How to Easily Recover Files from a Crashed Computer — Prime Chale
PCs crash, a decidedly unpleasant experience, and recovering your files can be a hassle. Some time ago, my laptop crashed because of a driver update, an experience I detailed in this post about how to resolve any driver update issue. Installing a new Windows OS would mean the loss of all my data, the thought of which was unbearable to me. I fiddled around a little, and I was able to easily retrieve all my files from the crashed laptop.
Note that the said laptop was a detachable 2-in-1 with 32GB of NAND memory, which was embedded into the motherboard which means I couldn’t even use it as an external hard drive. If you are in my shoes, or you don’t have the right tools, to open the PC, or simply just need your files urgently, then this article is for you. In this post, I’ll show you how to easily recover your files from a crashed computer using the command prompt, and the registry editor tool.
How to Recover Your Files Using Command Prompt and Registry Editor
Your computer might have crashed because of many reasons, but that is now unimportant. What is important is to obtain a flash drive, sd card, or external hard drive that has enough space to contain your files. Alternatively, you could send the files in batches if the memory is not enough. Once the drive is ready, plug it into a working USB port.
If you are using Windows 10, then, upon your PC refusing to boot, you’ll be directed automatically to the Automatic Repair screen. However, if your Windows version is not Windows 10, then the process is a bit more complicated. First, you’ll have to create a bootable USB drive using the Windows Media Creation Tool on another computer. To recover your files, follow these steps:
- Access the Automatic Repair screen. You’ll be automatically redirected to it on Windows 10. If you are using Windows 7 or 8, create a bootable USB drive, turn off the computer, boot into the boot menu by pressing the book key (usually F10 or F12) and select the bootable USB drive.
- Select Advanced Options, and you’ll see a screen like this.
Conclusion
Retrieving your files don’t have to be complicated. By using the method in this article, you can easily recover any file in any directory on your crashed computer. While there are other methods, including using typing ‘Notepad.exe’ in Command Prompt, they don’t allow you to retrieve files in C: drive. However, by accessing the file explorer through the registry editor, you can recover your important files easily.
Originally published at https://primechale.com on November 14, 2020.
