Well, before I got my photos backed up the hard disc has crashed. It's saying "file record ....... is unreadable". I presume that's pretty terminal. Got all my documents backed up. Is there any hope for my photos? Have some backed up but by no means all :-(

tp , overheating??

SC

Yes there is hope but it is complicated. The first thing to do is switch off the computer and don't try to use it again.

What exactly happened to your disk?

Have you another machine that you can mount your disk on and has it enough free space for your entire disk?

Consider how mch time and/or money you are prepared to spend to get them back

There are specialist disk recovery companies who would charge minimum of hundreds.

I have used a disk recovery program in the past that cost around 30. It recovered almost all of a formated disk but took a considerable time and effort.

If you are interesed, I'll find the details.

Edit

You could try chkdsk /f but using this may fix the problem or may clean the corrupted files up but make them very diffcult or impossible to access. It all depends how badly this disk is damaged. Don't do this yet.

Optimist, do I stop the chkdsk from running now, and just by turning off or how?

Second, yes I can mount the disk on another machine. I'd be interested to know about the program. The photos would be a loss but not catastrophic. I may just have to ask friends to let me have copies of their photos of the same events!

I would really like to get them back though. Just didn't have time to backup.Machine has been taking longer and longer to boot up and close down,

edit now up to 62% checked. An AWFUL lot of errors being reported.

SC

I would not stop chkdsk. Are you using it with the /f switch?

No. I know what that does!

edit My PC man is round the corner and is very reasonable. I'll consult him in the morning. Thanks for your help.

SC

If you don't use the /F switch then it will not change anything on the disk - assuming you are using NTFS file system. switch off and consider your options.

Edit

Whatever you do, mount the disk on another computer. This will prevent any files being overwritten by Windows.

What,switch off now even though chkdsk is running?

edit, yes, ntfs

SC

No I'd let chkdsk finish. I don't think it would make any difference but without the /F it is in read only mode so it's not worth interupting it.

OK, thanks. Bedtime :-)

md

"overheating?? "

Unlikely. It's been happening for a while and I bought one of those coolers recently. No obvious connection.

TP

I had Norton anti virus but stopped paying for the updates and downloaded AVG free edition. Shall i just use AVG, as two firewalls seem to slow things up.

Aldwick, delete Norton first and fully via control panel, then and only then install AVG. I run AVG at home and it's fine. You mustn't run two av programs at once. edit and make sure you have a firewall running, AVG free doesn't have a firewall built in as far as I'm aware.

Update on the hard disc: Ran chkdsk/f accidentally overnight and we're in, now taking all the photos and other bits and bobs off and then it's time for a new hard disc methinks. So saved by the bell for now. Optimist, thanks for all your support.

Aldwick

Do a search on the Norton sight for "Norton Removal Tool". Uninstall does not remove it completely.

SC

I'm glad it worked out. Allthough you can never trust that disk, it may still be possible to use Partition Magic to clone the disk it's a lot easier that reinstalling.

If you go for a clean install, remember that you can't use pre SP2 install CD's on modern hard disks.

Once you are running again, check out Carbonite.com 15 day free trial (I will also benefit should you sign up from this link).

SC,

Lucky you.

Guess what was the first thing I did this morning. Take the external hard drive down to my studio and back up my photography computer!

That Carbonite system looks interesting. Snag is that I don't have a proper internet feed in my studio.

TP

TP, a very salutory lesson!!!

Optimist, can't get Carbonite to open. Will try later. In the meantime I'm transferring all my photos and other data to my other two PCs. Also have a 500Gb external disc arriving today !!

I am using BTYahoo broadband and getting very frustrated with problems. At the moment the yahoo browser is stalling and i am having to get out using the task manager. however , this seems to leave my HUB stalled also and cannot access it so cannot get back online. Have not found a solution to the hub stalling but have got back online by switching the HUB on and off and also switching off the computer but the latter only works sometimes.

Could somebody explain to me what may be happening to the HUB when the browser stalls. ta

75 free ways to refresh Windows XP & Vista

NB. Making changes to services can cause problems, so set a System Restore point or back up your Windows Registry. Even after this precaution, be careful about which services you disable.

Never shut down a service you don't understand, and don't disable several services at once. Instead, turn one off and see whether your system runs okay without it for a while before disabling any others.

And - before you start, it might be an idea to either make a few notes or, better still, print some off - so have a look here:

http://www.blackviper.com/WinXP/servicecfg.htm

SC.

Deleted as you suggest.

But is it actually illegal to piggy back? I am aware of the dangers, et al, but was not aware that it was criminal.

TP

Two different people have been taken to court for it in recent months, TP.