Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery

NTFS (New Technology File System) is a journaled file system, developed by Microsoft Corporation for Windows operating system. It is the successor of FAT file system and provides enhanced reliability, functionality, and performance. Some advanced features of Windows NT-based operating system are supported only by the NTFS file system. The file system uses a new structure for easy storage, access, and manipulation of data. However, in some situations, the structure of NTFS file system may corrupt and the NTFS file system partitions may become inaccessible. It causes Windows partition loss and requires partition recovery to be resolved.

The NTFS file system structure uses a number of system files, which are responsible for performing specific operations. Some of the major attributes of NTFS file system are as given below:

Multiple Data Streams- It supports various data streams, where stream name recognizes new data attributes on file. You can open a handle to every data stream.

Reparse Points- These are new objects of NTFS file system, which have definable attributes having user-controlled information and are employed for extending functionality in I/O (Input/Output) subsystem.

Change Journal- It is used by the NTFS file system to offer a pertinacious log of all the modifications made to Windows files on NTFS partition.

Sparse File- It enables Windows applications to create large files, however to use hard drive space only as required.

Data Encryption- It improves data security and prevents unauthorized access of your valuable data.

In some cases, the structure of NTFS file system corrupts and you come across error messages similar to the following ones while accessing the partition:

Event ID: 41
Source: Diskperf
Description: The file system structure on disk is corrupt and unreadable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the device with label “Volume_name”

Event ID: 55
Source: NTFS
Description: The file system structure on disk is corrupt and unusable. Please run the chkdsk utility on the volume “Drive_letter:”

In such cases, you need to format your hard drive and reinstall operating system to fix the file system problem. However, it removes all the disk partitions and causes further partition loss situations, raising the need of Windows partition recovery.

You can easily recover partition using commercial partition recovery software. They are capable of systematically scan the Windows hard drive using advanced scanning algorithms. The applications are pretty safe and easy to use.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software recovers lost, missing, deleted, and inaccessible Windows hard drive partitions. The software retrieves all exFAT, NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, VFAT, FAT16, and FAT12 file system partitions. It is usable with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000.

Have you recently upgraded to Windows XP from an earlier Windows operating system? If yes, then there are chances that you would be getting startup problems in the new system. Such problems usually arise due to incompatible startup codes the partitions in Windows XP and the earlier systems. These problems can be easily sorted out by rewriting the startup code. However, if you are unable to start the system then you should use a Windows partition recovery software to recover Windows partitions.

Consider a scenario wherein you have a Windows 98 system that you have upgraded to Windows XP with FAT32 file system. However, when you start the system it fails to do so. An error message is displayed as a result, which is:

“NTLDR is missing

Press any key to restart”

Cause:

The root cause of this erroneous situation is that Windows 98 startup code ignores the BPB (BIOS Parameter Block) and starts the system even if the respective value is incorrect. However, this value is required in Windows XP, and thus, the system does not start if this value is incorrect.

Resolution:

To resolve this situation, you should correct the heads value in the FAT32 BPB to start Windows XP. To do this, perform the following steps:

• Restart the system using Windows 98 startup CD.
• Make a copy of the msdos.sys file by entering the following commands at the command prompt:

attrib -h -r -s c:\msdos.sys

rename msdos.sys *.ysy

• Type the following command in the command prompt to rewrite the startup code with the correct BPB information:

sys c:

• Start to the Recovery Console and run the fixboot command to rewrite the Windows XP system startup code.
• Restart the system. It should run fine now.

However, if you are still facing the similar problems during startup then you should use a third-party partition recovery software to recover partition. Such partition recovery tools are read-only in nature that do not overwrite the existing data while scanning.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a Windows partition recovery software that enables you to recover Windows partition from inaccessible FAT, NTFS, or exFAT file systems. It is capable of recovering more than 185 different file types, which can be customized even further, from various storage media such as hard drives, external hard drives, pen drives, iPods, etc. In addition, this partition recovery utility enables you to restore deleted emails from MS Outlook and Outlook Express. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.

A computer needs at least one operating system, like Microsoft Windows, to run. Operating system is a significant component your machine, which works as an interface between user and hardware resources. It is a group of system software, which regulate the way in which applications can use computer hardware and users can control the system. It comprise of various system files and data structures to perform different tasks. However, under some situations, you may find that your Windows operating system is damaged and system can not boot up. This behavior renders hard drive partitions inaccessible and lead to partition loss situations. In order to sort out this issue and recover lost Windows hard drive partitions, NTFS partition recovery is required.

Major components of Windows operating system:

• Boot Loader- MS Windows consists of a boot loader, called Ntldr, to load operating system into main memory, while booting.
• MBR (Master Boot Record)- It is the first sector of a partitioned Windows hard drive, which is responsible for storing primary partition table, uniquely identifying storage media, and bootstrapping operating system.
• Boot partition- It is a hard drive partition, which stores all significant files and data structures of Windows operating system, which are required for the system to boot up.
• File system- It is a data structure or database, which is used by operating system to store, manage, and manipulate files on hard drive.

Causes of Windows operating system corruption:

• Virus infection- Viruses are malicious programs that may damage operating system and your hard drive structure. They causes severe partition loss situations and put you in need of NTFS data recovery.
• Improper system shutdown- Operating system may also get damaged if your system shuts down improperly because of power outage or system crash.
• Corrupt system files or data structures- If Windows boot loader, MBR, and other data structures get damaged, operating system may not function properly. It causes serious data loss situations.

When operating system corruption occurs, your computer can not boot up and you can not get into it. Hard drive partitions become inaccessible and partition loss situations take place. It requires NTFS partition recovery to be sorted out.

Recovery is best possible using powerful and advanced third party applications, known as NTFS data recovery software. The applications methodically scan entire hard drive and extract all inaccessible partitions from it.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most advanced and efficient tool to ensure absolute Windows data recovery in all scenarios. It recovers exFAT, NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, VFAT, FAT16, and FAT12 file system partitions. The software is designed for Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000.

Is a FAT32 file system partition corrupt on your Windows drive? Are you unable to repair the corrupt FAT32 file system partition using Chkdsk.exe utility on Windows hard drive? You may run across this problem due to serious damage to the partition or if the drive is RAW. As a result, FAT32 file system partition becomes totally inaccessible and you come across severe partition loss situations. In order to recover lost partitions in such cases, Windows partition recovery becomes need of hour.

In a practical scenario, Chkdsk utility may quit without repairing the file system if you run it on a FAT32 file system partition with corrupt file system. Chkdsk reports the file system correctly, either as FAT32 or as RAW (depends upon the extent of damage). If you run chkdsk <drive name>: /f command on same Windows partition, you face the following error:

“The type of the file system is FAT32.
Volume Serial Number is C408-2213”

When you apply Chkdsk again without command-line switches, the volume is still reported as corrupt. If you apply chkdsk <volume name>: on corrupt FAT32 file system partition, you encounter the below error message:

“The type of the file system is FAT32.
Volume Serial Number is C408-2213

Errors found. CHKDSK cannot continue in read-only mode.”

After this behavior, the Windows partitions remain inaccessible. To recover partition in such cases, you need to identify the cause of this behavior and fix it.

Root of the problem:

The problem occurs due to the backup copy of boot sector that FAT32 file system preserves. But, Chkdsk.exe utility doesn’t try to use the backup copy unless primary boot sector physically exists in bad sector. Chkdsk.exe gets I/O while attempt to read Windows partition.

Resolution:

You can fix this behavior of Windows operating system by replacing the corrupt boot sector using Dskprobe.exe utility. It replaces the corrupt boot sector by backup copy. Primary boot sector is the first sector of logical drive. Backup copy of the boot sector is stored at 6^th sector of logical drive.

In case you fail to replace the corrupt boot sector, partition recovery software are required to scan the entire drive and extract lost partitions from it. The partition recovery tools come equipped with simple and self-descriptive graphical user interface to offer easy recovery of lost Windows partitions.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most excellent solution of effective handle all data loss situations. The software successfully recovers all NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, VFAT, FAT16, and FAT12 file system partitions. It is usable with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000.

A Master Boot Record (MBR) is a 512-byte boot sector, which is the first sector in a partitioned storage device. When a system is started, the MBR is accessed first, and then processes are carried out. So, its well being is very essential for the health of the computer. However, sometimes the MBR gets corrupted thereby making the system inaccessible. In such cases, you should use in-house methods to recover Windows partition. If you are not able to fix the issue, then you should use a third-party Windows partition recovery software to recover partition.

Consider a scenario wherein you are using a Windows XP system. When you start the system, it fails to boot. An error message is displayed as a result, that could be either of the following messages:

• Operating system not found.
• Missing operating system.

You, then, start the computer from the Recovery Console mode to fix the errors. However, here as well you get an error message, that is:

“Setup did not find any hard drives installed on your computer.”

Cause:

There could be various reasons for this strange behavior of your system. They are:

• The BIOS system is unable to detect the hard disk.
• The hard disk is damaged and, thus, inaccessible.
• The Sector 0 of the hard disk has a damaged master boot record. It is quite possible that it got damaged due to some third-party programs or disk corruption.
• An incompatible partition is marked as active.
• The partition having the MBR is not active.

Resolution:

To resolve this issue and recover partition, you should perform either of the following methods:

• Contact hardware manufacturer: Contact your hardware manufacturer for the hard disk repair. However, it may further damage the hard disk, which may even result in data loss of your hard disk
• Verify the BIOS settings: Check the BIOS settings of your system. Ensure that the settings are appropriate and the BIOS recognizes the hard disk.
• Use Recovery Console: Run the Recovery Console to execute the fixmbr command. This command will repair the MBR of the active partition. Restart the system, it should run fine now.

However, if you are still facing the same error messages then you should use a third-party partition recovery software to recover Windows partition. Such partition recovery tools are read-only in nature that do not overwrite the existing data while scanning the storage media.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software is a partition recovery software that recovers lost, formatted, or deleted data from inaccessible or corrupted file systems. It works well in FAT, NTFS, and exFAT file systems. This Windows partition recovery software is able to recover more than 185 different file types from various storage media. This partition recovery utility is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.

In Windows systems, the hal.dll file is an abstraction layer file that acts as a interlink between the hardware components and operating system. This file is required to boot the Windows system. If this file gets corrupt or goes missing, then you would not be able to start the system. Such cases would occur because of various reasons such as virus infections, power outages, hardware malfunctions, abrupt system shutdown, etc. There are several in-place methods that you should use to fix this problem. However, if none of them work then you should use a third-party partition recovery software to recover the inaccessible data.

Consider a scenario wherein you start your Windows XP system, but unable to do so. An error message is displayed, that is:

“Winnt_root\System32\Hal.dll missing or corrupt:

Please re-install a copy of the above file.”

In addition, you may observe the following strange behavior as well:
When you try to repair the system using the Recovery Console, the command prompt may appear but without any option to guide you to perform Windows installation.
When you try to repair the installation using the Windows XP CD-ROM, the previous Windows installation is not detected. Because of which, you are unable to repair Windows.

Cause:
There could be the following reasons for this erroneous situation:
The default vale of the Boot.ini file is either missing or corrupt.
In the Boot.ini file, the location of the Windows XP is different than the actual location.
The Ntoskrnl.exe file is either corrupt or missing.
In the Boot.exe file, the partition parth is set incorrectly.
There is hardware failure that is causing this issue.

Resolution:
To resolve this problematic situation, you should perform either of the following methods:
You should edit the Boot.ini file. This would serve the following two purposes:
To restore or correct the default entry of the Boot.ini file.
To make sure that other entries in the Operating Systems section of the Boot.ini file reference to the proper locations.
In the Recovery Console, you should use Bootcfg utility. This utility will correct the Boot.ini file.
In the Recovery Console, you should run the chkdsk /r command. This command is used to repair errors, locate bad sectors, and recover readable information from the disk.

You would be able to boot your system using the aforementioned methods. However, if you are not able to access the system then you should use a third-party partition recovery software. Such partition recovery tools are able to recover partition using fast yet sophisticated scanning algorithms.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a Windows partition recovery software that enables you to recover Windows partition from inaccessible FAT, NTFS, and exFAT file systems. In addition, this partition recovery tool is able to recover more than 185 different file types. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.

In the Windows NT (Server 2003, XP, and 2000) systems, the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) file is the collection of certain technology and drivers that communicate with the system hardware. It prevents the applications to directly access the system’s resources, which prevents many device conflicts and system crashes. However, still sometimes the HAL file may get corrupt thereby making the system inaccessible. Such problems may occur due to various reasons such as virus infections, power outages, damaged file systems, etc. In such situations, you should take appropriate corrective measures to address the situation. However, if you are unable to do so then you should use a third-party Windows partition recovery software to rectify the issue and recover your inaccessible data.

Consider a scenario wherein your Windows XP system is unable to start when you switch it on. An error message is displayed, that is:

“Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt.
Windows root\system32\hal.dll.
Please re-install a copy of the above file.”

The partition of the system drive is corrupt and, thus, inaccessible.

Cause:

There could be following causes for the aforementioned error message:
The partition or boot record in the system drive is corrupt.
The Hal.dll and the Ntoskrnl.exe files are mismatched.
The Hal.dll or the Ntoskrnl.exe file has damaged because of corruption to the file system.

Resolution:

To address this error message and access the data, you should perform the following methods for every cause, respectively:

Resolution for Cause 1:

Repair the master boot record by using fixmbr in the Windows XP Recovery Console.
If the system drive has FAT partition, then use fixboot in the Windows XP Recovery Console to write a new boot sector on the system drive. Then, use fixmbr to repair the master boot record.

Resolution for Cause 2:

Start the system from the Windows XP installation media, start the Recovery Console, and then use Bootcfg.exe to rebuild the Boot.ini file.

Resolution for Cause 3:

Start the system by using the Windows XP Recovery Console, and run chkdsk /r.

However, if you are not able to recover partition by using the aforementioned methods, then you should use a third-party partition recovery software to recover Windows partition. Such tools are read-only in nature that do not overwrite the storage media while scanning it.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is a Windows partition recovery software that is able to recover partition from both FAT and NTFS file systems. It is able to recover more than 185 different file types from various storage media such as hard drives, pen drives, iPods, memory cards, etc. In addition, this partition recovery tool is capable of recovering deleted emails from MS Outlook and Outlook Express. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.

Microsoft Windows operating system supports a number of storage media to keep your data safe and organized. Such storage media includes, hard drive, USB drive, removable storage media, and storage array. The USB drives are the most commonly storage media today, which are safer than the devices that have moving components. However, in some situations, they may also affect your Windows system if you suddenly remove them, without stopping the current process. It may affect the file system and make your hard drive partitions inaccessible, causing severe partition loss. In such critical situations, you need to opt for Windows partition recovery, in case updated and valid backup is not available.

You Microsoft Windows XP computer might stop responding or freeze up when you unexpectedly remove an external storage media from your system. For instance, your computer may hang up or stop responding when you abruptly remove SD (Secure Digital) memory card from USB (Universal Serial Bus) card reader. You may come across the below STOP error when this behavior of Microsoft Windows XP computer occurs:

“STOP 0×00000023 FAT_FILE_SYSTEM (Parameter1, Parameter2, Parameter3, Parameter4)”

The system becomes totally inaccessible and unusable after this instance. In order to get your mission critical data back, you are required to identify the cause of this problem and them perform partition recovery by fixing it.

Grounds of the problem:

When you suddenly remove any external storage device from your computer, Windows is not notified for it. Thus, the operating system can’t make sure that all the data transactions are successful before removing the device. This behavior may damage the FastFat.sys file. It is file system driver of FAT file system, which is responsible for making the partition ready to be accessed.

Resolution

To recover lost Windows hard drive partitions in such critical situations, you are required to format the hard drive, recreate hard drive partitions, reinstall operating system, and then restore all your significant data from the most recent backup.

In case backup is not valid or updated, severe conditions may take place. At this point, partition recovery software becomes need of hour.

The applications thoroughly scan entire hard drive and extract all lost partitions from it. They recover partition in all possible partition loss scenarios. They offer easy and safe recovery with simple user interface and non-destructive nature.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery software recovers lost, missing, deleted, or damaged Windows hard drive partitions. It supports recovery of all NTFS5, NTFS, FAT32, VFAT, FAT16, and FAT12 file system partitions. The software works well with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000.

Hard drive repartitioning is a common task that you need to perform either for better management of your data or to install an additional operating system on your Windows computer. If you have an unpartitioned hard drive, it becomes essential to create a new partition to install another operating system or make your system dual-boot. You can do it using Fdisk tool or Disk Administrator in Microsoft Windows. In some cases, hard drive repartitioning corrupts partition table and lead to serious partition loss situations. At this point, you need to opt for Windows Partition Recovery to retrieve lost partition and stored data.

Microsoft Windows Disk Administrator (and Fdisk engine that it shares with the Setup) writes Windows partition table information to hard drive based on the Cylinder-Head-Sector geometry of the hard drive. For SCSI (Small Computer Systems Interface) hard drives, this geometry is devised by drive, instead of being inherent property of hard drive. MS Windows follows a comparatively standard method for using geometry, which produces 1 MB tracks. However, SCSI hard drive that run with BIOS (Basic Input Output Systems) or other systems could use varying geometries.

Cause of the problem

When the hard drive with multiple volumes is taken from one computer to another, which uses different geometry, repartitioning the hard drive with Disk Administrator may cause Windows partition table to become damaged. This issue takes place because Windows Disk Administrator adjusts all the partitions on the track boundaries based upon current hard drive geometry. If partition table entries for existing partitions are rewritten with new starting offsets, data stored on those partitions becomes inaccessible.

Resolution

You can correct or avoid this issue by editing partition table to set partition length and start sector back to original value. You can determine disk geometry by using BPB (BIOS Parameter Block) in sector one of physical volume. You can also use sector zero of disk partitions that also has a BPB for finding starting sector offset.

If above method does not work, you need to format the hard drive and recreate partition table by reinstalling the operating system. Though, this method fixes all such issues, but also removes the hard drive partitions and need Partition Recovery to be handled.

You can perform quick and easy Windows Partition Recovery through third-party applications, known as Partition Recovery Software. The applications are pretty safe and easy to use with read-only conduct and rich graphical user interface.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most excellent solution to recover lost hard drive partitions. It works well with Microsoft Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP, and 2000. The softwre recovers FAT16, FAT32, VFAT, NTFS, and NTFS5 file system partitions.

In Microsoft Windows operating system, the hard drive formatting is the process of removing all of the hard drive partitions and stored files. This process is particularly carried out to remove errors from the hard drive or to prepare the hard drive for first time use. The formatting may also be performed when you reinstall or upgrade the operating system. Some nasty viruses or other malicious programs may also require hard drive formatting. Although, it corrects all of the hard drive errors, but also has a downside of file loss. In cases of loss of business critical files, you need to go for Partition Recovery solutions using appropriate tools.

Operating system corruption is the major cause why you require to format the hard drive. When a operating system corruption takes place, to correct it, you are required to reinstall the operating system. As mentioned above, the operating system reinstallation needs formatting of primary partition or the system partition. It would remove the files that are stored in My Documents, Shared Files and Desktop folders.

Under some circumstances, when you reinstall the operating system by formatting primary partition of hard drive, you might find that other hard drive partitions are not accessible. The logical partitions of hard drive gets damaged and the stored files become inaccessible. After completion of operating system reinstallation, when you attempt to access logical Windows hard drive partitions, the following error might occur:

“The disk is not formatted. Do you want to format it now?”

In order to retrieve lost or inaccessible files in such situations, you need to find out the cause of data loss and go for appropriate Partitio Recovery solutions.

Root of the issue

The major cause of this problem is caused by the file system corruption. When you reinstall the operating system, if the extended and primary partitions are using same file system, this kind of issues might occur.

In these cases, you need to format the entire hard disk and recreate all of the Windows partitions. It will remove all files from the hard drive partition. At this point, Partition Recovery Software come for your help.

These are advanced third party applications, which use advanced scanning mechanisms to retrieve all of the lost files from lost partition. The Partition Recovery Software are quite safe and easy to use.

Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery is the most excellent solution to recover all sorts of lost files. This tool is capable of recovering files from FAT32, VFAT, NTFS and NTFS5 file system partitions. It is designed for Microsoft Windows 7 RC1, Vista, 2003, XP and 2000.