Computer with W8.1 out

[Aelin]

French forgiven :winks: , like everybody here forgive to my English

I know, I read your mail not far away. I saw tonight also the other laptop what I talked you. Identical finally, except of course it hasn't the same files that I made. So not so identical.

But with a hard drive damaged, and a new laptop which works barely with its W10, I'm not far away to give up everything. A part of what I have for job needs more than my new laptop can do (I don't talk of course of 3D, it's a lost hope). I made counts and I'm not ready to have money for an external, not to pay a W8.
And my present external will never be able to take in memory all the damaged HD can share - like it seems everything will come, even what I don't want save.
In fact, what I have discover with W10 it's a comp is only to serve like an object of decoration. Except maybe for big machines with many money.

[rrkknight3]

Chiron has gone to sleep as for both of you it's very late.  I can see how you feel trapped by circumstances, but I don't think you should give up.

Once we have a way to boot the old laptop, it's possible to select which files you want to copy a few at a time (as will fit on the device you already have) and put them on the new machine.

I'm pretty sure that with all of the Windows experience in the Attic we will be able to find a way to make W10 usable for you.

[Chiron]

French forgiven :winks: , like everybody here forgive to my English

Thanks!

I know, I read your mail not far away. I saw tonight also the other laptop what I talked you. Identical finally, except of course it hasn't the same files that I made. So not so identical.

The software is not a problem, if the hardware is identical then you can 'transplant' the system - but I wouldn't do that before rescuing your files: the new system would certainly overwrite them. And if the current hard drive is faulty transplanting the system would do no good - in that case xou'd need a new drive. Not so tragic indeed, they are cheap enough.

But with a hard drive damaged, and a new laptop which works barely with its W10, I'm not far away to give up everything.

PLEASE DON'T!!! There is almost always another way out!

A part of what I have for job needs more than my new laptop can do (I don't talk of course of 3D, it's a lost hope). I made counts and I'm not ready to have money for an external, not to pay a W8.

You have a lot of friends that could volunteer something each, don't you? :smile:

And my present external will never be able to take in memory all the damaged HD can share - like it seems everything will come, even what I don't want save.
In fact, what I have discover with W10 it's a comp is only to serve like an object of decoration. Except maybe for big machines with many money.

No, you can chose the files you want to keep and discard the rest.
Yes, Win10 is mostly a decorative article - until you turn it on. Then it may become dangerous...

Mmm... bonne nuit...

[Aelin]

Night was with some computers in the corner of dreams. Then a solution was ready to be found... and alarm clock came

I tried this afternoon to look with a USB bootable, not to go until the end (I knew where turn off safely), but to see if I have all options. Answer is no, I haven't the safe mode (I saw some other people with same issue). The 2 other solutions are formatting and lost everything which is unuseful of course; or continue to save datas and only datas not programs.
So comp was turned off quickly, and put in a corner for the moment.

[rrkknight3]

Night was with some computers in the corner of dreams. Then a solution was ready to be found... and alarm clock came

I tried this afternoon to look with a USB bootable, not to go until the end (I knew where turn off safely), but to see if I have all options. Answer is no, I haven't the safe mode (I saw some other people with same issue). The 2 other solutions are formatting and lost everything which is unuseful of course; or continue to save datas and only datas not programs.
So comp was turned off quickly, and put in a corner for the moment.

Your computer can use a bootable USB key.  See the attached image.  This BIOS configuration entry would be selected when booting from the USB key was tried.

BUT ... the first step would be to create a bootable USB key with a program running on your W10 system that you could use to boot the W8.1 system.  The one that Chiron was proposing was for this purpose, I'll bet.

[attachment deleted by admin]

[Aelin]

Yes with a bootable USB (made from the W8.1 laptop from friend) I went in the BIOS, I changed first the order that just after the OS BOOT Manager (I thought it was important that one stayed in the same place, like a non movable chief). Of course, that hadn't worked.
So I changed again the order, and that time I saw different options after. But where I must find the possibily of safe mode, I haven't advanced options. It's just non existent. I don't know if it's because the health of disk, or if it's because it's just W8.1 installed with computer at the beginning (and consequently no key).

[rrkknight3]

Are you booting the system that Chiron provided?

[Chiron]

You don't need to tamper with the boot order: there should be a function key to make the BIOS (or UEFI) offer you a list of the available drives (USB and CD drives included) from where you can chose where to boot from. On my PC it's F11.

The protected mode is something that implies the use of your not really healthy Win8.1 mounted on a dubious hard disk, thus it would be safer to leave it alone.
If you manage to boot from USB you'll find yourself in another system, certainly less familiar to you but safe, from where you can see whatever is still accessible on your hard disk, chose what you want to save and copy it where you want it (but not - repeat NOT - on the unsafe hard disk!).
Working with an external system will assure that no further loss of data will occur due to a system failure, which at the moment looks to me the greatest risk.

[rrkknight3]

I think on HP systems, one presses ESC repeatedly during the system power up, then F9 to get the boot option menus.

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-15-r100-notebook-pc-series/7234951/model/7649550/document/c03801890

[Aelin]

I checked, alas none of these options were useful for the situation.

I turned on web, between french sites and howtogeek (thanks to each people talking to this one to me). And a solution finally was presented partially with "Ubuntu" name - in relation with Linux. I turned many yesterday on that one. Stubborn I know, but I wanted to put aside that definitively if it wasn't good.
I was again in struggle, because I had a lot of pages to follow for following the other pages
I reinstalled 3 times folders on the bootable USB. Finally I hadn't offered enough 'place' to Ubuntu to deal with its system, 'open' Windows areas, and open an USB (yes, I didn't want to expose the external directly).

I hadn't idea how many Gigas of files I had to take, but it's a lot
After, I don't know their real statut. I'll see that when I'll open files finally.

I think I have maybe lost some things, like photos (they were in the Public area). But it's a little issue compare to all is maybe saved.
I have to check also if I can find preferences for Firefox - in case I want to continue to give news of the Aelin Weather Channel for example

  again!