ngdawg

I can't get to them.

I started installing my XP Home(on our 2nd pc) before I realized it was a one-computer only disk.
It stopped installing and basically gummed up the works....
After speaking with Azeez from MS, I was able to obtain a second product key but the damage was done. I now get a "This version of Windows must be activated with Microsoft, would you like to activate now? Yes/No". No matter which gets its click, i get that lovely tune that lets me know it is signing off....this after going to safe mode and installing with the correct PK.

I now need to reformat but can't get far enough into the damned thing to retrieve files. We have a 'starter' Knoppix cd and Ubuntu. Son says the files are 'read only' through those. If I go ahead using either, will the files be damaged/lost/truncated and can they be put back without any loss? I really do NOT want to have to call someone or have to remove the HD and take it to some geek behind a counter....

MikeSty

You can't even activate it? Are you sure? Shit.

If the CD is a LiveCD (which I'm sure it is), then the files won't be affected if you just run the CD and boot from it and DON'T install it. Not really sure how you can retrieve anything unless you have an External hard drive or USB stick. Somewhere to copy your files to.

I'd keep trying to figure out a way to log back on. More details would be helpful!!

Hain

(Asneeze, father of Achoo) What his name seriously Azeez?

Your 2nd PC? Assuming you still have the first one, you can pop the the lil' bastard into the 1st and move the data off to it. And you can even run data recovery utilities like PC Inspector File Recovery or Recuva.

If not...

Go out and buy either a shotty little memory stick, or front the money for an external. You had the right idea with the Knoppix live CD, and you OUGHT to be able to copy any files from the hard drive to an external media.

I've removed my other suggestion... figured I probably shouldn't make it here...

(Yet another reason I am brow-beating myself to use Linux. Ubuntu is the friendliest of the dragons.)

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ngdawg

The 'warning' comes up even booting from the cd. I've tried Safe Mode, going into BIOS, etc. and can't get past the "Activation" request, which comes up right after Windows appears to be opening.
Nope, can't activate what it asks to be activated.
Son is right now using the Knoppix to retrieve some files and archive them into his Google account. We have externals, but he says he can't retrieve the files without "partitioning" them. Photos can't be retrieved so far-looks like we'll have to use Knoppix to upload them into Flickr.

Daniel_

I may be being dense here, but if you can u/load, surely you can save to an external?

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Hain

Partitioning them? I think a better explanation is they all wont fit onto his external? Or he is using a FAT32 file system and you have files larger than 4GB (how many can you have, do you save DVD ISOs!!!???)... Something sounds askew to me.

Atleast he is getting them to somewhere. I would have him ask if he has any friends smarter then him to watch what he is doing. Even I ask a buddy to watch me when I fix my computer, because all too often I get too caught up to think clearly when it really is on the line.

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ngdawg

Daniel: couldn't upload either through XP. Knoppix and Kubuntu see the files as "read only" and none can be opened.
After multitude attempts, I got my own pc going again and took all my files and put them on my external. Ran a reg-clean and AVG(found 199 'threats'). If it locks up, I walk away. Shutting down is scary as it has taken up to 3 hours to get it going again, after constant switching off and on while hitting the Esc key. Then, after it comes on, I get "cannot locate file path" messages and "can not run SystemFAT32-geb", followed by the black box that usually appears for a cmd run. I also get pop-up ads, even though my FF is set not to and I have IE disabled. In short, I'm on borrowed time. The MB is dying.

As for the OP problem (sheesh, both pc's are focked up), after my new Dell comes in, that one will have to be taken for repair. I ran a recovery, reinstalled XP and now no drivers are recognized. I can't get it to install them and since one of them involves the ethernet, I can't get onto the net to download drivers...yet Kubuntu is fine. We can get online, at least. But can't run software and files are "read only" with Kubuntu. At least by taking it to a repair center, the files can be retrieved, assuming any still exist. Luckily, my son had his important things on his external, but my daughter has lost all her music. Through Kubuntu, my son went into the spouse's files and emailed everything to himself as a backup and those appear to be safe there.

Jinn

Get everything off and do a COMPLETE reinstall via the Windows Installation (including Quick Format). There's no sense trying to 'repair' a botched XP installation this early in the process.

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Rawb

Just so you know, Kubuntu mounts all drives as read only so that it won't do any damage to them unless you really want to.

I'm not sure the exact commands you will need to get it running in Kubuntu, but I believe in Knoppix, there should be an option to "Remount this Read-Write" somewhere that doesn't seem quite so strange. This should let you mount the external USB drive read/write, so you can put files onto it.

If you can't find that option, you can always do it the hard way and open up a terminal.
"sudo mount" that will show you everything that you have mounted, for a USB drive, it should be /dev/sda1 or something of that sort (/dev/hda is going to be your first IDE internal drive, unless it is sata...). After you figure out the device name (the part that starts with /dev/) the other part on that line that looks like a directory is the mount point "/mnt/blahblah", you can remount it using this command:
"sudo mount -o remount,rw /dev/sda1 /mnt/blahblah" replacing /dev/sda1 with the device name of the external drive, and /mnt/blahblah with the name of the mount point.

However, another option may just be to throw that drive into your other computer, windows should pick it up right off the bat and you should be able to copy to the external drive without any futzing around.