Info Lock Up

Q: My wife was trying to start our computer but it will not start. There is a message that says that a file is missing. The computer is an upgrade from Windows 98 to Windows ME. We don’t really have any important information on the computer but we do have some digital pictures on it that we would like to get if we could. Do you have any idea how to get pictures?
J. Russell
A: In a situation like yours the answer is in the message. The error message will tell you exactly what file needs to be replaced. There may or may not be a way around this file depending on what file is missing. Nevertheless, you should be able to get your operating system back or at least be able to retrieve your pictures.
The first option is to use your ace in the hole, your backup. I know that you have a backup of your system. If you don’t, you probably wish that you did. In the absence of a backup I would try to start the computer in safe mode. In Windows ME this is done by holding down or repeatedly pressing the “F8” key while the computer is booting up. You should hear a beep from your computer then see four options listed. You want to select option number three “Safe Mode”. Safe Mode is a stripped or “low carb” version of your normal operating system. From here you should be able to perform a system restore. If you go to the start menu, then look in the system files that are in the accessories header in programs, you should see system restore. What the system restore does is establish a memory of your computers system files and their settings. This may sound like a backup but it really isn’t. These memories or checkpoints as they are called do not remember what data you have stored on your computer.
Once you are in system restore, you need to select a checkpoint date that is from a time when did not have problems. After the restore is complete you should have access to your pictures, but you will need to reinstall any programs that were not installed at that checkpoint. That doesn’t sound like a bad trade off to me.
Now, the worse case scenario is that you cannot boot into safe mode. There is still another method to retrieve your pictures. You can install another hard drive onto your computer and set it as the master and your current hard drive as the slave. This will work because once your current drive is set as the slave then it will be seen as a storage drive. You can then look on that drive for your pictures and transfer them to another drive or media. You can accomplish the same thing by installing the hard with the pictures to an existing computer as the slave drive.