unmountable boot volume - question

[HunterSkater429]

sorry for the broad title (no im not) 

 

If a HDD in a laptop says unmountable boot volume does that mean it just cant be booted from? can you still plug it in and access the files on it?  

[3rrant]

32 minutes ago, HunterSkater429 said:

sorry for the broad title (no im not) 

 

If a HDD in a laptop says unmountable boot volume does that mean it just cant be booted from? can you still plug it in and access the files on it?  

 

24 minutes ago, Sierra Fox said:

you should still be able to access the files on it. it just has a corrupted or "damaged" sector which handles the booting of your OS. you can pull the files off it, format it and use it again, generally doesn't mean the disk is defective or dying

Agree with Fox, also you could try after saving your files to perform a repair using windows installer tool, which might prevent the need for a full format.