Help I may have lost all my files

[common sense]

so i've installed winxp on my SATA drive...

i removed the jumper from my old IDE HD so that it would run as a slave IDE, and plugged it in beside the SATA drive (w/ Windows Xp installed).

before windows started it started checking the IDE HD for errors and was correcting tons of files.... then the power went out.

now it goes to the error checking blue screen but just skips it automatically.

in my computer, the drive still has used space and is detected but when i open it i see nothing. i had everything backed up on that hard drive. what should i do?

[common sense]

someone told me that the plate is blown and i can't recover the data

anyone want to verify?

[jory29]

I just had the BSOD and could not boot windows if my life depended on it. I tried safe mode, last known configuration, and could not get into system restore.

Are you able to hook the drive up to a USB hard drive enclosure and try to run the check disk system tool? If you are able to do that, it might repair it, as I so lucked out

You might also download a free trial of recover my files or something like that to see if any files are found - just to see - my hard drive, when I hooked it up, did not 'see' the drive properly; it saw it, but stated it was corrupt, and that I had 100% free space. My problem was an NTSF error, and about 2 days later, when I hooked it up and turned it on, windows wanted to do the check disk, so I let it. It fixed it.

DON'T GIVE UP!!!!Good luck!!! :)

When you say it goes past the BSOD [blue screen of death] - you must try to get it to stop there, so you can read the error and then google it. Here is what you do to read the error, as mentioned here on a website:

[I][I]If windows just reboots, first thing to do is turn off the auto reboot on error in windows so that the next time it does it you will get a BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death) that will have an error and a stop code that we can work from. To do it right click on my computer and select properties, then go to the advanced tab then go to the startup and recovery section, then click the settings button, then go to the system failure section, then uncheck the automatically reboot box, then apply then OK and the next time it happens instead of restarting you will get a BSOD. Write down the error.

Now, assuming windows won't start up for you, there was another way; after I tried safe mode, there was a way to select that 'upon system failure, don't restart.' The blue screen of death will then remain open for you to read, and you can then shut 'er down. Hopefully you will know what I am talking about, to get to that screen! [It's one of the options you can choose for windows startup, [along with safe mode options, DOS options, etc.] After safe mode does not start successfully, I THINK is when that menu pops up.

[common sense]

thank you for your detailed response

if i try to boot directly from the HD it just says a file is missing and doesn't even start loading windows >:( its odd to see that the drive can be seen with usage but nothing when i access it through my computer.

the only screen i get is when i have it hooked up to the IDE cable and it checks for errors before windows, but just skips it saying it was unable to.

[jory29]

thank you for your detailed response

if i try to boot directly from the HD it just says a file is missing and doesn't even start loading windows >:( its odd to see that the drive can be seen with usage but nothing when i access it through my computer.

the only screen i get is when i have it hooked up to the IDE cable and it checks for errors before windows, but just skips it saying it was unable to.

Are you sure you have the jumper setting right? What happens if you try to set it up as the master drive, and for now, unplug the other?

Do you happen to have an external USB HD case? That's a nice way to test it on a working pc.

IF you have lost everything, a recovery file software program ought to help, but it is time consuming and does not structure the file in folders, etc. Very poor way of reading files, but you should be able to take all of the important jpegs, music, text documents, etc. off of there. It might make you feel better to download a trial [with the working hard drive, the one you had set to be the slave when the prob. first started], and then try to see if you can recover some files for peace of mind.

I know how you feel!!!! It sucks.

Edited: I'm still not clear on if you have an actual BSOD error, but sounds like windows can't even load to the pre-window state of where you can choose safe mode, etc. right?

[common sense]

Edited: I'm still not clear on if you have an actual BSOD error, but sounds like windows can't even load to the pre-window state of where you can choose safe mode, etc. right?

right

plus my new sata drive seems to stumble once in a while in windows and for some reason my computer says i only have usb1 when i have usb2... i'm beginning to forget my files already. computers can be prett frustrating

[jferrao]

if you are based in mississauaga I will fix it for a small price.

[common sense]

if you are based in mississauaga I will fix it for a small price.

i am actually, could you provide more info? you can PM me