I have an old windows xp laptop i used years back to play videogames. It hasnt worked in years...

>>834147715Remove the hard drive from the laptop and connect it externally to another computer with a cheap SATA/IDE to USB adapter. This will allow you to browse the files on the drive without booting from it. Keep in mind that the reason the system is blue screening is likely because the drive is failing and has bad partitions so copy everything you can off from it before browsing the files for nostalgic purposes.

>>834147975If the hard drive is fucked the files are fucked, if not it has nothing to do with the OS

>>834147715Blue screen is almost always hardware.1. boot in safemode and check your hardware. If you can't boot in safemode..2. Find the win disk that came with the computert. Boot from cdrom. You might have to enter the bios and change the boot order. 2. It will give you some options including repair. You can choose this and get a C prompt and see the files by typing dir 3. If you want to fix it Choose install but when it asks you to install type R. This will replace the boot files, but will give you a running computer without overriding your files. You might have to put in all the service packs though. If it is the hardware:Pull the harddrive. Get a ISA or SATA to USB connector depending on what it is. Plug it into a working 32bit computer running xp or 7 (your new computer's Win 10 can't run 32 bit programs.)

>>834148072*bad sectors sorry not partitions >>834148093Not true necessarily, if the drive has bad sectors then most or all of the user files may be fine while only system files are on corrupted sectors.

>>834147975Maybe the boot files are corrupted? Like anonBro said, try connecting the HDD to a working PC and maybe you can access the files.

>>834148072I had tried that before in the past to mixed success, i was able to get music, but almost no pictures other than the smalled thumnails. What software should i use to A. recover files?B. clone the drive?I suppose if I clone the drive, there is a chance on the cloned drive, I could try to use a repair cd on that cloned version of the windows install? Im sort of in over my head so idk if it works as simply as that.

>>834148093i can access a small amount of the files by plugging it into another computer using a sata thingy like the other user said, but unless im doing it wrong, only a handful of files are viewable that way. The only way I can seem to get any files off of the hard drive that way is by using recovery software, which yields some good music, but only thumbnails of images. Im not sure what to do from this stage.

>>834147975Without the harddrive it always reverts to the bios because it can't find the harddrive. That doesn't mean your HD is bad, just corrupted. Try safe mode. If you can't get to safe mode..this guy >>However, if you don't have the original install disk It is hard to get xp up using someone else's.look on the bottom of the computer to see if the win key is there. If it is you might be fucked if you don't have the original disk.

>>834148207You should be able to just browse and copy user files from the user folder like this. If you're getting errors or failures during copying then your user data is on the corrupted sectors. There is software out there you can pirate that MAY give you better success but realistically the drive would need professional recovery via physical repair followed by software recovery.

>>834148256>>834148312What exactly shows in file explorer when you connect the drive and open the OS partition?

>>834148102when i tried booting in safe mode it blue screens. i dont think i have the windows disc any more unfortunately because its been almost 20 years, but i may still have it. If I repair from a disc, will it keep my files intact? would it write the repaired windows files to the same sectors on the hard drive? Because i would prefer not to overwrite any recoverable information. For that reason i have been wondering if the proper course would be to clone the drive first, but i dont know how to do that.How would I know if it is hardware or if its software? would i be able to look up the BSOD information on google? i dont have any other machines earlier than 8. I would be willing to buy another old machine to get this to work.

>>834148395When the drive is connected externally to another computer did you run crystaldiskinfo to see what the SMART status of the drive reported? If the drive is failing then cloning would be of no more help as it won't be able to access the bad sectors either.

>>834148043People are saying do a Linux live boot because you can make a Linux installation thumb drive for free relatively easily, boot to the drive on the computer and navigate to the bad hard drive to get the files. It sounds like you don't know much about computers so your easiest option would probably be just connecting the drive to an already functioning computer using sata cables or a USB to sata adapter like many people have said . The Linux way is free but would require a lot of time and googling on your end to figure it out.

>>834147715Short answer is: yes.Long answer is: is actually way too long to type it out here and teach you everything.But you have multiple options: 1) get some backup software that creates an image of a drive, so that you'll be able to access the files whenever you want. 2) take the hdd out of the laptop and plug it in as a secondary driver device to any other computing device. Copy the files. 3) you'll need a usb drive and a portable hdd/ssd with a usb, that support older Universal Serial Drivers ports. like 1.0 or 2.0, not important. What you do is create a completely bootable OS (operating system) USB drive.. I'd say take something very light and easy. Like Linux. I'd say Linux Slax (was 200mb in size), very easy to install/create a boot drive. Just google and follow the manual. Then you plug both into your old laptop. start it, go into the bios and then/or directly to the boot menu. Select the drive with Linux to boot from. Once booted, open the file manage and just copy the files from the laptops hhd to your portable usb hdd/ssd. you can simply and stupidly try to copy all of it, if you want.So, once you have a backup, you can try to repair the OS safely using whatever method you see fit. But i'd just format the drive and reinstall the OS. you'd have your files backed up in some way/multiple ways anyway.Source: Working in STEM field. Sometimes have to do trivial shit, like help people update to Win10. Never do it without backing up their data first.

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>>834148301why is it hard if i dont have the original install disc? Maybe you can clarify something to me ive been confused on. Do two laptops running windows xp come with different files based on the different computers? like drivers or something? I figured a windows xp disc is just a windows xp disc, but i have heard people say for some reason that you need the "original disc" the windows key is on the bottom of the computer but i dont see how thats a bad thing, why would that be an issue? surely windows xp discs dont require internet connection to run, do they? sorry for my poor knowledge of all of this.>>834148312i dont get a failure or anything. Its just that when I choose to read my old xp hard drive as a usb storage on my win 8 machine, very few files show up. To actually find much of anything on that drive i had to use some recovery software, but i dont remember what it was called anymore. It yielded a lot of mp3s so there is data on the disc that for some reason windows cant recognize right away.

>>834148395Only if you repair the disk using INSTALL and not REPAIRThe first REPAIR you see will wipe the drive.If you hit Install, it asks you whether you want to install and at that point you type in R for repair. This doesn't overwrite the disk, just all the boot files like .ini and shit.It gives you a fresh Registry which won't know what programs you installed, but they will all still be there on the disk and you can just reinstall them. The point is it is not supposed to repartition the disk or overwrite anything but instead just replace your boot files. Ask the internet. lifewire.com/how-to-perform-a-windows-xp-repair-install-2624915

>>834148395Have you tried "disable reboot on system failure" or whatever its called?you want the 0x[hex numbers] to track down the error further.Often the first few letters/numbers after the "x" will narrow down the problem. (memory, driver, corrupt registy, etc).

Take it to a tech shop?

>>834148356the last time i tried this was a while ago so i dont remember everything, but when i plug it via sata cable thing, to my win 8 machine, it shows up fine and spins up. It shows some user account names and a few directories with a few files but not much at all. Could there be a chance they are locked behind a password I had a decade ago? Im pretty sure there is a way around that.

>>834148580Some OEM manufacturers especially laptops tied the key to the repair disk. You can tell these because the repair disk isn't a windows disk but an install disk with the laptop company's name. However, if the key is on the bottom of the computer, you might be able to use any Win XP disk and use that key.The advantage is, with the OEM disk, you don't type in the key at all.

>>834148641kill yourself stupid nigger who goes to shop to fix shit fucking loser

>>834148667if you login to your newer machine as "administrator", the attached drive should be wide open to you

>>834148474ive never heard of that, what does that do and how to i run that? i would be doing it on windows 8. sorry for the stupid questions, i feel i am learning from the thread regardless of my stupidity.>>834148538from the last time i attempted this in the past, i do recall most places online saying for some reason linux is the go to method of cloning a drive, but i couldnt figure out why that was. I have never used linux before so i dont know if its feasible for me to be able to figure it out or not. From a bare 0 level knowledge of linux how long would it take me to figure out how to do all of this? Can you give me any idea of a scope of what id be looking at? I have free time so if its possible id want to try.

>>834148580> very few files show up>>834148667This is exactly why people are suggesting to create a portable linux usb drive. Just google "Linux Slax" i.e. and read. It is very easy. Also simple to use. Modern Linux has almost the same UI as Windows. As in, icons, bars, etc.. Its still a bit different, but you'll figure it out, its no rocket science.So the reason is that windows has a hard time with damage drives, for whatever reason. Also starts complaining about permissions, hidden files, other bullshit. Linux just doesn't give a shit. Linux will show everything on the drive right off the bat, maybe even all the damaged files. Chances are it'll also be able to copy all the damaged files, even if they're of no use anymore.

>>834148207>What software should i use to>A. recover files?>B. clone the drive?recover: Active File Recoveryclone: Acronis 2020 boot diskif the problem is drivers for missing hardware, you can create a clone .TIB file in Acronis, then convert that to a virtual machine using VMWare. should clear up any driver problems as it uses virtual hardware.

>>834148667Even if you didn't have access to any directories via permissions they'd still show up and you could change the permissions to grant you access. If they don't show up at all in file explorer then it's likely the drive is heavily corrupted. I've recover hundreds of drives with failing sectors by just connecting them externally, changing permissions on the User folder in root, and then just copying the user files. If they don't show up at all then something is severely fucked.

Does it blue screen at bios or when windows is starting up?

>>834148781Crystaldiskinfo doesn't do anything but report the health of the drive. Would just confirm for you for certain if the drive is failing or not. As others have stated accessing the drive externally from a different computer while also booted from a Linux environment from a USB drive such as Ubuntu may help as sometimes Linus can see files that Windows cannot on corrupted drives.

Get a second HDD and a Sata to Usb connector.Install windows on that HDD after disconnecting the current one and then use the usb sata connector to connect this old hdd to your computer like a usb flashdrive.Done that

>>834148552can you list some backup software? just name drop a few things for me to at least google and read about? it would help point me in the right direction. I have explored the drive a few times, and used a program thats name escapes me to recover some files before, but it was taking an extremely long time, and after running it for 5 hours i eventually turned it off afraid to keep the drive working too long if it was close to failure. Cloning it may be the safest option. BUt any software you can suggest will be useful.i have 0 knowledge of linux or any non GUI OS so what would my first step from here be as an absolute retard regarding that stuff? I have never downloaded a linux distro so wouldnt even know a safe place to get it. I appreciate your response though. I've never had a reason to require linux before this and regret never experimenting with it in the past due to this.

>>834148844Last time, when my old 1GB hdd was physically dying because of old age and tens of thousands of hours in service.. I just connected it to the Linux and copied almost everything. Windows just can't handle the damaged drives. Windows is a very shitty OS tbh.

>>834148395>would i be able to look up the BSOD information on googleyes, google "windows xp bsod" and then the codes after STOP:that should help narrow it down

>>834148843i also forgot to mention Aomei Partition Assistant. it has the option to run a surface scan to test each sector of the disk.

>>834148960Absolutely, hence my other comment here >>834148935

>>834148956Acronis, as other people suggested is good enough. However, keep in mind, that any cloning/backup software may not be able to work with a damage drive dying of old age.So about Linux again. Modern Linux has a GUI, looks very similar to windows. Seriously my best advice with Linux is: just google - Linux Slax. It is the easiest version in your case. It has no useless extras, very small, totally free and is extremely user friendly. Slax is the name of the portable distribution. "Slax Linux - your pocket operating system" slax.org No rocket science at all.

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>>834148605i may be able to dig the repair disc up, it may be in my families cd collection. In a worst case scenario, would any sort of generic Ebay recovery disc work? I have seen XP recovery discs on ebay along with usb devices and other things, some of these may even use some form of linux that you guys are suggesting. I just wanted to run it all by you guys, i felt like a few of you would do your best to help which i appreciate.when you say the first repair i see will wipe the dive, are you talking about the INSTALL option and not the repair option? Or are you saying that under repair there are 2 options and from there to pick the second? thanks for the headsup.

>>834149194Check the disk using crystaldiskinfo first user. If the drive is failing then absolutely do not attempt to repair the OS. Getting the files off the drive from an external connection either in a Linux environment or Windows using recovery software are the only two solutions you have here.

>>834148609it sounds familiar so i feel i may have tried it in the past, i gave this project a shot years ago and gave up when i found out i needed linux. But I wanted to give it another go. I believe I have some of the error hex numbers written down, if it was a memory, driver, corrupt regsirty, etc, what would my options be for each? Since my main objective is just getting the data, i could even buy a used version of this pc, and pop the drive into the replacement laptop if i needed to.

>>834149194Yes, well, first of all, don't pay for the Linux drives on ebay. Linux is free. Just take an old usb drive and create a boot drive out of it. Just take a bit of time and read what the website of the version of the Linux you'll choose.Secondly, don't try to repair/reinstall the windows right away, because chances are some/lots/most files will be lost in the proccess. You need a backup first. Easiest option is to boot from Linux and copy all the files to some other drive. Don't be afraid, it is quite simple, even the first time. Just take your time and read the instructions on the website.

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>>834148717its amazing that as far back as the early 2000s companies were already fucking people like this. I will keep an eye out for the disc. Im pretty sure it was a DELL disc but if i find the disc and have the code under the computer i guess i should be in the clear then. Would you mind elaborating a bit on how the repair discs were tied to cds back then? This was originally a family computer, so back when it had issues, my dad was the one who fixed it.

>>834148743is that some sort of technician backdoor trick? I think that on the xp bios there is a option to reset a password, but i cant recall for sure.

>>834149194First just try any XP OS disk. Use the number on the bottom of the computer first, but you can also use the key on the XP disk itself. Did you go to? lifewire.com/how-to-perform-a-windows-xp-repair-install-2624915You can't back up first which is a shame. Upon reading the other people's post, It seems to me that it doesn't matter what WIN program you use. You won't be able to see what is on a broken disk. OSX or Linux will read anything because they are real OSs. Your best bet is to find a way to back it up or take the risk that simply following the directions will repair the boot files.However, if the HD is damaged, The Install disk will not know what sectors are corrupt and will fail to write to them where it thinks they should be. IF what is on the disk is important, I'd bring it to someone who knows linux or OSX and have them copy the files. Like someone said, linux will copy them even if the sectors are corrupt, as long as the HD functions.

>>834148821for some reason i thought all linux builds were purely command line, idk why i thought that. guess i am pretty ignorant to this stuff....that is reassuring, thank you. I will look that up. Are there any well known linux sites to grab it from? Do I put it on a cd rom? a floppy? or a flash drive?

>>834147715Put the hard drive in another similar laptopMight boot like normal

>>834149466No he doesn't know what he's talking about. If you connect the drive externally to any Windows machine you need to change the permissions on the User folder to grant you access, whether you are administrator or not. In a Linux environment you can access everything on a drive without permissions which makes it more ideal.

>>834149335>Easiest option is to boot from Linux and copy all the files to some other driveseconding this, all the data is still there you just need to copy it to somewhere else

>>834149466It isn't a trick. Most simple locks/protections by an operating system are only there if the operating system is running. Pure logic. If you run windows from a drive, it'll bother you with permissions, etc. If you will look at that windows drive from another OS. esp like Linux, there will be no protections. Way more serious data protections are not that easy to come by and I seriously doubt that your home laptop has any. They're only used by serious businesses to prevent espionage, stealing of patented data/research, etc.

>>834148843okay thank you, i will look this all up. i think that i have been seeing results for something alled macrium reflect or something for cloning. Idk how good that is. the recovery software i was using in the past on windows 8 to try and recover info of the xp drive was something called recuva. is that any good or is it garbage compared to what ou suggested? thank you very much for giving me some stuff to look up.

>>834149540Ubuntu is a free download from their site. Rufus is a free tool that will let you use the Ubuntu ISO file that downloads to create a bootable USB drive. Once you boot from the Ubuntu USB you can choose the "Try Ubuntu" option which will bott you right into the OS without installing it. From here you can open the "Disks" app, see your hard disk which you have connected externally via USB, mount it, and then browse it just like in Windows. It's incredibly easy.

>>834148844when you say changed permissions what does that mean? how do you do that? are you righ clicking on a directory and going to a properties tab? I have an extremely surface level knowledge of computers so i apologize for any retarded questions im asking.

>>834148931yeah half way through the windows xp startup bar loading screen it blue screens, doesnt even make it to the user menu.

>>834149708Yes that's correct, it's in the security tab in the properties of any directory you right click on. However the Linux option is much easier and more reliable for corrupt drives than Windows, plus no need to change permissions. See >>834149661

>>834148935thats fair so i will try to use a user friendly build of linux for this if its that much better at recognizing damaged files. So how would that work? I would put linux on a flash drive and then put the flash drive in the windows xp computer and boot from the flash drive? Is it as simple as that?

>>834149409Well here's the rub.If the failure is just that the boot files are corrupted and not the disk, you should be able to overwrite them with the XP diskAny XP OS disk will do Repair. Just don't do the Repair it first asks for or it simply gives you a C prompt and you have to know which files to go to and how to replace them. The Install option allows you to simply reinstall JUST the boot files but be careful.If the sectors are corrupt and the HD knows this, it will rewrite the new BOOT files in a new place, and overwrite existing files. IF the Sectors are corrupt and the HD doesn't know this, the files won't copy and the install will fail. But here's the problem. Even if you get the thing up and running, the Registry isn't going to know where anything is and it may be no different than hooking it up to a USB drive to another computer.WIn really sucks. So I'd definitely try the LInix suggestions. You don't even have to put it on the old computer. Your new computer can boot a USB distro too, then you can just hook up the drive and transfer the files to the HD on the new computer or BETTER onto a different USB drive. Then your win 8 should be able to see them.

>>834148935oh my mistake i forgot to ask. so on my windows 8 machine, i would run crystaldiskinfo and then have it scan the usb device attatched to the computer? (the windows xp dive) thanks i will look into that. The drive is still outside so i might as well check its health before putting it back into the xp laptop.

>>834149540Yes. i.e. slax.orgI'm sorry, do you even read my posts carefully? Don't be hasty, your laptop won't run away and Holla Forums won't run away either. Linux is also here to stay. So chill, breathe in deeply and take your time with everything. Answer to the question: You can put that Linux on any drive that is large enough. You can burn a CD, you can put in on a USB Flash Drive. The pocket Linux systems are quite small in size (but not that small to fit on a 1.3MB floppy). So, if you have a 2-4-8 gb USB Flash Drive it'll be more than enough to put a complete portable Linux on it. I'll say it again, google pocket linux or linux slax (one of them is named Slax, very user friendly) and read the website. Modern Linux is pretty much the same as Windows and has been for at least 15 years now. Also, yes, some Linux distirbutions are just a command line. Windows also has a command line btw. Run -> cmd. Enter. MS-Dos i.e. is just a command line with a basic file manager.

>>834149841I'd recommend booting Linux from a USB on a working computer with the bad drive also connected via USB. Use >>834149661 to make the USB. Having the bad drive external and booting the Linux from a more modern system is the better move.

>>834149901Yes. Crystaldiskinfo will show the health of all drives connected to the system when you open it, no need to scan.

>>834149137alright well thank you for your time. i really appreciate it a lot. I would ask more but it seems like until i do some reading and get my hands dirty with this and i wont know what to ask. What bootable media would i put it on? my xp laptop has a floppy drive cd drive and usb so it most likely would support flash drives. i only say most likely because i never used a flash drive on that laptop, but used things like flight sticks and the original ipod.

>>834149297in order to check the health of the disc, i just want to double check, i would be plugging the xp hd in question, via sata cable, to the windows 8 computer, and i would be running your command on windows 8, correct? I will take your advice and do that instead of risking fucking up an already questionable drive before its backed up. When i do back up the drive though, how will i know that i have done it right, will it be obvious? I guess it would just read the same way as the other one would. How similar of a drive does it need to be, to be a perfect clone?

>>834149335losing files during the repair process was what i was afraid of im glad i came here first to ask. thanks for being so patient with me.

>>834150075A USB flash drive is connected to the USB port your laptop has. But as other people have said, a way better option would actually be to connect everything to your working Win8 laptop, because the hardware is much more modern than that of the XP laptop. Bootable media, I also already answered above. I've made like 7 posts in this thread already.It is learning by doing. And it is very easy, anybody can do it. Just read the info on the websites. What you're interested in reading the most is creating a Linux Boot Drive.

>>834150226Yes. Connect the XP drive externally to the Windows machine, run CDI, and it will shows health. As for backing up the drive see >>834149921, and once you have mounted the OS partition of the XP drive in Linux, you can browse to the User folder and copy and paste it to another drive to back up.

>>834149843so what youre saying is that for me to run the repair disc first before anything else, would ultimately be a gamble, because there is a likely chance that some sectors are corrupt, meaning it will overwrite other files to repair the OS. SO from here the logical thing to do would be to use linux and clone the disc. i appreciate you helping me. there is a lot of cool stuff on there im hoping to find, like old videogame projects i had worked on with my friends. Real crappy amateur videogames we made when we were young. if I can recover any of that, it would be a huge deal to me. But really i would be happy for any file i get, big or small. Is ebay a good website to get a hard drive from? would it matter if the "new" hard drive i got was used already? Because i am attempting to clone a drive from 2001 i figure i need a drive from around that time period but maybe i am over complicating things.

>>834149920im not feeling well this week and have had a lot of trouble thinking coherently so am just doing my best. Crossing my fingers it isnt the rona lol.I was intending on rereading the thread a few times to absorb as much as i can, i just wanted to reply to people to get the information i could before people got bored. thanks for all the help it means a lot

>>834150602op this shit is so simple, just hard drive swap itthose HDDs are like 8 bucks bro

>>834150602Depends on your location and situation, etc. If it were me and I needed a drive, I would buy a brand new portable HDD (because of the USB) using Amazon Prime. Because I get free delivery and can return it for free, if it isn't functional/is damaged or if any other problem occur. Which is unlikely. Still, I wouldn't buy for ebay, because I have Amazon Prime.

>>834150602If the drive is corrupt or failing then cloning will just create the same corruption on the replacement drive. Your best option is to salvage what information you can from the old XP drive using the Linux methods, get a replacement drive that is healthy, clean install XP to it once installed in the old laptop, and the copy the recovered info back over to it once you've got it all set up and working.

>>834149921i see that makes a lot of sense. i will do that thank you.>>834149957awesome thank you>>834150448sorry its been hard to keep track of all of it but your time really did mean a lot to me.

>>834150602And no, you don't need a drive from 2001 to copy the files safely. You can use any drive.

>>834150838You're very welcome.

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>>834150761would it be of any use to attempt a repair on the cloned drives OS, after i have done what i can to comb through it with file recovery software? Or would that be retarded? While my main goal is the files and being able to get what i can, it would be nice to be able to play games on it as well. But i suppose that the repair disc would be able to install a fresh OS for that. For the sole purpose of playing xp era games, would any generic xp install disc on ebay work to install on a drive? in the absolute worst case scenario that im unable to find my original OEM repair disc?

>>834151030actually from what i read earlier it seems like if i am using linux like everyone suggested i wont need file recovery software, just cloning software. so maybe this is a moot post and retarded. still absorbing what i can from this thread. my bad.thanks everyone for your replies. I feel like many of you were probably around on the early days of this website, some of you may feel nostalgic about these old pcs like i do. i think they have a lot of charm even if from a technical standpoint they are pieces of shit.

>>834150838You have everything you need in this thread user, you'll be fine. Just take your time, don't be impatient, and you'll be fine. It may unfortunately be that you precious memories are lost to time, I've had several childhood computers that had drives that were so old and failing so badly that I'll never recover those memories. I wish you the best, and at the least you'll learn a lot about how these things work. I wouldn't have my own computer repair business if I hadn't fiddled with this shit years ago like you are now, it's really fun and feels great when you do successfully get something to work that was seemingly lost.

>>834151030>>834151108Okay user let me lay it out for you all in one go. Forget cloning, and forget drive recovery. Your steps are as follows. Connect the old XP drive to your newer Windows machine via USB. Boot that newer machine into Linux from a Linux bootable USB. Once in Linux you can mount and explore the old XP drive. Locate your User folder and copy and paste any files from it you want to "recover" over to another drive whatever that may be. Once you've got the information you want from the old drive out it aside. Assuming you've confirmed the old drive is failing using crystal disk then you'll get a working replacement drive on the cheap to put into the old laptop. Once you've got the replacement drive installed into the old laptop you'll do a clean install of Windows XP on it, install drivers and so on, and once ready you can copy your files back onto the old laptop and install any old games you want to play.

>>834151163Are there any good forums, or resources you gained a lot of your knowledge from? Or just here and there over time? Its cool that you were able to turn it into a business, you must be fairly competent at it by now. With how youtube and reddit seem to have absorbed the majority of forums its hard to know where to go these days for learning.For me this computer represents the web 1.0 phase of things, if its the correct term, from the early 2000s. so things like newgrounds, gamemaker games if you know what that is, various small forums, myspace with html coding, the internet was rife with creativity back then. I miss it a lot. i do have one other drive that i do believe is completely lost, from the late 2000s, it doesnt read at all from the sata connector, but i will make a thread for that another time and just cross my fingers for now regarding this one. and will try my best to learn.

>>834151030>>834151108No, those are different methods to achieve the same result.Now, Linux and another drive is the easiest method, because you don't need ANY other/extra software whatsoever. To sum it up for you again. So that it won't be too much useless text. With this method it looks like:1. Create a bootable Linux drive (USB drive i.e)2. Get another HDD/SSD (to copy the files TO)3. Connect it all via USB ports to your Win8 laptop4. Start the laptop5. Enter the bios/boot menu. Choose to boot from the Linux.6. Once Linux is loaded open any File Manager in Linux7. Copy the files8. Profit/Orgasm?!Also yeah, after that you want to try to repair/reinstall the XP on your old HDD, but that is irrelevant for the backup/saving of the data you want to keep.

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>>834151395i will compromise most likely between both suggestions, and do your idea first, copying the files since linux seems to be superior to windows at recognizing damaged files. it seems the most idiot proof. once that is done i will try to make the clone, accepting there is a chance i will fuck it up despite preparing from it, and no matter hwat happens after that, i will get get the replacement drive and install xp on it. i can tinker on the clone to learn and see if i manage to find anything else on it. and i will later use either that drive or a third drive to make a fresh install of xp. ill do what i can to cover all my based. I gurantee this thread would have gone a lot smoother if i felt better, like i mentioned earlier, this week i have felt almost delerious, and am just going to cross my fingers it isnt covid. nothing else i can do. you guys have been good to me explaining all of this so i wanted you to understand i am trying my hardest to listen to what youre saying, im not brushing it off, i just feel like shit and am out of it. so im not trying to waste your time. thanks for writing everything up.

>>834151441I got the majority of my information from just googling issues and errors I encountered and combing through the hundreds of search results for relevant information. I started my business while still fairly new to this and just literally learnt as I went just googling and combing through information from everywhere. It gets to a point where you get very skilled at finding exactly the information you need very efficiently when searching up an issue you haven't encountered before, and I learn new shit every day just looking up problems I come across that are new to me. If you do have drives however that don't show up at all when connected, they will require physical repair before software can recover anything from them, you'd be best to take them to a drive recovery center if they are important to you.

easy,.... use a small linux distro you can boot from a thumb drive. Delete system 32 folder. reboot. profit.

>>834151441Not the same user.. But since you're asking, I've been using PCs since I was 6 years old. So basicly 25 years now. Also, I'm a software engineer (got an official education). So its just the knowledge and the experience. But something as trivial as all the possible different methods to back up the data can be learned by doing in under a week.P.S. We have HTML 5 for a couple of years now. It is awesome, because it also includes the media tags now, like . All the biggest websites have a pure html 5 version. Without any outdated and unsafe flash players, whatsoever. Like youtube.

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>>834147715Put the hard drive in the microwave and run for 5 minutes on 50% power. The radiation will null the bad sectors and it will boot properly.

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>>834151645Understood user. Save this thread, there is a ton of useful info on here, and utilize it once you are feeling more clear headed. Lord knows I've made over 30 posts in here assisting you so hopefully it goes to good use.

>>834147715Yes, but if you don't know how to do it, I'm not going to explain it over 4chan. There are multiple ways to do exactly what you're after.

>>834147867Won't do shit unless it's a very powerful magnet. Don't believe me? try it yourself.

Im curious is it possible to detach the harddrive from both an old pc and current computer, and attach the old hdd to it to use it to boot and search files?Old computer power unit no longer works and hasnt been on for years. Im hoping we can grab photos from it by plugging the hdd to our current pc..

>>834151995If the old drive is Windows 7 or older it will likely blue screen if you connect it up to another PC and attempt to boot from it. Windows 8, 8.1, and 10 fair much better swapping drives between systems since they have better built in drivers. Windows 10 can almost always be moved between different PCs without issue.

>>834151668so during the learning process did you ever make a mistake and fuck up anyones computer/drive? i feel like stuff like that isnt supposed to happen, but rules of numbers and all it has to happen once to people. Maybe I will buy some cheap used computers to practice on, it sounds like a fun hobby.

>>834151754i dont know a lot about computers but i get the impression that a lot of software guys arent really capabable with hardware, is that true? It sounds to be you are more well rounded than most, but that is just anecdotal experience i have had with some people. thanks for participating in my thread. its nice to have some oldfags around.

>>834151771>internetwill do. i love this website but on threads where you actually try to learn its almost impossible to know how many times you are replying to the same guy. i feel terrible you had to comment so much. ill do as much with it as i can.

>>834151995This is not me (OP) but if anyone wants to help this dude feel free. i just wanted to explain what was going on.

>>834152092How about an XP to another xp machine? The old was an xp machine as well but the current pc is 8. If i find an xp machine that works swap the hdd could that work?

>>834152145I'm a very patient careful person, so fortunately I've never fucked up a customers computer. I've given customers back systems that I couldn't figure out and not charged for it, but never damaged anything or lost their files. As long as you're patient, careful, and resourceful anyone can do general IT for a living. If you want to get a start then building, servicing, and repairing desktops are a very easy starting point. Then you can get into laptops, tablets, and cellphones which are much more difficult to service because of their design and construction.

>>834147715Use a Windows XP installation disc. The first repair option will get you to a command prompt. Run chkdsk c: /f (this will fix any filesystem errors, which are 9/10 times the problem with a boot.) If that doesn't work, you can do a Windows-on-Windows installation (the second repair option.)

>>834152316Unfortunately not, there is no such thing as an XP machine, or Vista machine, etc etc. The issue with swapping drivers between computers is a difference in the hardware between them and as such driver conflicts. So even if you have two systems from the same era that shipped with XP they can have completely different hardware and as such the system will try boot with the drivers from the original system causing conflicts with the hardware of the system you've moved the drive to. Windows 8/8.1 did much better dealing with this, and 10 has almost perfected it but good luck with anything 7 or earlier. Your best bet is to boot from a modern OS and connect the drive as a secondary drive either via USB or internal via SATA and browse the info that way. That process has been described in this thread at length.

>>834152218People are different. Some "programmers" probably aren't as good with hardware, esp modern hardware. But computing devices in general is my passion in life. I've always loved to build my own PCs from ground up.. actually we did with my older brother. Went through everything.. 486, 133, 166, Pentium, P2, P3, P4, athlon cpus, core 2 duos, etc.. you get the idea. Also, if any of my computers ever died, who do you think repaired them and bought new hardware? Over they years I've had pretty much everything happen to the hardware... motherboard on fire, cpu overheated and dead, ram dead, multiple power supplies dead, you name it. I think, I'm also one of the few (relatively) people, who will not abandon PCs and Laptops in favor of smartphones, etc. They're cool too and I worked in repair center from them. But PC is the masterrace forever.

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>>834152218>nice to have an oldfagYou reminded me, here is the pic related. Somewhat outdated, by that is also a way to learn.Source: 4chan. But this chart wasn't created by me.

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>>834152481Thank you for that info, really appreciate it. Currently archiving info for later use, just to clarify that sata/ide cable is capable of connecting even a hdd from early 2002-2003 right?

>>834152332at what point does someone have (or believe that they have) asufficient knowledge base to repair or attempt to repair another persons PC as a business? At this point you are free to leave if you get bored, but if you dont mind talking about yourself briefly i wouldnt mind hearing about those first steps. I cant even begin to imagine the list of things that can go wrong with a computer, and while i understand that once you have the knowledge, these things can be speedy fixes, the time it must take to amass all of that knowledge must be substantial.

>>834152659Absolutely. The age of the drive is irrelevant, the only thing that matters is the interface. IDE requires an IDE interface, SATA requires SATA, M.2 requires M.2 SATA/NVME depending on the drive. Once you have the correct interface ANY drive can be connected via USB.

>>834152300Appreciate it btw, funny i came across your thread when i was thinking about the old pc.Thank God for these other anons

>>834152498if you dont mind me asking what can even cause catastrophic failures like a computer that catches on fire? that sounds scary as hell. most people leave their pcs on when they go out for the evening at least every so often..as for older computers, i think they will always have a charm to those who can appreciate them. im in my 20s so i am not old but im not young. My earliest pc was in 2001 or so, so your definition of a old computer is most likely different than mine, but i think they all have an interesting identity to them. Somewhere along the line in the late 2010s they have all seemed to sort of blend together and its sad.

>>834152786np dude old pcs are fucking based. 4chan can seem like a shell of its former self at times but it feels good knowing there are quality oldfags still around. its what keeps me coming back.

Shit I would just copy everything to a external in dos

>>834152498>>834152767Thank you, again really appreciate it.If this is the same person, do you still have any of those old computers lying around? Is it possible to reuse the case from old computer and add in modern parts? Ive had this old hp desktop since 2002 and its been in posession even after it stopped working which was at least 8 years ago. Itd be nice if it can be brought back to life

>>834152735It is incredibly daunting at first, because as you said the list can be endless. I started my business casually to make extra cash not expecting to make a career out of it. I just found a local advertiser that did email blasts in my area, made a simple ad, and had it sent out once a week. I started with very very limited knowledge when I did this, and just kind of asked questions from the customers who called to feel out if it was something I felt I could tackle by researching online. Naturally over time I got more conformable and got more confident, telling people to bring in things I had no clue how to even start with. If I couldn't fox it fair enough I'd state so to them and return it free of charge and maybe let them know where to go next to get it sorted out. But with every system I took on that I had no idea what to do, most of them led to me learning so much by literally just getting better at how to search the web to efficiently find what you are looking for. But for example you could start with some simple like PC cleaning services. Start with desktops, then laptops, as desktops are very simple to disassemble and clean out and replace thermal paste and most laptops have websites and videos on how to disassemble to clean and replace thermal paste. You eventually get good enough that I haven't had to look up a guide to disassemble anything in years since I know all the places manufacturers hide screws, or assemble their chassis, etc. It's daunting at first but like anything else the more comfortable you get the easier it gets.

>>834152942We're not the same user, I'm not the one posting pictures. I deal more with hardware and I'm the user that's posted well over 30 times now. When it comes to mixing old and new hardware it depends, certain standards have been the same for years, for example a new power supply will power systems that are over 20 years old as long as they use the 20/24 pin 4/8 pin standard. Also PCI and PCI express has been in usage for so long now that you can still by modern cards that will work with older motherboards. It all comes down to compatibility.

>>834152844Something like a short circuit. Also "on fire" is a bit of an exaggeration. Basicly it was either an extreme problem with the power/voltage or a short circuit. The fuses on the motherboard went to shit (that is what they're designed to do) and then a large 20 power pin, that goes from the power supply into the motherboard started literally melting the motherboard and into it. The smell was that of a fire. The plastic was melted. >>834152942Depends. Case itself, without the power supply, is basicly just a metal box. It highly depends on your new build. If the size fits, you could. But you will need a new (likely more powerful) power supply with additional pins for the modern graphic cards, etc. Basicly all the hardware will have to be new and compatible (pins, slots, etc), but the metal box itself can be re-used.If you just want to bring it back to life, it depends on what is dead and whether you can get your hands on the spares. If you have access to old hardware, that will be compatible, it can be done, sure.

How do you guys feel about these indian shitters ruining tech support or any other tech jobs for the honest people? Its sad that tech assistance is synonymous with scammers and people have become skeptical about receiving help

>>834153073>laptop thermal pasteugh yeah... i had a laptop that had to get its thermal paste replaced like three times. it was a really powerful laptop and could "run crysis" back in the day, but it kept cooking itself to death. it was terrible. I had to send it back every other year. your story is really cool though, with how computers and OS's change, how much of your experience becomes moot after a while? do you ever have weird situations where you find yourself working on both windows 10 machines as well as windows 95 stuff in the same week? i feel like at times stuff like that would be overwheming for its own reason. Its really cool talking to an user that does this, im glad you turned your hobby into a career for yourself. Not many people in life get to do that.

>>834153378i have heard horror stories of people buying cheap PSUs, does stuff like that ever catch on fire legitimately? just a "for fun" question since i wouldnt ever trust my machine with something like that for any extended period of time unless i was in some absolute pinch.

>>834152907>>834153073>>834153240>>834153378Case guy here, seems like itll probrably best if i left it alone and cherished it as is then. Hope this hdd isnt too old or damaged somehow and i can recover what was in it like op. You guys take care seriously, hope all goes well in the coming days/years. It was nice talking to you and thank you sorry about mixing you guys up lol. Thanks again

>>834153634"I Undehstan youra frust ation ay non. This is ry ann from tech support.

>>834153634Don't care tbh. People, who want quality service still ask a software developement company to "service" (update to win10, backup the data, etc) their computers and laptops. On top of that the local businesses that are working with somewhat sensitive data will never outsource their tech support across the world. Too dangerous. Then again, the data protection laws where I live are too hard. (EU obviously). Literally any shit happens to any data, mostly personal data (leak, stealing) - we're at the very least financially liable.

>>834153813op here were you just trying to browse the files like i was? good luck bro. thanks for participating in most likely the most civilized Holla Forums thread this week

>>834153634Doesn't bother me in the least for my situation. I offer in person solutions for IT so people bring stuff to me or I come to them so I'm not in competition really with the foreign IT people. They mostly work as support for companies that offer products and need to support those products for their customers. Generally if people have issues with technology around their homes or small businesses they contact people like me. >>834153655At this point I only very very rarely get any systems that are Windows 7,and zero that are older. The vast majority of people made the move to Windows 10 because of how heavily they pushed it. And if I come across anyone with 8/8.1 I encourage them to move to 10 and get to charge for the clean install. 8/8.1 is just so trash in my opinion that I get everyone I can off from it, not that 10 is perfect but it's much better in my experience.

>>834153905Yeah i wanted to see if it was possible to even access an hdd by inserting it to another pc, since thats not possible i can use the usb route to view files instead. The pc itself doesnt turn on anymore but im hoping that didnt cause the hdd to malfunction and this will be an easy plug and search job

>>834153938can you redpill me on 8.1? Op here this may be controversial but i actually enjoyed vista. When i got vista i think it may have been past its growing pains, but to this day it has been the most stable experience i ever had. i beleive my vista laptop lasted for like 6 or 7 years before the hard drive just failed. Never reinstalled it once. One day it just turned off abruptly, and that was that. Everything else has had to be reinstalled at some point or failed somehow. as much as i loved xp, i got buttfucked a lot from my browsing habits and had to get reinstalled on a yearly basis. i didnt have much common sense back then though and was pretty much downloading whatever i felt like, but xp may have been the least stable OS i experienced. even if it is my second favorite to vista. (ran xp games)

>>834153756It was some years ago, so I don't remember if the hardware was "too cheap", can't confirm the reason. What I can and will say is that this is not a legend, it can happen indeed. Witnessed myself on my own PC.>>834153938>8/8.1 is just so trash in my opinion that I get everyone I can off from itSeconded. Completely true. The only things in existence worse than Windows 8 were Windows Millenium and Windows Vista. Also agree with everything else. People usually don't have any outdated systems anymore.Will add: Market for casual PCs shrinks a lot in general, because of laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, etc. Pretty much only people still using very powerful home PCs are gamers and STEM workers (even tho lots of workers have to work on the go or on the fly, so they're usually using powerful laptops instead, if possible). And fans of the PC masterrace in general.

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>>834154096if you read around my thread youll probably get what you need, so im glad you showed up. i am going to use their linux suggestion, but if your drive isnt as fucked as mine, you could very well get everything you need just by usings the sata usb 2.0 cord thing. depending on how "deep" you need or want to go in your drive. good luck dude.

if the drives are fucked try using SpinRite, available at grc.com

>>83415409699% of the systems I've worked on in the 6 years I've been doing It that didn't turn on were PSU or Motherboard related, and in only a handful of those thousands of systems was the HD defective. Very very rarely will a PSU or board failure kill a HD, and if it is bad it's likely just coincidence, so hang on to that drive user, I'm very positive it's recoverable from connecting either externally or internally as a secondary drive to a working system.>>834154103I'm a bit confused by what you mean? You'd like me to convince you to stay on 8.1 or move to 10? Or something else? Sorry, the redpill usage in your context has me confused.

>>834154212i thought vista was based but i also dont know as much as you about pcs. my experience with vista was as simple as everything i ran on it worked. Games from XP world flawlessly on it, and current games at the time and crysis worked perfectly as well. Being able to run both crysis and "shitty" XP games on one laptop felt great to me. But i understand my experinece wasnt other peoples, supposedly vista didnt work with anything for a long time. I may have gotten a later service pack.

>>834154322oh i just wanted a quick summary of what you thin is wrong with 8.1 that you hate it THAT much. I dont like it but mainly because i think its ugly as sin. people smarter than me know more about it though.

>>834154324You're not completely wrong, Vista matured decently well but most people moved to 7 since it was released so shortly after and was vastly better even at release. The final service pack for Vista was not horrible at all, but by the time 7 hit service pack 2 it had completely left Vista in the dust and there was no excuse to stay with it. Tons of my early customers had the final Vista service pack and it was surprisingly decent, but 7 is still to date the most stable "modern" Windows OS, granted that void know since support has been dropped. And as such Windows 10 is the only Windows version anyone should be using, otherwise move to Linux.

>>834154523i regret missing 7, my path went xp >vista >8 so i guess ill jump to 10 soon

>>834154437It's mostly subjective, although technically it has some major shortcomings compared to Windows 10. But the implementation of the Windows store app system and tile system is a fucking crime against humanity. The system configuration menus are abysmal, God I could go on as a technician about how much I hate 8/8.1. Once you move to 10 you realize just how bad it was, but 8/8.1 gets the job done so if you're happy then so be it.

>>834154324If memory serves me right, Vista was the first Microsoft OS with "Aero" GUI element.. and ofc in t he beginning it was busted. Bugged, ate too much ram, slowed down the computers a lot. Vista also wasn't bug free. Then again, different people, different perspective.. My parents i.e. don't give a shit what OS they have, they're just browsing the internet on their laptop. (they have win10 now).So, the Windows Millenium was the biggest mess. It was the most unstable Microsoft OS ever. if you think that reinstalling the os every year is a lot, try reinstalling it at least 2 times every week lol.Win8 was bad, because they didn't let people have the usual windows stuff right off the bat. On top of that, it was consuming too much ram... and the worst part is the bug.. that didn't let Win8 unload the RAM/dump.. so the longer your device was on, the slower it'll become.. until eventually it would freeze/crash. They've kinda fixed it in 8.1, but too late. Windows 7 was always superior to Win8. And still is. I'm still using Win7 on this PC I'm browsing 4chan on. Win10 is too much "internet" for me. It'll be either Win7 or Linux for me. Another issue with Win8 and Win10 is that there is plenty of specific, unique software that was developed exclusively for the Win7. And I'm talking about some professional tools for production/factories/etc. They won't be compatible with Win8/10. This is why Microsoft has extended the support for Win7. Lots of machiens just can't be updated to Win10, without investing 20k+ money into the new software solutions for their facilities.As for the gaming, software compatibility in general, there are ways to solve it. Most extreme via virtual machines ofc. Like, if you want to play the old MS-DOS games, you can use the DosBox.

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>>834148781The reason you want Linux is because it doesn't care about file system type or security. You can just copy the binary data using the dd command.

>>834154609>>834154624BTW, assuming you're OP, just thought it was interesting that I haven't been on Holla Forums in close to 2 years since it went to nothing but porn and I accidentally opened it meaning to go to Holla Forums and saw your thread. It's been a very enjoyable thread for me OP and hopefully my insane amount of posts have helped somewhat.

>>834154624idk what the fuck microsoft thought with the tiles, it seems like companies feel the need to reinvent the wheel to be new and fresh even when it means ruining their own products. >>834154730yeah i did disable a lot of the effects but once i did that it ran like a dream. i forgot i even disabled that stuff because i did it the first week i had it and never had to reinstall it once in the half decade or so i ran it. is it possible that a cretin like me could ever buy a windows 7 install disc and make a gaming system with it? or should i just stick with one offline only XP machine and one windows 10 machine? i havent used a virtual machine before.

>>834154741yeah i already have been thouroughly convinced by this kind anons.>>834154780yeah its me sorry i took so long to reply. I think for a while Holla Forums had a name feature or some kind of ID tag but removed it. i rarely come to b but i have been lately for some reason. I am a vagrant on more than a third of the boards though and hop around. Talking to you was based. Im gonna probably pass out though now. my favorite tv thread i saw was a year or two ago when they were making all sorts of parodies of the casino royale film, not sure if you were there for that.

>>834154952Yeh the tile system sucked glorious ass, but to be fair from a stability point of view 8.1 in its current state is very usable and my main issues with it are entirely UI oriented. I'd recommend going with 10 so you have direct x 12 for modern titles and virtual machines have come such a long way that setting up an XP or 7 environment for retro gaming on Windows 10 isn't that difficult and fairly stable for the most part.

>>834155023Appreciate that user, same to you. Wishing you the best recovering your memories from that drive and hopefully you feel better and more clear headed soon. Have a good night.

>>834154952> is it possible that a cretin like me could ever buy a windows 7 install disc and make a gaming system with it?Isn't even worth it in your case. But anything is possible. But don't do it.> or should i just stick with one offline only XP machine and one windows 10 machine?Since you're using the PCs primarily for gaming, stick with that you have. The reason being, that the modern games, hardware, peripherals (mouse, keyboards), DirectX, drivers, etc, etc will be developed for Win10 and beyond, with very little compability with Win7. Actually, already are. Go into the future of gaming, don't use Win7, it won't help you anymore. > i havent used a virtual machine before.That is not a problem. Its no rocket science either. Some like DosBox or Sega emulators are very simple/easy to use. Now a PC Virtual Machine, with its own OS or Vine for Linux are a bit more complicated, but I don't see you needing any of those in the foreseeable future.You can ofc mess around with them, if you want to, but why? Backwards compability of Win10 is good enough atm. But there is no such thing as a forward compability.

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OP signing off thank you to every user that came in, good luck with the coronavirus shitstorm. was a pleasant ending to a shit day talking to all of you.

>>834155308You're welcome. Get better soon. Look left and right before crossing the road. Stay hydrated. Good luck.

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>>834152601Here you want one of these you ginormous neckbeard loser?

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>>834155381Very rude. That's a pretty helpful chart user.

>>834155381fuck you faggotT. OP

>>834147912This is my goto option. Booting to USB may not be an option on such an old (XP era) laptop.OP needs to create a live mint usb stick and try booting to that.

>>834147975Delete system32No really. Just delete the old os and install windows 7.

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