Hard Drive and OS problems

[Adarian]

Greetings Fresno-Joe,

This post is mostly for you as I saw in the smoking thread that your hard drive is on the verge of failure, but others may be interested so I posted it here.

I am big into Linux, because in the days of Windows 98 I became so utterly disgusted with Microsoft that I had to find an alternative or quit the internet altogether.

If your drive still works at all and can handle a couple of downloads, you may wish to try the following:

1. Download DeepBurner. This item is open source (no charge) for the basic version and is able to burn ISO install images for software.

2. Download Knoppix 5.01 (also open source, as in no charge), which is a complete operating system that needs no hard drive, nor already installed operating system to work. It creates a virtual disk in the R.A.M. in the computer and then is able to access all devices including the ethernet card to get access to the web.

3. Use DeepBurner to burn the Knoppix ISO image to a CD. The program gives you the choice of Data, Audio, or ISO as soon as it opens. It is ultra simple.

4. Go into your Bios setup as you start your computer, usually by pressing F1 or Delete during the boot up process and read through the various menus until you find the boot order options for your devices. Set the first boot device to be your Cd or Dvd player, whichever you favor.

Plug the freshly burned Knoppix disc into your CD or DVD player and reboot your computer. Knoppix will take over the system, ignoring and bypassing what is installed on the hard drive. If you have a flash memory stick you can store files and projects to it to carry with you, or to prevent loss of current work environments.

This is really cool as an emergency measure and works wonderfully well if you need to stay on the net and in communication with people while you are facing a failing or dead hard drive.

DeepBurner

Knoppix

I hope this helps you out, as it would be a shame to be off the net while you get a new hard drive.

P.S. Knoppix is also a good emergency backup system for when your operating system becomes corrupted and nonfunctional. It keeps you in touch.

P.S. part 2. A note on open source software. By free, it means in the way of liberty, not cost. Users, by way of the General Public License, are allowed to use, modify, and submit new programs freely. As for cost, commercial users must pay, but private users are given the software to use and modify for free under the GPL. This is a gift from God as far as I am concerned, and I use several Linux systems on my desktops. Its free, vs $300.00 plus per computer to use Windows.

[Guest]