Guest myradon Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 I recently had a hard drive failure, and this resulted in my macchine not being able to get to windows. the files are intact (atleats the ones I ned to acccess should be) . I can access the drive as I have installed int into my wifes machine. It checks out as just having corrupted sectors, and all my other files are intact (mostly).The problem is I cannot access the Desktop folder in my user proffile. I am not prompted to a password entry system, and I know no way to access the files. there are a few trhings there I would not like ot loose. Does anyone have a solution?Thanks for youtr time :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuzzman Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 You should look into Knoppix. It's a Linux Live cd that you can use to read, but not write to, NTFS that is very easy to use. This wil allow you to get the files onto some other medium so you can repair the bad sectors on the disk.If you need assistance in downloading, burning, or using Knoppix, post back.By the way - Welcome to WindowsForum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 I've just posted about a guide to Knoppix see here :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scarecrow Man Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 I had the same problem not too long ago.What you can do is start in safe mode, and right click the folder. Select the security tab, and change the ownership.I cannot remember exactly how to do it becuase I am on 2k right now, but give it a try. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myradon Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 Thanks for the suggestion. I tried to use another Linux distro (well 3 only 1 booted on my machine) to access the files. The onne Distro that loaded ignored bothh of mmy HD's so I was unable to back up, but Knoppix should work. As for booting to easy or protected modes, I could not do either as windows would not load in any maner. Thanks for the suggestiongs, and I'lll let you know how things go once i have a chance to try the linux alternative. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homecomputeraid Posted January 21, 2005 Report Share Posted January 21, 2005 There's an excellent utility by Steve Gibson of Gibson Research (http://www.grc.com) called Spin Rite that can help in repairing and recovering hard drives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest myradon Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Knoppix worked perfectly. I had a bit of a hard time settign a resolution that worked well on my Monitor, but once that was finished it worked wonders. I am now looking at returning my computer to a functional state, and I have rather large questions.1. Could I reasonably use the Hard drive that just crashed on me? I ask this because i have not yet had experiences with a crashed hard drive.2. Would it be reasonable to use a linux OS? Again being a windows forum, I'm not sure what responce I'll get, however the only program I use of importance that is not Linnusx ready is Serif Photoplus and GIMP should handle all its tasks. I occasionaly play Diablo2, but from what I understand, there is a method of emulating a dos environment, and thus, I could play it just as well.Thanks for all the responces so far! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 In answer to question 1... it depends why the hdd crashed in the first place. I would check it to make sure that there is nothing wrong with it before I tried using it again.In answer to question 2.. we may be a windows forum but have quite a few linux devotees amongst our members. If you want to use Linux then go ahead! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agent Smith Posted January 22, 2005 Report Share Posted January 22, 2005 Hi myradon, as Nellie says, I would check out the disc thoroughly before trusting it with any data. There are several tools you can use to check your disc, but I would suggest the website for the manufacturer, as they all have free downloads for their own disc checking utilities.Mr IM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scuzzman Posted January 23, 2005 Report Share Posted January 23, 2005 Linux has an excellent utility called fsck that you can use to check the drive while in Knoppix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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