If you’re going to fix a computer, never be without an Ubuntu LiveCD. In a pinch, it can be used to download drivers, recover data, or even change settings to get Windows back up and running. I’m posting this now from just such a LiveCD. The Windows installation on this machine is trashed; so badly, in fact, that it can’t even boot into Command Line mode. I tried a Repair installation of Windows, which did nothing. So what’s to do about saving this computer’s data? It doesn’t even have an Ethernet jack!
Simple. I just booted an Ubuntu 5.10 LiveCD. In three clicks, the hard drive was mounted. I then plugged in a Compaq HNE-200 that I keep around (it’s a USB -> 10/100 Ethernet adapter). On Windows, this requires the installation of a huge and buggy driver. On Ubuntu, I hear the CD spin up for about 5 seconds, and then all of a sudden the lights on the adapter come on, it picks up an IP from my home net, and I’m in business!
All I do now is transfer the data I need over the network to one of my storage boxen… then I can wipe the drive and put on a fresh copy of Windows!
Previous methods of recovering data like this involved installing a different hard drive with a preconfigured copy of XP on it, setting the old drive up as a slave, and copying data. Then swap drives and repeat. Can you guess which way is easier?
