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Recovering Data
I have a 120gb Western Digital drive, of which there were 2 partitions on. I wanted to merge the partititions and just have one partition with access to all the space on the drive. I used the merge wizard in Partition Magic to do this. The program did not complete the task successfully (got hung half way thru). Now when I go into "My Compter" the same drive letters are showing and when I try to access them it tells me that the drive is not formatted and would i like to format it. Of course I declined this helpful request, but am now at a loss as to how to recover my data (over 90gb worth). Any ideas???
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The LangaList Standard Edition
2003-04-14
More "Linux Inside Windows" Options (Pt 2)
Then I discovered Knoppix Linux, a German distro that boots and runs totally from a CD, comes complete with all the current popular Linux apps preinstalled, and is free for the download and cost of a blank CD.
http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html
http://www.linuxiso.org/distro.php?distro=44
All it takes to run it is the BIOS set to boot from a CD, putting the CD in, restarting, and less than 3 minutes later on my aging 800MHz PIII it has loaded itself, automatically detected everything, established a network connection, and opened an HTML info page in its browser (Konqueror). All this without ever touching the keyboard or mouse.
For a totally effortless 'installation' of an OS to only play with, I can't imagine it getting any easier than this. FWIW, Gordon
Thanks, Gordon!
The LangaList Standard Edition
2003-04-21
More on Knoppix
Fred, I myself am a Knoppix user, after it was handed to me at a LAN party. I was amazed at the ability of this little CD. I soon realized that I was able to get into any machine, quickly, easily. The security measures of NTFS and Windows were no match for Knoppix. Even setting passwords for single files, I was able to print those "secure" files in minutes. I was able to make many changes to the system, with no passwords or any type of authentication. Very nice. Best of all, when I'm done with the PC, I just shut down the pc and its normal user never knew I was there, unless I want them to know. This can be a great tool for IT people who need this type of resource. Its also VERY dangerous in the wrong hands. So far, everyone I have showed this OS to has been impressed. I am starting to see it on eBay, and it has been able to setup each pc I have put it on. It does not seem to like new Radeon cards, and large LCD's, but I seriously doubt that will pose a threat in the future. Thanks to all the good people that helped with Knoppix. What a great OS, and very fast, considering that it runs from CD and has to decompress the applications it uses. I understand that a simple swap partition will help as well, my tip for other soon-to-be Knoppix users.... Thanks for the newsletter, much appreciated.---Troy
I agree, Troy, and also was intrigued by its potential not only as a painless and safe way to try Linux without diddling with your existing setup, but also as either an emergency recovery disk, or as a total system "lifeboat."
You see, Knoppix isn't just Linux-on-a-boot-CD. It uses data compression to put not only a complete, working version of Linux on your CD, but also some 900 (!) additional tools including Open Office (a complete office suite, analogous to Microsoft Office), two browsers (Mozilla and Konqueror), a virtual desktop manager, CD burner software, partition managers, the "Evolution" email tool (similar to Outlook), and lots more--- even the same module that Lindows has, that allows Linux to run some unmodified Windows software! In all, the single Knoppix CD holds about 1.7GB of software. The full list of what's included is here http://download.linuxtag.org/knoppix/packages.txt Take a look--- it's incredible!
Because Knoppix comes as a fully self-contained and preconfigured setup--- apps and all--- and because it automatically recognizes and supports many types of graphic cards, sound cards, SCSI devices and other peripheral devices, I thought it might be great as that "lifeboat" I mentioned: If your normal setup won't boot, you could boot from the Knoppix CD and instantly have access to your hardware, to the internet, to email, and more. As long as your hardware itself is working OK, Knoppix probably will run just fine.
While this could be handy in any office or home, I thought it could be absolutely great for laptop users: If you were on a trip and the worst happened--- say your hard drive got totally scrambled--- you could use the Knoppix CD to get back online in just a minute or two and stay productive until you had time to perform more complete repairs.
Alas, as Troy states, Knoppix and LCDs don't always get along. When I tried booting my IBM ThinkPad (a fairly recent model) on Knoppix, the screen ended up in reversed colors and odd contrast ratios--- a psychedelic and unreadable mess. I couldn't even read the menus to try to adjust the screen. So: Scratch that idea. (Yes, there are ways to boot to a normal Linux command line in Knoppix and change various settings manually, but this is quite different from the boot-from-CD simplicity that is Knoppix's best feature.)
But on a normal PC with a normal screen, Knoppix is great either as a testing tool or as an emergency lifeboat. In fact, as a test, I wrote this newsletter item in Knoppix: I booted from the Knoppix CD, ran Open Office, fired up the word processor, and wrote these words.
I've added a Knoppix CD to my office toolkit for use in emergencies. But for more all-in-one distributions, small- or zero-footprint Linux versions, and options for "lifeboat" applications.