XP Media Cenetr won't boot: corrupted registry

[sire011886]

CCCCCCCCRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAPPPPPP:

I got erd commander, but as far as I can tell I have no HD, therefore it can't work on the OS at all :-(

that must be why I kept getting "Access is denied," the HD isn't being recognized by the system

I guess I'll do a physical check and see if the cable if off...

If its not that

I'm really lost now (and screwed)

 

[sire011886]

I think I overreacted

Sony said my HD isn't fried

My only bet, apparently, is to slave my HD to another, save any data I need, and format it.

Someone suggested that a while ago, but it was too complicated at the time...

Thanx everyone for your help, esp. Eric B.

 

[sire011886]

Dumb ?:

How do I physically disconnect my HD from my Sony Vaio desktop?

I'm gonna take it out and copy important files to the HD on my HP.

Will that work?

How should I do it?

Would it be better to wait and copy my files to my Mom's Vaio desktop?

 

[sire011886]

Okay, I have the drive connected.

Copying and pasting works fine for every folder except My Documents, the most imp.

It says the folder is inaccessible, that it has 0 kb, but when I run certain recovery software (can't remember which) it shows the folders are still there, but contain nothing. When I run Recover My Files, it tells me the files themselves are still there, but that I have to buy the software in order to recover my files.

Does anyone know of reallllllllly good recovery software for free or at least a trial version that actually does more than say my files are there without giving them to me?

This whole issue is getting critical now, I'm on the verge of throwing up my hands and whipping the drive.

Then again, is there software that might have a better chance of recoverying my files post-formatting?

Thanks for the help, again.

 

[EricB]

erd commander is suppose to be the best with maybe the excpetion of ontrack for recovering lost files

 

[sire011886]

UPDATE!!!

I have access to the drive (don't ask me how).

I'll try to replace registry files...

 

[EricB]

that's good to hear

 

[sire011886]

Bad news: it was an ntfs disk from bootdisk.com

it worked well enuff so that I had more functionality with the c drive than I did with the Recovery Console, but the drive is so messed up, I'm basically back at square one...

 

[sire011886]

I was able to use software from ntfs.com that allowed me to actually go into my corrupted My Documents folder and copy my files to a floppy, but when I previewed them, they were all copprupted...

My uncle said I should try to repair the master boot record.

What is some good software for that?

Are there any that I can use on my unbootable comp?