How to Recover Data When PC Won't Boot

David Darlington

Jan 15, 2024 • Filed to: Windows Computer Solutions • Proven solutions

If your PC isn’t functioning ideally, then you certainly can’t access your files as well. A Windows system can malfunction due to various reasons:

1. Errors with the system’s operating software
2. Computer malware and not updating your anti virus software
3. Corrupted files in the computer
4. Software updates

In order to recover data when the PC won’t boot, you need to implement some added measures. you need to change its BIOS settings and boot it from some other source. Also, by taking the assistance of Windows PE, you can perform the recovery operation. Don’t worry – it is pretty easy. In this post, we will teach you how to recover data when the PC won’t boot.

Part 1: What to Do When Computer Won't Boot?

Besides using data recovery tools like Recoverit to recover data when the PC won’t boot, you can implement these added measures whenever your system won’t boot.

• Check the power source: There are times when an unstable power source can cause a PC not to boot. Make sure that the socket is connected properly and the power is not fluctuating.
• Is the display working: Instead of not being able to boot, chances are that there could be a problem with your system’s display as well. Connect another monitor to it and restart it to check if the display is functioning or not.
• The operating system is malfunctioning: There could be a problem with Windows as well. Check if the registry file has been altered or whether system files have been deleted or not.
• Change BIOS Settings: The Basic Input and Output System, which is responsible to load the operating system, could have been corrupted as well. Enter the BIOS settings and make sure there is no overwritten data.
• Malware attack: A malware attack can also cause your PC to malfunction. Therefore, you should update the firewall settings on your system and use an anti-malware tool to avoid such an unwanted situation.

Part 2: How to Recover Data When PC Won't Boot

Recoverit can help you to recover data when the PC won’t boot, but you should create a bootable media with it to boot up the computer. It is compatible with every major version of Windows and supports the Windows Preinstallation Environment. In this way, users can create a bootable media and use it to perform an operating system crash recovery whenever their PC malfunctions.

Free download Recoverit on a workable computer, and connect a blank USB or CD/DVD to the computer. Launch Recoverit to create bootable media.

1. With Recoverit, select the option of "Recover from Crash Computer" to create a bootable drive for data recovery.

2. Select the bootable option (USB drive or CD/DVD) and click on the "Create" button to process. Please confirm the backup of important data has been done before formatting.

3. It will take a while to finish the creating of bootable media, and you can follow the next steps to retrieve your data back.

4. After creating bootable media, you will need to set the computer to BIOS. Restart your crashed computer and enter BIOS with the BIOS function keys. The most common keys are F2, F10, F12, or Delete. You can check out this page to learn how to set the computer to boot from a USB drive.

5. When booting is completed, Recoverit software will launch automatically. You can then proceed to copy files from a hard drive, or recover lost data from the hard drive of the computer.

Part 3: Copy your data from the hard drive manually

• Another option you can use is to copy data manually from the hard drive that won’t boot. Start by getting an External Hard drive Enclosure.

  

• Switch off your computer, remove the battery and unplug from the power outlet.
• Remove the Non-booting Hard drive from your computer and insert it in the external enclosure.
• Connect the hard drive enclosure to a different computer that’s working.
• Reboot the working PC from the main drive then access the hard drive in the enclosure from there. You can now recover and transfer your data to another storage device.

Part 4: Use command prompt to recover data

You can use the command prompt in repair mode to recover lost data. This method will required you to create a bootable device.
Start by Inserting the bootable media you created. Power up your computer, then continuously tap the BIOS access keys to select the media to boot.

Press the shift key and F10 to launch the command prompt. Type notepad.exe in the command line to launch the Notepad application.

On the Notepad, click on file then select Open. A mini-explorer will launch that you can now use to locate and recover files and folders. Select any file or folder you want to recover, right click then select Send to. Here, you can choose to send the data to the USB flash drive.

The methods above will help you recover your files even if the PC won’t boot and if they don’t work, get in touch with data recovery professionals to find your lost files and recover deleted data.