OS corruption? need to pull the data from the computer

My friend called me with a problem with his laptop. He explained it as at first it would occasionally lock him out of the internet or shut down random programs on him. Now, he cant click on anything, or open any folders or programs. As soon as windows comes up, there's a constant message showing "windows is now closing", and in turn is closing every thing he tries to open. He also said that it does the same thing in safe mode. He said geek squad called it a corrupted OS.

Is there any way to pull the data off his computer, such as pictures, music, and school related files? I think the same thing will happen if he tries to simply connect an external hard drive, so I was wondering if there's any other way that this might work.

 

You could connect it to another computer, and try to get the files off it. (Boot from the HDD in that PC), and get them through My COmputer, and then the name of the new drive.

Make sure you have antivirus software though, the problem could posibly be a virus. You wouldnt want to copy infected files over to another PC. Scan the drive first.

For easiness, I suggest an external USB Enclosure to connect the harddrive.

 

an external usb enclosure, is that just a multi usb hub that connects several usb devices for a computer that only has one usb port?

 

ahl395 is referring to a device that will plug into the hard drive and connect to any USB port. An enclosure device would resemble this:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3293594&CatId=2781

Alternatively, you could use a similar type of device, that doesn't include an enclosure, but does the same job:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329300&CatId=3770

Note that I'm not recommending those products in particular. They are just the first I could find to demonstrate the type of product.

If your friend has a retail Windows CD, he could also attempt a repair installation. It reinstalls the Windows files, but will not delete any other files he may have on the drive. This feature is not always available on manufacturer provided repair disks, unfortunately.

 

His version of windows is what came with the computer, and he does have the re-installation cd's. However, I don't want to risk anything by attempting a repair. He's got 40gigs of music, 2 years worth of college, and several years worth of pictures, none of which is backed up.

Would a data transfer cable work, or would something like the external enclosure be the best/only way to do it?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3198015&CatId=445

I have a couple different spyware programs, and the free version of AVG on my computer that i'll use to run a full scan on his files before any transferring is done.

 

It would be difficult attempting to use a USB to USB cable like that. In order for that cable to work, the problematic computer would need to boot into Windows and stay on until the transfer is complete.

Since the computer in question has trouble staying on, an external connection directly to the hard drive is preferable.

If you already have a cable like shown, you could give it a go. But if you're going to buy something, this is what you should buy (since it's guaranteed to work, as long as the hard drive is intact):

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2329300&CatId=3770

 

alright, i bought the item you linked to. I have the HD pulled out, and connected with the red sata cable, and it's not being recognized on my computer. my computer has XP, and the OS on the drive i'm trying to access has vista, not sure if that makes any difference. the FAQ's on this thing's directions say to make sure my drive is set to master, but i haven't a clue how to do that.

 

scratch that, i had the power outlet going to the adaptor, and not the drive.

 

The master/slave stuff only pertains to PATA drives, as I understand the matter.

Now that you properly plugged in the power cable, all is in order?

 

yessir, ran a virus scan on his HD, and now transferring over all the files he wants to keep.

 

I'd suggest getting a Linux Live disk like Ubuntu 8.10. Download and burn to disk. Boot from it and run it from disk- don't install(thus Live)I used one just last week and booted up with it and ran ubuntu. I easily located all her files using the file locator option. You can see all the drives/partitions on the os, even if it has crashed. Ubuntu can still read the corrupted files, windows just can't. You can easily copy all the data to a usb flash drive, or use the built in disk utility to burn to a dvd.

Simple and sweet- really amazing!!