Your important work data is at risk due to an Operating System crash. How will you retrieve it safely?

1 Boot Safely

When your operating system crashes, the first thing to do is attempt a safe reboot. Start your computer in Safe Mode, a diagnostic mode for Windows operating system that starts the computer with a minimal set of drivers and services. Safe Mode can often bypass issues that prevent the OS from booting normally. To enter Safe Mode, you typically need to press a key such as F8 or Shift+F8 as the computer starts up. Once in Safe Mode, you can access your files and back them up to an external drive or cloud storage.

3 Live Systems

Another method to retrieve your data involves using a live operating system. A live OS is a complete, bootable operating system that runs on a USB stick or CD/DVD, without needing installation on your hard drive. By booting your computer with a live OS, such as a Linux distribution, you can bypass the crashed operating system entirely. Once running the live OS, you can access the hard drive and transfer your important files to another storage device.

5 System Restore

If you've created system restore points on your computer, you might be able to return your operating system to a previous state when it was functioning correctly. Access the System Restore feature from the Advanced Boot Options menu or Safe Mode. Choose a restore point from before the crash occurred. System Restore can fix issues by rolling back system files, installed applications, Windows Registry, and system settings without affecting your personal files.

6 Professional Help

When all else fails, or if you're uncomfortable attempting data recovery yourself, professional data recovery services are available. Experts in data retrieval can often recover data from even severely damaged systems. While this option can be more expensive than DIY methods, it can be worth it for critical data. Ensure you choose a reputable service with a track record of successful data recovery.