Using Knoppix 6.2 on a crashed PC to tranfer files

[poisonshift]

I admit that I am new to this whole thing. I spent about 3 hours last night looking for a program that would allow me to transfer files from my wrecked Compaq Laptop running XP to my pristine Dell Vista x64.

I found Knoppix. After trial and error I figured out how to boot to the visual instead of the default text and speech. Boot: knoppix (enter)

But now I need to know how to transfer the files from the corrupted hard drive to my computer so that I can reformat the XP.

Please point me in the right direction (each new forum is a little bit disorienting). That or give me a step by step with links (ftp servers and such). If you give me links please provide me with the most user friendly versions. I'm pretty good with my computer, but I tend to want to over know. So the simpler the better.

Thank you, I can't wait to get this fixed. I've been nagged since Christmas to get this darn thing fixed.

Oh, and I'll most likely be using either USB to connect the two or a mass storage device.

[Harry Kuhman]

First of all, you can avoid the text-and-speech issue by not downloading a version with "Adrian" in the name.

Second, I do use the FTP system, but can't provide a link to a FTP server that I would recommend. The server that I've been using has been "updated" and the updated version is truly awful. I have no link to the version that I've used. Still, there are plenty of free FTP servers available, a Google search should find you plenty.

[poisonshift]

Adrian is fine. It isn't in my way, just threw me off a little.

Once I find a suitable ftp to use what do I do?

I need to know how to do the entire thing, step by step. Transferring the files and all.

[Harry Kuhman]

I used to use the Konquror browser to transfer files from the corrupted system. It hs been said in these forums that Konquror is no longer included with 8.2. I have not checked that, but any browser (or even the command line FTP client) should work as an FTP client. Not having done any of this with 6.2 yet I'm sorry ut I can't give you more detailed step-by-step instructions.

Of course, you have to be able to access the files that you want from Knoppix. Most of the time some simple Windows fault will stop booting but all of the files can still be seen from Knoppix. But other times the disk partition will be corrupted badly enough that Knoppix can't see the files, or the hard drive may be completely dead. So it might be best to see that you can access the files that you want before fooling with an FTP server. If you can't access the files then you can't transfer them. Once you access the files then you can decide what the best way to recover them is. If there is a lot of data then a FTP transfer across the LAN is ikely the best apptoach. But if there are few enough files to fit on a USB flash device or on optical media, yu might be better off just making a copy with Knoppix.

6.2 may bot be the easiest version to use for this. the 5.x versions are Adrian free, and still include Konquror. Plus, the 5.x versions should show hard disk partitions on the desktop (assuming the disk is working and the partitions are not corrupt), while the 6.2 version does not, which would make it easier to find your files.

[poisonshift]

Thanks a ton, I figured that 6.2 wasn't the best version for me to be using. I'll download 5.x and see what happens.

Again thanks.

I did notice that on the XP the batter charged on Knoppix, that is really nice.

[Harry Kuhman]

With any 5.x version you should see desktop icons for each of your partitions. Click on them to open the partition, hopefully all will go well and you will be able to find your files.

You should be able to use Konquror and an FTP client to transfer files from the Knoppix system to any FTP server on your LAN. That still leaves you the task of reading the FTP configuration information for your FTP client and installing and configuring it. You have not said how much needs to be recovered, so I don't know if this is the best way to go or not.

I suggest keeping the 5.x version for recovery work. But the 6.2 version may be a lot nicer for everyday use, particularly wireless networking (this can be hardware dependent, but I could get one network card to work under 4.02 with some effort, none would ever work for me with 5.x, and 6.2 works great for me with no effort at all beyond selecting a network and providing a key.

There is a lot of stuff on 5.x that is missing in 6.2, but unfortunately the 5.x discs are poorly organized and a lot of stuff is just files under "lost and found".

Good Luck.

[poisonshift]

Well what happened was I was reformatting the XP with a downloaded disc, so I had to install the specific drivers by hand. When I installed the final driver for wireless and bluetooth the computer crashed (the inegrated wireless card is trashed). I went to the recovery console and started moving the start up files by hand when the computer came unplugged. I was left with 3 deleted files and locked out of the console.

I need to move about 8-10 gigs of photos in one folder on the desktop to complete this operation.

I have can lan, USB or SD.

[Harry Kuhman]

8-10 gig isn't all that bad under current standards. If you have high capacity flash drives or SD cards you might want to just transfer to them with Knoppix 5.x and skip installing an FTP server altogether, although it is a handy skill to develop. If you decide to go this route I would suggest having the flash drive or SD card interface with SD card attached when Knoppix is booted so that you have the best chance that Knoppix will recognize it. Also, be cautioned that Knoppix will mount a lot of things (particularly those Windows partitions that you want to recover files from) as read-only by default. If it mounts the drive that you are trying to recover O as read-only, you may have to make it read-write (only do this for FAT partitions, not NTFS partitions). You should be able to do this by right clicking on the desktop icon for the partition that you want to write to, or by using the mount command (type man mount at a shell prompt for details).

Also, be sure to shut down Knoppix or unmount the flash drive before disconnecting the drive to be sure that the directories are updated properly, don't just unplug the drive or SD card when you think the transfer is complete.

[poisonshift]

I got Knoppix 5.0.1

There are no drives on the desktop.




When I open Konqueror I get this error:

Could not start process Unable to create io-slave:
klauncher said: Error loading 'kio_file'.


So is the hard drive dead or what?

[Harry Kuhman]

I got Knoppix 5.0.1

There are no drives on the desktop.




When I open Konqueror I get this error:

Could not start process Unable to create io-slave:
klauncher said: Error loading 'kio_file'.


So is the hard drive dead or what?

Strange that you would get 5.0.1 when both 5.1 amd 5.3 versions are available (I would be hard pressed to even find 5.0.1). But it should work for this purpose.

I can't tell if the hard drive is dead or not. Just speculating with little to go on, the drive itself could have failed, hardware does fail. Or the partition(s) could be corrupt (Windows does that a lot). Or the partition table in the Master Boot Record (MBR) could be bad. Windows does this on occasion too, unfortunately not as often as corrupting the entire partition. If the drive is dead there isn't much that I can offer, so lets hope that it is a data issue. Sometimes the problem is limited to the MBR. The data is all there in good shape on the partition, but the partition table is no longer pointing to the right place or properly identifying the partition type. If this is the case then there is a good chance that Knoppix can fix it. There are two linux tools that are handy for this. The first is gpart, which will analyze the disk and try to recover the lost partition table. read man gpart at a shell prompt for details. This is the tool that I recommend. There is another tool, it is testdisk. It can also scan the hard drive and one of the things it will do is try to fix a pad partition table. Type man testdisk at a shell prompt for details. I don't like testdisk as much, it is kind of "for dummies" tool and gives you much less control. But although I suggest that people use gpart instead of testdisk, they usually reject my advice and use the tool for dummies rather than read about the command line options for gpart.

If the partition itself is corrupted, I know of no Linux tool that will help you. The best tool that I have found for trying to recover files from a corrupted Windows partition is Recuva, a free program that runs under Windows. To try to recover files this way you would need to install the corrupted disk into another Windows computer as a second (or third or fourth) drive. And, of course, there is a chance that the data is so badly damaged that you will not be able to get it back.

Oh, and I'll most likely be using either USB to connect the two or a mass storage device.

I just noticed this and tought that I should mention. you're not going to be able to network two computer with Knoppix and USB (unless you have some USB to ethernet adapters, and maybe not even then since there will be driver issues). Your best bet to networking two computer is over ethernet and through a router. The router isn't absolutely required, you could use a cross-over cable, but I consider anyone with high speed Internet access who is not using a router to be foolish and dangerous. My advice if you don't have a router, or one built into your high speed modem, is to get one.