We have important files saved on the hard disk or in the memory of your PC but the latter has suddenly decided to leave us on foot "> If Windows does not start and does not start, how to save everything and reinstall 1) Download the recovery tool
The first thing to know is: even if Windows is locked the files are always available on the hard disk, just find a way to access them.
Obviously in order to access the files we will have to use an "external" operating system, capable of operating independently from Windows and accessing the disks on the PC, so as to show us all the files kept.
The best free tool is definitely a GNU / Linux distribution, a complete operating system that can be booted from a CD or from a USB stick to be started before Windows.
There are plenty of GNU / Linux distributions to use for the purpose, but we recommend using Xubuntu (a light and powerful version of Ubuntu) for its great compatibility with all peripherals and the ease with which it can be downloaded.
Xubuntu is available as an ISO (image file) downloadable both via browser and via torrent (perfectly legal as it is free license).
If we are interested in the ISO downloadable directly via browser, simply click on the following link -> Xubuntu ISO direct download, for the i386 32 cbit version and the 64 bit version.
2) Preparation of CD, DVD or USB stick
At the end of the download, the ISO image obtained must be saved on a medium in order to be used.
In the past, CDs and DVDs were very fashionable, but to create the recovery environment, a USB stick with at least 2 GB of space is also fine.
To use optical media, simply use any burning program to save the ISO on the disc.
If instead we need a USB stick (faster) we can help you in creating the bootable media with a free program like UNetbootin, available for free from here -> UNetbootin
Just download it and start it to make it immediately operational (obviously we first connect the USB stick to the PC we are using to create the recovery environment).
Select the item Disk image then click on the button with the dots (...) to select the ISO image of Xubuntu, then at the bottom select the drive letter of the USB stick to be used in the item Unit and finally click on OK .
After a few minutes the USB stick with the recovery environment is ready, we can move to the PC with Windows locked or not working.
3) Starting recovery environment
We insert the USB stick or the burned disc into the reader / burner of the PC with Windows locked and start it by pressing the power button.
To avoid that the PC immediately calls the operating system present on the hard disk (instead of the disk) we repeatedly press the F8 key as soon as the PC starts; this should be enough to call up the Boot Selector or Boot Menu, a small BIOS / UEFI tool that will let us choose which media to boot from.
The graphics may change the basis of the BIOS / UEFI present, as well as the key to be pressed repeatedly to see this screen appear.
You can do a Google search by looking for your motherboard model (or notebook model) followed by "Boot menu".
In this menu we select the item related to the stick (USB, Removable or similar) or the item related to the disk player to finally start the recovery environment.
After a few minutes of waiting we will finally start Xubuntu with a usable desktop, a mouse pointer and various tools ready to be exploited.
Let's make sure the mouse and keyboard work properly and get familiar with this operating system, because it will be the basis for recovering important files from locked Windows.
4) Access to hard drives to recover files
After becoming familiar with the new operating system (which we remember it works completely from USB or DVB support, does not save anything on the disk and only works in RAM memory) we will be able to attempt access to the hard disks and partitions on the PC with Windows locked using the File Manager tool, obtainable by clicking on the mouse head button at the top left.
Once the File Manager window is open we will see all the partitions and disks on the PC locked in the side panel, just recognize the right partition by the size and type of folders it contains.
Click on the disk or partition icon to open it immediately in File Manager; if it opens correctly check that it is the right partition by looking for the Windows folders inside.
As soon as you find the right partition you will have to go to the path where Windows saves all the user (or users) files, that is the Users folder.
Here you will find all active users on the PC, with the ability to access common folders ( Downloads, Music, Videos, Documents and Images ) to recover all the files.
The files saved in this way will have to be copied somewhere else, so it is better to keep another fairly large USB stick or a portable hard disk handy, so as to save all the files in a new space separate from the locked operating system.
After the recovery of the files, just turn off the recovery environment (Mouse-shaped key -> Turn off or restart) and try to recover Windows in complete peace of mind knowing very well that our files are now safe.
READ ALSO: If the PC does not start, fix with Boot CD and Rescue disk repair
