Need Help Using Knoppix to Recover Data From Crashed Windows Computer

Hi,
If some one can help me please, windows vista crashed and I couldn't get it to start up, I posted on the miscrosoft website for help and there someone explained to me if I made Knoppix live CD I could recover files I wanted to save with both the CD and a USB device, following the directions I got Knoppix to come up on my computer..first the big Knoppix logo comes up, them it says Linux is loading and brings a written list menu, from what this person explained it should bring up hard drive icons...which is my problem-no icons, just the list menu. I have never used Knoppix before, do I select something from the menu to get to these icons, or did I do something wrong? If anyone can help me that would be great, thanks so much for your time.

Yea, Knoppix 6.x hides the handy drive icons. They can be found in a file manager, but unfortunately I don't have a copy of Knoppix running and can't run it at the moment, so I can't give you detailed instructions. But I figured that I should at least let you know that in versions 6.x you can find the drives if you start up a file manager. Hopefully some one else may join in and give you more detailed info.

Alternately, if you can download a 5,x version, it will have the icons, and also a lot more that has vanisged from the disc.

As to writing to CD, that may be a problem. If you have one drive it my be tied up with the Knoppix disc. You may be able to get past this if you use the "toram" cheat code if you have enough RAM memory to copy all of the CD to RAM. This will require about a gig with a CD and I don't know if it can even be done with the DVD version. In addition to that, I have heard talk that the CD writing software may be missing from 6.x versions.

An alternative that I use to CD writing to to transfer files to another computer across a network.

Hi, thanks so much for your reply, this is very useful info.
Do you know how one who start up a file manager? I am not sure how to do that. Or would it be better to download a different version of Knoppix and burn it to cd then switch the CD with the other one and reboot my computer? I have the v6.2 version. again, thanks so much.

As you have got this up and running, I would have tried to mounbt the Windoes disk partition manually if I were you.
Assuming you have got Knoppix 6.X with the LXDE interface up and running, you have a screen icon as #3 from left on the bottom status line. Click that, and issue fdisk -l on the command line to find out what disk partitions Linux can see.
Often the main partition will be listed as /dev/sda1 (first partition on first drive), and you can try to mount it read-only with the mount command, using the sudo prefix to take on super user privileges for the occasion, check available space with df, go to the root directory of the volume with cd, then use the directory command ls to see files:

Code:

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sudo mount -o ro /dev/sda1 /media/sda1
df
cd /media/sda1
ls -al

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If this doesn't work, the drive problems may be more serious, and Knoppix might not be the right tool.
If you can get so far, you can use the cd command to move to the directories of interest. Having found the files, you can connect USB media (sticks or hard disks) for backup, mount them and copy over to them with the cp -a command. (Don't bother if the -a option gives you some warnings.) Assuming the USB storage is recognised as /dev/sdb1

Code:

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sudo mount /dev/sdb1 /media/sdb1
sudo cp -a * /media/sdb1

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Afterwards, you can unmount the partitions (sudo umount /media/sda1; sudo umount /media/sdb1) and halt the system.

Good luck!

Hi,
How would I mount windows disk, do I select something off the list menu and it will lead to a place to type the command code.....I am sorry to sound so dumb...but I've never used Knoppix and I am a bit confused, but a have a vague idea of what your saying, but I don't know when or where someone would type the command code. Thanks so much for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Harry Kuhman

In addition to that, I have heard talk that the CD writing software may be missing from 6.x versions.

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Brasero fills that role out of the box. K3B can be installed, albeit requiring some form of installing Knoppix, i.e. flash drive or "poor man's" install - which would free up the CD drive, too.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

Hi,
How would I mount windows disk, do I select something off the list menu and it will lead to a place to type the command code.....I am sorry to sound so dumb...but I've never used Knoppix and I am a bit confused, but a have a vague idea of what your saying, but I don't know when or where someone would type the command code. Thanks so much for your help.

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Knoppix features the PCman file manager, prominent on the toolbar as a file folder icon. You can also find it on the "System Tools" menu. Note that Windows is often installed using the NTFS filesystem, which can be risky to write with Knoppix.

Once the file manager is running, you'll have some icons for various things that it recognizes, hopefully including your Windows hard drive partition. It's a click-to-mount interface, but again, it's best to be very cautious when dealing with Windows. If you run the GParted program on the Preferences menu it will enable you to determine the type of filesystem before mounting.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

Hi,
How would I mount windows disk, do I select something off the list menu and it will lead to a place to type the command code.....I am sorry to sound so dumb...but I've never used Knoppix and I am a bit confused, but a have a vague idea of what your saying, but I don't know when or where someone would type the command code. Thanks so much for your help.

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You are NOT dumb at all, just not used to the command line interface - which I prefer to use here, because I don't trust PCman, the built-in point'n-click file manager, fully in emergency cases.
Can you open the terminal window and type the commands, one by one? If you practice a little bit, I think you'll soon get it.

It's not quite necessary any longer to use command line interface in Linux, but it can make many tasks simpler and safer to carry out.

The alternative is to use PCman, as krishna.murphy suggests.
I would NOT recommend Brasero for burning backup CD/DVDs without careful testing first. I have had burning problems with it, but the better (in my experience) alternative k3b is somewhat of a hassle to get installed. It is much safer to write to USB media, preferably more than one.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Capricorny

Can you open the terminal window and type the commands, one by one? If you practice a little bit, I think you'll soon get it.

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I am not sure what the terminal window is, I changed the boot on my computer so that when I turn it on Knoppix starts up-shows the Knoppix desktop, then loads to a black page with a number list...I wasn't sure if I was to select one of them to get the desktop icons. Am I to sectect one of these and then use the command code, I am not sure, thanks so much for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by krishna.murphy

Knoppix features the PCman file manager, prominent on the toolbar as a file folder icon. You can also find it on the "System Tools" menu. Note that Windows is often installed using the NTFS filesystem, which can be risky to write with Knoppix.
:mrgreen:

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Hi,
I am not sure how to reach the system tools menu with Knoppix, it brings me to a black screen with a list of things-maybe one of these things listed is System tool, but it is written in german-I have tried to select different ones, and they lead me to more things to select, and i didn't know which one to pick and was afriad I would do something wrong and mess up my computer more than it already is, and there is no back option. Knoppix is the only thing that works on my computer, before changing the boot order to start knoppix, my computer would try to start up, do a disk check and lead to a black screen that said reboot failure, the only way to turn off my computer is by pressing the off button on, which is not good for the computer,

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

I am not sure what the terminal window is, I changed the boot on my computer so that when I turn it on Knoppix starts up-shows the Knoppix desktop, then loads to a black page with a number list...I wasn't sure if I was to select one of them to get the desktop icons. Am I to sectect one of these and then use the command code, I am not sure, thanks so much for your help.

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No wonder it's confusing! This is almost certainly the Adrianne text-reader for visually-impaired folks (like Klaus Knopper's wife Adrianne.) I find it annoying, since I don't need it. To use the disk you have with a true GUI desktop, just type in at the boot prompt (big penguin onscreen before all the numbers show up):

Code:

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knoppix

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That will override the default on the version you have, to use the GUI instead.

As to the terminal, that means you get a command-line-interface, which is all that we who messed with computers before GUIs came along had to work with. It's where you type a command, and whatever you tell it to do, it does (even if you mistype!) But, you can re-read what you type, back up and fix it before hitting Enter, etc. You can start it from the bottom of the GUI (once you have that up!) by clicking the icon that "sort of" looks like a black-and-white TV. The file-folder icon is right there, too, in case you want to see what the file manager can do (or, you can type in the terminal, pcmanfm).

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

I am not sure what the terminal window is, I changed the boot on my computer so that when I turn it on Knoppix starts up-shows the Knoppix desktop, then loads to a black page with a number list...I wasn't sure if I was to select one of them to get the desktop icons. Am I to sectect one of these and then use the command code, I am not sure, thanks so much for your help.

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It seems that you have got the German version of Adriane downloaded, not the English Knoppix we have as "default" here. Still, for your purpose, you can do what you need with that, I think. At boot, you get a Knoppix prompt for some seconds - there you can type Knoppix, to get the graphical version (Adriane is for visually impaired people) But you have to be quisk at starting typing. I don't think you have seen the ordinary graphics desktop at all - that resembles Windows a bit, with a main menu icon to the left on the bottom status line, and then PCman and Terminal icons, which we have talked about, following.

Edit: Didn't see that krishna.m had already answered! ;)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Capricorny

It seems that you have got the German version of Adriane downloaded, not the English Knoppix we have as "default" here. Still, for your purpose, you can do what you need with that, I think. At boot, you get a Knoppix prompt for some seconds - there you can type Knoppix, to get the graphical version (Adriane is for visually impaired people) But you have to be quisk at starting typing. I don't think you have seen the ordinary graphics desktop at all - that resembles Windows a bit, with a main menu icon to the left on the bottom status line, and then PCman and Terminal icons, which we have talked about, following.

Edit: Didn't see that krishna.m had already answered! ;)

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I missed the part about German; you'll need to use the following at boot to switch to English:

Code:

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knoppix lang=us

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I'm not sure if that takes care of the keyboard difference as well - you may need

Code:

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xkeyboard=us

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at the end of the knoppix line - see the documentation.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

Thanks Krishna andCapricorny for the help, I have just made a new cd with the english version of Knoppix- KNOPPIX-ADRIANE_V6.2CD-2009-11-18-EN.iso, when I downloaded it the first time there was a whole bunch of downloads to choose from and I wasn't sure what one to choose, I have yet to try and use it, I am afraid of messing up my computer more than it already is but typing something wrong.
Also I have another question, I bought one of those external hard drives that backs up computers, but windows vista isn't working on my computer I can not log in and tell it to starting backing files up, is there any way I could use either knoppix, or the Adriane to program to tell my computer to copy files to the external hard drive with out major writing to the hard drive?
Thanks so much for all of your help.

If you are now able to boot to the GUI desktop, you should be able to access the external drive with no trouble. Getting to the data on the Windows drive can be a little more trouble, since Windows could have messed up the filesystem on that internal drive. I suggest booting the CD, starting the file manager, and then clicking the drive icon for the internal drive.

If you see the folders for the Windows partition, go ahead and plug in the new drive, click its' icon when it shows up, and then proceed to drag-and-drop some useful files to the new drive. Once you've backed up the goodies (My Documents, email, etc.) you can then try your hand at repairing the broken Windows stuff. If it's too big a job, I'd say at that point that it's time to use a (blow the data away) Windows "rescue" disk or boot-option.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

I am using the new CD right now, its in English this time, I forgot to type Knoppix when it was first loading up, so its on the Adriane program. I was wondering if I could just use this program to get at files since its a program for the blind it seems to be a way of your computer without windows...it has a list of things, one is file manager...just wondering if not, I will have to reboot and try again, thanks for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

I am using the new CD right now, its in English this time, I forgot to type Knoppix when it was first loading up, so its on the Adriane program. I was wondering if I could just use this program to get at files since its a program for the blind it seems to be a way of your computer without windows...it has a list of things, one is file manager...just wondering if not, I will have to reboot and try again, thanks for your help.

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Sure. You can also download one that defaults to the GUI. The command knoppix is only needed when it's an Adrianne version that defaults to that interface instead.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

I got into Knoppix, now I'm not so sure what to do next.......I am not sure what icons are the hard drive icons. It loaded to a desktop with mountains and clouds..and has one icon on it that reads my documents, thats the only icon on the desktop, then there is a tool bar at the bottom that has some icons on it..not sure what there are all for...I can see one is for volume, and one for open office, what should I do next?



And also, no that I'm in Knoppix, is there a way to tell my computer to start backing up files on my to an external hard drive?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

I got into Knoppix, now I'm not so sure what to do next.......I am not sure what icons are the hard drive icons. It loaded to a desktop with mountains and clouds..and has one icon on it that reads my documents, thats the only icon on the desktop, then there is a tool bar at the bottom that has some icons on it..not sure what there are all for...I can see one is for volume, and one for open office, what should I do next?

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Okay, boot up with the external drive disconnected (or pull the plug if it's already hooked up) and look to the left side of the toolbar for the file folder icon - that starts the file manager, which is similar to Windows Explorer.

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And also, no that I'm in Knoppix, is there a way to tell my computer to start backing up files on my to an external hard drive?

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Now, click the icon in the file manager for your internal drive and then navigate to the stuff you want to back up, i.e. My Documents. Right-click what you want to transfer and choose Copy. Next, plug in the external drive and the icon for it will appear on the left side; click it and then right-click where you want to save it, choosing Paste to start the file transfer.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

hi,
I opened up the pc file manager with no problem, and I can see the hard drive icon, but it won't let me open/access it, I get this message when I try:
Unable to mount error<i>org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.unknown failure</
I am not sure what to do here to access my hard drive. Thanks so much for all your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

hi,
I opened up the pc file manager with no problem, and I can see the hard drive icon, but it won't let me open/access it, I get this message when I try:
Unable to mount error<i>org.freedesktop.Hal.Device.Volume.unknown failure</
I am not sure what to do here to access my hard drive. Thanks so much for all your help.

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I've gotten this type of error message, too. Since we're still not sure what type of filesystem you're dealing with, I suggest using the Preferences-GParted program to get an overview of the hard drives' filesystem(s.) Note that you can make things worse, too - these are powerful programs, and need to be used cautiously.

In my own case, Windows was installed on a partition formatted with NTFS which had become corrupted. Since the error message related to a M$oft file system, it made sense to use their tools to regenerate it, but I needed the benefit of those tools without having the (working) infrastructure (Windows OS to support running M$ programs.)

I ended up using chkdsk successfully, but in order to get their programs to run I needed something I could boot up that supported that. Although Knoppix includes Wine, which would in theory do that, I followed advice I got here and used Hiren's Bootcd- which you can get LOTS of places on the web, esp. via BitTorrent. Knoppix will support that via Transmission on the Internet menu, but you'll need something to save stuff to, e.g. a flash drive.

NOTE Since that disk also contains unlicensed commercial software, be forewarned that, should you choose to download it, you are on your honor to only use the FreeDOS OS and software you have a license to use, e.g. M$oft chkdsk. In my own case, the chkdsk on the Windows partition was not working, but the copy/version on Hiren's worked for me.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

I really dont want to make things worse, and I am not sure what the Preferences-GParted program is. Is this my only option, is there anything else I can do? because this seems a bit confusing and risky. thanks so much for your help.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

I really dont want to make things worse, and I am not sure what the Preferences-GParted program is. Is this my only option, is there anything else I can do? because this seems a bit confusing and risky. thanks so much for your help.

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You can run the program without fear, to get information; just don't tell it to DO something to a partition (like erase/format/delete it.) I don't know what happened with the link (on your other thread.) Here is what I meant.

Cheers!
Krishna :mrgreen:

ok, so is this a program that is part of knoppix that I should open and use, or is it something separate I need to download, I am bit unsure of this part. Thanks so much for all the help.

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Originally Posted by Tattered Phoenix

ok, so is this a program that is part of knoppix that I should open and use, or is it something separate I need to download, I am bit unsure of this part. Thanks so much for all the help.

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Click the main menu, then Preferences, then GParted. Here's a screenshot (attached.)

hey,
i have opened up the GParted and i am not sure what to do next,