Knoppix
I had this problem on a desktop pc with xp home (yuk) that I have to use at work. Of course it happened minutes before I was supposed to leave yesterday and I need the computer urgently today!
I was able to fix it using the Knoppix linux boot-up CD (available @
http://www.knoppix.org)
Here are instructions:
- Download the .iso file (whichever version - I chose the oldest because it was ever-so-slightly smaller and I was pressed for time) - This could be a problem if you don't have another PC with Internet access. You can also order a CD from Linuxcentral.com by calling 1-877-LINUX-CD.
- Burn the ISO image as such, not as a data CD. You will need to use a seperate burning program from XP's built-in cd burner, as it burns as a data CD.
- Ensure that your CD drive is before the hard drive in the CMOS boot order and restart your PC with the Knoppix CD in the CD drive.
- Wait for your PC to load all the way. The CD will detect all of your hardware and configure itself accordingly. When everything is loaded do the following to fix your hard disk:
-- Open Shell (the icon at the bottom of the screen with the picture of a monitor)
-- Go to root (type "su" - no double-quotes - and press ENTER)
-- Type "cfdisk" and press ENTER. This shows a list of your hard drives and partitions, similar to fdisk, if you are familiar with that. Make a note of which drive (or drives) are causing the problem (will be of type NTFS) - These names should be in the format "hda#"
-- Use the right arrow to get to exit and press ENTER.
-- Type "ntfsfix /dev/hda#" (where # is the number you wrote down above) and press ENTER. Repeat this step for all the drives/partitions that are causing problems.
- Now shutdown Knoppix (icon at bottom left of screen with bring up a "Start"-like menu) and reboot without the CD. Do not shut off the computer. The OS will do it automatically.
Now your hard disk should be fixed (let's hope). Of course that couldn't have been the end of my troubles. After I finally got XP to start then my firewall (which, obviously, starts automatically on startup) was causing my PC to restart so I had to fix that. All is well now, though.
Hope this helps some non-Linux users to fix their Windows (yuk) problems!
J