Is it possible...

Hey,

Currently i'm on my mums computer, my computer unfortunatly gained a coprrupted system file so i cannot open windows on it.
But this isn't the issue.
The problem is the fact my GW password hasn't been memorised yet, a long alpha-numerical one... and its saved on a file on the computer. And also i've forgotten my pass for the master account on NCSoft site.

So i have a couple questions:

Is it possible to gain back the files from my old computer so i can get my password?
Is it possible to search NCSoft for an account with a certain email address?

Thanks for any help.

yes you can remove the harddrive from the old pc and hook it up to your moms by adding it to the computer(do not take out moms hard drive). open the new disk and retrive the file. As this disk has issues I will not recommend doing anything else.

That is a question for ncsoft support to answer.

Wouldn't a "corrupt system file" be fixed by a simple re-install of Windows? Or maybe even repairing from the recovery console?

I'm not amazing at computers, so i've been told it'd be best for a complete wipe + reinstall so i'm just going by that.

He can't remember his Guild Wars password that's saved on another file on his computer, so re installation on the same drive is out of the question.

The easiest thing you can do, is like zamial said, use another hard drive so to boot to, then retrieve the file since only windows system file(s) are corrupt, and not of the actual data. External drives, any of the combination, similar procedures are also acceptable.

You can do a XP repair by inserting the original disk into the drive and running the installation. When it asks if you want to reinstall or repair, select repair.

It takes a bit more advanced knowledge to repair, since you have to know exactly which file is corrupt to copy over from the original disk.

EDIT: NCSoft gives you your details only if you can provide all the CDkeys attached to the account.

Thanks for all the help
I have a family friend who will be trying to sort this out so i'll pass this onto him.
Thanks again.

There's no need to reformat and wipe your computer.

Follow these steps. Some of the screens will vary in what they say, but I'm doing this from memory.

1. Boot the computer from the Windows CD. You may need to get into the BIOS to change the boot order to do this.

2. Follow the ordinary prompts. At some point the install will look for "previous installation of Windows".

3. At some point, you may have the option to format the hard drive or "Leave the current file system intact". DO NOT FORMAT - choose the leave-it-alone option.

4. The Install will give you the options to "Install a new installation of windows" or "Repair the current installation". (Note: this is NOT the earlier option to "Repair using the console.") Choose "repair" (R)

5. When it's all finished, depending upon what needed to be repaired, you should have your Windows back the way it was. Since you didn't reformat, all your original files will still be on the hard drive, though you may need to use Windows Explorer to find them. Also, depending upon things, some software may need to be re-installed to set up Registry values etc., although it will all still be on the HD.

Most likely though, the corrupt system files will be replaced and your system will be back just the way it was.

Another option that MAY work, depending on what system files have been corrupted, is to try booting in Safe-mode. When windows starts to load hold F8 and you should be prompted with a menu that gives you various boot options. Safe mode should be one of them. Also, depending on which version of windows you're running you may be able to boot to the command prompt and then use basic MS Dos commands to search for the file you need. Again, these options MAY not work, depending on which files are corrupted, but they are fast and easy to try.

I had a similar thing happen a while back when a hard disk was badly overheating and corrupting files.

Luckily I had been experimenting with linux and had a complete linux setup all on a bootable cd.

Booted up gained access to all my files and copied them to an external hard disk.
Dumped the damaged drive and replaced with a new one.

Didn't lose anything, thanks to linux

Do NOT wipe that disk until you get your password off of it.

First, try safe mode. The corrupt file may be one that isn't needed for safe mode.

Second, try a Windows repair as per Quaker's instructions.

Third, try mounting the disk in another computer as per Zemial's instructions. Added note: If you have IDE drives, you may need to change the jumpers on the hard drives (both yours and your Mom's) if they are old enough that "cable select" isn't the default for everything. The drives themselves should have stickers indicating how to set the jumper.

First thing i did was load in safe mode, got up to a file named Mup or something, then restarted.
I have a family friend who will attempt to do this since i'm on holiday, and i've emailed him to say about windows repair etc.

Thanks for all the help.