DOS data transfer

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Kyoto512

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Hello People,

I have corrupted my installation of WinXP on my desktop computer by attempting to reinstall. Accessing C drive from DOS, I can see my files intact. I want to get the files off my computer before I format and reinstall. I would say I need to back up at least 10 - 15 GB of files. Any suggestions as to the best way to do this? (ie. network transfer, portable drive etc.) Can I use my CD burner from DOS?

Cheers,

Kyoto
 
You can only use a CD burner from DOS if you have the drivers installed. But for that much Info (10-15G) it wouldnt be worth the CDs to do it. Have you tried a Repair install of XP? That might save you from having to format. Aside from that i would just transfer files to another HDD. Since there is so much info you are better off just doing that.
 
Hi Makaveli213,

Thanks for your quick reply.

I can't run WinXP setup without getting a blue screen error message. I can't boot the machine at all without getting the error message.

You suggest that I transfer the files to another HDD. How do I do that from DOS? Do you mean over a network?

Cheers,

Kyoto
 
Okay Kyoto. Is your system set up in BIOS to read from CD first? That would be the first thing to check. If nto set it to boot from CD first. From there you can insert your XP cd and boot form that. You will want to hit enter on installation (I know it sounds wierd but trust me) it will show the EULA, hit F8, from there it will scan for previos versions of Windows installed and you can Repair you XP partition that it finds. All that will do is erase the XP files and replace them with the ones off the CD. It will not mess with your registry so you can still use all apps that are installed. Check out these settings and see if this will work.
If not transfering your files from DOS will be tricky. You will have to get a list of commands from DOS to see what the available commands are. It should be something like Help /all That should show you a screen of all available DOS options. from there you will have to make sure all files paths are correct and move them to another hard drive thats installed or over a network to another PC.
 
Makaveli213 said:
Okay Kyoto. Is your system set up in BIOS to read from CD first? That would be the first thing to check. If nto set it to boot from CD first. From there you can insert your XP cd and boot form that. You will want to hit enter on installation (I know it sounds wierd but trust me) it will show the EULA, hit F8, from there it will scan for previos versions of Windows installed and you can Repair you XP partition that it finds. All that will do is erase the XP files and replace them with the ones off the CD. It will not mess with your registry so you can still use all apps that are installed. Check out these settings and see if this will work.
If not transfering your files from DOS will be tricky. You will have to get a list of commands from DOS to see what the available commands are. It should be something like Help /all That should show you a screen of all available DOS options. from there you will have to make sure all files paths are correct and move them to another hard drive thats installed or over a network to another PC.

Sounds like he cant even boot from Windows XP CD without getting a BSOD, but I will still follow this advice if at all possible.

Do you have another PC? You could always put this hard drive in as a slave drive to another working PC and backup the data that way. If not simple DOS commands will work so long as you have another hard drive to back up to.

You can run like COPY c:\documents and settings d:\ or whatever your hard drive letter is or you can always do the XCOPY command if you want to throw some switches in there.
 
Hey guys,

Thanks heaps for your help. Win2kpatcher, you are right - I get the BSOD when booting off CD (or any which way I turn). I don't have the option of backing up to another HD, unless I buy a new one. Is it possible to burn CDs from DOS, and how do you do it? Can you just use standard DOS commands?

Cheers,

Kyoto
 
You would have to find some sort of DOS compatible CD burning software. If you have two CD drives, you could pick up a Knoppix CD and use the burner that comes with it. If not, you could always pop the HD into another comp, and drag and drop the files to another HD.
 
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