A Linux Live CD to the Rescue when Windows Won't Boot?

It might sound strange and even unbelievable that users of the Microsoft (MS) Windows operating system could find help in a Linux live Compact Disc (CD) when their Windows installation won't boot; however, many have already had to serve as their own "repair technicians" in a desperate attempt to retrieve important data. Despite the repeated warnings most of us have probably received about the need to back up data, few heed them and eventually end up needing to be rescued from the frenzy that can stir when Windows won't boot. Of course there are times when a Linux distribution (operating system), also known simply as a distro or "flavor" won't boot, but the truth is that these times are much more rare than when working with Windows.

Obtaining the Live Linux CD

Although I'm not a regular user of the Ubuntu distro, it is the flavor discussed here because many Linux novices or those who aren't and never will be "serious" users of this open source operating system tend to resort to Ubuntu. Keep in mind, however, that practically any Linux live CD can be your rescue when Windows won't boot. These could include the small Puppy Linux, Fedora, OpenSUSE, Berry or any other distro you can obtain. It isn't at all difficult to quickly locate download sites with a search, but if you would prefer not to have to download, you can purchase a CD very economically from DiscountLinuxDVD.com where many distros are only $2.00 and ship very fast.

How to Use the Linux Live CD When Windows Won't Boot

You'll also want to have handy a thumb drive, also known as a pen or jump drive with enough storage capacity to save all of the most important data you would have to retrieve. Simply place the Linux live CD into the optical drive and boot from it. You might have to temporarily change the boot order in your machine's setup, if you do, simply look for an indication of which key to press shortly after turning the computer on. That key is usually something like F10, F12, or Delete for most Personal Computers (PC's); consult your manual or watch your monitor for instructions.

Again, Ubuntu is the example distro, release 8.04.1. When you see options appear, you'll want to choose the one that allows you to run the system without making any changes to your current installation and wait until you see the desktop. Next, you'll need to go to "Places" and then "Computer" from the menu bar across the top. This will allow you to see all drives available on the system, so you should see your Windows installation. In the screen shot I've provided, You can see that I have a 5.3 drive; it holds Windows XP and is actually one partition of a triple boot system. This means I can simply click on the drive to mount it (the file system) and access any data I need. The very first thing you'll want to do is the easiest thing first--attempt to mount the drive by clicking on it. It might work and it might not work depending on what is wrong that prevented Windows from booting in the first place.

If it doesn't work, you should get a pop-up message explaining that Ubuntu, "Cannot mount volume." You should also see a little triangle next to which is the word "details." Go ahead and click to expand and see the details because you'll need that information if mounting by clicking failed. Keep that window open and also open a terminal, also called a console by some people and on some systems. If you're not comfortable working on a command line, this will be the hardest part, but if you just take your time and be careful as you type, you don't need to understand everything you're doing to get your files. The terminal window should open with a cursor next to a dollar sign. You'll need to acquire what are known as "superuser" privileges by typing "sudo /bin/bash" (don't type the quote marks for any of the commands you'll be using). You should see the dollar sign change to a hash mark or number sign.

You'll then need to make a directory to hold the data you'll retrieve. That is done with the "mkdir" command as in: "mkdir/winDisk," you can name it what you'd like. In that details window that you kept open should be a line towards the end of the output that literally tells you what to type on the command line to mount the disk's file system. It should read something like, "type on the command line: mount -t ntfs-3g /dev/sda1 /media/disk -0 force." There is no period after the word "force" when actually typing on the command line. If your drive uses a file system other than NTFS such as the FAT32, you should see "vfat" where "ntfs" appears in the example. Once you type this in the terminal, expect to see a warning message about forcing the mount of a file system in this way.

If for any reason you're not sure of the file system of your disk (it really should be NTFS), you can always pass the "-ls" option to the "fdisk" command as in "fdisk -ls" to see a list of information about the drives on the machine. You should now be able to access your data to save it on your pen drive. Your pen drive should have automatically mounted and appeared on the desktop. Using a Linux Live CD in this way when Windows won't boot could save you money, precious time, data, and extra work.