How To Backup Data Without Booting Into Windows (The Easy Way)

At times, we come across Windows boot issues that prevent us from booting into Windows. Sure, one can use Windows recovery tools to fix most of startup related issues but there are some errors that can’t be fixed through recovery environment.

 

If you’re having boot problems on your Windows PC and can’t fix them even after using recovery tools (see how to fix boot problems using startup repair) present under System Recovery Options, you may want to backup your documents, pictures, music and other data before reinstalling Windows.

 

While there are advanced methods and software available to backup data,  not everyone is comfortable using command line tools and paid software. So, in this guide, we are going show you a smart way to backup data from your Windows and other drives to a USB drive when you are unable to boot into Windows.

 

 

Step 1: Turn on your PC, press F8 key during the startup and then select Repair Your Computer option under Advanced Boot Options to boot into the recovery environment. If you can’t see Repair Your Computer option under Advanced Boot Options you will need to use the installation media.

 

If the above method doesn’t work, place your Windows installation DVD in the optical drive, reboot your PC. Make necessary changes to the BIOS to make PC boot from CD/DVD. You can also use bootable Windows USB as installation media.

 

 

Step 2: Users who aren’t booting from DVD or USB can simply skip this step. Press any key when are asked to do so. When you press a key, Windows starts loading files from the DVD you will see “Windows is loading files” message.

Step 3: In a while, you will see Install Windows screen. Here, select your language, keyboard type, language, and then click Next button.

Users who have used Repair Your Computer under Advanced Boot Options will see the following screen:

Select keyboard input method and click Next button and type in the password and then skip to Step 5.

 

Step 4: In the following screen, you will see Install now button. Don’t click Install now button as dong so will take you to the next screen. Click Repair your computer option located in the lower left corner to start System Recovery Options. System Recovery Options will search for Windows installations and list them. Select the operating system, click Next button to see available recovery tools.

Step 5: In this screen, you will all available System Recovery Options.

 

Step 6: Click on Command Prompt. No, we are not going to use the command line to backup data but we are using the Command Prompt to launch an application with GUI so we can easily move or backup files from a familiar user interface.

 

In the Command Prompt, type Notepad.exe and press Enter key to launch our favorite Notepad application. Once the application is launched, click on File > Save As (you use Ctrl + S keys as well) to launch Save As dialog.

Step 7: Save As dialog is what we wanted as from here we can easily browse all drives and folders without a problem. Simply click on Computer icon in the left pane and then browse to the drive or folder that you want to backup and then copy your files to a USB drive. That’s it!

Please note when you are browsing a drive or folder, all files may not appear as Save As dialog is showing only text files. To view all files, simply select All Files in Save as type drop down menu. Also note that the Send to function in the context menu may not work. You may need to manually copy and paste required files onto the USB drive. Good luck!

Missing Drives In Windows Explorer

This morning, after resuming my notebook (powered by Windows 8) from hibernation I noticed that some drives are missing from Windows Explorer. Two of my five drives were not seen in Windows Explorer but were visible in Disk Management.

 

Computer users who have been using or used Windows XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating system must be knowing that the issue isn’t specific to Windows 8 and present in previous Windows versions as well. The issue generally occurs when you resume your PC from hibernation or sleep.

 

A drive may disappear from the Explorer if it doesn’t have a drive letter assigned. Besides, if the drive is disabled or offline, it may not appear in the Explorer. Users who are experiencing this issue can follow the given below methods to resolve the issue.

 

Method 1:

Step 1: Open Run dialog box, type diskmgmt.msc, and press enter key to launch Disk Management.

 

Step 2: In the Disk Management, verify that the drive has a valid drive letter assigned. You should see a drive letter right next to the drive name. If it doesn’t have a drive letter, right-click on the unlabeled drive, click Change drive letter and paths. And ifthe missing drive has a valid drive letter and still not appearing in the Explorer, you need to check out for other possible fixes.

 

Step 3: You should now see a small dialog named change Drive Letter and Paths. ClickAdd button, select a drive letter for your drive from the drop down menu, and then click Ok button. You should now see the drive in Windows Explorer.

NOTE: If the Change drive letter and paths option isn’t available in the context menu, make sure that the drive is Online. If the drive is Offline, right-click on the disk number and click Online.

 

Method 2:

If the drive is not appearing even after assigning the drive letter, you may need to run the official Hardware and devices troubleshooter present in Windows 7 and Windows 8.

 

Step 1: Type troubleshooting in Windows 7 Start menu search box and press enter key. And if you are on Windows 8, press Windows + W hotkey to open settings search, type troubleshooting in the search box and press enter.

 

Step 2: In the left pane of Troubleshooting window, click View all to see all available troubleshooters in Windows.

Step 3: Click Hardware and Devices troubleshooter to launch it, click Next to start scanning your PC for related issues. If issues are found, the troubleshooter will try to fix them automatically. And if the troubleshooter to fails to detect to the problem, close the troubleshooter and try out other possible fixes available on the web.

How to Extract the Audio from a Video File in Windows

This tutorial will walk you through the steps to export/extract the audio from a video file, using free software, in Windows. 
Following the guide below, you can convert a video file (eg. .MP4, .AVI, .MKV, .MPG and may others) and save it as a separate audio file (eg. .MP3, .WAV, .OGG and make others). 

1. First up, download and install the program “Best Video Converter” (seriously, that’s what the program is called… I didn’t name it). The installation is very straight forward. Launch “Best Video Converter” from your Start Menu after it has been installed.
2. Click the very large Open button in the upper-left corner. 
   
   
   
3. Navigate to the video file you want to extract the audio from, select it, and clickOpen 
   
   
   
   
4. Now click the very large Convert button (don’t worry, you’ll pick the format you want to save the audio as in the next step). 
   
   
   
5. Click the Customize button in the Output format section. 
   
   
   
   
6. Scroll down to the Standard Audio section of the list. From here you can select the type of audio file you want to create – and there are a lot of choices. In the example below I’ve selected .MP3 as the file type, since you can play .mp3′s on nearly every audio device out there. 
   
   
   
7. Once you’ve made your selection, you’ll be taken back to the Convert Files To…window. If you’d like to change the folder that the audio file will be saved in, click theChange button in the Destination folder section. Navigate to the folder you want to save your file in, select it and click OK. Once you’re ready, click the Start Conversion button. 
   
   
   
8. The program will now extract the audio from your video file, and save it as a new file – leaving the source video file exactly as it was. The process can take a while, depending on the type of video file you’re working with, the type of audio file you selected as the output, and the overall speed of your PC. 
   
   
   
   
9. Once the process has completed, a Windows Explorer window will pop up and open the folder with your newly created audio file. 
   
10. All done! From here you can import your file to iTunes or your default media player.

How to Easily Change the Windows 7 Login Screen Background

This guide will show you how to change the Windows 7 “Login Screen” background wallpaper to the image of your choice. 




The default wallpaper for the Windows 7 sign in screen (also known as the “Lock Screen”) can get a little boring after you’ve seen it a thousand times. This brief tutorial will show you how to change it to a different picture, using a small, safe and free Windows program. 

1. Head over to the Windows 7 Logon Background Changer download page, and click the Download button towards the bottom of the page (it’s below the Change logsection).
2. Once the download has completed, open the .zip file and run the programWin7LogonBackgroundChangerSetup 
   
   
3. Select I Agree on the License Agreement screen, then click the Next button. The rest of the installation is just as straight forward – keep clicking Next until you’re done. 
   
   
4. Launch Windows 7 Logon Background Changer from your Start Menu (it can be found by selecting All Programs and then scrolling through the list). 
   
   
   
   
5. Now you’ll be presented with the main interface. 
   
   
   
   
6. The bar at the bottom of the screen has a list of “included” images that you can use. The main Window will display your current Windows Login screen, and then ‘preview’ what it will look like when you select a new image. Try selecting one of the included example pictures, and you’ll see a preview of what it would look like. 
   
   
   
7. To set your own picture as the background, click the Choose a Folder button from the top menu. 
   
   
   
8. Navigate to the folder that contains the image you want to use, select it, then click the OK button. 
   
   
9. The bar at the bottom of the screen will now display all of the pictures in the folder you selected. Choose the image you want to use from the lower bar by clicking on it once. 
   
   
10. The main window will now give you a (basic) preview of what your new background will look like. Click the Apply button if you’re happy with it (or even just want to try it out – you can change the wallpaper/image at any time, as many times as you want). 
    
11. The screen will flash momentarily as the program applies the change. 
    
12. To check out your new background, click the Start Button, then the small ‘arrow’ next to the Shut down button, and finally Lock . 
    
    
13. Ta-da! Your new Windows Login/Lock screen! 
    
    
14. If you’re unhappy with the results, just log back in and try another picture :)