Hi there, win8 (installed of off 9200.16384.120-725-1247_ProWMC_HRM_CCSA_X86FRe_EN_US_DVD.iso few years ago, stopped working after recent update. My daughter grad papers were on it (disaster!). I had made CustomRefresh.wim image on another internal drive in the comp, BEFORE disaster struck, BUT... 1. can't re-install windows of off aforementioned DVD !? (thought to use "Refresh" from inside the win8...) 2.is it possible to get this image back to life some other way, short of using data recovery services, which is my last resort anyway !? Thank you, Suad.
I would use a live Linux DVD or USB distribution and copy her grad papers onto an external hard drive or another usb flash drive. I just did it for my friends daughter. She had 63GB worth of pictures, music, and documents. I used Linux Mint with the Mate Desktop. It worked fantastic. After you have everything copied over, just reinstall Windows. I never tried doing a Refresh install but from what I understand you can reinstall Windows and leave your files intact. If you decide to go that route, I would Google or YouTube how to do that.
Thank you TrustMe for getting involved. I used Knoppix to no avail; said something like : can't mount the volume..." for whatever reason. My problem goes further than just the software; SATA terminal on the back of the drive doesn't have molded plastic around copper leads, so I can't even say how reliable connection to the mobo is while trying to boot into the windows. My BIOS was recognizing the drive itself, BUT it wasn't showing in win8 device manager !? I think I need to focus on CustomRefresh.wim image file (cca 10GB) I had made earlier in the month, and if somebody could give me a helping hand with it and how to use it - I bought a new hard drive in the meantime, I would greatly appreciate it !
Hi there, the solution to my problem was 7 zip! Who would think, right!? It opens wim files and apparently you just copy them back to life. Why "apparently"? I couldn't get files I needed; they were not there. Should've checked where the files were being saved by default before making an image. Probably they went on some other than c drive letter...rough lesson ! As usual, the best -and most costly - is the experience gained thru mistakes...
Hi Urie, thank you for your help. Right now I am trying to recover data with TestDisk. Prior to that gave a shot to urban myth: freezing a drive ! As expected - didn't work. I left Test Disk on as I went to work; we'll see tomorrow what's what.
Do you still have have the drive in the machine the reason I mentioned caddy and usb to sata was to give you a more reliable connection than normal sata cable because the retaining clip on your drive was damaged.
It's over ! Thank you everybody, unfortunately nothing worked. TestDisk reported that the drive is physically damaged; dloaded SeaTools which confirmed it. Just shows you the importance of being organized and cognizant of the possibility of the many dangers lurking to snatch the data. WHAT YOU DEEM VALUABLE, PROTECT IT TIMELY, PERIOD ! If you don't know how exactly, educate your self. Countless resources are available all over the net. One of the very many: this forum ! Thanks Forum and all, So long, Burko.