tweaking program appears to have wiped my harddrive

[inletwolf]

i always get yelled at bcuz i dont do furums rght, cuz i cannot type..so go ahead and et it over with!

i ran tweaking 2 nights ago, i did it the right way...steps 1-until my computer went dead.  i then did a system restart and it could not start, tried to do its own start fix...no way.  the files are still on the hdd but i cannot access them

i tried to do a systm restore from safemode and it said that all of my resore points had been erased

so i tried the same in com promt..same message

i have the original disc that i loaded from, put that in and   nothing

i am on another comp

the specs for the dead one:

asus gaming
windows 7 ultimate  64b
updated drivers
nividea 342.1
all updates installed...group b security only

any help woul be greatly appreciated

oh yes btw i am running the pro version, updated to 3.9.5.... the last one that you updated before 7/11/17

thanks
jean

[Boggin]

There's no way the repair program could have done that.

Can you still get into Safe Mode ?

If so then go Start - type diskmgmt.msc and press enter - does it show Windows as (C: ) and that it is Healthy.

If you got as far as running the repairs and can get into Safe Mode, open Windows Repair and use Step 5: Backup then click on Restore under Registry then on Restore Registry and use the dropdown to select the backup and click on Restore Now and then see if it will boot.

However, I would suggest that you create a bootable disk of SeaTools For DOS and you can use Imgburn to create the bootable disk from the SeaTools download.

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/201271en

http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/imgburn.html

You may need to change the boot order which you can do by a one off change by tapping F12 (usually) as you switch on - select DVD drive - insert the disk and press enter, or you could boot into the BIOS by tapping F2 (usually), use the cursor keys to navigate to Boot, use the cursor keys to select the DVD drive and then use F5 or F6 to move it to the top.

Insert the disk, press F10 to Save and Exit - press enter with Yes highlighted and when it boots, you may be prompted to press any key to boot from CD/DVD.

If that passes the HDD then eject the DVD and boot up into the advanced boot options to select Repair your computer and navigate to the Recovery Environment to select Command Prompt.

Enter -

bootrec /fixmbr

bootrec /rebuildbcd

That last cmd should tell you if it has found a Windows installation and if you only have one version of Windows it will return : 0

Enter exit to close the cmd window and select Restart if it has found a Windows installation.

[inletwolf]

i found my drives, but command prompt opens as X:

my drive with the installation is on D... it was on C

i went into d drive and found the tweaking program, tried to run the back-up reg but it says i do not have any drivers installed. i think they may have been put on X

can anyone tell me how to get to drive D instead of boot X

[inletwolf]

i can get into the first screen of safe mode  it does not load any drivers and when i go to com promt i an in drive X

i ran sfc scannow and it found the installation on drive D but it was on C before i ran the tweaking progr and THERE WAS NO DRIVE X

[Boggin]

When you go to the Recovery Command Prompt it does display as drive x: and in that mode it may not see your volume as in C:

You can check that by entering the cmd bcdedit |find "osdevice" at the x: prompt.

That is a Pipe symbol before find and is the uppercase of \

Then enter chkdsk x: /r where x is your partition letter.

In Safe Mode what did it show for the drive letter in Disk Management and have you run a scan with a SeaTools for DOS disk ?

Have you also ran the bootrec cmds ?

Why have you double posted this problem ?

[inletwolf]

no... i went to seagate, and did not understand, at all, what it said to do. i do not have any discs only usb thumbs

i ran a checkdisc and it found no errors

i have never had an X drive before i ran the cleaning tool. i found all of the data. it has been moved to drive D no longer on C but i cannot access it

and X only has a little used space. D has all of my old data that used to be on C

is there any one that will walk me thru fixing this via phone? i have a really difficult time communicating by email

jean

[Boggin]

Without any external drives plugged in, can you go Start - type diskmgmt.msc and press enter and post a pic of that.

[inletwolf]

the comp will only boot to safe mode with the recovery options. i have to go thru the backdoor to find my data. there is no start no desktop just fieles where i can see the files but cannot run anything. i think, maybe all if the drivers are loaded to another disc. when i try to open a file it says that i have to download a driver in order to use this program..

when i boot to safe mode ( by pressing F8) it does not do the usual loading driver thing it just goes into recovery

jean

[Boggin]

Do you have a Win 7 Ultimate install disk ?

[inletwolf]

yes i tried to run it too, but it doesnt load all of the files

[inletwolf]

sorry boggin, but it is 4 am where i am and i have to go to sleep. if you can come up with anything, i will check tomorrow. i also have a broken wrist and typing is VERY difficult

thanks for the try
jean

[Boggin]

That's fine.

I was in the process of writing a lengthy reply but am running short on time as I have to get ready to go out for a medical appointment, but I'll redo my reply when I get back.

[Boggin]

I'm assuming your install disk is a retail copy and that you have product key for it ?

Depending upon when you bought it, it may or not include SP1 and for what I propose, it will need to include SP1.

You can check this by tapping F12 as you switch on and use the cursor keys to select the DVD drive - insert the disk and press enter, but make a note of what boot options you have in there and post those.

When the machine boots up, press any key when prompted to boot from CD/DVD.

You may be presented with an inverse window with Windows Setup [EMS Enabled] - just press enter.

I'm not sure at which point the machine will reject the disk as not being the same as the installed volume but if/when prompted, use the dropdown to confirm/change the keyboard input method and click on Next.

It will search for the location of the OS as it doesn't always see it as in C: if that is where it is normally installed, but with yours, I'm not sure.

Make a note of the location and then click on Next.

Select Command Prompt which will be a X: cmd prompt then enter -

bcdedit /rebuildbcd

That will scan the disk for Windows installations and should return as successful.

I only have one main partition on my laptops and that cmd returns Total identified installations : 0

I'm not really sure what yours will return but then enter bootrec /fixmbr followed by exit to close the cmd window - remove the disk and select Restart to see if it will boot properly.

The /fixmbr cmd should return as successful.

However, if it doesn't accept the install disk then you can download an ISO which I believe does include SP1.

I've never been able to confirm this as all my laptops are OEM machines where the OS came pre-installed.

Providing your product key is a retail one, go to https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7 and scroll down to enter your product key and if it accepts it, it will release the ISO for download - select Save.

Depending upon if there was an option in F12 to boot from an USB, you can then use Windows USB/DVD Burner Tool to create a bootable USB - else you will need to get a DVD to create the bootable media.

http://wudt.codeplex.com/

As the OS isn't where it's supposed to be, I'm not sure if an offboot sfc /scannow would resolve, but you could try it.

If the bootrec cmds haven't resolved a normal boot, then boot up with the appropriate install disk and navigate back to the Command Prompt.

Using the letter where it found the location of the volume, use that where I've used X in this cmd.

sfc /scannow /offbootddir=X:\ /offwindir-X:\Windows

Note there is a space before each /

This will scan the installed volume against what it has on the install media and repair/replace as necessary.

However, in some cases it will say that it cannot run.

[Boggin]

I need to amend some of the steps in my last post as I had inadvertently booted up with a system repair disk instead of an install disk to refresh my memory.

After pressing enter where you see Windows Setup [EMS Enabled] the dropdown you will see will be to change/confirm the Time and currency format.

As you are in the US then just click on Next and in the Install window click on Repair your computer - bottom right..

From there, the steps are the same.

In the Recovery environment you may be able to see if you have any restore points by selecting System Restore.

Selecting one prior to running Windows Repair may get you back to where your drives were as they were.

[inletwolf]

hey boggin
sorry it has taken me so long to reply, but my wrist was killing me from typing the other night. and it has taken me this long to be able to do this again!

i give up i was in the middle of a very long reply and hit something and it just disappeared!!!

anyway, i will try what you suggested. i can get it to boot into safe mode, but when i first turn it on, it trys to do a start-up repair, then restarts then i tap f8 to get into safe mode it has all of th recovery options but they dont do anything.

i can find the programs and files by going thru the backdoor but cannot open any of them that is get them to run. i found the reg back-up and the restore point that was created when i ran tweaking.

i ran a scandisc on drive where the os, and it came back with no errors. so if i can get to it,i think it will be okay

when i put the os disc in it doesnt load any files. it is the disc that i installed the os from. and the key is good...it came from msoft, and no it doesnt have sp1

anyway, i can get into the bios by tappin f2 and change the boot order..but the recovery page doesnt have any restore points on it or any drivers. and it doent do the loading driver thing whe it starts. nor does it load drivers from the os disc

thanks for all the help. i will take this comp into the other room tomorrow and try the cmds that you suggested. is there a good time when you will be on the forum, in case i have questions as i am going thru the tries?

it would be very helpfull
thank you
jean

[Boggin]

I know what you mean about having typed a lengthy reply and hit something that has wiped it out

To give you some idea of the time difference between us, your last post for me is time stamped at 05:28am today which is too early for me.

I usually first come online to check the email notifications and forums about 3hrs later to that and I may come and go throughout the day.

Did you try to download another ISO from that Microsoft link I'd posted to create another install disk.

It doesn't sound good that the drivers aren't loading from the install disk.

Are you able to create a SeaTools for DOS disk and use it to test your HDD ?

http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/201271en

[inletwolf]

hey there I am back
I wanted to try to do a system restore from cmd promt. I did type a couple of the commands that you suggested and they were either wrong or the system wouldn't accept them...I will try again.  I went into the bios set-up and it had been changed to boot from hdd to cd . I changed it back to the 1st device as hdd  no luck. the program changed my drive letters. the os is on the hdd I checked in the bios. but it is now listed on drive "D" and "C" is reserved with 513mb on it

it is a Seagate hdd I thought I would call them and see if they can help me via phone. I will pay whatever anyone charges to get phone help...I just cannot do this read...type..go back..read...remember...type ..go back..thing

[inletwolf]

after checking the other forum topics it appears that other customers are having similar problems. mostly with v 4, but there are some that had issues with the last update to v 3.9.?  which I updated to right before I ran the "fix"
so I am not the only one on this forum that is having issues after the "fix" tool.

[jpm]

There is nothing at all in the repair program that can change drive lettering.

The only way to do what you described is with drive formatting. The repair program has no ability to handle drive formatting.

It is possible your computer shipped with a partition of 512MB that has the original install or recovery files - typically those do not have a driver letter assigned or it is something funky like f: or Z: . They are also sometimes hidden partitions.   But I am curious as to what is on the 512 partition.

So - i supsect you either have partitioning software on your machine or at some time tried to use partitioning software, and now the wrong partition is active as c: drive. I suspect perhaps someone was playing with Seagate's disk wizard and it's created some weirdness. Heck - perhaps it was installed wrong, to begin with.  I can't be sure.

The other thing that is possible is something is wrong with your disk management

In the Search box, type diskmgmt.msc and then click the diskmgmt.msc

I would like to see a screen shot of what it says.

It should look like this.