Recover files after failed Windows install

[Crusader69]

Hello Everyone,

I managed to make some very stupid mistakes and shut my main pc down. I thought I had a virus and had removed it. Then I tried to get back to a restore point. After becoming very frustrated I went brain dead and tried to load OS (xp prof) without backing up my hard drives first. While doing the install I got the Blue screen of death. Now I can not load or access my hard drives or system.

I have several other computers and have thought about hooking hard drives up to other computers to recover my data. What suggestions or input would any IT / IS experts have for me?

Can I hook my two hard drives up as an external source and somehow access the data?

I know I screwed it up good :knock:

 

[SNGX1275]

At what point in the install did this BSOD happen? There is a sticky at the top of this forum for repairing XP/2000 if you are unable to boot. You might get lucky and have that be able to help, if you didn't get too far in the install.
You didn't tell it to format the partition and install did you?

 

[Crusader69]

NO I was thinking I should reinstall OS to solve the problems. Obviously I was not thinking very well, lol.
What i am looking for now is a way to retrieve the data off the hard drives before i wipe it out with new install. Or would there still be file recovery options after new install, ie. fat32, etc.?
I have other computers and thought about trying to hook up my hard drives adn access from a working system. Not having any luck getting the other system to see my drive though. Keep getting boot disk error.

Any help or guidence is much appreciated. :grinthumb

 

[pkroks]

i suggest putting the harddrive in another system and recovering the data. if the data was lost during the install then use a recovery program like Get Data Back for NTFS/FAT32.

 

[Crusader69]

Bonehead of the year

I will try again but I do not think the hard drive will work with my other pc's. I started a OS reinstall and got the BSOD. I think I need a way to recover data off the hard drive. I was thinking I could hook up to a working pc and plug in the hard drive as an external source to access. Any thoughts?

 

[SNGX1275]

Unless the hard drive is damaged there is no reason you can't hook it up internally on another computer to recover files. Just make sure the jumpers are set up correctly for where you put it, and check that the BIOS won't try to boot from that drive.

 

[Crusader69]

That is what I thought. I have tried putting them in as a secondary slave, but have not got it to work. I have thought about trying to mirror it not sure what that would do or if it would allow me to access easier? Really stuck at the point of getting it to read the drive while it is hooked up. I have been able to get it to boot on the good pc/HD while the other one is hooked up. Just can not get it to see it or assign it a drive letter?