Politics,
First thing that I suggest you do is to try and back up your data and second test the HDD to see if it has issues, the former needs to be done first as testing a flaky HDD can cause it to fail completely with the loss of all data on it, will post the testing info after the data recovery has been tried;
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***Required Hardware***
CD Burner (CDRW) Drive,
Blank CD,
Extra Storage Device (USB Flash Drive, External Hard Drive)
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1. Save these files to your Desktop/Burn Your Live CD:
Download BurnCDCC ISO Burning Software
There are instructions on how to boot from flash drive with puppy here; /
For computers that have UEFI as opposed to legacy BIOS, to be able to boot from your USB device you may need to disable secure boot and change UEFI to CSM Boot, not all computers and BIOS are the same, please refer to your user manual if you have one as the following steps are only one such example.
Restart the computer, Windows 8 and 8.1 from the Start or desktop screen move your mouse pointer over the upper or lower right corner of the screen, when the Windows Charms appear click the Settings Charm, click on Power and then the Restart option.
Windows 10, Click on Start,Power and then Restart.
While the computer is re-starting,you will need to continually tap or hold down the particular key that will allow you to access the BIOS on your computer, we will use the F2 key as an example here;
After restarting the computer, when the screen goes black, press and hold down the F2 key, wait for the BIOS to load.
Select Security -> Secure Boot and then Disabled.
Select Advanced -> System Configuration and then Boot Mode.
Change UEFI Boot to CSM Boot.
Save the changes and Exit the BIOS, commonly F10.
If your computer will not boot into Windows at all, power up or restart the computer continually tap or hold down the key that will allow you to access the BIOS on your computer and then do the following;
Select Security -> Secure Boot and then Disabled.
Select Advanced -> System Configuration and then Boot Mode.
Change UEFI Boot to CSM Boot.
Save the changes and Exit the BIOS, commonly F10.
Open BurnCDCC with Windows Explorer
Extract All files to a location you can remember
Double Click 
BurnCDCC
Click Browse 
and navigate to the Puppy Linux ISO file you just downloaded
Open/Double Click that file
IMPORTANT: Adjust the speed bar to CD: 4x DVD: 1x
Click Start 
Your CD Burner Tray will open automatically
Insert a blank CD and close the tray
Click OK
Puppy Linux Live CD will now be created
2. Set your boot priority in the BIOS to CD-ROM first, Hard Drive Second
Start the computer/press the power button
Immediately start tapping the appropriate key to enter the BIOS, aka "Setup"
(Usually shown during the "Dell" screen, or "Gateway" Screen)
Once in the BIOS, under Advanced BIOS Options change boot priority to:
CD-ROM 1st, Hard Drive 2nd
Open your ROM drive and insert the disk
Press F10 to save and exit
Agree with "Y" to continue
Your computer will restart and boot from the Puppy Linux Live CD
3. Recover Your Data
- Once Puppy Linux has loaded, it is actually running in your computer's Memory (RAM). You will see a fully functioning Graphical User Interface similar to what you normally call "your computer". Internet access may or may not be available depending on your machine, so it is recommended you print these instructions before beginning. Also, double clicking is not needed in Puppy. To expand, or open folders/icons, just click once. Puppy is very light on resources, so you will quickly notice it is much speedier than you are used to. This is normal. Ready? Let's get started.
3a. Mount Drives[list]
Click the Mount Icon located at the top left of your desktop. 
A Window will open. By default, the "drive" tab will be forward/highlighted. Click on Mount for your hard drive.
Assuming you only have one hard drive and/or partition, there may be only one selection to mount.
USB Flash Drives usually automatically mount upon boot, but click the "usbdrv" tab and make sure it is mounted.
If using an external hard drive for the data recovery, do this under the "drive" tab. Mount it now.
3b. Transfer Files.
At the bottom left of your desktop a list of all hard drives/partitions, USB Drives, and Optical Drives are listed with a familiar looking hard drive icon.
Open your old hard drive i.e. sda1
Next, open your USB Flash Drive or External Drive. i.e. sdc or sdb1
If you open the wrong drive, simply X out at the top right corner of the window that opens. (Just like in Windows)
From your old hard drive, drag and drop whatever files/folders you wish to transfer to your USB Drive's Window.
For The Novice: The common path to your pictures, music, video, and documents folders for XP is: Documents and Settings >> All Users (or each individual name of each user, for Vista and above C:\Users\$USERNAME\[...]. CHECK All Names!) >> Documents >> You will now see My Music, My Pictures, and My Videos.
Remember to only click once! No double clicking! Once you drag and drop your first folder, you will notice a small menu will appear giving you the option to move or copy. Choose COPY each time you drag and drop.
YOU ARE DONE!!! Simply click Menu >> Mouse Over Shutdown >> Reboot/Turn Off Computer. Be sure to plug your USB Drive into another working windows machine to verify all data is there and transferred without corruption. Congratulations!
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