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From: AGage on 10 Apr 2010 05:24

throwitout;549985 Wrote:
>
> The PC will not boot into recovery console from a Windows CD because
> it doesn't recognize a valid file system on c:
>
This is a bit of a hack, but works (done it many times)
Turn off computer and unplug either the HDD power cable or otherwise
disconnect it from the motherboard (I find for a SATA drive, unplugging
cable from MB easiest).
Start computer with Windows CD in drive and when it starts to boot from
when CD, ie us see the Blue screen listing the files currently loading
at the bottom, plug the drive back in. (It will boot because it cannot
even see your bad HDD)

You will then be able to use a recovery console for fixmbr etc...
Sometimes this is all thats needed, and worth a first try, if not repeat
the above and:

You will be able to enter the 'Install Windows' section, and format and
reinstall windows. Usually if there is more than 1 partition, they still
show, just with a RAW filesystem. Do a *full format* on the
drive/partition you are installing windows on.

Getting the data back from a 2nd+ partition is another matter entirely,
but can be done depending on a) what messed the filesystem up in the
first place and b) If you have another drive to copy any 'undeleted'
files to.

And look around for free software that can do this: its out there, and
often not inferior to commercial offerings.

Edit: All this is good reason to ALWAYS partition your drive into 2 (or
more logical drives). One that only contains ONLY the OS and some
program files, put ALL your data (downloads, pics, music, docs whatever)
onto the other partition. Then if you need to reformat/reinstall, you
dont lose data. And we all know about 'Windows Bloat' som doing a
reinstall every 6 months or so is nevver a bad thing and having 2
partitions makes this all so much easier. I dont mean this to infer you
dont need to back up the 2nd 'Data' partition regularly to, but it
certainly eases the process of reinstalling Windows. Just make sure you
make the OS partition atlease 25 Gb.


From: Ken Blake, MVP on 10 Apr 2010 11:03
On Sat, 10 Apr 2010 04:24:48 -0500, AGage
<AGage.497gol(a)no.email.invalid> wrote:

> Edit: All this is good reason to ALWAYS partition your drive into 2 (or
> more logical drives). One that only contains ONLY the OS and some
> program files, put ALL your data (downloads, pics, music, docs whatever)
> onto the other partition. Then if you need to reformat/reinstall, you
> dont lose data.



I completely disagree. That's a very poor reason for putting your data
on a second partition.

It implies that you don't backup your data to external media. It
further implies that you think the need to reformat/reinstall is the
greatest risk to your data. But in fact the greatest risks are
entirely different. What you suggest leaves you susceptible to
simultaneous loss of the original and backup to many of the most
common dangers: hard drive crashes, severe power glitches, nearby
lightning strikes, virus attacks, even theft of the computer.

If your data is important to you, you need to institute a program of
regular backup, and that should be the way you protect your data.
Putting your data on a second partition is a good thing to do for
*some* people, but not for the reason you state.


> And we all know about 'Windows Bloat' som doing a
> reinstall every 6 months or so is nevver a bad thing



I completely disagree with this too. The only people who need to do
that--even if much less often than every six months--are those people
who do a poor job of maintaining and protecting their systems. With a
modicum of care, it should never be necessary to reinstall Windows (XP
or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0, 3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows
95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, and now
Windows 7, each for the period of time before the next version came
out, and each on two or more machines here. I never reinstalled any of
them, and I have never had anything more than an occasional minor
problem.

Reinstalling may not be a bad thing but it's unnecessary and it's
typically a great deal of work, if you've invested any time in
configuring Windows and your applications the way you want them.


> and having 2
> partitions makes this all so much easier. I dont mean this to infer you
> dont need to back up the 2nd 'Data' partition regularly to,


On the contrary, that's exactly what your statement above ("Then if
you need to reformat/reinstall, you dont lose data") implies. With a
good program of backup in place, even if you do need to
reformat/reinstall, you don't lose data.


--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP (Windows Desktop Experience) since 2003
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