Ok. Is this is a actual windows installation ISO you're talking about here or some third party no name futzy deal? Your only recourse (i.e. last ditch) is to at least try (if you haven't already) making an actual windows installation disk or flash. There should be a "repair-like" selection on the installation ISO that may, or may not work to repair your damaged system volume. At least try it. If it doesn't work all you have lost is a little time.

Word of caution going forward - once you get the system either restored or rebuilt to your spec, make a complete backup image of the thing and stow it somewhere safe.

 

Last edited: May 2, 2025

I tried running the Microsoft media told from their website that I put on a flash drive I still couldn't get it to recover.

I swear I'm so fucked. I tried taking it apart and remove the HD but it appears the fucking dude must have stripped the screws out so so much for that idea

 

Last edited: May 2, 2025

Not even close.


You said:

"my windows system drive is still screwed up. I have a flash drive and want to use Unetbootin to make a Linux bootable usb flash drive and recover any data I can, and then reinstall Windows"

ChatGPT said:

Got it — you're on the right track. Here's a quick and clear guide to using UNetbootin to create a bootable Linux USB, recover data, and prep for a Windows reinstall:

️ What You’ll Need:

• Another working computer to set up the USB.
  
  
• A USB flash drive (at least 4GB).
  
  
• UNetbootin: https://unetbootin.github.io/
  
  
• Linux ISO (I recommend Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or Zorin OS Lite — user-friendly for recovery work).
  

✅ Step-by-Step: Make the Linux USB

1. Download a Linux ISO:
   
   • Go to Ubuntu, Linux Mint, or Zorin OS Lite.
     
     
   • Save the .iso file.
     
2. Plug in your USB drive (backup anything on it, it’ll be erased).
   
   
3. Launch UNetbootin:
   
   • Choose "Diskimage", then browse for the Linux .iso.
     
     
   • Select the correct USB drive under "Drive" (e.g. E:\ or F:\).
     
     
   • Press OK and wait. It'll take a few minutes.
     
4. Boot from USB:
   
   • Plug it into your broken PC.
     
     
   • Power it on and enter the boot menu (usually F12, F2, ESC, or DEL depending on the brand).
     
     
   • Choose the USB drive to boot into Linux.
     

Recover Your Data:

• Once in Linux, open File Manager and look for your Windows drive (usually labeled something like “100 GB Volume”).
  
  
• Copy any critical files to:
  
  • An external hard drive,
    
    
  • Another USB flash drive, or
    
    
  • Cloud storage (if you have internet access).
    

Reinstall Windows (after recovery):

1. Use Microsoft’s Media Creation Tool on a working PC to make a fresh Windows install USB:
   
   • https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10
     
     
   • Follow prompts to create install media.
     
2. Boot from the Windows USB, wipe the drive, and do a clean install.
   

Would you like help picking a specific Linux distro for this, or tips for recovering files like documents, photos, etc.?


You said:
suggest a Linux distro for total beginner to do this with

ChatGPT said:

For a total beginner, I strongly recommend:

✅ Linux Mint Cinnamon Edition
Why?

• Familiar Windows-like interface
  
  
• Lightweight and stable
  
  
• Great out-of-the-box hardware support
  
  
• Built-in file manager makes recovering files easy
  
  
• Doesn’t shove “try Linux” in your face—just works
  

Download here:
https://linuxmint.com/download.php
Choose “Cinnamon Edition”, 64-bit (assuming your computer isn’t ancient).

Alternative: Zorin OS 16 Core
Also beginner-friendly, very slick and designed to feel like Windows.
https://zorin.com/os/download/

But Mint is a little lighter and snappier, especially for older or slower systems.

Once you're in Linux Mint, recovering data is dead simple:
Open File Manager > Computer > [Your Windows drive], and copy-paste to a safe location.

 

I will have to try this way. I am not familiar with Linux. I do recall black and red hat but I was never familiar with UNIX so I haven't really entertained those options yet

 

I know, or you would have had that machine booted to it and back on the internet in about 30 minutes.

Nothing you need to accomplish will even need you to use CLI (command line interface).

And as soon as you take the USB flash drive back out of the machine, it will be like it was never even there. (aside from any recovery work you do, obviously).

None of those instructions are done looking at a black screen. Linux for Desktops today is nothing like the old Red Hat, SuSe, kinds of experiences you might remember.

 

Last edited: May 2, 2025

I'll try but like I said I only remember people using Linux back in the day and you had to know UNIX to use it. Most hackers and crackers used it

 

See I was unaware, that's why I was so afraid to go that route because I wasn't familiar. It appears now that it's a stable operating system that anyone can use. Cinnamon looks just like windows. I may just run this operating system from now on, but it may be limited pertaining to some applications.

 

I feel like a dummy now seeing how simple this is.. lol I have to get another HDD tomorrow transfer my shit and I'm back in business

 

My error to use the word "processes".
I mean that I use it for just copying files / folders and not for copying running processes.
It's true I do not boot into a sperate disk for doing windows backups with TODO backup, but I have yet to run into a problem with that. I usually let it run when I am done for the night, and have it shut the computer down when complete.

Spoiler: Some musings on backup software

I consider 2018-2020 my valid testing years, as I got SSDs and due to the increased speed and new OS setups I was doing, I began using restores to correct any mistake I made (any program I decided against, or registry modifications I did not make myself, etc, etc.)
Even REVO uninstaller was not "complete" enough in my mind, as I wanted things EXACTLY as they were before my changes.
During that time I did a couple of (or even a few) hundred restores using TODO on 3 different machines (Win XP, Win7 & Win10) and had no failures except a bug with boot partition when doing dual boots.
I found that the restore would work perfectly if I put the drive in a laptop I had, restored it and then moved it to my desktop computer, but there were some restores that would not boot doing it directly. I say "bug" because most went fine.
Some failures with that I was able to copy over the boot partition only from another backup and it would boot fine.
I never did figure out why that would occur, and thought it might be sue to the dual booting and my particular hardware.

Well, At some point my OS drives got so full of software that restore times increased too much for my patience, and I knew I was burning up my SSDs (and at that time they were not so cheap) and got over my OCD about system cleanliness.
It works fine with all the file dust under the bed, and a full registry closet anyway.

Well, during that time my confidence in TODO backup was justified.
It may be Chinese, but it's pretty easy to use.
I bought it a few times for different computers (and upgrades) over the years since 2000 (used it for backing up 2 business & 2 personal computers and preferred it over Acronis which was my other main backup program it replaced.

I've used it on WinXP, Vista, 7,8,10 & now Win11.
I also have found some of their website help useful, with surprisingly clear explanations.

I've tried a couple of other backup programs in recent times ( Macrium Reflect and return to Acronis) but still find TODO less problematic and intrusive (just a context menu item to remove that should be available to disable in settings, but no big deal).
I see one I have not tried called "R-Drive Image" ...
But trying it is just for the GUI really.
I have no other reason to switch, as the price is now ...too cheap to mention , from a place i shall not mention.

 

Last edited: May 2, 2025

I would suggest to backup that OS system drive and image it using another system. This is so you can play around with fixing windows and not worry if you mess it up further.

-Booting with puppy linux allows you to see what is on that system ( as long as there is no drive encryption)
-The issue here is if you have a lot of applications of course we want to try to repair that windows installation
-The reason for Puppy linux back door into Windows is to snoop around to see if the files can be backed up ( extremely important files).

Once we verify there is nothing wrong with the Drive then we can install Windows ( make sure its the same version number ) on a usb flash drive ( again use Rufus) and use this flash drive to repair a windows installation. The reason why we do this is the Windows on board installer/ repairer might be damaged so we need an external windows installation repair method.

Booting with this flash drive with Windows on it allows to install windows/ repair/ or other utilities

Grab the Windows image from Microsoft ( make sure it is the exact version) or the Windows Image you used to install the OS in the first
place ( some people are running Customized Windows Installs grabbed off the internet from "Group Scene" release called "Light" versions.)
This ISO image is installed to a usb flash drive.

Since most laptops do not have cdroms anymore this means 2 flash drives are always needed

Flash drive #1. Puppy linux or any other live linux distro
Flash Drive #2. Your Windows installed version ( installed to the flash drive with rufus or some other tool).
The macrium reflect folder when you installed it the first time can be copied to this flash drive
since it runs off the folder can be used as portable to deploy to a repaired system so it can then be imaged.

Good luck hope you get that fixed!!

 

Last edited: May 4, 2025

Hey guys again I wanted to thank you all for your input. I have been able to access the system with Linux and I'm now in the process of cloning the drive.

What software or method would you all suggest to do this rather than moving everything manually?

 

To clone a hard drive to an external drive, follow these general steps based on your operating system:

1. Prepare the External Drive

• Connect the external hard drive to your computer via USB.
• Ensure it has enough storage space (equal to or larger than your internal drive).
• Back up any important data on the external drive—it will likely be erased.

2. Choose a Cloning Tool
For Windows

• Macrium Reflect (free for home use)
• EaseUS Todo Backup
• Clonezilla (advanced users)

For macOS

• Carbon Copy Cloner (easy and reliable)
• SuperDuper!
• Built-in Disk Utility (Restore function)

3. Cloning Steps (Example: Macrium Reflect on Windows)

1. Install Macrium Reflect from macrium.com.
2. Launch it and select your source disk (the internal drive).
3. Click “Clone this disk…” under the source.
4. Select the external drive as the destination.
5. Click Next > Finish, and check “Run this backup now”.
6. Click OK to start cloning.

4. Wait for the Process to Complete

• This may take some time depending on drive size and speed.
• Once done, you’ll have an exact copy of your internal drive on the external one.

5. (Optional) Boot from the External Drive

• Restart your computer and enter the BIOS/UEFI menu.
• Change the boot order to boot from the external drive.

Would you like step-by-step help for a specific tool or OS?

This the best way?

 

Hello @scguy83, Samsung and Crucial offer a hard drive cloning tool from their manufacturers, which you can download from their website. You can clone your disk with the free "DiskGenius Free Edition" at www.diskgenius.com/free.php.

Image Hard Drives
Create an exact copy of your entire HDD or USB disk, storing all files, partitions, and boot sectors into a single image file. This ensures that everything is securely backed up and ready for recovery when needed.

Migrate Windows OS
Seamlessly transfer your entire Windows installation, including system files, settings, applications, and data, to a new hard drive, SSD, or USB drive without the need for reinstallation.

Spoiler: Instructions:

Instructions:

DiskGenius has two main functions related to copying data and systems: "Clone Disk" and "System Migration." You can find both by clicking on "Tools" in the menu bar at the top.

Both of these functions are used to transfer data from one disk to another, but they are very different in their implementation. The "Clone Disk" function is used to copy the entire contents of one disk to another. This means it is copied 1:1, including all partitions, files, operating systems, programs, and more. You should choose this option if you want to keep a complete copy of your disk, for example, as a backup.
By clicking this option, you can select the disk source (the hard drive to be cloned) and the destination disk (the new disk). Also, make sure you select "Copy All Sectors" to truly clone your disk 1:1 and create an exact duplicate of the entire disk. If this option is grayed out, your destination disk will be smaller than the source disk.

Then click "Start" and select the cloning method you want to use. With "Hot Migration," the disk is completed and cloned by creating snapshots without turning off your PC, allowing you and any open programs to use it during the cloning process. "Lock and Execute," on the other hand, temporarily locks the partitions on the source disk so that no programs can access them during the cloning process. Essentially, this is a security measure that allows you to protect the drive from unwanted changes or access attempts while operations are being performed. It can serve as a type of write protection, ensuring that no data can be modified or deleted while it is being copied. Once selected, simply wait until the cloning process is complete.

The "System Migration" feature, however, is used to transfer the operating system from one hard drive to another. This usually only transfers the operating system (in our case, Windows) and the system files required for it to the new hard drive, but not other data on the hard drive, such as programs and files. You should select this option if, for example, you are switching from an HDD to an SSD and want to benefit from the faster performance of the new hard drive. Another important thing to note with this option is that you will, of course, have to configure the new drive as the boot drive after the migration. DiskGenius can change the boot order directly for you, or you can do this manually in the UEFI/BIOS after the migration.

If you select this option, you will also need to select a target drive to which you want to copy your operating system. If your computer uses the modern UEFI, you can also specify here whether the computer's boot order should be changed. For example, if you select "Automatically boot from the migrated target system," your computer will automatically boot from the target disk to which you are copying the operating system. You can also choose to boot into the BIOS after the migration to set the boot order yourself. Once you click "Start," you can select a system migration method. "Hot Migration" means that DiskGenius will copy the operating system to the target disk without shutting down your PC.

The other option, "Reboot to Win PE," shuts down your computer and restarts it in the WinPE environment. This is a stripped-down version of Windows used specifically for system maintenance tasks, Windows installation, and troubleshooting. Once WinPE has successfully loaded, DiskGenius will boot into this environment and continue the system migration. This means that DiskGenius will continue to perform the task of transferring the operating system from one disk to another. WinPE is used to ensure that the migration proceeds smoothly even if the main operating system is currently inaccessible or unstable.

 

Last edited: May 5, 2025

I can't use this because I do not have access to windows

 

if you are using Linux Mint, you can use Clonezilla inside Linux, or to create another bootable flash drive. But unless this drive was actually physically damaged, I'm not sure you even want to clone it. You could just be duplicating the problem onto another drive. The second option he wrote about would be how I would do this, just from the Linux Live usb drive.

My thinking was that you would boot the machine, copy all of the files and data you would lose when formatting the drive and reinstalling Windows and your stuff on it. You would not be creating a clone, but rescuing the data onto an external drive. Then wiping the internal disk and reinstalling the OS. Or in your original predicament, booting the system to linux, deleting enough data so that your Windows would boot correctly, and calling it a day.

If you already bought a second internal drive, you could stick the old one into an enclosure. Install fresh Windows to the new disk. Stick the old one into the enclosure, and use it like an external to grab your data from it.

 

Last edited: May 6, 2025

I used EaseUs Disk Copy but now it's saying that when I select the target which is 8 TB external hdd I just bought that the Partition size extends the limitation.

It appears that i'm going to have to use Linux and move the files I want to keep manually.

 

cloning a drive is great when it isn't already messed up. In your case, that message probably just means something like you are also cloning the MBR (master boot record), and the partition table; so if the disk is not the same size and they both only have one partition, the partition sizes do not match. Something to that effect.

I've done all this stuff before in Linux too many times, so I wouldn't hesitate to run Parted, Gparted, or other partition tools to resize the partition to match, create a second one for the rest of the disk, and write a new table to the disk. But since you have data you don't want to lose, I would not recommend you screw around with it at all.

Get the data off the disk and worry about the rest later. Reinstalling all your plugins and programs can be no fun; but you could also be more selective about what you put back. Once you have an acceptable base install, clone the internal drive so you have a backup of the system, and then hope you don't need it.

 

Hi @scguy83, if you can tell me which new SSD you purchased, I could tell you if the manufacturer offers an emergency CD that can be used without Windows.

You buy Acronis and install the program on the PC you're using here. You burn a bootable medium with the program according to the instructions, which you can then use to clone your hard drive without Windows. Or create a USB stick. You start your problem PC, go to the BIOS, change the boot order, and boot from the CD-ROM. Insert the created CD-ROM and then clone your full SSD to the new SSD according to the instructions in the graphical interface. Make a note of the exact name and size of your new SSD beforehand. If you're using a USB stick, boot from the USB stick. You also connect the new external SSD to your problem PC.

Acronis True Image: How to clone a disk
https://care.acronis.com/s/article/...True-Image-how-to-clone-a-disk?language=en_US

Acronis True Image Home 2010: Creating Acronis Bootable Media with a Backup File
https://care.acronis.com/s/article/...with-a-Backup-File?language=en_US&ckattempt=1

Acronis Bootable Media of any Acronis backup product is an exclusive recovery environment for image recovery. It also allows you to create images, clone disks, and partition new disks without booting into Windows. It features the same graphical interface as when you run your copy of an Acronis backup product in Windows.
https://care.acronis.com/s/article/1537-Acronis-Bootable-Media?language=en_US

Step-by-step instructions
If you're using Acronis True Image 2017 or earlier and want to clone a system disk, we recommend using Acronis Bootable Media. Even if you start the clone in Windows, the computer may reboot into the Linux environment, just like when booting from Linux-based rescue media. For this reason, cloning with rescue media is preferable.
For example, your hard disk drives may be recognized in Windows but not in the bootable media environment. In this case, the cloning process will fail after rebooting. Booting from rescue media allows you to ensure that Acronis products recognize both the source and destination disks before starting the clone process.

When working with bootable media, the drive letters may sometimes differ from how Windows identifies drives. For example, the D: drive identified in Acronis Bootable Media may correspond to the E: drive in Windows. This is because Linux has its own rules for naming drive letters (see Chapter 2.1.1 Naming Convention at http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/Linux/docs/HOWTO/other-formats/pdf/Partition.pdf). This is perfectly normal, and there's no need to worry about the different drive letter assignments.

 

I bought an 8TB hdd external. I was planning to move the data to the HDD and then wipe the ssd install new windows and move all my shit back over to it

 

None of that is relevant, like always. Once the Linux you are using is already at the Gnome or KDE desktop, your external drive will be mounted and accessible like any other disk. Copy the data from the internal SSD to the external. You do not need to install anything additional for simple disk operations.