re-installation of your OS, you can use your backup to recover Windows files.
But, if you do not have a backup, there is no need to worry as there are a number of comprehensive Windows data recovery software available in the market.
Although Windows is one of the most popular operating system but it has not been able to escape the bugs and problems that come bundled with any software package. The windows vista users usually encounter problem while booting. I have also faced a major problem last week, when I tried to boot my system and found my data totally inaccessible. After trying all my efforts , when was unable to get them back , I had to use Windows data recovery tools as I did not have backup of all my data saved on my hard drive.
After the splash screen, during startup, there appeared a black screen which had a moving progress bar. Along with this, an error message also flashed:
“A problem has been detected and Windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
CLFS.SYS
PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA
If this is the first time you’ve seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation, ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any Windows updates you might need.
If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup options, and then select Safe Mode.
Technical information:
*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0x8AFBF028,0x00000000,0x84E2C363,0x00000000)
*** CLFS.SYS - Address 0x84E2C363 base at 82e1b000 Datestamp 4549acbc”
Cause:
After too much of studies and R&D I came to know that, this error message appears when the CLFS.SYS file is corrupt or damaged. This error is followed by non booting of your Windows Vista, and ultimately to inaccessibility of the hard drive data.
In such situations, it becomes almost impossible to retrieve your data unless you have a backup. Otherwise you need to use 'Startup Repair' options to get rid of system booting problems.
And if this also fails, then you'll need to reinstall your Windows Vista to ensure your system starts to run properly. That done, to recover your data, you need to use effective windows recovery software
The Windows Registry stores all the information, related to OS and applications installed. This results a severe problem for smooth operations of applications. The data on hard drive goes inaccessible. Although repairing of registry files is possible but is not an easy job. It demands a deep technical knowledge and time as well. Hence, for faster and safe recovery of the data it is better to opt for any Windows data recovery utility.
Lets take a case:
It may that when we restart our computer with Windows XP, the system refuses to boot further with an error message and remains hanged. As the system fails to boot, the data in the drive remains inaccessible and any Windows data recovery software is a wiser choice to get back your valuable data.
Following are the error messages :
“Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM”
OR
“Windows XP could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SOFTWARE”
OR
“Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate”
OR
“Stop: c0000218 {Registry File Failure} The registry cannot load the hive (file): \SystemRoot\System32\Config\SOFTWARE or its log or alternate”
Resolution
To resolve this registry issue, repairing of registry files is required. In order to replace the files, first you have to take backup of the old registry files, repair them and again place them in the registry folder. These are the steps to be followed:
• Try inserting the Windows XP CD and restart the computer. Prior to this, inside BIOS, change the boot device as the CD-ROM drive.
• Go to the Recovery Console command prompt and enter the following lines:
• md tmp
copy c:\windows\system32\config\system c:\windows\tmp\system.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\software c:\windows\tmp\software.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\sam c:\windows\tmp\sam.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\security c:\windows\tmp\security.bak
copy c:\windows\system32\config\default c:\windows\tmp\default.bak
delete c:\windows\system32\config\system
delete c:\windows\system32\config\software
delete c:\windows\system32\config\sam
delete c:\windows\system32\config\security
delete c:\windows\system32\config\default
copy c:\windows\repair\system c:\windows\system32\config\system
copy c:\windows\repair\software c:\windows\system32\config\software
copy c:\windows\repair\sam c:\windows\system32\config\sam
copy c:\windows\repair\security c:\windows\system32\config\security
copy c:\windows\repair\default c:\windows\system32\config\default
• The above step takes the temporary registry that is generated during system start-up. This process may start the system, however data may remain inaccessible. Hence, you need to go to the previous restore points and copy the registry from there.
The above steps may resolve the issues, however, sometimes unavailability of restore point or recent backup, leaves the data inaccessible. This situation has only solution, which is to recover the data by using powerful Windows data recovery software.
In this computer age we are all surrounded with computer files. These may be spreadsheets, documents, and even videos or some important mails that we always try to preserve for some future reference. The problem lies in the fact that a simple touch of a button could render all of these files lost and useless.
It can happen to anyone as it happened to me. It was the month of January when I was clearing all my junk items using ( Shift + Delete ). Unknowingly, I selected the folder having all my childhood photos, and deleted it along with other junk items. Later when I realized my mistake, it was too late.
It was really a great loss to me. After too much of googling I came to know that my photos were recoverable untess the folder was overwritten by some other data. Also , I should stop working on my hard drive , else, the chances will will keep reducing. I found various hard drive recovery software available to retrieve my data and I found the Stellar Phoenix Windows data recovery software.
How does it work?
This data recovery software would scour the hard drive for traces of the file that I have deleted. These little traces may be scattered all over the drive and would then be pieced together by the software so as to give it original form.
Scouring the hard drives for the pieces or the traces of the file can be quite time consuming, as the computer would often scatter them and bury them underneath other types of data. As such, the hard drive recovery software need a special algorithm so that they would be able to give you your files back. This algorithm makes the scan more reliable and secure as to follow the read only process.
However, It can recover all the data , deleted through any possible mean unless you are using some special software to erase data from hard disk.
Windows is the most popular and widely OS which can work with all most all leading applications and software. So, it is more prone to errors and sometimes the errors lead to the loss or inaccessibility of valuable data stored in the storage media. In these situations, unavailability of updated backup can be more panic and you need any Windows data recovery utility to recover and restore your data to normalcy.
Scenario:
You are having an ASUS Pro31 Series laptop, where Windows XP professional operating system is installed. While fixing a problem with Microsoft Outlook, you are continuously trying to boot the system in safe mode and suddenly, the system failed to start, flashing an error message on the screen. You may have received any of the following error messages:
“Setup did not find any hard drives installed on your computer ”
OR
“Missing Operating System ”
OR
“Operating system not found”
Cause
The above mentioned error messages may appear due to any of the following conditions:
The BIOS does not detect the hard disk.
The partition that has been marked as Active is incompatible.
The partition that contains the MBR is no longer active.
The first sector of the hard disk has been corrupted or there is any corruption to the MBR.
There may be some damage to the hard disk.
Resolution
As there are multiple causes behind the issue, you have to check in different angels in order to resolve the issue:
Verify, whether the BIOS lists and recognizes the hard disk.
Try the command fixmbr in the Windows XP Recovery Console to repair the initial sectors of the MBR.
This fixmbr can be harmful to the system if any hardware problem or virus related infection is present as in that particular situation, this command may make the partition inaccessible. Hence, it is advised to run the anti virus utility before running the fixmbr command.
If the above measures fail to resolve the issues and valid backup is not there with you, this is indeed a serious case of data loss. In this situation, you have to take the help of any available Windows data recovery software to recover your invaluable data back. These Windows data recovery utilities are so interactive that you don't have learn the technology behind it.
