Hard Drive Recovery Knoppix Boot Problem "root@Microknoppix:/#" Screenshot Included

[PHMRacing]

OK so I'm trying to load Knoppix 6.2 from a bootable CD and it seems to work but I'm getting "root@Microknoppix:/#. Here is a picture of my current screen. What do I do next? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[krishna.murphy]

OK so I'm trying to load Knoppix 6.2 from a bootable CD and it seems to work but I'm getting "root@Microknoppix:/#. Here is a picture of my current screen. What do I do next? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

This is normal, but it's supposed to be replaced by a GUI (that's what "Entering runlevel 5" means.) Since that's apparently not happening, I suspect either a bad CD (common) or aberrant hardware. You can try the CD self-test with

knoppix testcd (or testdvd)

There are some hardware workaround cheatcodes in a file in the KNOPPIX folder of the disk or here, as well as a handy guide on the F3 button, for use when booting (big penguin onscreen.)

Cheers!
Krishna

[PHMRacing]

Ok well I downloaded the 700mb version using Torrent software, and even did the md5 check on it, and it turned out fine so I figured it was good, but I guess it was not. I downloaded the 3.63gb version using Torrent software again and it works great now! But I'm still having a problem where Knoppix is not recognizing the hard drive I'm trying to recover information from. It recognizes the 30gb master drive on this computer, but not the 80gb slave drive I'm trying to recover. When I put the 80gb drive in my hard drive enclosure and plug it into a usb port (Using Windows XP), the two partitions show up, but they are not accessible without formatting them according to Windows. I was told by using Knoppix, I could set the drive up as a slave, and I would be able to recover files from it, but Knoppix is not even recognizing the partitions when I use a hard drive enclosure (usb) OR when I install it in the computer as a slave drive. . . never mind being able to access the partitions. The drive is not clicking or making any funny noises and is spinning up just fine. Any ideas why Knoppix won't recognize my hard drive?

[krishna.murphy]

It seems clear that the drive is damaged - perhaps recoverably, but not with Knoppix, most likely (have you tried the GParted tool on Preferences menu? Does it see any partitions, recognize the type, etc.?) There is a long series of stuff about another recovery tool here - there are links and much discussion to peruse. I especially recommend being cautious and backing up if possible, as these are all powerful tools and could potentially damage things worse than they are now. There are other recovery disks out there, some Linux-based and some not; you might benefit from checking around some more. Commercially-available tools are often better for those with less experience, but YMMV.

Cheers!
Krishna

[PHMRacing]

I put the drive in a usb enclosure and the drive along with its partitions show up on both Windows XP and a Mac laptop I borrowed, but I can't access the partitions from either one. But I assume if the partitions show up, the drive isn't mechanically damaged. It has to be something else that I'm not educated on. I guess I'll have to read up on the links you gave me. Thanks!

[Capricorny]

In general, if there are suspicions of different kinds of hardware failure, user space tools, including Knoppix, may do more harm than good. That partitions show up, simply means that the OS is able to read the partition table, and is no guarantee for mechanical sanity of the drive as a whole. If Knoppix can't read it, it may be an indication that even the partition table is in some way damaged.