How to recover files after OS crashed

In this guide I explain how to recover files from a laptop (or desktop PC) with crashed, failed, damaged operating system.
WHEN CAN YOU USE THIS RECOVERY GUIDE?
1. The guide will work if the OS is damaged but the computer hardware still works fine.
2. The guide might work if the hard drive has some minor damage, like a few bad sectors.
PREPARING FOR RECOVERY
For this recovery I’ll be using a Ubuntu CD (Linux OS). Also, you can create a bootable Ubuntu USB flash drive. Don’t worry, you don’t have to be a Linux guru for that. The Linux interface will be very similar to Windows OS.
You need another working computer to download and create a bootable CD or USB drive.
1. Download the latest version of Ubuntu OS here. When you click on the download button you’ll start downloading an ISO image.
2. Burn this ISO image on a CD or create a bootable USB stick. It’s explained on the same download page, just scroll a little bit down.
3. Find the target drive where you going to save recovered files. You can use an external hard drive or USB flash drive. The target drive can be formatted with any common Windows file system: FAT, FAT32, NTFS.

DATA RECOVERY PROCESS
STEP 1.
Boot your laptop from the Ubuntu CD or USB.
If the computer keeps trying to boot from the internal hard drive, you’ll have to enter the BIOS setup menu and change the boot order. Set your CD/DVD drive or USB stick as first device in the boot order. Safe changes and restart the computer.
From my experience, Ubuntu OS works fine with most laptop and desktop PC hardware and you shouldn’t have any problem booting it to the desktop. It may not work if your computer hardware is too new.
STEP 2.
The computer will start booting from the CD or USB stick.
Now read carefully!
After some time a welcome screen will pop up. On this screen you can choose your language and choose between two options: Try Ubuntu and Install Ubuntu.
Select Try Ubuntu. The Linux OS will run directly from the CD or USB stick without changing any files on the hard drive.
STEP 3.
Ubuntu OS will continue loading and after a while you’ll boot to the desktop, as it shown on the following picture.

STEP 4.
In order to access the internal hard drive, you click on Places in the top toolbar. You should see your internal hard drive in the drop down menu under the Computer.

STEP 5.
When you click on the internal hard drive a new window will open up. In this window you’ll see all files located on the hard drive.

STEP 6.
Now plug in your target drive into the computer.
Another window will pop up. In this window you’ll see files located on the external drive. In my case I have no files on the external drive, that’s why the window is empty.
You can move windows same way you do it in Windows OS. Arrange both windows as you like.

STEP 7.
Finally, drag and drop needed files from the internal hard drive to the external drive.
After the transfer is done, you can unplug the external drive and use it on any other computer.

IF YOU HAVE FAILED HARDWARE
In case if your computer hardware failed, you should try recovery with external USB enclosure.

How to fix motherboard with failed NVIDIA chip

In this post I explain how you can fix a motherboard with failed NVIDIA graphics chip. This repair might apply to some HP/Compaq laptops and probably some other brands. If this repair works for you, please mention the brand and model number in comments after the post. This will help other readers.
This method should work for the following models: HP Pavilion dv2000, Pavilion dv6000, Pavilion dv9000, Compaq Presario v3000, Presario v6000, HP Pavilion tx1000, Pavilion tx2000.
By the way, I just fixed my son’s Xbox 360 with red ring of death (error 74) using exactly same technique.
MOST COMMON PROBLEM SYMPTOMS
1. Laptop turns on with garbled video on the internal screen and external monitor.
2. Laptop turns on but there is no video on the screen or external monitor.
MY UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM
The graphics chip soldered to the motherboard. When the laptop runs hot for a long time, the graphics chip separates from the motherboard and video fails.
HOW TO FIX FAILED CHIP
Before I tried baking the motherboard in an oven or use bubble-wrap. But today I’m going to fix it using a heat gun.
Basically, I’m going to heat up the graphics chip with a heat gun to solder it back to the motherboard (reflow). I think this method is more reliable and the repair should last for a while.

WARNING!
There is no guaranty this method works all the time. While doing this repair you may damage the motherboard and make it unrepairable.
Proceed at your own risk and don’t blame me if after this repair you’ll get a very expensive door stop.
If you don’t feel comfortable doing this repair, take your laptop to the repair shop.
HOW I FIXED THE MOTHERBOARD
First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.
In my example I’m using a motherboard removed from HP Pavilion tx2000.
In most laptops the graphics chip located under the CPU heatsink (and it has NVIDIA logo on it), so there shouldn’t be a problem locating the chip.

I’ll be using an Ecoheat heat gun EC-100.

In order to figure out how to position the heat gun and for how long, I tested it on a penny with a small piece of solder on the top.
The heat gun has a switch on the handle. There are two positions for the switch. Position 1 – slow. Position 2 – fast.
I used position 1 – slow.
I positioned the heat gun about 1 inch away from the penny and turned it on.

After about 40-45 second the solder started melting. After 50 seconds the solder melted completely.

To protect the motherboard from the heat I used a regular cooking aluminum foil. I cut off a piece of aluminum foil and folded it a few times to make my protection shield thicker. After that I cut off a square opening right in the middle, same size as the NVIDIA chip.
If there is thermal grease on the chip it has to be removed. You can remove thermal grease using alcohol swabs.
It’s not necessary to make it perfectly clean. Just make sure there are no large chunks of the grease on the chip.

UPDATE: Some people mentioned that I should have applied some liquid flux underneath the chip for better results. I’ll definitely do it next time when I have to fix another motherboard.
I found this video explaining how to apply liquid flux under the chip. This video was made for Xbox 360 motherboard but should apply to any laptop motherboard too.
Finally, I positioned the heat gun above the NVIDIA chip about 1 inch away and turned the heat gun into the position 1.

After 50 seconds I turned it off and let the motherboard cool down for about 20 minutes.
Don’t forget to apply new thermal grease on the graphics chip when you install the heat sink.
Some laptops use thermal pads instead of grease. If that’s the case with your laptop, make sure the thermal pad positioned correctly.
After I assembled the laptop back together, the video started properly!
The NVIDIA graphics chip problem fixed!
Will it last for a long time? I don’t know. Still testing.

Why laptop turns off or freezes?

My computer runs very hot and eventually turns off or freezes – this is one of the most common complaints I have been receiving from my customer for many years.
Why it’s happening? Is there an easy fix for that?
Most likely this problem is heat related. Take a look at the following picture.


Any laptop has a cooling module which includes two parts: the heat sink and cooling fan. When it works, the processor (CPU) heats up and the heat sing heats up too. At some temperature level, the fan kicks in and cools down the heatsink.
The problem starts when the cooling module collects too much dust inside. The dust kills normal airflow inside the cooling module. Eventually, the processor overheats and the laptop turns off unexpectedly or freezes.
This problem can be fixed by cleaning the cooling module.
Cleaning the cooling module.
Some laptops give you an easy access to the heatsink and fan. In laptops like that you can access the cooling module through the bottom cover.

In my example I had to remove the cooling module. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to remove the fan and access the heatsink.
In some models you can remove the fan without separating the heatsink from the CPU.
After I removed the fan, I found a thick layer of dust inside. Cleaning it up will fix the overheating problem.

Apply thermal paste on the processor.
You should apply new thermal paste before installing the heat sink back in place.

Remove old thermal paste from the processor and heatsink using alcohol swab.
WARNING: In some models the heatsink also covers the graphics chip. The part of the heatsink which covers the graphics chip might have thermal pad on it instead of regular thermal paste.
Do not replace thermal pad with thermal paste! Do not apply thermal paste on the thermal pad! Just leave thermal pad alone and apply thermal paste only on the processor.
I usually use Shin-Etsu paste which is relatively cheap and performs well.

After applying new paste, install the cooling module back in place. Do not forget to connect the fan cable to the motherboard!
What if the cooling module cannot be removed easily?
In some laptops the cooling module is buried deep inside the case and cannot be easily accessed and removed. In order to remove it you’ll have to disassemble the whole laptop but it’s only for experienced users.
In this case you can use the following technique. It’s not perfect but works very well.

Buy a can of compressed air or use a compressor.
1. Blow air into the fan grill on the bottom.
2. Blow air into the fan grill on the side.
Switch direction a few times until all dust is gone. Most likely this quick cleaning will fix your problem too.

Screen shows strange colors

The screen started showing strange or wrong colors. What could be wrong? I’ve been asked this question many times and today I’m addressing the issue.

In this post I explain some basic troubleshooting techniques in case if your screen started showing strange or incorrect colors.
You have to know how to disassemble your computer in order to use following troubleshooting techniques.

TEST WITH EXTERNAL MONITOR
The main troubleshooting step is testing the video output on an external monitor (or TV). You can connect your laptop to an external monitor using VGA cable, DVI cable, HDMI cable or S-Video cable, it depends on a type of connector you have.
Most models have a VGA connector, so it would be the most common way to connect.

Some laptops detect external monitor automatically and start showing image on both screens right from startup.
Other models can detect the monitor but display image only on one screen (internal or external). In this case you’ll have to switch video between internal and external using the Fn key and one of the F* keys in the top row of the keyboard. This combination varies for different brands, for example it’s Fn+F5 for Toshiba, Fn+F4 for HP, Fn+F8 for Dell, Fn+F7 Lenovo etc…
WHAT VIDEO ON EXTERNAL MONITOR CAN TELL?
If both, the internal screen and external monitor (or TV) show strange or incorrect colors or any other image distortion, this is the graphics card failure.
If only the internal screen shows bad video but external image appears to be normal (as in my example), the problem is somewhere inside the laptop display. This could be bad connection, bad LCD cable or bad LCD screen.
Let’s narrow down the problem one by one.
TRY RESEATING LCD CABLE CONNECTOR ON MOTHERBOARD

The screen receives data signal from the motherboard via LCD cable. If the LCD cable not making good connection with the motherboard, it might cause image or color distortion on the screen. Try reseating the LCD cable connector and see if it fixes the problem. Make sure the LCD cable connector plugged correctly.
In most laptops the LCD cable connector located under the keyboard bezel (aka keyboard cover). If it’s not there, most likely you’ll find it somewhere under the keyboard.
WIGGLE THE LCD CABLE
The LCD cable runs inside the display panel, under the screen. For this test it’s necessary to disassemble the display, so you can access the cable.
A pinched or damaged wire inside the cable also can cause color distortion.

Wiggle the cable while the laptop is running. If moving the cable affects image on the screen in any way (it starts shown different colors, lines, or image clears to normal, etc…) most likely the cable is defective and has to be replaced. Try replacing the cable.
On the other hand, if moving the cable doesn’t affect image at all, most likely the cable is good and you have a failed screen. In this case you’ll have to it with a new one.
APPLY SOME PRESSURE TO THE DISPLAY
Try applying some reasonable pressure to the top part of the display assembly. Squeeze it with your fingers.

If the screen starts showing different colors, lines, or clears to normal when you squeeze the top part of the display panel, most likely this is screen failure. In this case you’ll have to replace the screen.
Also, you might be interested in the following posts:
Troubleshooting backlight failure.
How to test screen inverter.
Bad video on the screen. What is wrong?
Fix video problems.

How to fix HP video problem

Today I show how to fix a known video problem on some HP laptops using bubble wrap.
Most likely the fix is not permanent but this will buy you some time, enough to backup personal files or even use the laptop until you get a new one. There is no guaranty this fix work 100%.
Here are some HP models affected by this known video failure problem: HP Pavilion dv2000, dv6000, dv9000, tx1000 tablet PC, Compaq 700, v3000, v6000 and probably some others.
If you know more models, please mention them in comments after this post.

CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM:
As I know, the video problem somehow related to NVIDIA graphics chip located on the motherboard. Overtime the graphics chip separates from the motherboard and the video fails.

SYMPTOMS OF THE PROBLEM:
The computer turns on and all LEDs light up but there is no video on the screen or external monitor. The internal screen remains completely black and blank.
I found this trick mentioned by Walliot in this post. This trick called “towel fix” and used to fix “no video” issue in xbox360.
HOW TO FIX:
1. Remove the battery and hard drive.
2. Plug the AC adapter and turn on the laptop. Make sure it’s is actually on, all LEDs should work.
3. Wrap it up with towels so all air intakes are closed.
4. Keeps the laptop wrapped in the towel for about one hours.
5. Unplug the AC adapter from the wall the let it cool down (do not move it for a while).
6. Unwrap the laptop and try tuning it on.
I didn’t really believe that this trick might work and tried it just because of curiosity but… IT WORKED!!!!
#1. HP tx1000 Tablet PC repair.

First, I tried this fix on a failed HP tx1000 Tablet PC.
I didn’t have paper towels at work but I had plenty of bubble wrap.
I closed it in a tablet mode (with hard drive and battery removed), plugged the AC adapter and wrapped the laptop properly in bubble wrap.

After that I just waited for about two hours and unplugged AC adapter from the wall. Waited for about 30 minutes and tried turning it on.
Success!!! It starts with with video.

I just couldn’t stop and tried the fix on another one.
#2. HP Pavilion dv6000.
This is a different model with very similar failure symptoms. It failed exactly the same way as the first one.
This time I did something extra. To make sure there is no cool air coming into the case through the bubble wrap, I closed all air vents with sticky tape.

After that I turned it on from AC adapter (again with hard drive and battery removed) and wrapped the base.

It was running like that for about 60-70 minutes but then I noticed that all LED lights went off.
Not sure what happened. Maybe the motherboard overheated too much and shut down on its own. Anyway, I didn’t touch it for about 30 minutes and let it cool down.
My fix was successful again! The laptop turned on with video and booted to the desktop.

HOW THIS FIX WORKS:
Here’s my understanding of how this fix works.
When you run a laptop wrapped in towels (bubble wrap in my case), it gets very hot because there is no air circulation inside the heatsink.
The heatsink gets so hot that it melt solder between the chip and motherboard and the video chip gets resoldered to the motherboard.
Now I have to test for how long this fix last.
RELATED POSTS:
Also read backing the motherboard in an oven and how to reflow failed NVIDIA graphics chip with a heat gun.

Battery charging problems

In this post I explain how to troubleshoot battery charging problems. I will discuss most common failure examples and suggest some troubleshooting steps.

Example 1.
Laptop shuts off when AC adapter unplugged.
When you move the cursor arrow over the battery icon while the laptop is connected to AC adapter, it show the remaining charge and says “charging”.


The power meter utility (if available) also shows that battery is connected and charging.

But… as soon as you unplug the AC adapter, the laptop shuts off completely.
Possible problems:
1. The battery not seated correctly. Try reconnecting it.
2. The battery contacts got dirty or oxidized and it’s not making good connection with the motherboard. Apply some electronic contact cleaner on the contacts.
3. If reconnecting the battery doesn’t help, most likely it’s bad and has to be replaced.
4. If you replaced the battery but the problem still exists, this is motherboard related failure. Apparently the charging circuit on the motherboard failed. In this case the whole motherboard has to be replaced (or repaired on the component level).
 

Example 2.
The battery not detected by the laptop.
There is a red cross on the battery icon.

If you move the cursor arrow over the battery icon, it says “no battery detected”.
Possible problems:
1. Most likely the battery is bad. You have a very good chance to fix this problem by replacing it with a new one.
2. If replacing the battery doesn’t help, this is motherboard related failure. The motherboard has to be replaced (or repaired on component level).
 

Example 3.
The battery discharges very quickly after it reaches some critical point.

The battery detected by the laptop and charges properly to 100%.
When you unplug the AC adapter, it take normal time to discharge until some critical point (let’s say 80%) but after that the battery discharges very quickly to 0%.
Possible problems:
This is battery failed. It has to be replaced with a new one.
 

Example 4.
The battery charges only if the power plug positioned correctly.
You have to wiggle the power plug in order to charge the battery. After you find the right position, it charges properly.

Possible problems:
1. AC adapter failure. The AC adapter power cable is damaged. Here’s how to test your AC adapter.
2. If the AC adapter works fine, most likely this is power jack (connector where you plug power adapter) failure. In this case the power jack has to be replaced.

Fixing Compaq motherboard video

Here’s how I fixed a Compaq Presario V6000 laptop motherboard with “no video” issue.
Also, this fix might work for the following HP/Compaq motherboards: HP Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000, Compaq Presario V3000 and probably some other models.
WARNING!
This repair might be harmful for your health and baking motherboard in an oven probably is a bad idea. It could be toxic. I did this repair for myself, at my own risk. If you decide to use these instructions, please do it at your own risk.
FIXING “NO VIDEO” ISSUE BY BAKING THE MOTHERBOARD.

Problem description: I had an abandoned Compaq Presario V6000 computer. It was turning on when but after a few seconds turning off by itself. There was no video on internal screen or external monitor. I tried another AC adapter, new memory modules but it didn’t help. I was pretty sure the motherboard failed.

Research: After I did some research on the Internet, I found that this is a known problem with Pavilion dv2000/dv6000/dv9000 and Presario V3000/V6000 motherboards and most likely related to the graphics chip failure. The graphics chip is soldered to the motherboard. Apparently, there are bad solder joints between the chip and motherboard. Overtime the chip separates from the motherboard causing all kind of video problems.
Possible solution: One guy suggested baking the failed motherboard in a conventional oven preheated to 385 degrees Fahrenheit for exactly 8 minutes. This process should reflow the chip solder joints and give the motherboard a second life.
I had nothing to lose and decided to give it a try. Here’s how I did it step by step.
First of all, you’ll have to disassemble the laptop and remove the motherboard.
STEP 1.

Remove all peripheral components installed on the motherboard (memory, cooling module, CPU, etc…). Remove all protective mylar tape. The motherboard will be baking at a very high temperature and all that can burn has to be removed.
Take pictures while stripping down the motherboard. They will help you to put all removed protective films back in proper locations.
STEP 2.

This side of the board has been stripped down.
You can see the graphics chip on the right side from the CPU socket.
STEP 3.

Remove all mylar from the other side of the motherboard. Disconnect the audio cable.
STEP 4.

The motherboard will be seating in the oven on the baking pan. In order to elevate the motherboard above the baking pan I’ll use a few screws.
STEP 5.

I installed screws in four corners of the motherboard. There are plenty holes for screws.
STEP 6.

You can see there is a 3/4 inch gap between the board and desk surface. The graphics chip is facing up.
STEP 7.

Place the motherboard on the baking pan. Make sure it’s not touching anything.
Preheat the conventional gas oven to 385 degrees Fahrenheit and place the board in the middle of the oven for 8 minutes. You’ll smell some burning plastic in about 6 minutes.
After that remove the baking pan with motherboard and let it cool down for about 30-40 minutes.
Assemble the laptop back together and see if it works.

This fix worked for me! After I assembled everything back together, it started properly right away. The video had no glitches.
The next time I explain how to repair the same issue using bubble wrap. This method requires no disassembly.
For more permanent fix check out graphics chip repair with a heat gun.