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Data error in reading file C

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11 replies

by bettyboop02

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After I turn the computer on and the Windows 98 screen appears the next screen indicates Data error in reading file C. Abort,Retry,Ignor Fail? I am unable to click on a single word. Regardless of what key I depress on the keyboard, the response is always the entire second line Abort, Retry, Ignore, Fail? I have turned the computer off,and depressed the reset button but I still get the same response. Help

11 replies

by rapidad

Hello, sounds like a hard drive bad spot, since the drive lets you get enough info to load the windows splash screen. Do you have a dos diskette? Depending on the damage, you may be able to run scandisk off a floppy. This still may not solve the problem if critical data is in the bad sector. An option to this is to get another hard drive, (you can find brand new ones for about 50.00) and reload windows 98 on the new drive. then connect you old hard drive as the secondary master or slave in order to retrieve your data (after running scandisk on it).

by saihib

Stop reading file C. There are plenty of other good files out there to read.

by patil_appu

I think that HDD has got bad sectors.Try to format the HDD if u get same error while formatting then HDD has got Permanant bad sectors.If formatting will complete then reload operating system.

by oldwolfmb1

Running scandisk from your Win98 Start up disk would be the first thing I would try. You may want to open the box and check the cables to be sure there is nothing loose. Cables cost allot less than a Hard Drive.

by blackcurrant

Place your system startup disk in drive A, turn the computer on, then at the A:\> prompt type scandisk. This should locate any bad sectors on the disk that contain data, move the data to good sectors, and mark the bad ones as 'bad' so they cannot beused again

If this fails you should either invest in a quality suite of diagnostic and repair utilities such as Norton Utilities, or, if your data is very important, use a data recovery firm (very expensive).

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