I need help fixing my XP system ...

Ok everything that can go wrong has gone wrong with my laptop.

First of all part of my Win XP system has been destroyed. Most of my info is backed up but I would like to try and just fix the system rather than start over and erase the drive. I am using a Toshiba Satellite which came with the system pre-loaded so I do not have an XP install disk.. I was using a recovery CD that boots up Retrospect Express however when I get to the part where I can open the recovery file it doesn't see my USB external hard drive. Not sure if this is an issue with the drive, the computer or the program. So what is the point of a recovery when you can't access an external drive. So what I am looking for is a way to just fix the system but I need some way to boot up the computer where it will see the external drive so I can access the data. I have searched the web for utilities that might be able to fix this situation but I have not been able to find the right one. Recently I downloaded some utilities from bootdisk.com but I am not a computer expert yet and do not understand how to use some of these utilities. So if anyone has had this or a similar problem and has a solution for me it would greatly be appreciated. Thanks for your time.

John

:confused

 

It will be an issue with the recovery program, and isn't confined to the one you are using. The Acronis forums used to be awash with complaints about USB drives not being detected.

The only solution I can think of would be to remove the drive from its enclosure and connect it directly to the mobo. Not simple, but at least it would then work.

 

Try using a windows setup disk and format and reinstall if not give you local PC Shop a call

 

The OP has already stated that they would prefer to repair the system.

@Earthling: The OP has stated this is a laptop, thus there are no extra hard drive connectors.

@wjriv: the laptop may have a hidden recovery partition. When you turn the laptop on there may be, at the bottom of the first screen you see, a line of text saying something along the lines of "Press <key> to enter recovery partition" or "Press <key> to recover computer". Press this key on the keyboard and see if the recovery partition can restore your computer to factory default settings. Note this might wipe all your programs and data so make sure you have everything backed up first.

 

Quite a few laptops have a second drive slot, though only the OP knows whether or not his does.

 

I'll run with Earthling's first post on this one - but by suggesting trying to install the current external drive into an enclosure (or a USB adapter) that uses a different chipset to the original; first checkout the Retrospect Express support site for details that may relate to your hardware combination, there may be an easy fix for your brand of external drive.

 

I stand corrected, I forgot some might be able to do that.