[Sure]

I got the issue of data recovery resolved: thanks to the freeware 'PC Inspector' - www.pcinspector.de/file_recovery/UK/welcome.htm. This wonderful freeware helped me in recovering almost all the data from the win2k drive! I could also retrieve almost 635 MB data in the ‘winNT’ folder. Now I have a technical curiosity (please note: I am not a computer expert, but I have immense curiosity and love for this gadget). Is it possible to get any help from this recovered 'winNT' system folder data (anything to do with ‘start-up disk’ or Registry repair or any such issues), so as to put the old drive back on track? Currently I have no other resource (e.g. Windows XP or Win 2K CD), except a PC with ‘win98’ system.

(Previous Posting:
Help please! I have a dual problem.
I had Windows 2000. Recently, I installed a popular spyware-removal program and cleaned the PC. The desktop became inactive after I exited program. I shut down PC through alt-ctrl-del. Now if I start the PC. the booting takes place only upto 'Windows Starting....', the blocks get filled up and then the Computer shuts down, and then restarts. This keeps on happening endlessly. It did not respond to any of the choices of starting with 'F8'- it simply continues to shut down and restart. The system info with 'F10' showed 'HD 10 GB; RAM 128 MB'.
Since the data on HD is important, I removed the HD. Then by removing the jumper, I put it as slave HD in another PC with Win 98. This second PC starts as Win 98 system; Its BIOS/CMOS recognises second PC HD as 'Primary Master', and the 10 GB HD as 'Primary Slave'. But 'My computer'and 'Windows Explorer' do not show this slave drive. Currently this PC has (1)Two HDs (2)One FDD (3)One CD Rom and (4)One CD Burner.
What do I do to recover the data?)

Edited by Sure, 25 October 2006 - 11:45 AM.

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do you know how the 2000 drive was formatted? do you know if it's fat or NTFS? i f it's ntfs windows 98 won't be able to read it

[dsenette]

do you know how the 2000 drive was formatted? do you know if it's fat or NTFS? i f it's ntfs windows 98 won't be able to read it

[Sure]

I am sorry, I do not know. I inherited the PC. If it is NTFS, does it mean that I will never be able to use that HD as slave to another with Win98, unless I get it formatted somehow (and where/how??)? Also what happens to the data? How do I retrieve it? Could you please guide me? Thanks!

[dsenette]

if it IS NTFS that does mean you won't be able to use it in it's current state with 98...no matter what...the computer doesn't even recognize it as an operational hard drive... you CAN reformat the drive as fat 16 or fat 32 (i think 98 does 32...) if you just format the drive...everything on it will be lost...

if you know someone who has a computer running XP you would be able to either hook the drive up as a slave and copy off all the data...or use an external hard drive enclosure to do the same....then after you've pulled all the important data files off of the drive to the host computer...you could format the defunct drive to the proper file system...then put the data back onto the drive from the host...then hook it back up in your 98 pc

[SRX660]

Don't know if this will help much but it has worked for me.

http://www.diskinter...ts/ntfs-reader/

SRX660