I need help: Sister's Laptop has a broken Partition Table

Jesse Williams · 07 Apr 2020

I am in some desperate guidance on how to fix my sister's Toshiba Satellite Laptop. Her partition table is either corrupted or broken. I tried downloading the Minitool Partition software with Rufus to boot from it but each time I boot from it, it says it doesn't have a valid signature and that I need to load some sort of kernel.

I have ordered an SSD for it to make it faster as it was slow prior to the partition table getting messed up.

I really need help ASAP!!

Thanks, Jesse Williams

Windows 10 1909

idgat · 07 Apr 2020

If you are in dire need to get data off it, or it is needed for immediate urgent work, you can always boot into a Linux system.

Download and create a boot USB for a Linux distro (Puppy or Mint)
Boot into that USB (DO NOT CHOOSE THE INSTALL OPTION !!)
Run the OS - it will contain an email program (Mozilla Thunderbird) a web browser (Firefox) and an Office suite (LibreOffice - including LibraWrite (compatible with MS Word), LibraCalc (compatible with MS Excel).

You can also retrieve/recover (copy > paste) user data files to an external USB drive

Jesse Williams · 07 Apr 2020

@idgat, I really just wanted to recover everything to make it bootable again. Is there not anything y'all can explain to me to make a bootable usb for a partition recovery program? It needs to be Windows 10. She doesn't want Linux on it.

idgat · 07 Apr 2020

Jesse Williams said:

@idgat, I really just wanted to recover everything to make it bootable again. Is there not anything y'all can explain to me to make a bootable usb for a partition recovery program? It needs to be Windows 10. She doesn't want Linux on it.

Your original post suggested some degree of urgency/emergency - perhaps in the middle of doing an important assignment? Needing to access the internet ? Need to recover some important user files ? .... whatever (irrelevant to any ultimate solution).

My suggestion wasn't to put to put Linux on it (hence my comment "(DO NOT CHOOSE THE INSTALL OPTION !!)", it was just suggesting a way in which you could immediate (temporarily) access the computer and the data on it.

You will be bombarded with potential "fixes", the first one of which may miraculously work, else .... these threads have been known to go on go days with suggested fixes. That is a total unknown.

Be prepared - there is probably no solution that will instantly revive your computer. It may take time, and effort.

My Linux distro boot suggestion is an immediate temporary step just to give immediate access to the computer, that's all. It's not intended as a solution or fix to the problem.

EDIT : Using the Linux distro to give you access to personal data will also allow you to back up that data to an external USB source. That is critical because some of the fixes may result - intentionally or accidentally - in the loss of personal data. Absolutely critical that data be backed up, by whatever method.

Jesse Williams · 08 Apr 2020

I reinstalled the OS with the Windows 10 Installation Media. However, now in Setup the spinning dots get stuck at Getting Ready. Can someone please assist me in seeing how I can get past the Getting Ready in Setup to get it back going? I have the Windows Product Key for this computer already.

NavyLCDR · 08 Apr 2020

Is this with the new SSD installed or trying on the old HDD?

Jesse Williams · 08 Apr 2020

NavyLCDR said:

Is this with the new SSD installed or trying on the old HDD?

@NavyLCDR, this is with the old HDD. The SSD isn't in yet.

NavyLCDR · 08 Apr 2020

Jesse Williams said:

@NavyLCDR, this is with the old HDD. The SSD isn't in yet.

Have you considered that the old HDD is probably just broken/worn out?

zbook · 08 Apr 2020

Would these be viable fixes:

a) Have windows save the files, reinstall windows 10, drivers, and applications?
b) Manually save files to another disk drive or the cloud, reinstall windows 10, drivers, and applications?

Had you tested the HD?
What were the results?

Jesse Williams · 08 Apr 2020

NavyLCDR said:

Have you considered that the old HDD is probably just broken/worn out?

It wasn't worn out the other day. It was just extremely slow. Do you think I should just wait on the SSD?

- - - Updated - - -

zbook said:

Would these be viable fixes:

a) Have windows save the files, reinstall windows 10, drivers, and applications?
b) Manually save files to another disk drive or the cloud, reinstall windows 10, drivers, and applications?

Had you tested the HD?
What were the results?

@zbook, how would I do b?

I haven't tested the HD. How do I do that?