I was once in a situation where I was unable to log in to a Windows computer as a result of a corrupted operating system. There wasn't enough time to troubleshoot/fix the problem because I had to leave for an appointment ASAP.

Nonetheless, there were some important documents on the computer that I needed to take along with me. Thankfully, I was able to quickly retrieve the files that I needed in less than 3 minutes.

If you ever find yourself in a similar situation, here's how you can quickly gain access to important documents.

You would need either a Windows installation CD/DVD or a Linux-based LiveCD. You would also need an external storage device such as a USB flash drive for the purpose of copying your documents.



In this post, I will focus on using a Windows installation CD/DVD.



Step 1 – Get a Windows installation CD/DVD that is compatible with the version of Windows that is installed on your computer.

Step 2 – Connect the flash drive to the computer and boot the system from the Windows installation CD/DVD.

Step 3 – Choose your language and keyboard settings as appropriate and click Next.

Step 4 – In the lower left area, click Repair Your Computer.



Note:

If using a Windows 7 installation CD/DVD, you may be prompted to select an operating system to repair. Choose as appropriate and click next to proceed. Then, on the System Recovery Options page, click Command Prompt.

If using a Windows 8 or Windows 10 installation CD/DVD, click Troubleshoot on the Choose An Option page. Next, click Advanced Options and then Command Prompt.



Step 5 – Type notepad in the command prompt and press enter.

Step 6 – In notepad, click the File menu and choose Open. Click the Computer icon on the left.


Step 7 – On the right-hand side, double-click the disk drive on which your documents reside and navigate to the appropriate folder.

In this example, the documents are stored on the same disk that Windows is installed on. Hence, I double-clicked the D: drive. Next, I opened the Users folder and navigated to the appropriate home directory of the user account under which the documents are stored.


You may change the Files Of Type option to All Files.

Now you can find a document that you need, right-click on it, select Send To and choose a removable device to copy it.

Source: www.sholadaitman.com/2016/03/retrieve-documents-from-a-windows-computer-with-a-corrupted-os

Very informative.
Though I would simply remove the hard disk drive from the faulty computer, slide it into my external hard disk drive casing and connect it to my other computer (slaving). Then will I copy everything 'copyable' into a flash drive.

Thank you.

Removing the hard disk is a longer process, especially with laptops that would require one to literally tear down everything to get to the hard disk.

What if an external HDD enclosure is not at your disposal? What if no other computer is available?

My post describes a more efficient method, in an emergency.

ErasmusCOMP:
Very informative.
Though I would simply remove the hard disk drive from the faulty computer, slide it into my external hard disk drive casing and connect it to my other computer (slaving). Then will I copy everything 'copyable' into a flash drive.

shawlxAk:
Thank you.

Removing the hard disk is a longer process, especially with laptops that would require one to literally tear down everything to get to the hard disk.

What if an external HDD enclosure is not at your disposal? What if no other computer is available?

My post describes a more efficient method, in an emergency.

Alright!