I brought in the New Year with a crashed hard drive :(

Post #240,299 by bionerd 1/4/06 9:49:02 AM Reply	I brought in the New Year with a crashed hard drive :( So if anyone has been trying to reach me via email, that's why I havent gotten back with you. I bought a no frills laptop, still have to load the sofware on it. Should be up and running by today. In the meantime, I have to try to recover whatever I can off the old hard drive. I backed up my work related stuff, but lost all my personal files. If anyone local wants to make a house call or if anyone else wants to do telephonic support, let me know. I wont have time to play around with it this week, though. Any help would be much appreciated. My ex is coming into town tomorrow and he said he will take a look at it, but I'm not expecting much. A client of mine directed me to [link\|http://www.knoppix.com/\|http://www.knoppix.com/], but once I got there, I wasnt sure what to do. He said I could create a CD to help me recover my files. You guys know my technical skills are limited, so I have no idea what to do with that. Scott- your package arrived yesterday. Thanks! My daughter has dibbs on the box and my son is already drooling. I think we'll try our first batch this weekend :-) Follow your MOUSE
Post #240,301 by Another Scott 1/4/06 10:06:13 AM Reply	:-( I'm sorry about your hard drive troubles. :-( Knoppix is a Linux CD that runs completely from the CD-ROM. It can do many, many things - like help you recover data from the hard drive. Unfortunately, you may need a guru to help you with all its magical tools if it doesn't see everything automagically. To get the CD, go [link\|http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/download.php?lang=en&link=ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/\|here], click the Accept button, and download the latest .ISO: [link\|ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/KNOPPIX_V4.0.2CD-2005-09-23-EN.iso\|ftp://ftp.uni-kl.de/...2005-09-23-EN.iso] It'll take a while even if you have broadband (it's about 700 MB). Burn it to a blank CD with your favorite software, then boot your old PC with it. It'll try to identify all your hardware and boot a Linux system running the KDE desktop (that is very similar to Windows). If everything goes well, you can then copy the files you want from the hard drive to another device. If you don't have a way to make a bootable CD, speak up and I or someone else will make sure you get one. Knoppix is very powerful, but the details can be a bit tricky. Perhaps Greg, Scott or Peter can chime in? I hope you enjoy the gadget. :-) Best of luck! Cheers, Scott.
Post #240,308 by drewk 1/4/06 10:39:56 AM Reply	Before burning the iso ... Have you ever done that? You can't just copy the .iso file onto a blank cd -- like I did the first time. If you don't already know what I'm talking about, it's not hard, but you have to know the difference. === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]
Post #240,412 by Silverlock 1/5/06 12:36:06 AM Reply	*raises hand You can't just copy the .iso file onto a blank cd I am a utter, utter newbie when it comes to knoppix/linux. /hangs head I assume you mean you need to use the burning software you have and make a "data" cd instead of doing a drag and drop. I need one of these for my sister's pc. Massively screwed system it is. Worm(s), spyware, etc. Her system is so fscked the different exploits are fighting with each other to gain control. I can't even get on the net to find tools to fix it. I bought her an external hard drive so I could save her important stuff before I rebuild her pc and a knoppix CD sounds like just the trick for that. Any gotchas or is it intuitive? ----------------------------------------- No new taxes. --George H. W. Bush We don't torture. --George W. Bush
Post #240,443 by pwhysall 1/5/06 8:44:33 AM Reply	"burn CD from image" Or the equivalent command in your software. Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home] Use P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #240,442 by bionerd 1/5/06 8:28:25 AM Reply	No, I have not My client was trying to tell me, but given the session was for him and not my own technical support issues, I had to redirect him back to his issues at hand. Otherwise I would've brought him home to fix it. I shall worry about all this tomorrow. Fiddle dee dee. Follow your MOUSE
Post #240,448 by drewk 1/5/06 9:11:22 AM Reply	What they said Your burning software will say something about making a disk from an image, or making a data disk, or restoring a backup. Don't try to just drag the .iso file into the window, like you would when making a regular backup. Like I said, it's not hard, you just have to know it's different. === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]
Post #240,354 by imqwerky 1/4/06 3:00:55 PM Reply	Holy Shamoley! I remember when my old laptop crashed. It is a sick feeling indeed when that happens. Thank heavens we have these wonderful fellas hangin' around here. I know they will be able to help you get most, if not all of your files recovered. Just have faith, Laura. And most of all, Don't Panic! Just think, you got the crappy part of 2006 over with, so now your year will be great! Hugs, Amy "It's never too late to be who you might have been." ~ George Eliot
Post #240,441 by bionerd 1/5/06 8:25:57 AM Reply	Im past the panic stage past denial. Into calm acceptance. And I'm so stinkin busy this week I dont have time to think about it, much less do anything about it! Follow your MOUSE
Post #240,368 by tuberculosis 1/4/06 3:44:04 PM Reply	KerSproing! Bummer - backup backup backup. I'm up to 3 mirrors now to protect the tune collection. I love firewire. "Whenever you find you are on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect" --Mark Twain "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them." --Albert Einstein "This is still a dangerous world. It's a world of madmen and uncertainty and potential mental losses." --George W. Bush
Post #240,420 by cforde 1/5/06 1:01:20 AM Reply	that's the worst kind backups are like toilet paper. you know you're going to need it or there'll be a mess. :-) good luck with the recovery. & don't tip the crashed drive, all the bits will slide to one side and you won't be able to get anything off. they'll stick together and won't go back where they're supposed to... Have fun, Carl Forde
Post #240,444 by pwhysall 1/5/06 9:01:48 AM Reply	Recovery methodology OK, Laura. If the data can be recovered, it will be. \r\n Here's the process. Details will follow later. \r\n We work out whether the computer can see the hard disk at all. We pop the lid on the computer, and we check that no cables have miraculously loosened themselves. If they have, we firmly reseat them and check again. Actually, we firmly reseat them anyway. \r\n If the computer cannot see the disk, and you don't have another computer to try the disk in, it's game over at this point. We meditate on the wisdom of regular backups, and buy another disk. Then we get to reinstall our OS. Blank disks are fun. We get to play with other operating systems. \r\n If the computer can see the disk, but the operating system refuses to start, what we want to do is use a "Live CD" operating system. These run entirely from the CD. This lets us connect to our dead or dying hard disk and copy the data to another medium, be that USB key or floppy disk or network or whatever. \r\n If the disk is genuinely faulty, the most important thing to remember is to do as little with it prior to data recovery. Many disk faults cause progressive data loss as time goes on, so early, decisive action is best. \r\n Once we've taken a backup of our important data, we can attempt a disk repair safe in the knowledge that a genuine drive fault won't cost us anything other than time. If it's just a few bad sectors, then we can use a disk utility to map them out and hopefully avoid the faff on of an OS reinstall. \r\n If the disk is less than 3 years old, we run the manufacturer's diagnostic utility, get the fault code, and RMA it. We then sell it on eBay. \r\n Let us know when you're ready/willing to start. Don't power the machine up until then. Peter [link\|http://www.no2id.net/\|Don't Let The Terrorists Win] [link\|http://www.kuro5hin.org\|There is no K5 Cabal] [link\|http://guildenstern.dyndns.org\|Home]\r\nUse P2P for legitimate purposes!
Post #240,446 by drewk 1/5/06 9:08:35 AM Reply	7. Profit! === Purveyor of Doc Hope's [link\|http://DocHope.com\|fresh-baked dog biscuits and pet treats]. [link\|http://DocHope.com\|http://DocHope.com]
Post #240,461 by Andrew Grygus 1/5/06 10:28:04 AM 1/5/06 10:29:51 AM Reply	One I see fairly often with XP and W2K is . . . . . "Unmountable Boot Volume". Completely mystifies the users but easy to fix - just boot on the CD to the recovery console and type "chkdsk /r". [link\|http://www.aaxnet.com\|AAx] Edited by Andrew Grygus Jan. 5, 2006, 10:29:51 AM EST Expand All History
Post #240,519 by bionerd 1/5/06 7:21:56 PM Reply	Re: Recovery methodology Thanks, Peter. I'll let you know when I'm ready to tackle it. Follow your MOUSE
Post #240,731 by bionerd 1/8/06 10:09:05 AM Reply	I think I'm all set I had a tech guy from CompUSA come out this morning to set up my wireless network. It only took him 10 minutes. But I kept him around for 1.5 hrs. You techie guys are so easy. I think he was enchanted with my flannel jammies and bedhead. He took out my hard drive and hooked it up some hard drive reader thingie he had with him and we were able to pull out what few files I could save and put them on a CD. He also evaluated my new laptop and printer choices (which were bought impulsively in a moment of desperation), and it turns out my choices were fine for my needs and I got a good deal. I was worried about that because I didnt make a particularly informed purchase. So I feel relieved. Although he was prohibited from giving me his phone number, he did tell me he used his own website to check my wireless connection so it's in my history now and I can contact him directly if I need help. When I get a new hard drive for the desktop I'm going to give him a jingle to come out and hook that up to my network. He's only about 20 minutes away. (And he's married, in case any of you were wondering. And way to geeky for me, anyway) Follow your MOUSE
Post #240,734 by Another Scott 1/8/06 10:26:48 AM Reply	Woot! Bedhead strikes again! :-) Good for you. Ya dun well.
Post #240,814 by Ashton 1/9/06 4:59:27 AM Reply	Re: I think I'm all set re that, "few files I could save.." That could mean several things - It was a small % of what you'd like to have saved (?) - is what I read. Just to elaborate a tad, on options you may still have: Assuming that you have an idea of what % of files you had (and don't see now) ie, which are no longer visible, where you expect, options vary from: merely clever ---> heroic. Most anyone here knows more about that progression than I - but I know that the most subtle techniques are now a $Big industry (and can routinely extract stuff most of us wouldn't have believed possible, 5-10 years ago.) It's at least posssible - if only some partition or lo-level-format marks are missing, say - that SpinRite\ufffd could even replace the missing marks, via its statistical data recovery routine == nondestructively. Many bets are off for certain ongoing mechanical failures, of course. So if you find you are really missing some stuff - post a bit more info. (Did the guy mention any Whys? re things he couldn't easily find.) Maybe on the desktop trip, he can elaborate a bit on what he saw - for further pondering here. Things like: whether a normal directory/file listing is even possible, in HD's present state. And maybe - what the sucker sounds like; is it self-destructing every second it's spinning? (He may have some experience along these lines.) Sometimes it's worth the $$ (well, Some $$) for recovery - certainly to most businesses it often is. Only you can decide how much you 'miss' the missing stuff, etc. Possibly someone here could/would do some intermediate-grade recovery (?) HDs mail cheap. You don't sound geekish enough to learn a lot of jargon; do a lot of fancy repetitive stuff - which is lengthy to write out, in any case. :-) Break a leg, Ashton

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