Trying to read an old Windows 3.1 Hard Drive

Hello scoostraw mate if you want to get data off that drive use this
BOOTABLE UBUNTU
Make a bootable Ubuntu disk Download Ubuntu Desktop | Download | Ubuntu
Set the BIOS to boot from the optical when the machine boots it will show you a screen with TRY or INSTALL > select TRY not INSTALL
When it is finished - it takes very little time you will get a screen like in the pic .
Open the drive you want > User and dig down until you get to the data / settings you may be able to copy / paste the material you want to an external source or other installed drive doing this.
I am not sure if it will but I have recovered tons of data etc using this method both on "dead" or just plain drives that you cannot get data from using Windows.
Or there is this Emergency Kit - save your files from a dead OS I prefer Ubuntu a tad easier to set up but this does the same thing

You can use a stick if you want but I prefer a disk the choice is yours of course.

Ok mate as Megahertz has said to do a stick is fine. An alternative of course is to get an external optical drive but that is a by the by.

The hard drive if you were going to read it via USB would need a USB to SATA adaptor and another machine to hook it up to. Your floppy drive I am assuming is an external device.

This way you boot into a Linux based OS it is entirely independent of Windows so the Ubuntu or the other Linux Mint OS just sees your hard drive more or less the way that any computer would see a plugged in external drive as in Windows, and in a way how you see the floppy drive using Windows - if that makes sense.

Just do remember not to INSTALL the Ubuntu OS always the TRY = a handy tool to keep up your sleeve. Of course if you were interested in having a go with Ubuntu you clould always use a spare drive and install it. It is a bit fiddly for me so I have gone with another Linux based OS that is more like Windows.

Ok mate yep that model is exactly the same as one that I have and having tried some cheaper Chinese sourced brands would advise anyone to go with this particular brand

Ok mate now is it absolutely necessary for the Toshiba screen to show? As long as it is booting into Windows I wouldn't be worrying too much.

Now of I am not very much mistaken the splash screen is usually turned off in the BIOS if you so want. I take it you have not done anything like that in the BIOS?

Plus is this the first time it has done this if so just try a reboot.

Just a by the by that model I see comes with a mile of bloatware - not that that is surprising because I have had a few Toshibas myself and all of them I have done a clean install which of course gets rid of all that clutter.

If you ever need drivers for that machine this is it http://support.toshiba.com/support/m...861099&osId=29 I see there are quite a lot that are recent additions too and you can also see the amount of bloatware there is in that link.