Recovering Hard Disk in Windows 2000 if 'Fastfat.sys' file is Missing or Damaged

There are several system files in Windows operating system that are critical for the proper functioning of the system. One such file is 'fastfat.sys' file that is the driver file to read or write drives formatted with FAT file system. Such drives could include hard disks, USB sticks, external hard disks, etc.

If something wrong happens with this file, then you would not be able to start the system. Such problems can occur due to lots of reasons such as virus infections, hard disk damage, power surges, etc. You should recover hard disk by restoring the file using appropriate methods. If you are unable to do this, then you should use a third-party hard drive recovery software to recover the lost files.

Consider a scenario wherein you have a Windows 2000 system that is not starting and stopping after the boot process. The following error message is displayed in this regard:

“Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\Drivers\FastFAT.sys”

Cause:

This problem can occur if either of the following cases are true:

• The fastfat.sys file is either damaged or missing.

• The RAM is damaged or is not installed properly.

Resolution:

The resolution to this problem involves checking the RAM and restoring the Fastfat.sys file. This could be done using the following steps:

• Turn off the system and check the RAM to ensure that it is not damaged and installed properly.

• Start the computer using Windows 2000 setup CD.

• Type the following command in the Command Prompt, and press Enter:

cd c:\winnt\system32\drivers

• Type 'dir fastfat.sys' and press Enter. If the 'File not found' message does not appear, then perform the next step.

• Type 'ren fastfat.sys fastfat.old' and press Enter.

• Type 'CD-ROM drive letter:' and press Enter.

• Type 'cd i386' and press Enter.

• Type 'expand.exe fastfat.sy_ c:\winnt\system32\drivers\fastfat.sys' and press Enter to expand the 'fastfat.sys' file.

• Type 'c:' and press Enter.

• Restart the system.

However, if the system remains inaccessible even after performing these steps, then you should urgently take the services of a third-party hard disk recovery software to recover all the trapped data. With the help of non-destructive scanning mechanisms to recover hard disk, these data recovery utilities do not hamper the files in the storage media.

The most reliable disk recovery utility that recovers lost, deleted, or formatted files from different file systems such as NTFS, FAT, and exFAT, is Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery. Available in two editions, Home and Professional, this hard disk recovery software supports recovery in memory cards, iPods, pen drives, hard disks, etc. Compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, 2000, and NT4(SP6), this disk recovery software recovers deleted emails from Outlook Express and MS Outlook.

New Jersey – Hard Drive Recovery Services

In the last few years, withb the growth of technology the probability of data loss also raised manifolds. Whether it is a simple external hard drive, internal hard drive of a laptop or desktop computer, file servers, web servers, application servers, Domain controllers, RAID arrays, NAS, SAN, storage box or small scale storage device, like, USB pen drives, ZIP diskettes, CD, DVD, floppies, memory sticks or flash drives, data can be lost from any of these storage media.

Nonetheless, it is essential for a user to have a backup of vital data, as it helps in effectively performing data recovery. But, in the absence of backup too, one can recover data, especially if they are located in New Jersey, thanks to data recovery services in NJ.

Data loss can occur due to various reasons, like head crash, logic board (also known as printed circuit board, or PCB) crash, hardware issues, virus attack, accidental re-partitioning, missing file or directory, invalid drive & disk specification, sabotage, natural disasters (flood, fire, earthquake), sabotage, or logical reasons as well. At times simple issues like corrupt file, encrypted data and even password protected files are lost, and need to be recovered. Though software are available to handle such situations, but at times, even they fail. Data recovery in NJ is the only way to salvage crucial data.

Though availing these services is fairly simple, support for your make of hard drive, and the interface is also required. For example, you may get support for Seagate, but not for Western Digital. Or, you may get support for these, but not for manufacturers who have gone out of business. In such situations, experts in the field can only help. Similarly, not all interfaces are supported by recovery experts. Again, some may provide recovery from Windows, but not from Mac, and so on. That is why, it is very important to search for data recovery in New Jersey, from an old hand.

Stellar Data Recovery Inc., is a data recovery branch in New Jersey of Stellar Information Systems Ltd. - an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. It boasts of class 100 clean rooms with the ability to perform various operations like, head transplant, printed circuit board repair, platter transplant, and more. With over 17 years of rich data recovery experience, and more than 1.1-million customers worldwide, the company has an impeccable record in the field.

Recovering hard drive when the NTFS.sys file gets damaged during the FAT-NTFS conversion

Windows systems are using the NTFS (New Technology File System) file system for quite some time now as it is fast, secure, and reliable from its predecessors. That is the reason some of the users use FAT (File Allocation Table) file system apparently convert from FAT to NTFS.

However, at times the conversion can go haywire as some critical files go missing during the conversion. In such cases, you should replace the files to recover hard drive using the setup CD of the operating system. If the method does not work, then you should use a third-party Windows hard drive recovery to do the needful.

Let us assume a practical situation in which you have used the 'convert drive: /fs:ntfs' command to convert the file system of your Windows XP system from FAT32 to NTFS. However, when you try to start the system you fail to do so. An error message is displayed in this case, which is:

“Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt: System32\Drivers\Ntfs.sys”

Cause:

The possible cause of this problem is that the NTFS.sys file may have become corrupt or is missing when you converted the hard disk to NTFS file system.

Resolution:

To resolve this situation, you should replace the missing files using the following steps:

• Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM CD drive and restart the system.

• Press R to select the 'To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R' option, when the 'Welcome to Setup' screen appears.

• In the command prompt, enter the following commands and press Enter after each command to rename the corrupt ntfs.sys file. If the file is missing, then nothing will happen:

cd \windows\system32\drivers

ren ntfs.sys ntfs.old

• Type the following command and press Enter:

copy cd:\i386\ntfs.sys drive:\windows\system32\drivers

• Remove the Windows XP CD-ROM and type 'quit' and press Enter to exit Recovery Console.

• Restart the system.

If the problem is still appearing even after performing these steps, then you should recover hard drive before reinstalling the operating system. For this purpose, you should use a third-party Windows data recovery software to do the needful. These data recovery tools use fast and advanced scanning algorithms that do not damage the existing hard drive while recovering the data.

The most effective hard drive recovery software that works for NTFS, FAT, and exFAT file systems is Stellar Phoenix Windows Data Recovery. With the ability to recover more than 185 different file types from various storage media such as hard drives, external hard drives, iPods, etc, this hard drive recovery software is capable of recovering deleted emails from Outlook Express and MS Outlook. In addition, this software is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, 2000, and NT4(SP6).

Hard Disk may fail due to Poor Ventilation

In this edition I would like to discuss some more issues regarding causes and effects of hard drive failures.

If a user wants to backup his data or want to move it to another place, in both the cases external hard drives serve as best medium for it. Gone are the times of CD-RWs and tape drives. Though a pen drive to serves all such purposes, external hard drives solve the space problem too, which the pen drives are still not capable of performing.

External drives serve and work as a full fledged hard disks with storage space running into terabytes. But just like any other technology, even these disks are prone to data loss and call for extreme data recovery. Irrespective of which part of the state you reside in, hard drive recovery software can be easily opted.

Let us first understand the inside and working of an external hard disk drive.
The external hard disk drives contain chassis which allows the drive to be mounted in a vertical or stacked manner. Not only that, the chassis protects the drive from shock and vibration. Hard drives feature the USB connectors, as well as the FireWire interface. This makes compatibility with other devices and data transfer an easy task. These drives have been designed very smartly and have a ventilated casing. They also have a light that indicates whether data is being stored-on or accessed-from the drive.

With perpendicular magnetic recording having replaced longitudinal recording technology, storage space has been increasing in leaps and bounds. And it is becoming surprisingly easy for people to store more and more data on their disks. With the flexibility to connect to various devices including cameras and even iPods, apart from desktops, servers and laptops, it is no wonder that these drives are the new age storage media.

Despite all these benefits, one should be wary of the manufacturer and assembler they trust. In case the assembler has not ensured proper ventilation of the drive, the drives are going to lose all the data stored therein. But New Jersey boasts of highly reliable assemblers who provide quality assembly. Even then, if you do find your external drive non responsive, do not worry. There are reliable data recovery, New Jersey options available for you.

How I Recovered Data From An Inaccessible External Hard Disk

With the flexibility to attach more than one hard drive, it is becoming increasingly simple for people to save their data and to back it up as well. But even that has its share of troubles. You generally find that despite all attempts made by you to make things simple, at times certain things make the matter go worse. For example, while changing the permission settings on my hard disk that is attached to my computer, I accidentally erased its file permission. And then wondered how to perform hard drive recovery for all my vital data.

After the blunder, I realized that the security tab was lost in properties, and I got the access to the HDD is denied

Not knowing what to do, I sought help from my friend, who searched the net for some help and advised me to the follow some steps. Here is what I did:

• Rebooted in Safe Mode and logged in as the Administrator.

• Clicked Start, and chose Search.

• In the search box that opened typed: cmd

• After this, I pressed Ctrl+Shift+Enter

• After this, I clicked "Run as Administrator".

• I followed this by typing the following two commands, each followed by pressing the Enter key:

takeown /f drive:\ /a /r /d Y

cacls drive:\ /e /t /c /g everyone:F

where drive:\ refers to the drive letter of the external hard disk drive.

This works in performing drive recovery in most of the cases, but not in my case. Needless to say, I had little option but to opt for formatting my hard disk drive. Considering that the data stored in external hard disk was non-retrievable, I decided that I might just follow it. I almost lost all of my staff in the external hard drive, but my cousin told me that formatting need not mean loss of all my data. It just means the hard disk is reset, and though some of the data may be overwritten, chances are high that most of it is still recoverable using a reliable third-party hard drive data recovery tool.