Disk Drive Issues

it is running the first command you gave me
1) Create the ZIP correctly (PowerShell built‑in)
Paste this single line into your elevated PowerShell prompt:
Compress-Archive -Path "C:\RecoveredBackup*" -DestinationPath "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -CompressionLevel Fastest -Force

Perfect — good job. While the Compress-Archive run finishes, here are safe, simple checks and small tests you can run (one‑line commands to paste) to verify the ZIP and then move it off the PC. I’ll stay with you while you run any of these.
1) Quick status — does the ZIP exist and how big is it?
Paste this single line:
Get-Item "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" | Select-Object Name, @{N='Size(GB)';E={[math]::Round($_.Length/1GB,2)}}, LastWriteTime
If it returns nothing yet, the ZIP hasn’t finished creating.
2) List the ZIP contents (safe — doesn’t extract anything)
This shows file names and sizes inside the archive:
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip').Entries | Select FullName, @{N='SizeKB';E={[math]::Round($_.Length/1KB,2)}} | Format-Table -AutoSize
3) Spot‑check a single file from the ZIP (extract one file to verify it opens)
Create a temporary test folder and extract the first matching entry (example looks for any file in DCIM — change the pattern if you prefer):
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract" -Force; Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; $z=[System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip'); $e=$z.Entries | Where-Object { $_.FullName -like 'DCIM' } | Select-Object -First 1; if($e){ $e.ExtractToFile((Join-Path 'C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract' $e.Name), $true); Write-Output "Extracted: $($e.FullName)"; } else { Write-Output "No DCIM entry found to test." }
Then open the extracted file in File Explorer (C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract) to confirm it opens.
4) If you want to test integrity with 7‑Zip (only if installed)
& "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" t "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip"
5) Move or copy the ZIP to a safe second location (recommended)

• If you have another external drive (say E, COPY (preferable to MOVE until you verify):
  Copy-Item "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -Destination "E:\DriveBackup.zip" -Verbose
• If you only have cloud (OneDrive), you can move/copy the ZIP into your OneDrive folder (but that requires upload time/bandwidth).

6) After verifying the ZIP

• Keep the original C:\RecoveredBackup files until you’ve verified the ZIP(s) open and extract correctly. Only delete originals after you’ve confirmed the archive(s) and made a second copy offsite or to another drive.

7) If anything errors or the archive is incomplete

• Paste the last lines of the Compress-Archive error output or run:
  Get-Content "C:\RecoveredBackup\robocopy-full-log.txt" -Tail 30
  (or open the log with Notepad)
  I’ll interpret any failures and recommend the next step (read‑only recovery / image / chkdsk only after backups).

Would you like to:

• Run the list command now to see ZIP contents? (type “List”)
• Run the single-file extract test? (type “Test”)
• Copy the ZIP to another drive now? (type “Copy” and tell me the drive letter)

I’ll wait for which you want and guide the exact pasteable command.

i am totally confused from this point on

2) List the ZIP contents (safe — doesn’t extract anything)
This shows file names and sizes inside the archive:
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip').Entries | Select FullName, @{N='SizeKB';E={[math]::Round($_.Length/1KB,2)}} | Format-Table -AutoSize
3) Spot‑check a single file from the ZIP (extract one file to verify it opens)
Create a temporary test folder and extract the first matching entry (example looks for any file in DCIM — change the pattern if you prefer):
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract" -Force; Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; $z=[System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip'); $e=$z.Entries | Where-Object { $_.FullName -like 'DCIM' } | Select-Object -First 1; if($e){ $e.ExtractToFile((Join-Path 'C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract' $e.Name), $true); Write-Output "Extracted: $($e.FullName)"; } else { Write-Output "No DCIM entry found to test." }
Then open the extracted file in File Explorer (C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract) to confirm it opens.
4) If you want to test integrity with 7‑Zip (only if installed)
& "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" t "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip"
5) Move or copy the ZIP to a safe second location (recommended)

• If you have another external drive (say E, COPY (preferable to MOVE

No problem — you’re doing great. Let’s make this simple and concrete. Pick either the quick GUI method (easiest) or the single-line PowerShell commands (exact and copy/paste). I’ll give both and tell you what to expect.
Option A — Easiest (use File Explorer)

• Open File Explorer and go to C:\RecoveredBackup.
• Double‑click DriveBackup.zip to open it (Windows shows the ZIP like a folder).
• Browse inside and double‑click any file to open it (Windows will extract that single file to a temp folder so you can view it).
• If you want to make a permanent copy of one file, right‑click it → Copy → Paste into C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract (create that folder first).
• To copy the entire ZIP to another drive (example E, plug the drive in, then in File Explorer right‑click DriveBackup.zip → Copy → go to E:\ → Paste.

If you prefer the GUI I’ll stay with you and walk through the clicks.
Option B — Exact single‑line PowerShell commands (pasteable)

• These are single lines so Terminal won’t warn about multi‑line paste. Paste one line at a time.

1) Verify the ZIP exists and its size
Get-Item "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" | Select-Object Name, @{N='Size(GB)';E={[math]::Round($_.Length/1GB,2)}}, LastWriteTime
2) List the contents inside the ZIP (no extraction)
Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; [System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip').Entries | Select FullName, @{N='SizeKB';E={[math]::Round($_.Length/1KB,2)}} | Format-Table -AutoSize

• That shows filenames and sizes inside the archive.

3) Extract one file to test it (creates C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract and extracts the first file whose path contains DCIM)
New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract" -Force; Add-Type -AssemblyName System.IO.Compression.FileSystem; $z=[System.IO.Compression.ZipFile]::OpenRead('C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip'); $e=$z.Entries | Where-Object { $_.FullName -like '*DCIM*' } | Select-Object -First 1; if($e){ $e.ExtractToFile((Join-Path 'C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract' $e.Name), $true); Write-Output "Extracted: $($e.FullName) to C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract\$($e.Name)"; } else { Write-Output "No DCIM entry found to test." }

• After it prints “Extracted: …”, open C:\RecoveredBackup\TestExtract in File Explorer and double‑click the file to confirm it opens.

4) (Optional) Test archive integrity with 7‑Zip (only if you installed 7‑Zip)
& "C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7z.exe" t "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip"

• 7‑Zip will report any errors reading the archive.

5) Copy the ZIP to another drive (example E

• Replace E: with the drive letter of your external drive:
  Copy-Item "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -Destination "E:\DriveBackup.zip" -Verbose
• If you want to MOVE (remove original after copy), use Move-Item instead, but keep the original until you verify the copy.

What to tell me next

• Do you want to use the GUI or PowerShell? (Reply “GUI” or “PS”)
• If PS, run command #1 (verify ZIP exists) and paste the output here if anything looks off.
• If you want the ZIP moved to an external drive, plug it in now and tell me its drive letter (E:, F:, etc.) — I’ll give the exact copy command.

If anything errors or you see a message, copy the exact error text (or a screenshot) and I’ll interpret it. I’ll stay with you step‑by‑step.

i need to now remove it from c to E i found a 32 gb memory stick

Okay — let’s move the ZIP from C: to E: safely and verify it before deleting the original. I’ll give a very short GUI option and exact PowerShell / Robocopy commands (pick one). Don’t delete the original until you verify the copy matches.
First — confirm the external drive letter is E:

• In File Explorer check the drive letter in the left pane. If it’s not E: tell me the letter and use that instead in the commands below.

GUI (easiest)

1. Open File Explorer → C:\RecoveredBackup
2. Right‑click DriveBackup.zip → Copy
3. Open E:\ (or a folder on E:, e.g. E:\RecoveredBackup) → Right‑click → Paste
4. After paste completes, spot‑check the file size (right‑click → Properties) on E: and compare with the file on C:.
5. If sizes match, open a couple of files from the copied ZIP (double‑click the ZIP and open an inside file) to sanity‑check.
6. When satisfied, delete original on C: (right‑click → Delete) and safely eject E: (system tray → Safely remove hardware).

PowerShell (exact, copy then verify hash — recommended)

1. Confirm E: free space and that E: exists:
   Get-PSDrive -Name E | Format-Table Name, @{Label='Free(GB)';Expression={[math]::Round($.Free/1GB,2)}}, @{Label='Used(GB)';Expression={[math]::Round(($.Used)/1GB,2)}} -AutoSize
2. Create folder on E: (optional):
   New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path "E:\RecoveredBackup" -Force
3. Copy with Robocopy (reliable, resumes if interrupted):
   robocopy "C:\RecoveredBackup" "E:\RecoveredBackup" "DriveBackup.zip" /MT:8 /V /R:2 /W:2 /LOG:"C:\RecoveredBackup\copy-to-E-log.txt" /TEE
   • Wait for Robocopy to finish and note the summary (Copied / Failed).
4. Verify SHA‑256 hashes match (very important):
   $a = Get-FileHash "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -Algorithm SHA256
   $b = Get-FileHash "E:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -Algorithm SHA256
   $a.Hash; $b.Hash
   • If the two long hex hashes match exactly, the copy is identical.
5. If hashes match, remove the original (optional):
   Remove-Item "C:\RecoveredBackup\DriveBackup.zip" -Verbose
6. Safely eject the external drive (use the system tray icon). If you prefer PowerShell eject (may not work on all setups):
   (New-Object -ComObject Shell.Application).NameSpace(17).ParseName('E:\').InvokeVerb('Eject')

If you want me to paste the exact commands ready to copy/paste, tell me:

• Confirm the external drive letter is E: (or give the correct letter), and
• Tell me whether you want the GUI or PowerShell/Robocopy method.

I’ll stay with you while you run the command and help verify the hash and finish safely.