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Toshiba W-7 went dark



 
 
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  #76  
Old March 17th 18, 02:08 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
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Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:
[]
So I download Lynux "puppy" and burn it to a DVD and it will boot the


I think that one would fit on a CD.

Toshiba unless ther HD is toast? I don't have to worry about the strange


If it will boot the Toshiba, it will do so even if the HD _is_ toast,
unless it's toast in a very unlikely manner.


OK, then how will I know if the HD is toast if it boots the PC anyway?


extension? There is no other software out there anyone knows about that


You DO have to worry about the strange extension, if that extension is
".iso". You DON'T just burn that file to the CD the same way you'd burn
any other data file: you have to use "create CD from ISO image", or some
similar setting in your Ashampoo. (Or download and use ImgBurn as already
described - it's fairly obvious within that which is the
create-from-ISO-image option.)


Ashampoo doesn't have that choice. I downloaded ImgBurn but have not had the
time to see how it works. It doesn't look easy and intuitive like the other
burners I had.


would boot the PC?


If correctly put onto the CD or DVD (as above), and the boot sequence on
the PC is set to boot from the CD/DVD drive, then any of these will boot
the PC:

o A Windows 7 install disc
o A Windows 7 recovery/repair disc
o A Linux boot disc
o A Macrium or Acronis boot disc
o A Kaspersky, or similar, disc
o other boot discs





What they _do_ when they boot obviously varies. A W7 install disc will try
to install W7, though you _can_ I think get to the recovery console from
it. A W7 repair disc I've never used, but I _think_ they go straight into
the recovery console. A Linux one will boot Linux, from which you may be
able to examine the disc. A Macrium or Acronis boot disc would enable you
to restore from an image, which isn't of use to you at the moment. A
Kaspersky disc would attempt to do a malware scan, which probably wouldn't
succeed at the moment, if it can't get at the HD properly to scan it.




If if does nothing what does that mean?

Probably, you've either not burned the disc properly, or not set the BIOS
boot sequence correctly. You can check out any such disc by booting one of
your other PCs from it, having set their BIOS to boot from CD/DVD first.
(If you succeed and they do boot from the CD/DVD, shut them down, in
whatever manner is appropriate to the type of boot disc it is; they're
unlikely to change anything if you do that.)

*******

Meanwhile, this is for ISO files. It makes bootable DVDs from them.


So the Linux PUPPY files will be turned into ISO files able to boot
computers that can't load their OSs?


Not quite. What you download IS an ISO file (or possibly an ISO file
inside a .zip or similar file, which you'd have to extract). An ISO file
is a sort of image of a CD: when you burn a CD from an ISO file (note I
said "burn a CD from an ISO file", NOT "burn an ISO file to a CD"), if you
then examine the CD you have created, you will see lots of files. If you
like, think of an ISO file as a sort of .zip file, but of the entire
contents of a CD; burning a CD from it sort of unzips all the files from
inside the ISO onto the CD, as part of the burning process. (That's a
simplification - actually the opposite! - of what happens, but is near
enough.)

http://www.oldversion.com/windows/do...mgburn-2-5-0-0

2.5.0.0_SetupImgBurn_2.5.0.0.exe 2,169,915 bytes Jul 26, 2009
CRC32: 39CD6FC6
MD5: F3791CFACDAC03B9E676E44AA2630243
SHA-1: E07BCC23B495D0A966BAE359EA9E0E3A11888454

The download button for that is green in color and says:

+-----------------------------------------------+
| Download Now | |
| | |
| V |
| |
| Tested: Free from spyware, adware and viruses |
+-----------------------------------------------+

This version is free from Adware. Turn off the "auto update"
in the preferences. Do not accept any efforts it might make
to update (until you know some version is free of adware).
The size of the package increased after this release, which
is a rough guide to detecting the presence of extra materials.

I like Imgburn. I don't like Adware.

Paul



That's a burning program, to be used as an alternative to your Ashampoo.
Go on, get it and run it: it's only just over 2M! Then we'll know at least
that you have something that we know can easily burn CD/DVDs from ISO
files.




But I'd still say _my_ first choice - rather than trying to boot from a
CD/DVD - would be to examine the HD, on one of your other computers, using
a USB dock, "cable", or housing: This _doesn't_ involve buying hardware
you won't need anyway, since if you're going to back up the machine after
you've repaired it (and all your other machines!), you'll need the
dock/"cable"/housing anyway to connect the backup drive.


By backup drive you mean an external drive - one for each PC? Or one
external drive with the images on it that can boot them all? The external
Seagate attaches with a wire to the USB port.


--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder...



Ads
  #77  
Old March 17th 18, 02:22 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
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Posts: 11,873
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

HB wrote:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...


Ubantu was an 8 GB download I don't have unlimited download data with

See Paul's posts; UbUntu apparently isn't that big, nor any other Linux
available at the moment; they're all under a single-layer DVD's worth (4
point something G), some under a CD's worth.


I guess the download site was wrong. I took one look at the size and left
the site. Any Idea what to Google to find the smallest one to download that
may boot the Toshiba? This is frustrating beyond belief trying to do this
sight unseen, never watcing someone do it.


The fatdog64 download is pretty small.

Here, I'm checking the SMART table on one of
the two hard drives.

https://s13.postimg.org/cvoc2v64n/Fatdog64.gif

That's version 7.10 I got a while ago.

You can see the download sizes in advance, on the mirror server.
You can tell from the dates, when they were released.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/iso/

Paul
  #78  
Old March 17th 18, 03:04 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
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Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

I'm going to respond to several of your posts, so there will be some
duplication (-:.

In message , HB writes:
[]
Looks like I found it. I'll be making some DVDs later tonight for this HP
W-10 Notebook.


Good. Though remember that they _might_ only give you the option of
returning to as-new, so continue to certainly back up your data, and
ideally also image your C:.


I assume the C: drive is imaged when the Recovery Discs or TDs are made. Is


No, I don't think so. A recovery disc might allow you to return the
system to initial condition (before any extra software was installed and
before any updates), or might help you repair certain system (i. e.
Windows) files. It's _not_ an image. I think it is true to say that any
recovery disc you make will be the same, whether you make it when the
computer is new (or the OS newly-installed), or after years of use.

Basically, a recovery disc is for emergency repairs only. On the whole,
when you have a working system, you're far better making an image (and
the boot disc that the imaging software can make).

it? It's inventory time were I live here so the store didn't have any
larger TDs. They let the stock run down. I'd rather put the info on TDs than
CDs. Maybe I'll just go ahead and use the DVDs. There are stacks of them
here. Now to find the time.

One thing at a time; we're a long way from where you'd need to use lots
of DVDs at the moment.

(By the way, could you snip more of our posts when you post please? It's
a bit tedious wading through lots of text. Just leave in the paragraph
you're replying to, and maybe the one before that. Rarely is there a
need to leave in paragraphs with more than two levels of "".)
[38 lines snipped here, for example.]

When you say no way to make it see the drive, I suspect _either_ you
haven't set it to boot from the CD/DVD drive before the hard drive, _or_
you haven't burned the DVDs in the correct manner that makes them
bootable.


I don't recall having a choice to make them bootable. I just followed the
prompts. What would the correct manner be?

If they're .iso files, and you use the burn-from-iso option in the
burning software, they will be bootable - you don't have to do anything
further. Just don't drag an .iso file to the CD as data.
[]
Although they make a bootable disc, that disc is intended to be used to
(either make or restore from) an image; if you don't have such an image to
restore from, booting from a Macrium (or Acronis0 disc won't get you
anywhere.


I have no image of the drive and no knowledge of how to make one.

We'll tell you how to do that, once we have it back as a working system.
One thing at a time!
[]
How difficult is it to make an Image of the HD?


Fairly easy, using Macrium (I have no experience of Acronis or the
others). You either run it from Windows, or (as I prefer) boot from its
boot CD; once it is running, you select which partitions you want to
image (it has a graphical interface), and where you want to put the
image and what you want to call it. It then goes ahead and does it.

You need somewhere to store the image of course. I use an external HD (I
store images from more than one PC on it); a thumbdrive might do, though I
wouldn't trust one for backups. (I back up my "data" to it too.)


I have the external Seagate but never understood how to use it for an image.


How big (capacity I mean, not physical size) is it?

It's loaded with trash I don't even want anymore. I dread plugging it in
because it loads this PC up with trash long deleted. There doesn't seem to
be any way to tell it I don't it putting stuff on my PC.

Sounds like it "autoruns". In Windows 10, Control Panel AutoPlay, then
select "Take no action" for all device types; or, Settings Devices
AutoPlay, move the slider to off. Or, when you plug it in, there should
be some option to stop it loading anything.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Radio 4 is one of the reasons being British is good. It's not a subset of
Britain - it's almost as if Britain is a subset of Radio 4. - Stephen Fry, in
Radio Times, 7-13 June, 2003.
  #79  
Old March 17th 18, 03:12 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:

"Paul" wrote in message
news

[]
Other than that, there is Microsoft as a source of
installer DVDs. But the current download site requires
a *retail* license key. And the alternative sources
at the moment are broken. (DigitalRiver closed years
ago, and the Heidoc tool is broken on Win7 right now.)
That leaves torrents of MSDN discs as the last remaining
source. Which is fine, as long as you have SHA1 or SHA256
checksums for the resulting ISO files, to verify them with.


I have no idea what they are. The key number of the Toshiba is on the back.
I don't know if it's a retail key or not. It says product key.

That's almost certainly an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) key,
for the Windows that was pre-installed on the computer. A retail key
would only have come with a purchase of Windows on its own, i. e. a box
containing a CD to install Windows, which I'm pretty sure you don't
have. (The other things Paul mentioned involves downloading DVDs from
torrent sites, for which you'd need to know that what you've downloaded
is genuine not fake or virus-rich; SHA checksums are a way of checking
the validity of such files. I don't think your current level of
knowledge is up to getting - and checking - files from such sources at
the moment. [I don't think _mine_ is.])

If you have at least one retail license key for Windows 7,
you should be able to get any version of Win7 you want
as an ISO. In many cases, the ISO has multiple OS versions
on it, and by editing ei.cfg, you can even cause
them to show up as a menu choice. Since the many "versions"
of an OS are almost identical, you can overlay the images
on the DVD and store a ton of them.


Right over my head.

Doesn't matter, as I suspect it's highly unlikely you have any retail
keys for W7 anyway.

https://s13.postimg.org/pwmlcxkh3/mu...installers.gif

Paul



--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Hadrian's Wall has never been a border between Scotland and England. It lies
entirely within England but, when it was built in AD 122 by the Romans as a
defence against the raiding Picts, the future English were still in Germany
and the Scottish were still in Ireland.
- Michael Cullen, Skye, in RT 2014/12/6-12
  #80  
Old March 17th 18, 03:25 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

Doesn't matter, as I suspect it's highly unlikely you have any retail
keys for W7 anyway.

https://s13.postimg.org/pwmlcxkh3/mu...installers.gif


I used a Windows 7 Sp1 Home Premium retail DVD to reinstall
Windows 7 on my Acer laptop. I used the license key on the COA sticker.
I had to use the "phone activation" method. The laptop will print
phone numbers on the screen for your country, as to where to call
to activate.

This is the method people are supposed to use, if they have
lost the original hard drive, the media you make when
you get the laptop new (the emergency recovery discs made from
the recovery partition), and you don't have any copies of the
recovery partition either.

This is why I was lamenting the lack of sources of Retail media,
because the COA sticker on the laptop can be used with a Retail
disc. As long as it's the same Trim level. The original OS
was Win7 Sp1 Home Premium Acer OEM with SLIC activation.
The current OS on the laptop is Win7 Sp1 Home Premium retail
with COA+Phone activation. This new OS doesn't have Zynga games
in it, or the NTI backup utility. The "cruft" is missing :-)

Paul
  #81  
Old March 17th 18, 03:44 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Patrick[_9_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 116
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

On 17/03/2018 13:08, HB wrote:
Ashampoo doesn't have that choice. I downloaded ImgBurn but have not had the
time to see how it works. It doesn't look easy and intuitive like the other
burners I had.


Ashampoo
Assuming that your 'Ashampoo' Window looks like this;

https://d22blwhp6neszm.cloudfront.ne..._6_FREE_EN.png

Then click on 'Create/Burn Disc Images'
Then navigate to where your ISO (image) file is located.

-----------------

ImgBurn
Assuming that your 'ImgBurn' Window looks like this;

http://i1-win.softpedia-static.com/s.../ImgBurn_1.png

Then click on 'Write image file to disc'
Then navigate to where your ISO (image) file is located.

------------

ISOrecorder (Another (very convenient) option to write an image file
(ISO file) to a CD/DVD is to download and install 'ISOrecorder' from;
http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/#/

At said site, click 'Download', then click iether the 32bit or the 64bit
of 'ISO Recorder V3.1'.

Then read 'Installation'.
Now when it's installed you can right-click on an ISO (image) file that
you have previously downloaded you will be given the option (in bold
text) to 'Copy image to CD' (works the same with DVD).

----------------------

Can I suggest that you use rewritable CD/DVD as, if you make a mistake
then you can simply erase the rewritable CD/DVD and try again.



  #82  
Old March 17th 18, 03:51 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

[]
I suspect two possibilities he either you (or your son) didn't burn the
CDs in the correct way that makes them bootable, or you didn't set the
boot order in the laptop so that it booted from them.


Probably, since there was no info involved on how to burn the DVDs. I guess
the site assumed everyone who would download them would know. As for making


If they're .iso files, then yes, it's probably assumed you know to use
the correct option in your burning software.

DVDs from the PCs - there was just the MS popup or whatever it's called
about making the DVDs or TDs. I don't know why they bother having people
make useless DVDs if they don't boot the PC involved or explain how to do
it.


I've never used the "make recovery disc" option (or whatever it's
called) from Windows; I would hope that does lead you by the hand
through the process, probably without invoking any burning software at
all, i. e. the process of making the disc should itself prompt you when
to insert a blank disc and so on. Once you've made such a disc, it WILL
boot - though you may still have to alter the PC's boot order in its
BIOS.


Ubantu was an 8 GB download I don't have unlimited download data with


See Paul's posts; UbUntu apparently isn't that big, nor any other Linux
available at the moment; they're all under a single-layer DVD's worth (4
point something G), some under a CD's worth.


I guess the download site was wrong. I took one look at the size and left
the site. Any Idea what to Google to find the smallest one to download that
may boot the Toshiba? This is frustrating beyond belief trying to do this


Paul has suggested Puppy for older hardware, fatdog for newer, and has
given you a site to get fatdog at least from. Both of those will fit on
a CD, not a DVD.

sight unseen, never watcing someone do it.

(There are probably videos on YouTube, but they _can_ be worse than
useless.)
[]
If the CD/DVD is burned properly, and the BIOS in the LT set to boot from
the CD/DVD drive, then it should boot and load; it loads into RAM, and
runs from there.
[]
To access the LT HD from another computer via USB, you'll need a USB (or
eSATA, but only if all your computers have an eSATA socket) interface.


I wouldn't know what they have.

I shouldn't have mentioned that, as it just adds to the confusion. I'm
sure they all have USB sockets, so stick with those.

This is something you should get anyway, for future backup purposes.
(Along with, obviously, a drive big enough to hold several backup images
from your various computers. As you've discovered, System Restore is no
good if the drive dies, or if its files get corrupted sufficient that it
won't boot even as far as safe mode.) So getting it - whichever of the
three options you choose - isn't wasted money, even if we do find the LT
drive is faulty.


How would they be set to replace the image of Windows OS and your files
should the BSOD happen to the PC? I can't find any way to do it with the


When the time comes to restore from an image, assuming you have an HD in
the machine that actually works (either a new one you've bought, or the
existing one that works but what's on it is hopelessly corrupted):

You put the boot CD you made from the imaging drive in the tray; you
connect the drive that contains the image to a USB port; and you power
up. The imaging-software CD will boot, and run; you select the option in
it that says something like "restore from image", and tell it which
image file to restore from, and it does it.

But we're a long way from there at the moment. We need to get you back
to a working system first, so that you can _make_ an image of it. And to
do that, we still need to know whether the HD from your Toshiba laptop
is actually faulty, or has just got some corrupted files (or a corrupted
boot sector or corrupted partition table) on it. Until we know that,
we're some way from getting you back to a working system, let alone
imaging it.

external Seagate I have. I'm not technically orientated at all. Every time


We're gathering that (-:

I plug it into the USB drive it loads the DT will all kinds of crap I no
longer even care about and have deleted from the PC. It took a few hours to
delete the unwanted crap from the Seagate. I don't bother with it anymore.


If "every time you plug it in it loads" stuff, then you obviously
_haven't_ deleted it from the Seagate. (It can't load it if you've
deleted it.)

Why it puts hundreds of things on the DT is a mystery to me.

It may even be virus-infected.

Turn off autorun, autoplay, and anything like that, before connecting
it. Then connect it and format it.
[]
When the TD is plugged it is shows below C: and D: with a list of folders if
they were sent to it.

As E: or F: or whatever. (I'm guessing you haven't partitioned your HD
into more than one partition, so D: is your CD/DVD drive.)

Right, the three alternatives:

The best (IMO) for general work is a dock; this is a thing that sits on
your desk, comes with its own power supply, and connects to a PC via a USB
lead; it has one or more slots on top, into which you insert the drive(s)
you want to access. This is the model I have:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/202052568442 - it does both IDE and SATA drives


(In another post, you asked where you'd get a dock. The above link is
one such place.)
[]
The next option is a "USB to SATA cable"; despite just being called a
cable, these do have electronics in them, though built into the plug, so
it's not obvious. Personally, I'd go for one like this
https://www.ebay.com/itm/172256326228 which can do IDE _and_ SATA and


(And that's one place where you'd get such a "cable".)
[]
The third option is an external housing - this sort of thing:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/112652273779 - last time I was involved in buying


(And that's one place where you'd get such a housing.)

In all these cases, I'd recommend you look around, on ebay or amazon, to
find a supplier in your country advertising something that looks like
the pictures in those listings; however, if you go with any of the
above, you _should_ get what's shown - they'll just take longer to come
than if you found a "local" supplier.
[]
If you already have an external drive, you may be able to temporarily take
out the drive that's in it and fit your suspect one in its place.


I have an external Seagate which appears to be sealed. I don't see how the
HD itself can be removed.


Look for tiny screws, or it might be a pop-together case - try
(carefully!) prising it. You might be right that it can't be opened:
I've never myself seen one that can't, but that doesn't mean they don't
exist - I've not looked at many that closely.

Honestly, working on these computers isn't my thing. No one can remember
all this info. My time, my funds and my download data are limited which
doesn't help. I never though it would be this time consuming to try and
get the LT going again. So involved and so complicated. I was hoping


Well, we're working at two disadvantages: like most people, you
_haven't_ made images of it before it went wrong; and, we're trying to
explain how to do things to someone who is having difficulty
understanding us. Most of the individual things we want (you) to do
aren't really that complicated, they just seem that way because there
are a lot of steps involved. The individual steps aren't hard, really
they aren't.

someone here knew a site to maybe download info for a reascue disc.
Something I could burn to a CD and see if I could get to Restore or do a
Recovery.


Maybe - I think at least one of Paul's posts suggested where you can get
a rescue disc for 7 (I'm pretty sure that would be a DVD rather than a
CD), but I'm not sure, as he's made lots of posts in this thread!

Do you perhaps know someone - friend/relation, neighbour, work
colleague, even the IT department where you work - who could lend you
either a rescue disc or an install disc for Windows 7? (I think you can
get to the Recovery Console from an install disc.)

It's not that I don't ppreciate the info and help offered here, it's that I
never knew something like this could be so complicated and time consuming.

It isn't that complicated once you grasp what we're trying to do at each
stage! Time consuming, yes. The first thing we're trying to do is
establish whether the HD is actually faulty or just corrupted.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Hadrian's Wall has never been a border between Scotland and England. It lies
entirely within England but, when it was built in AD 122 by the Romans as a
defence against the raiding Picts, the future English were still in Germany
and the Scottish were still in Ireland.
- Michael Cullen, Skye, in RT 2014/12/6-12
  #83  
Old March 17th 18, 04:16 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

[]
If it will boot the Toshiba, it will do so even if the HD _is_ toast,
unless it's toast in a very unlikely manner.


OK, then how will I know if the HD is toast if it boots the PC anyway?

Because, once the Linux (whichever flavour) has loaded and is running,
you then tell it to look at the HD (which will appear, in Linux, as
something like "sda", "sdb", or similar, if I understand Paul's post on
the matter correctly). _How_ you tell Linux to look at the HD, someone
who speaks Linux will have to tell you - in simple steps!

* If it can't see any HD, then the drive is probably toast.
* If it can see an HD, but can't see any partitions on it, then the
drive _may_ be toast, or may just have a scrambled partition table (or
boot sector?). This _may_ be repairable.
* If it can see an HD, and can see partitions on it, and examine the
files on it, then the drive isn't toast, though may still be somewhat
faulty - but we _might_ be able to repair it so that it runs long enough
to make an image, or to run further tests on it to see if it's actually
faulty or has just got corrupted somehow.

extension? There is no other software out there anyone knows about that


You DO have to worry about the strange extension, if that extension is
".iso". You DON'T just burn that file to the CD the same way you'd burn
any other data file: you have to use "create CD from ISO image", or some
similar setting in your Ashampoo. (Or download and use ImgBurn as already
described - it's fairly obvious within that which is the
create-from-ISO-image option.)


Ashampoo doesn't have that choice. I downloaded ImgBurn but have not had the
time to see how it works. It doesn't look easy and intuitive like the other
burners I had.

See Patrick's post; Ashampoo _does_ have that choice. As does ImgBurn.
(He also mentioned a third alternative.) I also agree with his
suggestion of using rewriteable media, if you have them, so you don't
waste them if you get them wrong. (Though use a write-once one once
you've proved the method - IME, CD-RWs aren't _long_ lived, I mean
recordings made on them aren't.)
[]
http://www.oldversion.com/windows/do...mgburn-2-5-0-0

[]
I like Imgburn. I don't like Adware.

Paul

I assume that's the one you've got.
[]
But I'd still say _my_ first choice - rather than trying to boot from a
CD/DVD - would be to examine the HD, on one of your other computers, using
a USB dock, "cable", or housing: This _doesn't_ involve buying hardware
you won't need anyway, since if you're going to back up the machine after
you've repaired it (and all your other machines!), you'll need the
dock/"cable"/housing anyway to connect the backup drive.


By backup drive you mean an external drive - one for each PC? Or one
external drive with the images on it that can boot them all? The external
Seagate attaches with a wire to the USB port.

[]
I use my external drive to store images from my two main PCs. You don't
boot _from_ the external drive: you boot from a CD you make using the
imaging software you choose. I choose Macrium, for which the boot CD
actually fits on a mini-CD (well it does for Macrium 5 that I have; I
think it will for 6 and 7 too); it hasn't let me down yet. Once Macrium
(or whatever) has booted from the CD, you tell it which image file (on
the external drive) to restore from.

Whether you can store many such images depends on the capacity of the
external drive (such as your Seagate). The images aren't the size of the
drive they come from, only the used part of that drive or a little
smaller: for example, on here I have a C: partition of 99.9GB, but only
28.2 GB of that is used, so an image of that (plus the 100M hidden
partition) would only need less than 29 GB. (Less, in fact, as Macrium
offers to do compression when it's making images; I tend to turn that
off.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

And every day in Britain, 33 properties are sold for around that price [a
million pounds or so]. - Jane Rackham, RT 2015/4/11-17
  #84  
Old March 17th 18, 10:21 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"Paul" wrote in message
news
You can see the download sizes in advance, on the mirror server.
You can tell from the dates, when they were released.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/iso/


Which one do I download from the list? Any one of them?


Paul



  #85  
Old March 17th 18, 11:09 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...
In message , HB writes:

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

[]
I suspect two possibilities he either you (or your son) didn't burn
the
CDs in the correct way that makes them bootable, or you didn't set the
boot order in the laptop so that it booted from them.


Probably, since there was no info involved on how to burn the DVDs. I
guess
the site assumed everyone who would download them would know. As for
making


If they're .iso files, then yes, it's probably assumed you know to use the
correct option in your burning software.

DVDs from the PCs - there was just the MS popup or whatever it's called
about making the DVDs or TDs. I don't know why they bother having people
make useless DVDs if they don't boot the PC involved or explain how to do
it.


I've never used the "make recovery disc" option (or whatever it's called)
from Windows; I would hope that does lead you by the hand through the
process, probably without invoking any burning software at all, i. e. the
process of making the disc should itself prompt you when to insert a blank
disc and so on. Once you've made such a disc, it WILL boot - though you
may still have to alter the PC's boot order in its BIOS.


The recovery for THIS PC and the Gamer HP LT are on TDs. No information was
given, just to insert and click and it did it by itself.


Paul has suggested Puppy for older hardware, fatdog for newer, and has
given you a site to get fatdog at least from. Both of those will fit on a
CD, not a DVD.


There's a long list there with no explination as to which to use for W-7.

How would they be set to replace the image of Windows OS and your files
should the BSOD happen to the PC? I can't find any way to do it with the


When the time comes to restore from an image, assuming you have an HD in
the machine that actually works (either a new one you've bought, or the
existing one that works but what's on it is hopelessly corrupted):

You put the boot CD you made from the imaging drive in the tray; you
connect the drive that contains the image to a USB port; and you power up.
The imaging-software CD will boot, and run; you select the option in it
that says something like "restore from image", and tell it which image
file to restore from, and it does it.


OK... I'll download the 1st on Paul's list and see what happens. I'll make
sure it burns as an ISO.


external Seagate I have. I'm not technically orientated at all. Every
time


We're gathering that (-:


If "every time you plug it in it loads" stuff, then you obviously
_haven't_ deleted it from the Seagate. (It can't load it if you've deleted
it.)


I understood that if it was deleted from the PC, SG would not copy it again
in the next update. But it appears to copy the new files and adds them to
the old, whether they're on my PC or not anymore. WTH... I'll just clean it
off when I get the time and start again.


Why it puts hundreds of things on the DT is a mystery to me.

It may even be virus-infected.


LOL!!! That would be just my luck.


Turn off autorun, autoplay, and anything like that, before connecting it.
Then connect it and format it.


I have to connect it as here is no way to do anything with it unil it's
plugged into the USB port.

[]
When the TD is plugged it is shows below C: and D: with a list of folders
if
they were sent to it.

As E: or F: or whatever. (I'm guessing you haven't partitioned your HD
into more than one partition, so D: is your CD/DVD drive.)


C: is the OS on this old W-7 DT.
D: is the Recovery drive and
E: is the DVD RW drive, and there's an
F: that says Boot, System Volume Information and Recycle Bin.

We'll put the docking on hold for awhile. I need to get this Toshiba either
running or recycle so I can tackle the next issues with the other PCs again.


Look for tiny screws, or it might be a pop-together case - try
(carefully!) prising it. You might be right that it can't be opened: I've
never myself seen one that can't, but that doesn't mean they don't exist -
I've not looked at many that closely.


Once opened, if that's possible, what would the next step be?


Honestly, working on these computers isn't my thing. No one can remember
all this info. My time, my funds and my download data are limited which
doesn't help. I never though it would be this time consuming to try and
get the LT going again. So involved and so complicated. I was hoping



Well, we're working at two disadvantages: like most people, you _haven't_
made images of it before it went wrong; and, we're trying to explain how
to do things to someone who is having difficulty understanding us. Most of
the individual things we want (you) to do aren't really that complicated,
they just seem that way because there are a lot of steps involved. The
individual steps aren't hard, really they aren't.


I'm trying.


someone here knew a site to maybe download info for a reascue disc.
Something I could burn to a CD and see if I could get to Restore or do a
Recovery.


Maybe - I think at least one of Paul's posts suggested where you can get a
rescue disc for 7 (I'm pretty sure that would be a DVD rather than a CD),
but I'm not sure, as he's made lots of posts in this thread!


Yes he did but it's out or warranty and the Serial number was rejected.


Do you perhaps know someone - friend/relation, neighbour, work colleague,
even the IT department where you work - who could lend you either a rescue
disc or an install disc for Windows 7? (I think you can get to the
Recovery Console from an install disc.)


I should be so lucky. We're not living here long enough to have friends and
to know who's good with computers. What about the TD with the copy of this
DT PC? The one the popups had me make when it was new. Would that work?
They're about the same age, both W-7 64 bit.

It isn't that complicated once you grasp what we're trying to do at each
stage! Time consuming, yes. The first thing we're trying to do is
establish whether the HD is actually faulty or just corrupted.


I understand that. If fatdog don't boot it it could still be something I'm
messing up. I'm downloading the 1st one on the list since I know nothing
abou this softwaer. I'll burn it as a OSI and see if the Toshiba will boot
from it.



  #86  
Old March 17th 18, 11:38 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

It isn't that complicated once you grasp what we're trying to do at each
stage! Time consuming, yes. The first thing we're trying to do is
establish whether the HD is actually faulty or just corrupted.
[]


I have no idea what any of this means:

I burned it to a disc (Puppy), turned the Toshiba on, and it says this:

done (in green, upper right hand corner.)
Loading drivers needed to access disk drives. Searching for Puppy files in
computer disk drives. (The in RED is says), fd64-500. sfs not found.
Dropping out to intitial-ramdisk console. /bin/sh :can't acess tty; job
control turned off # -

That's it with Puppy. What next?


  #87  
Old March 17th 18, 11:52 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

HB wrote:
"Paul" wrote in message
news
You can see the download sizes in advance, on the mirror server.
You can tell from the dates, when they were released.

http://distro.ibiblio.org/fatdog/iso/


Which one do I download from the list? Any one of them?

Paul




The picture of the screen I took, was done with this version.

Fatdog64-710.iso 2016-Dec-03 10:04:55 360MB application/octet-stream

The latest release of the software is this one.

Fatdog64-721.iso 2018-Jan-11 09:13:13 387MB application/octet-stream

Either one would do, for the purposes of a boot test.

Paul
  #88  
Old March 17th 18, 11:52 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
HB[_3_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 179
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark


"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

It isn't that complicated once you grasp what we're trying to do at each
stage! Time consuming, yes. The first thing we're trying to do is
establish whether the HD is actually faulty or just corrupted.
[]


I reburned puppy500 with a different Burner, making sure TWICE it was set to
OSI, but the result was the same.

It seems to need fd64-500.sfs which wasn't found. I have no idea what tty
is.

What's going wrong?



  #89  
Old March 18th 18, 12:37 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Rene Lamontagne
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,549
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

On 03/17/2018 5:52 PM, HB wrote:
"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote in message
...

It isn't that complicated once you grasp what we're trying to do at each
stage! Time consuming, yes. The first thing we're trying to do is
establish whether the HD is actually faulty or just corrupted.
[]


I reburned puppy500 with a different Burner, making sure TWICE it was set to
OSI, but the result was the same.

It seems to need fd64-500.sfs which wasn't found. I have no idea what tty
is.

What's going wrong?




OK, I will jump in and try to help, What you need to download is
Fatdog64-721.ISO,
second from the bottom on Pauls index page. that should get you on track


Rene

  #90  
Old March 18th 18, 02:12 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Toshiba W-7 went dark

In message , HB writes:
[]
OK... I'll download the 1st on Paul's list and see what happens. I'll make
sure it burns as an ISO.

_From_ an ISO - if you see an ISO on the disc after you've burned it,
you've done it wrong. But I think - from what you say in a later post -
you've done it right.
[]
If "every time you plug it in it loads" stuff, then you obviously
_haven't_ deleted it from the Seagate. (It can't load it if you've deleted
it.)


I understood that if it was deleted from the PC, SG would not copy it again
in the next update. But it appears to copy the new files and adds them to
the old, whether they're on my PC or not anymore. WTH... I'll just clean it
off when I get the time and start again.

You've thoroughly confused me with that paragraph (even if I guess "SG"
means the Seagate external drive). What are the various "it"s? Something
that has been deleted? Something that copies something? And you're
referring to "SG" as if it does copying. A drive will not of itself
copy. It might conceivably have software on it which, if allowed to
autorun, will copy something.

Why it puts hundreds of things on the DT is a mystery to me.

It may even be virus-infected.


LOL!!! That would be just my luck.


Turn off autorun, autoplay, and anything like that, before connecting it.
Then connect it and format it.


I have to connect it as here is no way to do anything with it unil it's
plugged into the USB port.

[]
When the TD is plugged it is shows below C: and D: with a list of folders
if
they were sent to it.


(I was guessing you mean Thumb Drive when you say TD.)

As E: or F: or whatever. (I'm guessing you haven't partitioned your HD
into more than one partition, so D: is your CD/DVD drive.)


C: is the OS on this old W-7 DT.
D: is the Recovery drive and
E: is the DVD RW drive, and there's an
F: that says Boot, System Volume Information and Recycle Bin.


If you right-click on D: or F:, and select properties, you should get a
pie chart showing amount used and free, so you can work out the total
capacity, which should enable you to figure out which is which, assuming
you know what capacity your "TD" is.

We'll put the docking on hold for awhile. I need to get this Toshiba either
running or recycle so I can tackle the next issues with the other PCs again.


Look for tiny screws, or it might be a pop-together case - try
(carefully!) prising it. You might be right that it can't be opened: I've
never myself seen one that can't, but that doesn't mean they don't exist -
I've not looked at many that closely.


Once opened, if that's possible, what would the next step be?

Inside it, there will be a drive! Hopefully, it will be the same sort -
i. e. a SATA, with two connectors - as the one you have taken out of the
poorly laptop. If it _is_ the same kind, then if you take out the
existing drive and put it somewhere safe, and put the drive from the
laptop in its place. You should then be able yo connect the USB cable to
one of your working computers, and examine whether you can see it,
probably as E: or F: on that computer. If you can't, can you see it with
the partitioning tool (in Windows 7, I get to that by typing parti into
the start box and then going for "Create and format hard disk
partitions"; it may be different in 10), which should be able to "see"
through a USB interface.

(Do you know what the capacity of the drive from the poorly PC is?)
[]
I'm trying.

Yes, very. (Sorry, couldn't resist; you're not really. Both my parents
were teachers, and "This boy is trying. Very trying" was a standard
teacher joke at report-writing times.)
[]
Maybe - I think at least one of Paul's posts suggested where you can get a
rescue disc for 7 (I'm pretty sure that would be a DVD rather than a CD),
but I'm not sure, as he's made lots of posts in this thread!


Yes he did but it's out or warranty and the Serial number was rejected.

I think it was rejected because the number you gave it was an OEM one
not a retail one, rather than it being out of warranty.

Do you perhaps know someone - friend/relation, neighbour, work colleague,

[]
I should be so lucky. We're not living here long enough to have friends and


Pity. That would have been useful.
[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Our thorny national debate about Brexit could turn out to be irrelevant.
Sooner or later the EU as we know it may no longer be there for us to leave.
- Katya Adler, BBC Europe editor (RT, 2017/2/4-10)
 




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