Hi and thank you for reading my message. Hope you won't mind assisting with this issue.

I have a laptop that has a failing HD and can't boot Windows 10. I was wondering if there was software that would allow me to make an image of the entire drive (onto a portable drive) so that all the files and folders retain their original creation/modified dates and order. I was hoping I could retrieve them later (I'm assuming I would need some kind of mounting software to be able to read the image... not really sure). Hopefully that image will also allow me to access the hidden folders like app data and program data where my vsts for some reason store presets. As of now, the only way I can remove files is through the system restore advanced options where I use command prompt to open notepad and then use the explorer to send files/folders to an external HD but not all folders can be seen while some folders are huge and I cannot determine if they are being copied since there is no progress bar.

Any advice on this would be welcomed and greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance!

 

https://www.system-rescue.org/manual/Backup_data_from_an_unbootable_windows_computer/

 

If your failing HD isn't completely damaged, any program that is able to make an image fits.

I use AOMEI Backupper, but also Macrium Reflect, EaseUS ToDo BackUp, Acronis, Paragon etc. exist.

Just connect the old drive to a working PC and make an image. Then you can mount this image and copy files from it.

And with a working PC you can copy all you need without making an image.

 

All you need
www.hirensbootcd.org

(Older WinXP based versions exist too:
https://www.hirensbootcd.org/old-versions/)

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2024 at 12:30 AM

https://www.system-rescue.org/ & https://clonezilla.org/


also this is recommended https://pendrivelinux.com/yumi-multiboot-usb-creator/

 

You could also just put the hard drive into an external caddy and access the files from there.

 

This is correct answer. if its a hard drive and not an ssd, you want to stop writing to the drive and you don't want windows indexing the drives as it writes new indexes to "help you find stuff faster" that will make you drive corrupt even faster.

put the failing drive into an external enclosure, stick another drive into the computer, install windows, or do a restore if you have a backup. then once you have a stable computer to work from, attach the external drive and copy files to a new folder for temporary storage. Make sure indexing is turned off on the external drive, you will have to set this in properties once the drive is attached.

 

+1 for the above. That is how I would do it too.

However, there is one last thing I would try. On a working computer, install software called HDD Regenerator and from there create a USB startup of that programme. Then plug the USB stick (Flash drive as some call it) into the laptop and call up this device instead of trying to access the OS.
Now you will be able to access that entire drive and repair any of the bad sectors which are preventing you from loading up the drive,
This will in turn not only make it a bootable drive again, but (in theory) fix the drive. providing the drive hasn't physically been damaged!

Again. this is only in theory, but it has saved me many times!

 

I totally agree with what others have already posted above. I had this issue... and the easiest thing to do is just get a HDD enclosure and plug it into the USB port. Here is a little video to give you some idea of what to do. Good luck!

 

This isn't just in theory. If the drive is physically damaged, you are SOL and should eventually get a new one after you recover whatever data you can. But this method, along with Hirens Boot tools are a great way to either repair the drive's data, or access it without Windows being booted. Once Windows actually boots, you will always run into problems with "in use" files. The easiest way around it is to use a USB pendrive to boot the system with the OS in RAM only, so you can directly copy everything you want to keep. Personally, I will always do this with a Linux iso on the pendrive, because there are system tools like Gparted, and others that you can easily install from the distro's repository from CLI.

https://unetbootin.org. Unetbootin will format the pendrive, prepare it for install, download whatever Linux ISO you want (or supply yourself), install it to the drive, and you are done. You may need to change your BIOS boot order so you load the OS on the Flash drive before the disk with Windows is mounted. The only thing Unetbootin will not do is make the pendrive OS into a persistent installation. If you want to save any changes to the state of the Linux you put on the pendrive, you have to do that yourself; or you can install the Live ISO to the internal disk. With Debian you can use APT to grab any files from repo that you may need.

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2024 at 8:58 AM

@clone

We are in agreement that this system can work. The reason I say in theory because if there are several bad sectors in the boot up section of the drive, even if there is no physical damage to the drive it is beyond fixing.

I have HDD Generator but yes, Hiren's boot discs are great tools and if memory serves me correctly, BOTH Gparted and HDD Regen are on there.. (or at least use to be)

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2024 at 10:20 AM

Absolutely. A Linux live ISO on a pendrive can be one the best repair tools for a seriously screwed up windows machine. Drivers out of the way to see what is happening with hardware, no malware/spyware already running by the time you login, nothing in use to stop you from killing processes, no problems with the Windows install or conflicts, choose drives to mount, bring up eth0 and wlan interfaces from CLI separately. It's about as "silver bullet" as it gets.

 

Disk drill https://www.cleverfiles.com/lp/data-recovery-software.html?gad_source=1

 

I agree have used it many times, my little 320gb usenet drive was repaired about 6 months ago with this, but its not a long term fix, if I run crystal disk info it shows lots of reallocated sectors.

so don't consider it a long term repair, just a quick fix to make it possible to image the drive with your favorite imaging program to avoid having to reinstall everything.

but yes HDD regenerator is genius, i've used it for over a decade to repair computers.

my drive today after repair by HDD regenerator (6 months ago) (maybe I'll replace it today since it won't get any better....)

 

I can only think of one drive that wasn't physically damaged it couldn't repair. That was because a friend of mine I lent it to put it in his external caddy and then used System Mechanic to do a FULL erase of the drive. He later told me he thought he was 'formatting' it and chose the wrong option and selected the option to throw it away so nobody could ever see what he had put on it.

Yeah I know, I know the things you do for friends, right?.. That was the last time I lent anyone a drive though!

 

Thank you everyone for all the amazing advice!!! GREATLY GREATLY APPRECIATED!! I think I'm going to try all of the above. Luckily I am still able to access command prompt and open notepad so I can use the mini files explorer and send folders to my WD easystore. Going to try and copy as many files as I can before take the risk of removing the drive. The hd enclosure sounds like a great idea. I'm guessing the BIOS will have info on what type of drive and the drive physical size so I will know what kind of enclosure I should buy. This might be a dumb question but what sized flash drive will I need for the boot software? When I tried to make a windows recovery disc for my new laptop, I initially used a 32 GB one but windows said it wasn't large enough and I ended up having to buy another 64 GB one. Was also wondering what unetbootin was referring to when they said "browse to your source ISO file" because my Windows 10 was OEM and never came with an installation disc.

Thanks again for taking the time to help and explain all this to me!! Definitely makes things so much easier to understand!

 

Last edited: Sep 26, 2024 at 9:36 PM

i'll just add this bit of advice - the idea of putting your drive into an enclosure is a good one, but I would create an image of the drive first before removing it from your system or doing anything else with it. That way you've always got the image as a backup. I've seen people try to fix drives and only make them worse, or accidentally format them, or have to take permissions of files/folders to copy them and then lose the time/date stamps (which may or may not be of importance to you, but it can be meaningful). You never know what can go wrong, so as a first step, creating an image of the drive is the best idea. If that's good, then anything else you do from that point on can't really hurt you. Good luck with it.

 

I agree with you, but for the reason that if the drive is junk; you want to figure that out with it still in the machine first. I know enclosures are cheap, but if the drive is dead it's a waste of your money. When you buy a new ssd you are going to put it back into the machine and have nothing to use the enclosure for. Why waste your time or money? That is called "throwing good money after bad" if you do not already have one.