Boot sector issue

Hey,

I've been trying to fix my computer after diskeeper and CHKDSK rewrote all the security id tags on my files and now Windows doesn't recognize itself as installed, and as such refuses to start.

I've been in contact with Microsoft and they have been feeding me solutions. None of them have worked so far, but this one asks me to write a file, BCDStore.bak, onto the C: drive but for whatever reason, he writes the instructions on how to write the file assuming that I can start windows. Is there a way that I can load a program and a file onto a CD/USB drive and have it write the file to C:? He sent me the file through email, which I have to access from a different computer.

Secondly, is there a way to backup the files on my drive without having access to windows? I can access the command prompt using a windows recovery/installation CD.

 

If you have a Windows install CD, you can build the UBCD4Win (Ultimate Boot CD for Windows) which is basically a Windows operating system that runs entirely from the CD. If you have 2 CD drives and one is a burner, boot to this CD from the non-burning drive so you can burn your stuff to CDs, or plug in an external USB drive before booting to the UBCD4Win and you can then copy your files to it. You can download the UBCD4Win setup file from here. Be sure you have read the how-to-build guide available here. You might want to print it out. Building the CD is actually pretty easy compared to how it was when the UBCD4Win first came out a few years ago; they have really streamlined the process. So, read the how-to guide all the way through 2 or 3 times, then build and burn the CD. Boot to it, and you'll be able to access all your files. You won't be able to run any software on drive C: but you can access everything and copy it to an external USB drive or burn it as described earlier...

GOOD LUCK!

(you can also use the UBCD4Win to copy files to drive C: if you have them on a floppy disk or on an external USB drive or on a CD if you have 2 CD drives)

 

Hey, thanks much. That looks like it'll work just great based on your description. One question though, i currently have Vista loaded, can I make the same CD with Vista instead of XP?

 

I don't think so. You need to use a WinXP disc to create the UBCD4Win. You can then boot to it on the Vista PC and access your files, but you cannot create the boot CD with a Vista install disc... as far as I know you can't, but I've been wrong before. You might want to check out the UBCD4Win Forums and see if there's a way to do it with a Vista disc, or if you can use an XP disc but run the build on a Vista computer. I would think that you can build the UBCD4Win on a Vista computer as long as you use a WinXP install disc in the build process...