Windows XP File System Issue

By yeoo_andy_ni
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Mentor

yeoo_andy_ni

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I've decided to ask on the forums here as I'm totally stumped as to what to do next.

A girl in work recently had her PC BSOD. Took the disk out and put it into an identical machine, but it did the same thing. So, I slaved it off the identical machine and was able to see that all the files/folders (bar 3) were hidden. Weird. So I unhid them and ran a chkdsk on it. No corruptions were found. I was now however able to boot from the drive in both computers. Before I removed the disk, I rebooted and cloned the drive using the Easeus disk clone application/tool.

Now, here's the stranger part. All the files/folders are date back to May 2011. So any work that had been done between now and then is gone, can't be seen or found. My first instinct was to send the disk away to a recover company as I didn't want to muddy the waters any by trying to recover files or folder and maybe messng the disk up any more. So off it went, and the report came back this week. All this recovery crowd can see from the disk is the May 2011 files, but nothing after. I know disk recovery companies are generally first class at recovering data from a drive or disk that has failed or died, but in this instance, even though I explained the situation to them, is there any chance that they have missed something? Is there anything I would be able to try, even on the cloned disk as it was a sector by sector clone, so it will be the same data I'm reading.

Cheers!

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1074419-windows-xp-file-system-issue/
Share on other sites
Collaborator

g0dzilla

Posted
Posted

Are you able to boot the machine up using a Linux (Fedora etc.) or other Live CD (e.g. Hiren's Boot CD using Mini XP Mode) so that you can just view the raw hard disk files; not from within a Windows environment?

Are there any dump files in the C:\Windows\Minidump folder of her hard drive that can be analysed to work out what caused the Blue Screens? If it was because of a hard drive failure, then it's highly possible that the drive has many bad sectors where that missing data was being stored on and was not able to be recovered (worst case scenario!).

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Microsoft about to radically change how often your Edge browser updates

      By leonsk29 · Posted

      Wow, spoken like a true blind hater, you don't even provide arguments. Please, go check my comment above to @seacaptain and you'll find out why what you say doesn't make sense in this context...
    • Microsoft about to radically change how often your Edge browser updates

      By grunger106 · Posted

      Get used to this, with AI tooling now uncovering new vulns and getting them exploitable far faster than has ever been possible before software is going to need to be updated far more frequently. Back in the day it may take reseachers weeks or months to do what AI can now do in hours. Once its a threat is discovered it's weaponsized far more quickly, meaning you simply can't be waiting 2, 3, 4 weeks to deploy a patch, it needs to be patched immediately. Going to be interesting handling this in the enterprise space where traditionally patching has been steady, but very staged (and rightly so up until now), that is going to have to change.
    • Microsoft about to radically change how often your Edge browser updates

      By leonsk29 · Posted

      You don't need to "close all browser sessions constantly" or wait for updates to install. The updates download in the background while you use the browser, without interrupting you, they install automatically the next time you launch the app. And they install very fast (depending on your storage speeds, of course), you have to wait at most 2-3 extra seconds, if any. Seems like you haven't used Edge in a loooooooong time...
    • Segra 1.6.0

      By Copernic · Posted

      Segra 1.6.0 by Razvan Serea Segra is a free, open-source OBS-powered game recorder offering fast gameplay capture, instant clips, AI highlights, deep game integration, and seamless uploads—perfect for gamers, streamers, and content creators. Lightweight, fast, zero bloat. Segra key features: Automatic Game Recording: Begin capturing gameplay the moment your game launches, with zero manual setup. Instant Clipping: Save important moments instantly using a customizable hotkey—perfect for highlights, montages, or quick shares. Segra AI Highlights: Let Segra automatically detect kills, assists, deaths, and key events to generate polished highlight reels without manual editing. Gameplay Uploads: Upload recordings and clips directly to Segra.tv for fast sharing and cloud access. Deep Game Integration: Enjoy advanced game-data tracking across hundreds of supported titles, enabling smart highlight generation and stat-informed clipping. High-Performance Capture: Record up to 4K at 144 FPS using OBS-powered technology with minimal performance impact, supporting NVENC, AMD VCE, and custom quality controls. Segra Editor: Edit recordings easily with timeline controls, segment management, and event-based navigation to build the perfect clip. Customization Options: Adjust hotkeys, output formats, storage paths, codecs, capture quality, and performance settings for a tailored recording experience. Segra 1.6.0 changelog: Recording: Added HDR support. Grand Theft Auto: Added game integration for deaths (FiveM and RAGE MP supported). Highlights: Added customizable padding for highlights. Replay Buffer: Added a shockwave visual effect when a replay buffer clip is saved. Audio: Increased the maximum sound effects volume from 100% to 200%. Hotkeys: Fixed hotkeys not triggering while unrelated keys were held. Installer: Added code signing to verify publisher identity, branded the installer, and reduced OS security warnings. OBS: Updated the supported OBS version to 32.1.2. Download: Segra 1.6.0 | 74.4 MB (Open Source) View: Segra Homepage | Github | Screenshot Get alerted to all of our Software updates on Twitter at @NeowinSoftware
    • The official Funny Pictures thread

      By +primortal · Posted

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      Clizby earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      Timaximus earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Timaximus earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Rookie
      FBSPL went up a rank
      Rookie
    • First Post
      davidbazooked earned a badge
      First Post

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      507
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      175
    3. 3
      +Edouard
      163
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      86
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      79
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!