How to Back Up Data from Hard Drive Without an Operating System in 3 Ways

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Windows OS Corrupted? Backup Your Hard Drive Now

When your Windows operating system becomes corrupted and fails to boot, you may need to format the internal hard drive and reinstall the OS to restore your computer's functionality. However, before taking this step, it's crucial to back up the data stored on the hard drive, as formatting will result in the complete erasure of all data.

But with a corrupted operating system, how can you back up data from the hard drive?

Fortunately, there are still a few methods you can use to back up data from a hard drive without an operating system. This article will present three of the most efficient approaches.

3 Effective Ways to Backup Data From Hard Drive Without Operating System

Method 1: Create Emergency Disk with Backup Software

Method 2: Using Another Functional PC to Read and Backup the Hard Drive

Method 3: Use a Live CD or USB Drive

Method 1: Create an Emergency Disk with Backup Software

The first solution pertains to a third-party tool called Todo Backup, which can effortlessly create a backup of a problematic internal hard disk to an external drive without requiring the operating system to be functional.

Todo Backup, a professional backup and restore software, can create a backup of your hard disk even when the Windows operating system fails to boot.

The reasoning behind this method is to burn a Windows PE image onto an empty USB drive to create a bootable disk. Next, boot your computer from the bootable disk and utilize tools such as Todo Backup to backup data on your computer.

This is the step-by-step guide:

* The following backup procedure requires access to another working computer to create an Emergency Disk of Todo Backup tools. You will need to boot your unbootable computer from this Emergency Disk in order to perform a full backup.

Step 1. To create a Todo Backup emergency disk, you'll need a USB flash drive. Connect it to a functioning computer, launch Todo Backup, click on "Tools," and then select "Create Emergency Disk."

Step 2. Select the USB option when choosing a boot disk location, and then click Create.

Step 3. When it's done, insert this emergency disk into the computer that needs backing up. Restart the PC, and press F2/DEL to enter BIOS. Change the boot order, and then start the computer to run the backup software from the bootable disk.

Step 4. Access the option for Select backup contents, and then choose the Disk backup mode. In this step, select the computer hard drive(s) to create a full backup.

Step 5. Choose a location to save your backup file. It's recommended to save the backup file on an external storage device.

Step 5. Click "Backup Now" to perform the operation.

Method 2: Using Another Functional PC to Read and Backup Hard Disk If your computer fails to recognize the hard drive, you can use another working PC to access and back up the data. Follow these steps: 1. **Connect the Hard Drive to Another Computer**: Take the problematic hard drive and connect it to a functional PC using an appropriate cable (SATA to USB or IDE to USB adapter, depending on the drive's interface). 2. **Boot the Working PC**: Turn on the second computer and enter the operating system. 3. **Detect the Hard Drive**: Check if the new computer recognizes the hard drive. Go to "My Computer" or "This PC" (Windows) or "Finder" (Mac) to see if the drive is listed. 4. **Check Drive Health**: If the drive is visible, run a disk utility tool to check its health. On Windows, use "chkdsk" in Command Prompt; on Mac, use "First Aid" in Disk Utility. 5. **Create a Backup**: If the drive seems healthy, copy the files you want to save to an external storage device or a different folder on the working PC. 6. **Transfer Back to Original Computer**: Once the backup is complete, disconnect the hard drive from the working PC, and reattach it to your original computer. You may then attempt to fix the initial issue or seek professional help. Remember, if the hard drive has hardware issues, it might not be readable on any computer, and professional data recovery services might be necessary.

The second solution is to seek assistance from another functioning computer. If you have access to another PC, you can connect the problematic drive to it externally and back up data from the troublesome hard drive by copying and pasting. Here are the detailed steps:

Step 1. Connect the corrupted internal hard drive to a functioning PC using a USB-to-SATA cable or a USB-to-IDE/EIDE cable.

Step 2. Wait for the functioning computer to recognize the problematic hard drive, and then open it to access the files stored on the drive.

Step 3. Copy all necessary files from the problematic hard drive to a secure location on the functioning computer.

Method 3: Use a Live CD or USB drive

The third method to backup data from a hard drive without an operating system is by using a live CD or USB drive. A live CD is an operating system that can be booted from a CD or USB device. This enables you to utilize the live CD to access your hard drive and copy files to another storage location, such as an external hard drive.

There are several different live CDs you can use, including:

• Ubuntu Live CD: https://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop
• Fedora Live CD: https://getfedora.org/en/workstation/download/
• Debian Live CD: https://www.debian.org/CD/live/

To use a live CD to back up data from a hard drive without an operating system, you'll need to: 1. Obtain a live CD: First, download a bootable live CD image, such as Ubuntu or Linux Mint. Make sure it's a version that supports your hardware, particularly if you have newer components. 2. Burn the image to a CD: Use a software tool like ImgBurn, Brasero, or Nero to burn the downloaded ISO file onto a blank CD. Follow the software's instructions for this process. 3. Boot from the live CD: Insert the burned CD into your computer's CD/DVD drive and restart the computer. You may need to access the BIOS settings to change the boot order, prioritizing the CD/DVD drive over the hard drive. 4. Access the live environment: Your computer should boot from the CD and load the live operating system. This usually takes a few minutes. Once loaded, you'll have a fully functional, temporary OS to work with. 5. Connect to the hard drive: In the live environment, locate and connect the hard drive you want to back up. If it's an internal drive, it should be recognized automatically. For external drives, ensure they're properly connected via USB or another interface. 6. Transfer data: Open a file manager (such as Nautilus in Ubuntu or Nemo in Linux Mint) and navigate to the hard drive's partitions. Copy the files and folders you want to back up to an external storage device, such as a USB drive, another hard drive, or even to a network location if possible. 7. Verify the backup: After the transfer is complete, check the copied files to ensure they're not corrupted and that all necessary data has been transferred. 8. Eject the CD and restart: Safely remove the live CD, and then restart your computer. The live session will end, and your computer will revert to its non-operating system state. Remember, a live CD backup is only a temporary solution. To restore your data later, you'll need to boot from the same live CD and follow similar steps to access the backed-up files. It's recommended to reinstall an operating system on the affected computer as soon as possible.

Step 1. Download the live CD image from the website of the distribution you want to use.

Step 2. Burn the image to a blank CD or USB drive.

Step 3. Boot your computer from the live CD or USB drive.

Step 4. Copy your data to another location, such as an external hard drive.

The Wrapping Up

Here are three methods you can use to back up data from a hard drive without an operating system. Once the backup is done, you can proceed to format your drive and reinstall the Windows operating system.

The second and third methods are temporary, one-time solutions for hard disk backup. For a long-term solution, consider using a backup software like Todo Backup to regularly back up your data from the hard drive.

Todo Backup supports various backup types, such as full backup, differential backup, and incremental backup. It allows you to back up disks, partitions, files, folders, and even the entire system. Additionally, it makes it effortless to clone hard drive to SSD or HDD on Windows 11/10/8/7. Why not give it a try?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) About Backing Up Data from a Hard Drive Without an Operating System

1. How can I access my hard drive without an operating system?

All three methods mentioned above can assist you in accessing your hard drive without an operating system. By utilizing the tool Todo Backup, you can easily create a backup of your hard drive through straightforward steps. For a detailed operational guide, please refer to the respective article.

2. Can I backup a hard drive from BIOS?

BIOS can assist in detecting the hard drive and other devices connected to your computer. However, it does not have the capability to back up data from the hard drive. To perform a backup of files from the hard drive, you will need to utilize professional backup software such as Todo Backup. Alternatively, you can use a Live CD and another functioning computer for this purpose.

3. How can I retrieve data from an external hard drive without using any software?

If you wish to recover data from an external hard drive without any backup software, you'll need to use a Live CD or seek assistance from another functioning computer. First, connect the external hard drive to the computer and then copy the files stored on it to a different location.