Anyway to run DOS mode access under Windows 7

[chrisdr]

Hi,

I have a damaged SATA hard drive (lots of bad sectors) that contains some valuable data, but no backup.

I am using a DOS based program (booted from USB) that attempts to refresh/recover sectors - it seems to be working well so far, but will take a very long time to run as it is a 1TB drive.

The only suitable machine is the one that I use for work (Windows 7), and I can't afford to use this machine in DOS mode 24/7.

Is there any way that I can run a DOS program that requires direct HD access from Windows 7?

I've tried the likes of DosBox, but no luck. I am pretty sure that It is not possible, just wondered if anyone had a solution.

If not I'll need to buy a cheap PC to do the job, or use a professional service.

Thanks

Chris

 

[fireberd]

Basic DOS does not recognize an NTFS formatted drive. Thus only a specialized program would work.

A cheap PC may be the answer as professional recovery services are usually very expensive.

 

[chrisdr]

Thanks - Yes, professional help is very expensive. However, it is a time intensive process (as I am learning), so not at all surprising.

The program that I am using is HDD Regenerator - My friend gave it to me as a bootable DOS USB to see how if it worked. I just checked out their web-site, and found that the program can actually run in Windows.

I've purchased and registered the program, so my problem is now solved. I can (try to) repair the drive in the background and continue to work.

Regarding disc format - It runs on raw disc sectors, rather than logical format - Format agnostic, if you like. It can also work on unformatted and unpartitioned drives.

One other benefit of the Windows version is that it performs live monitoring of the drive SMART parameters.

Let's hope is works - Immediate backup if it does!

Thanks

Chris

 

[cytherian]

Good to know about HDD Regenerator. I hope it works out well for you, Chris. Keep us posted!

 

[Alejandro85]

No, it's not possible. First of all, Windows NT does not have a real DOS environment to run, just a crappy emulator that does a bad job (even removed in x64), and DosBox does not give access to programs to the real hardware, just emulated one.

I don't think there is a better way other than commit a machine to run DOS and leave it working as long as needed, at least if you can't find a Windows based version of the recovery program. Maybe you can ask a friend or someone for a computer not in use and leave it 24/7 recovering the data. Buying a computer for the sole task or paying a professional service once you've found a way to do it yourself seems too much for me.

 

[chrisdr]

HDD Regenerator has saved my Bacon - The damage was quite extensive, but managed to get the drive to a state where most files could be copied off.

Having dragged off the data, I am now trying my chances with a disc clone program, hoping that it might be possible to reimage on another drive and repair to a booting state. I don't hold up much chance of this working, but there was a lot of registered software installed on the drive - we'll see, but at least I've saved the most valuable user data.

And of course, regular backups in future!

Thanks for your help.

Chris