Using a computer today can be very satisfying, you can do a lot of things and you can browse the most interesting, useful and enjoyable websites, moreover, the computer is an indispensable work tool for a lot of people. But if you wake up in the morning, you go to turn on the Windows computer and this damned part, it stops and restarts or just stops with error and does not start, it becomes a nightmare.
After saying a lot of bad words and trying twenty times to start and start Windows hoping it is only a temporary problem, you have to count to 10, recover calm, cancel all the appointments of the day or evening and start I work with holy patience.
The first thought goes to the files stored on the computer, all the photos of the holidays, the work or school documents, term papers, cell phone backups and so on.
If it is true that everything could be solved relatively quickly, by formatting the PC and reinstalling Windows it is also true that one needs to save the important data and files off the computer to avoid that they are inexorably deleted .
So, the first steps to do are to try to restore your computer to get it started again, but in any case, it is a priority to save all the important data that you want to keep.
1) The first step is certainly to insert the Windows installation CD (xp, Vista and Windows 7) and try to restore and reinstall without losing data and settings.
Then you enter the bios, set the boot from cd, let the preliminary files of the Windows installation load and, once you get to the first screen of choice, press R to access the recovery console .
From the recovery console, you can run DOS commands to attempt to correct errors.
In particular, it is better to use the chkdsk / R command which starts the scandisk with automatic error repair and takes a lot of time.
1 bis) If the startup error of Windows XP depends on a missing file (such as: " Windows cannot start because the following file is missing or damaged" System32 \ Drivers \ Ntfs.sys ), from the recovery console, with the cd windows inside the reader, you can use the copy command as described in this Microsoft instruction page.
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1 SUPER) from the installation CD or USB stick it is also easy to open folders and copy files even if Windows does not work to save them elsewhere.
2) If there is still no sign of recovery, you could try to reinstall Windows XP with file recovery, over the old installation.
In this way everything is reset, Windows returns to the default settings but neither the programs nor the documents or other files are deleted .
This procedure is not too clean and may not solve anything however it is a possibility to try but first, see point 4.
3) Another option if the PC does not boot is to use Hiren Boot CD, a live cd that can be booted from the cd-rom drive.
It provides a series of diagnostic tools and utilities that could solve any Windows startup problems.
4) If nothing was enough and Windows no longer starts, then you have to proceed with the reinstallation of Windows, without formatting, with Windows 7 .
Windows 7 (unlike previous versions) if it is installed on Windows XP or as an update of Windows Vista, it does not delete documents and not even photos, music, videos and programs (which are also reusable).
In a folder called Windows.old all the " Documents and Settings " folders are saved for each user profile that was created in the previous installation and also the folder with the Windows files.
In another article, the links to download Windows 7 SP1 in Italian.
Although there is this possibility, it must be considered that the installation of the operating system is not always successful.
The disk could, for example, be damaged, or the previous Windows was infected with a virus or there are conflicts related to the drivers and a whole series of reasons that it is impossible to list them all.
Therefore, before carrying out any operation or attempt at recovery or installation, it is advisable, if you have not already done so, to save important data, photos and documents on an external hard disk .
Here a big problem arises because if the PC does not start, from Windows it is almost impossible to backup the files.
The solution, however, is simpler than expected and, although the idea seemed complicated, I can assure you that it is a very simple procedure.
You need to create a CD or a USB stick with a "live" operating system .
Live means that the operating system starts and loads itself from a CD or a USB stick, without touching the hard disk and loads an absolutely usable environment for all saving and backup operations.
Personally, it will be understood that this article is written on the basis of one of my misadventures.
The easiest way to recover data if your computer doesn't start is Redo Backup Live.
The linked page contains all the instructions and I can assure you that the operation is simple and affordable for everyone.
On other occasions I have used a small USB stick (enough also from 256 MB) and I loaded Puppy Linux on it following the instructions written a year ago and still absolutely valid.
Puppy Linux can be installed in 3 minutes on the USB stick which is then inserted into the computer to be treated.
Starting the PC, this time, USB loads Puppy Linux with an easy desktop interface like that of Windows.
Puppy recognizes the internal and external hard disks that can be attached to it (the icons are at the bottom and on Linux the disks are named sda).
It therefore becomes easy, open the windows to browse the files of the two disks, the internal and the external one, place them side by side and drag from one to the other all the files you want to save and keep.
The copying of the files is very fast also because puppy linux loads the usb 2.0 drivers so even if it were to copy 50 GB, it won't take the whole day.
In addition to Puppy Linux, you can also use Knoppix live CDs (a Linux distribution) or any other light live distro.
Of these Linux systems, the ISO file can be downloaded for free and then copied onto a CD with a program for burning ISO images.
Simpler (and if the cd dvd player was broken), in my opinion, is to copy the content of this ISO image to a USB stick through the Unetbootin program.
Alternatively, you can also use a Windows XP live CD which, however, must be created at home with a somewhat laborious procedure.
If the PC is old and does not have a CD player and does not even support USB pen boot, then it is a big problem and I still have no idea how you can restore and backup your data without involving an expert technician ( who will eventually dismantle the computer, mount the hard disk on a working PC, make a copy of the files and then, perhaps, format it and reinstall the operating system).
Let me know if you have problems, personally it was a bad and long night, full of expectations, sliding bars and error warnings ... but in the end everything was recovered.
