Windows won't boot - Is Knoppix my hero?

[RizaHawkeye]

My laptop fell from a small chair 2 days ago and since then, Windows won't boot. I am terrified of losing my files because I have many, many, maaaaaaany important things on there! I've been looking up solutions online from my mother's computer and have found many people saying that Knoppix can retrieve my files from my laptop.

I want to make sure this is true, as well as ask how to go about doing so. Can anyone help me?

[Capricorny]

My laptop fell from a small chair 2 days ago and since then, Windows won't boot. I am terrified of losing my files because I have many, many, maaaaaaany important things on there! I've been looking up solutions online from my mother's computer and have found many people saying that Knoppix can retrieve my files from my laptop.

I want to make sure this is true, as well as ask how to go about doing so. Can anyone help me?

It's at least a good chance Knoppix won't be your hero unless you make Google and forum search your good and trusted friends..
You should look it up, the very short versions are:
If only booting is affected, you should be able to boot Knoppix from CD/DVD/USB, mount the actual Windows volume(s) and retreieve data from them.
If the file system is damaged, most will advise specialized recovery/repair tools, those tend to run under Windows.
If the disk is also severely damaged (more than a number of bad blocks), data may still be recovered, but that's an expert job.

And with the current price of USB sticks and external USB harddisks, I really don't understand why you don't have backup.