I REALLY NEED HELP

[Guest]

I can't boot my computer so I hv come to the forgone conculsion I will hv to
re-install Win XP..I hv critical data on my laptop that I nd to remove before
I send it off for repairs. Can someone pls tell me how this may be don. I do
not hv a floppy only a CD. I can access the harddrive Win XP just won't
boot. I downloaded knoppix but am confused about how to use it.
Dee

 

[Guest]

Yep, linux is a bit like learning a new language for the average Windows
user <g>

To access you hard disk, just right-click the icon for 'hda1' and select
'mount' Then you browse it much like you do in Explorer. By default the disk
is mounted readonly, - another linux speciality - but this should be OK for
backing the stuff up.

To burn the files to a CD, there is a good KDE program, K3b, which looks and
works almost exactly like Nero. Can't remember offhand where it is on the
Knoppix startmenu, but once you've found it, it's quite easy to use.

Once justifiable criticsm of Knoppix is that the startmenu is very
cluttered, and often has the programs in totally illogical places. This
doesn't exactly help first-time users. Ubuntu is less-powerful but easier to
get to grips with.

Another option is BartPe, which is literally Windows on aCD. You need to
find someone who's built a copy though, you can't just download it.

 

[Guest]

Oh, and in case you can't get Knoppix to run, it's supplied as an .iso. To
use this you need to open the .iso by selecting "Burn Image" in a CD-writing
program. This will make your Knoppix CD.

Then you need to set the laptop to boot from CD. On some, you hold down F12
while it starts. On others you may need to adjust the BIOS settings to give
booting from CD a higher priority thatn booting from the hard-disk.

 

[Guest]

thank you soooo much Ian...I'm going to try it, I'll let you knw what
happens....will the computer boot frm the knoppix CD?

 

[Guest]

do you knw anyone?

 

[Guest]

again, thanx for the info , I'll try

 

[Malke]

thank you soooo much Ian...I'm going to try it, I'll let you knw what
happens....will the computer boot frm the knoppix CD?

If you set the computer to boot from the CD first (do this in the BIOS),
the computer will boot from the Knoppix CD. Here's a little bit about
rescuing data with Knoppix:

An easy way to retrieve Windows files is to boot with Knoppix, a Linux
distro on a live cd. You will need a computer with two cd drives, one
of which is a cd/dvd-rw OR a usb thumb drive with enough capacity to
hold your data. To get Knoppix, you need a computer with a fast
Internet connection and third-party burning software. Download the
Knoppix .iso from www.knoppix.net and create your bootable cd. Then
boot with it and it will be able to see the Windows files. If you are
using the usb thumb drive, right-click on its icon (on the Desktop) to
get its properties and uncheck the box that says "Read Only". Then
click on it to open it. Note that the default mouse action in the
window manager used by Knoppix (KDE) is a single click to open instead
of the traditional MS Windows' double-click. Otherwise, use the K3b
burning program to burn the files to cd/dvd-r's.

Malke

 

[Guest]

I downloaded the Knoppix iso file and burned it to a Cd but my machine will
not boot from the cd, what am I doing wrong?

 

[Guest]

ok I got my machine to boot up w/ knoppix (NEAT!) but now it won't mount my
quick drive ( a flash drive that is suppose to be compatible /w Linux)...what
to do now. Thanks for your help

 

[Malke]

ok I got my machine to boot up w/ knoppix (NEAT!) but now it won't
mount my quick drive ( a flash drive that is suppose to be compatible
/w Linux)...what
to do now. Thanks for your help

1. If your machine has a burner and a cd-rom drive, boot with Knoppix in
the cd-rom drive and use the burner to get your data.

2. What does "won't mount" actually mean? Does an icon for the flash
drive appear on the Knoppix desktop? If it does, remember what I said
in my first post about changing permissions to read/write before
mounting it. If the drive doesn't show up on the Knoppix desktop, try
another drive.

Malke

 

[Guest]

thank again for your reply....the drive shows up on the deskt but when I
right click to mount it, I get a error messg that says "could not mount
device, the reported error was Mount:no medimum" when I tried to use the
burn Cd application it wouldn't open the files I needed to burn. PLEASE
HELP... my AOL Im is danahesull if you can chat w/ me later on this evening
around 7:30p,,let me knw...thank again ever so much

 

[Malke]

thank again for your reply....the drive shows up on the deskt but when
I
right click to mount it, I get a error messg that says "could not
mount
device, the reported error was Mount:no medimum" when I tried to use
the burn Cd application it wouldn't open the files I needed to burn.
PLEASE HELP... my AOL Im is danahesull if you can chat w/ me later on
this evening around 7:30p,,let me knw...thank again ever so much

I'm sorry, but all I can suggest is that you 1) use a different usb
thumbdrive; 2) slave the drive in a machine with two optical drives; 3)
take the machine to a local professional who will have the equipment
and skill needed. The drive itself may be damaged and if so, that would
explain why Knoppix can't manage it. In that case, if the data is
critical contact a professional data recovery firm. I like DriveSavers
(www.driversavers.com) but there are others like Ontrack and Seagate
Recovery Services. Those firms' services are not inexpensive, but only
you can determine the value of your data.

Good luck,

Malke