MINWINPC is all that I can see

[Usernam]

Hello, I recently was given a hard drive from a friend of mine's virus-ridden, but still working HP vista (not sure of specific one) desktop. I plugged it into my SATA to USB converter, and the drive showed the correct size and usage that my friend remembered, but the only thing that I could see on the HP_PAVILLION partition (usually the main one in HP's), was a folder entitled MINWINPC, which is empty, and a link to the CD drive. I also cannot see the recovery partition. Any ideas???

 

[usasma]

It depends on what's been done to the drive.
The recovery partition is most likely the one with MINWIN in it (unless someone attempted to restore the system).

See what the disk looks like in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc). If the 2 partitions aren't there - then either the drive doesn't have a recovery partition, or the drive has been erased/damaged.

Try a hard drive diagnostic on it also: HD Diagnostic

 

[xfilescully]

Hi there.. I have a similar problem.. in DOS, my computer shows it only has MINWINPC on it. I downloaded and ran the HD Diagnostic test and the result I see after running the advanced test is the following:

Fujitsu MHY2120BH -
Problem detected on a non Hitachi disk drive, Please contact your HDD supplier form additional support. Disposition Code = 0x70

I do realize that it is not an original Fujitsu test and is Hitachi, but I chose it because I thought it would be the most compatible.

I was thrilled to see that the diagnostic tool found my Fujitsu and showed the correct amount of disk space.. because I was wondering where my disk space went!! And now I have some (even though it's little) hope that my files and software are still on the hard drive.

Now I don't know what to do next. I'm currently not living in the U.S. and I don't know how much help I can get from Fujitsu. My computer is three years old and there is no warranty left of any kind.

Does anyone have any ideas?? Is there anything I can do myself to fix the problem?? Is there some type of software or app that can help me diagnose the actual problem and fix it??

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!




**Trying to reboot, this is the message I get:

No bootable devices--strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility, press F5 to run onboard diagnostics.

 

[Lorien]

Hi xfilescully,

Welcome to Vista Forums!

Please post the manufacturer, make and precise and complete model number of the hard drive you're having trouble with. I'll see if I can find a test more appropriate for it than using one for the wrong drive (where we can't really tell if the errors are from the drive or from an incompatibility in the diagnostic software).

Also include the manufacturer, make, and precise and complete model number of your computer. And are you using 32-bit or 64-bit Vista and what Service Pack is installed?

Go to Start / Control Panel / Administrative Tools / Computer Management / Disk Management and take a screenshot of that, save it as a .jpg file, and attach it to your next post so I can see the details it is showing about the drive (without asking a hundred questions).

Once we have that, we'll proceed.

Thanks and good luck.

 

[xfilescully]

Thanks for the reply. Unfortunately, I cannot get into Windows, I don't even know if Windows is still on my laptop any longer because I just go in loops. Now I am having trouble getting it to boot. The only things it will boot to is either a CD or a USB device. So, I have NO way of getting to the start menu. I can't even find my C:\drive in DOS.

I ran more diagnostics on my Dell Inspiron 1520 and I get an error code 2000-0146. When I look that up on the internet, I get negative sounding results. I'm fearing that my laptop hard drive is fried!! And now I'm wondering if I can save ANY of the files on the hard drive (if any still exist on it!).

Any ideas??!!

Thanks!!

 

[richc46]

Try using ubuntu to save files.
http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/wind...backup-files-from-your-dead-windows-computer/

 

[Lorien]

Hi xfilescully,

Where's Mulder when you need him? LOL! Actually, it sounds like things got a lot worse in just the 47 minutes between your posts.

Let's try the following to see if we have any access to the hard drive and if we can repair the connection or at least identify the problem. You may want to do the last step first if you're concerned about saving your data - then you can return and try the others to see if you can restore/repair the drive.

Do a Startup Repair by booting to the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk (or one you can borrow from ANYONE) or from a Recovery Disk with recovery options included on it. Here's the procedure: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/91467-startup-repair.html. To boot to the CD you may need to change the BIOS to make the CD-drive first in the boot sequence. To do that, wait for the screen that tells you the F key to push to access the boot menu or boot setup. Push it quickly. Make the changes, save your work, and exit. Put the CD in the drive and reboot. When prompted, push any key to boot from the CD.

If you don't have either disk, you can make a bootable Recovery Disk using http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/windows-vista-recovery-disc-download/ along with burning software like: http://www.snapfiles.com/get/active-isoburner.html and, of course, a blank CD (perhaps made on a different computer or perhaps in safe mode with networking if that is working).

If that doesn't work, try to boot into safe mode (repeatedly click the F8 key while booting and go to safe mode with networking – or go to the command prompt on the disk). Then let's check some of your system files:

Go to Start / All Programs / Accessories / Command prompt and right click on command prompt and click run as Administrator (you can skip this step if using the disk).

If using the disk, cd to C:\Windows\System32. Type sfc /scannow and enter and let it run. It will scan and try to fix some of your system files. Hopefully it will complete with no corruption it could not repair (if there is such corruption post back here or try to analyze it to find the problem file(s) using http://support.microsoft.com/kb/928228. Try to attach the report (you may need to copy it to the USB flash drive to transfer to a working computer before it will permit you to attach it) here so we can see if they can be repaired with good copies from the installation disk and/or other places in the system (unless there are too many).

While in Command Prompt, type chkdsk /f /r and enter and let it run. It will want to schedule itself to run at the next restart. Answer yes and then reboot to run the program. It will scan and try to fix any corruption or bad sectors on your hard drive and mostly remove that as a potential cause.

Then you can use Ubuntu to save your data http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windo...dows-computer/ Boot to the disk. This may give you enough access to the system drive to backup your important data. If that doesn’t work, try slaving the drive to another computer and recovering the data using that other computer to access the disk. If this works, at least we'll know your data is safe which should be a great relief.

I hope some of this helps resolve the problem, identify the problem, or at least save your important data. Please let me know how each step turns out. I'm sincerely hoping that one of these disks or slaving the disk will give you access to the drive - but we'll have to wait and see.

Good luck!