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Several common error messages are related to problems in the file system or drives. These usually occur when booting the system. It could also happen when attempting to log in or to access a drive. The common ones are listed below:

• Missing Operating System
• No ROM Basic – System Halted
• Boot Error Press F1 to Retry
• Invalid Drive Specification
• Invalid Media Type
• Hark Disk Controller Failure

Missing Operating System

This is an error that is related to problems in master boot record or partition table entries. You get this error because the partition table entries are pointing to a sector that is not the actual beginning of a partition. Invalid BIOS settings, which sometimes is caused by a dead or dying battery, could cause this error. You may get this error when MBR is damaged by virus. The problem occurs for the reason that there is no active partition found in the partition table.

The normal solution is to correct the invalid BIOS settings. The BIOS settings for drive parameters and LBA translation must be set to the same values as when the drive was partitioned and formatted to read the drive correctly. If the MBR on a FAT drive is damaged or virus infected, you can try FDISK/MBR to repair it. Use FIXMBR with a NTFS drive. More sophisticated disk problem require disk recovering tool or repartitioning and reformatting the drive.

No ROM Basic – System Halted

For an AMI BIOS, when the boot sector or master boot record of the boot drive is damaged or missing, you will get this error. This error also can occur if the boot device has been improperly configured or is not configured at all in the BIOS. In this case, data in the partition might be valid and undamaged but no bootable partition exists.

IBM systems in this situation used to drop into a built-in BIOS version of BASIC, but most non-IBM BIOS manufacturers did not license this code from Microsoft. So, instead of dropping into BASIC, they displayed this cryptic massage. Because the most common cause of this type of error is a failure to set at least one partition as active (bootable), the typical solution is to run FDISK and set the primary partition as active. You may have try repairing the damaged MBR or correcting the improper BIOS settings if the problem is not caused by the missing of a bootable drive.

Boot Error Press F1 to Retry

when the hard disk is missing a master boot record or boot sector or when there is a problem accessing the boot drive, you may get this error, which is generated by the Phoenix BIOS. It is a problem similar to NO ROM Basic does on an AMI BIOS. The most common cause of this message is having no partitions defined as active (bootable).

Invalid Drive Specification

This error occurs when you attempt to log in to a drive that has not been partitioned or for which the partition table entry has been damaged or is incorrect. You can check the existing partition using FDISK or use FDISK to partition the drive. If they are damaged, you probably should use a data recovery tool for example REMO to correct the problem.

REMO is a Mac Recover Software that may also be used for Mac file Recovery. It would recover data on a failed hard drive and recover formatted memory card. It can also be used on Windows.

Another solution is to repartition the drive from scratch, but this causes any existing data on the drive to be overwritten.

Invalid Media Type

This shows that the partition table is valid. However the volume boot sector, directory, or file allocation tables are corrupt, damaged, or not yet initialized. For example, if you try to access a drive that has been partitioned but not yet formatted, you would normal receive this error. The format command is what creates the volume boot record (VBR), file allocation tables, and directories on the disk.

The repair typically involves using a data recover utility or redoing the high-level format on the drive. High-level formatting does not actually destroy the data. You can recover the data by first doing the high-level format (OS Format) the volume and then immediately unformatting it using the unformat utility.

Hard disk controller Failure

This message indicates the hard disk controller has failed, the hard disk controller is not set up properly in the BIOS, or the controller can not communicate with the attached drives (such as cable problems).

You can examine the drive installation and make sure that the cables to the drive are properly installed, the drive is getting power and spinning, and the BIOS settings for the drive are correct. If all these are correct, the drive, cable, or controller might be physically damaged. Replace them with know-good spares one by one until the issue is resolved.

Flash memory devices such as USB keychain drives and cards used in the digital cameras and digital music players present a unique challenge to data recovery programs. From an user standpoint these devices emulate conventional disk drives. They can usually be formatted through the Window Explorer and they have file allocation tables similar to those found on floppy disks. Many data recovery programs that work well with conventional drives can not be used to recover data from flash memory devices-especially when the device has been formatted.

Data loss can happen with a flash memory devices under several circumstances. Some of them, such as formatting of the media or deletion of one or more photos or files, can occur when the device is connected to the computer through a card reader or whether flash memory device is inserted into a digital camera. When photos are deleted, the file locations and name listings in the file allocation tables are changed in the same way as when file are deleted from magnetic media: The first character of the filename is changed to a lowercase sigma, indicating the file has been erased. Just as with magnetic media, undelete programs that support removable devices can be used to retrieve deleted files on flash memory devices in the same way that they retrieve deleted files from magnetic media.

However it is much more difficult to recover data from a formatted flash memory device, whether it has been formatted by a digital camera or through Windows. Traditional unformat programs can not be used because the flash memory devices are accessible only from within the Windows GUI and command-line programs are designed to work with BIOS-compatible devices such hard and floppy drives.

Formatted Data Recovery

You may use data recovery tools, for instance REMO Recover, if you would like to recover data from a formatted flash memory card. REMO Recover (Windows) is an integrated utility suit which can be used to retrieve data from hard drive and flash memory card.. In addition , it come with features such as email backup. It could be used to fix corrupt pst as well.

If a file is deleted, the following changes happen to the disk where the file is located:

• Windows replace the first character of the filename with a lowercase sigma character.
• The file allocation table will now show two types of entries in ID column for this file and its associated long file name (LFN):
• Erased. An erased file
• Del LFN. An LFN belonging to an erased file.

The operating system will indicate the clusters where the file is stored are accessible for reuse. Hence, if an undelete action is not performed promptly, some or all of these clusters may be overwritten by new data. Depending on the file type, the file can be destroyed even when just one cluster is overwritten.

File Undelete:

The file undelete process involves four steps:

• The original file name will be restored.
• The clusters where the file is stored will be recognized.
• FAT entries for the file are going to be recreated.
• LFN records for the file would be linked to the file.

Locating the clusters used by the file and recreating the FAT entries for the file are the most import steps. However restoring a deleted program file to its original name is necessary. Or else the program would not function correctly. Restoring the LFN entries enables a Windows users accustomed to long filenames to more easily use the file.

How to Recover Data

If you want to undelete the file, you can use data recovery tools for instance REMO Recover. REMO Recover (Windows) is an integrated utility suit that can be used to retrieve deleted files. In addition , it has email recovery feature that can be used to recover outlook emails.

Recovering lost data can be as simple as restoring files from Window’s Recycle bin. It can be complicated task that requires specialized data recovery software or services which could you cost hundreds of dollars. In the worst case scenario, you might have to send your hard drive to data recovery center. Here are the factors that affect the degree of difficulty you can have in recovering your data:

• In what way the data is deleted.
• What is the file system of the hard drive?
• Whether the drive uses magnetic, optical, magneto-optical, or flash memory to store data.
• The operation system you use.
• Whether you have data protection software installed on your system.
• Whether the drive has suffered from physical damage to heads, platters, or its circuit board.

The Windows Recycle Bin

When you delete a file in the Windows, it is deleted from its normal location and it is sent to Recycle bin. Windows reserves about 1% of hard drive space for Recycle bin and whatever is sent to the Recycle bin is actually protected from being overwritten by the system. However, the Recycle bin will eventually kick out older files when it is full. As a result, you are more likely to retrieve the file if you discover it has been sent to Recycle bin accidentally. To retrieve a file from Recycle bin, open the Recycle bin, select the file, right click it and select Restore. Windows will list the file in its original location and removes it from the Recycle bin. If a file is deleted when you hold down the Shift key, the Recycle bin is bypassed. In this case, the data recovery software is need to retrieve the lost data.

Recover Files that Are Not in the Recycle Bin

The Recycle is a good first line of defense when it comes to data recovery. However it can be bypassed and it does not keep the deleted files forever. You have to use data recovery software, such as REMO Recover, if you want to retrieve files that are not in the Recycle bin. REMO Recover (Windows) is an integrated utility suit for windows and Mac that offers many features which include deleted partition recovery and laptop hard drive recovery. It is also en email recovery software which would recover the lost e-mails.

Recovering Data from Partitioned and Formatted Drives

The hard drive’s file allocation table, which is used to determine the location of the files, is lost when it is formatted. If a hard drive has been repartitioned with FDISK or another partitioning program, the original file system and partition information is lost. In such cases, more powerful data recovery tools much be used to retrieve data. To retrieve data from an accidentally formatted drive, you have two options:

• use an application that could unformat the drive
• use an application that can bypass the newly created FAT and read disk sectors directly to discover and retrieve data.

To retrieve data from a drive which is partitioned, you must make use of a program that will read disk sector directly.