Originally Posted by ntdoc
All these changes you're making could cause the system to actually lose the data permanently.

You could also try creating a bootable repair CD
Ultimate Boot CD for Windows

Already has many free tools to assist in data repair and recovery.


Cheers mate - thanks for the comments.
I should have mentioned that I've removed the defective hard drive and I'm trying to boot it on a spare 'skeleton' of a PC.
(Pretty much as you suggested.)

Thanks for that link - looks good - I'll look into it smile