how to restore FAT and access files on C: after uninstall Win98 from DOS

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disk833@hotmail.com - 31 Jul 2003 09:09 GMT

This is probably a dumb question but I hope someone could
help. Is it possible to restore FAT and access
files/directories on C: after I uninstall Windows 98 from
DOS prompt?

Details as follows:
After unintall Windows and reboot, I got "invalid system
disk" message. Then I use boot disk from A: to boot, and
find that all my files are 'gone', but they may still be
somewhere on C: but FAT is no good? The sad thing is that
I initially don't intend to reformat C: and I couldn't
back up large video files from DOS prompt (originally I
got "Windows protection error" and cannot access Windows
under normal mode). After many tries of re-setup Win98
failed (cannot pass ScanDisk due to invalid 'long file
names', I tried to uninstall Win98 and hope to then setup
again).

I hope to be able to get back my only-copy files from C:.
Is there an resolution? I tried to install Win98 again
from E:\win98\setup, and when ScanDisk is running, it says
that copy 1 of FAT may be damaged and it will fix with
copy 2 but copy 1 is better. Then
ScanDisk 'fixed' 'problem files/directories'.

Before running ScanDisk, all I see on C: is a file name
with strange symbols. After Scandisk, lots of
DIR00001...DIR00036 directories are 'fixed' there.

Now all I got are DIR00001...DIR00036 directories. The bad
thing is that I did not back up all my files
beforehand...:< Are those DIR0000* directories now only
junks or they can be retrieved to my original files if FAT
is found?

Please help!!! Thx.

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dustin - 31 Jul 2003 23:00 GMT

If you want your files back, I would take an attempt at
taking the hard disk out of the computer and put it in
another computer (as a slave to the hard drive that is
already in that computer). If the file system is in
tact, you will be able to copy your files over to the
hard drive on the computer that is functioning.

that is personally the easiest way to get your files back
if the operating system has been corrupted.

>-----Original Message-----
>This is probably a dumb question but I hope someone could
[quoted text clipped - 34 lines]
>Please help!!! Thx.
>.

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Jeff Richards - 01 Aug 2003 03:53 GMT

What steps did you take to 'uninstall' Windows? You mention formatting C.
It is possible to recover files after formatting using standard file
recovery tools. But then you mention running Scandisk and allowing it to
'Fix' things. If C was formatted there wouldn't be anything for Scandisk to
fix, but if it has fixed things then your chance of recovering any data is
very slim. Also, if you have tried to re-install windows from a DOS boot (is
E your CD drive?) then you have probably overwritten your data.

If the files are valuable you should take the disk to a professional data
recovery service. Otherwise, look for data recovery utilities on the www and
see what's possible.
http://www.datarecoverynet.com/
http://www.r-tt.com/?GS01
http://www.hddrecovery.com.au/
http://www.diydatarecovery.nl/~tkuurstra/
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP W95/W98

> This is probably a dumb question but I hope someone could
> help. Is it possible to restore FAT and access
[quoted text clipped - 32 lines]
>
> Please help!!! Thx.

Reply to this Message

disk833@hotmail.com - 01 Aug 2003 10:52 GMT

Thanks all for your pointers.

How to take my current damaged Acer notebook harddisk out
and put under a borrowed Sony notebook's harddisk as its
slave?
I probably know how to do for PCs but not sure how for
notebooks computers.

I recall... I didn't format C:. I uninstall Win98 by doing
C:\Windows\uninstall at DOS prompt. I couldn't access
Win98 under normal mode due to 'Windows protection error,
pls restart system' at boot (probably due to the
installation of Easy CD Pro 95). But after I uninstall
Easy CD Pro 95, I still got 'Windows protection error....'
at boot. But Window98 uninstall was not successful
because 'C: still has invalid long file names' and I
didn't pass ScanDisk test. However, when I do 'dir' on C:,
all I saw was a directory with strange symbols (but the
available size seems correct). Then I reboot C: from boot
disk, then I choose "step by step command", I skip
Config.sys, and press Yes for the rest of lines asked.
After that, it gives me "invalid system disk" message.
Then I reboot from boot disk again, and tried to reinstall
Win98 from Acer recovery CD by doing E:\Win98\setup. Then
ScanDisk found FAT is damaged and a directory with strange
symbols and ScanDisk asks me "fix it" or not. From
it's "more info", it seems that it's better to 'fix'
than 'not fix'. Then I got many directory names e.g.
DIR00001 etc, but at this point, I could see a C:\Windows
directory with only a C:\Windows\Options which has
those '.CAB' files. Inside DIR00002 directory, for
example, it contains some .gif and .jpg files (but those
files are not mine, I never saw them before) and I copies
one .gif file to try to open it on another notebook but it
says it contains problems. Another example, inside
DIR00036 directory which ScanDisk fixed, I saw strange
symbol file names such as CCCCCCCC.CCC with dates
something like 04-03-44 and huge file size (this may not
be true data). And... ScanDisk seems just to
delete 'problems' and the more scanning the worse
situation (I don't know if it's misleading). Now I just
leave the Acer notebook there until I find a way to do
data recovery from C:.

>Please help!!! Thx.

Reply to this Message

Jeff Richards - 01 Aug 2003 23:58 GMT

1. The uninstall you did was likely removing the backup copy of your
previous operating system (presumably Windows 95) and I don't think it has
anything to do with the current issues.
2. The Windows protection error probably indicates the start of the problem,
which was some sort of disk error. Without the exact details of this error
it's hard to know.
3. I would be surprised if uninstalling Easy CD Pro caused a problem, unless
the disk was not operating properly at this point, in which case any sort of
processing at all would have corrupted more of the disk.
4. The invalid long filenames also indicates some sort of disk corruption,
as do the corrupted long filenames in the C:\ and the missing operating
system message.
5. The reinstall might have overwritten some existing files before stopping.
In any case, it wasn't going to succeed while there were disk errors.
6. The Scandisk 'fix' then compounded the damage. Asking Scandisk to fix
something when the disk is not functioning properly causes the damage to be
distributed across the entire disk surface instead of being confined to a
few files. That's where the odd folder and filenames came from.

I doubt that you could recover much from that disk. If you just want to
start over find some Acer disk diagnostics and confirm the exact condition
of the disk. If the disk is faulty then your only option is to replace it.
If the disk is OK see if the Acer diagnostic has some function to erase the
disk to a complete blank. Then start over with the recovery disk.
--
Jeff Richards
MS MVP W95/W98

> Thanks all for your pointers.
>
[quoted text clipped - 41 lines]
>
> >Please help!!! Thx.

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