One tactic I've had work for doing an emergency backup of files prior to
a reinstall of Windows is to take the drive out of the machine in
question and use a USB adapter kit I got from Fry's Electronics to
connect it to a second machine. I then copy and paste everything I need
to save onto the second machine, using it as temporary storage, do my
reinstall, and repeat the process to copy the data back to the original
drive. It has saved my bacon and that of my clients numerous times. My
particular adapter kit only set me back $50 several years ago, and it
has been worth every penny. It's not a replacement for a good backup
system, but it can be of use. Hope this helps some.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: [PCBUILD] Win 7 crash help needed
From: [log in to unmask]
Date: Fri, December 17, 2010 3:08 pm
To: [log in to unmask]

Hi, 

I can't boot up my Win 7 computer and I would really appreciate some 
help. When I do the automatic repair, it tells me that it can't be 
automatically repaired. I've tried using the upgrade DVD, but it does 
the same thing. I've removed all the USB peripherals, but no change. I 
don't have access to a DVD burner (it was on the system not working), 
so I've tried many different boot installations (like UNetbootin) on my 
USB flash drive, but none has worked. They usually say there are files 
missing. (The USB flash is a few years old.) 

The upgrade disk, of course, offers me the ability to install again, 
but (even though I've backed up a lot) there are still files I can't 
afford to lose. Is there a way to do this without destroying any files? 

Through the repair facility, I can get a command prompt, but I'm not 
sure where my data files are or how I could copy them off to another HD 
drive. Would I just connect a USB HD? 

If anyone can help me get my system running again and not lose any 
files, I'd really appreciate it. 

Steve 

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