Your system will not boot and you have precious files to save!

You mount your OEM Recovery disk, and it clearly states:
YOUR HD WILL BE FORMATED and then restored to it's original condition

BUT I WANT MY FILES FIRST! GRRRRRRRR.

Assuming the HD is not trashed and the only problem is a corrupt Windows
file, it is possible to offload those precious files before you reformat and load
a new OS.

Here's what I did to offload my accounting, music and pictures from our Fall European trip.

First, I got a bootable CD and verified that the HD was still readable and my files were accessible.
If not, awe shucks -- just reformat or replace the HD and start over.

Then I purchased a copy of Knoppix 5.1.1 from Linux Central at
http://linuxcentral.com/catalog/inde..._code=L000-651
for 3.95 + 5.00 shipping via snail-mail -- well worth the wait!

Now I attached my external USB 2.0 HD to the downed system, inserted the
Knoppix Cd and powered up the system -- hit your Fx key to select your CD boot.

When the splash screen appears, just hit enter and let it configure a memory RAM disk.
You will end up with,

Your HD mounted as HDA1 and
Your USB hd as SDA1

both on your desktop as icons and you have a GUI interface to a Linux system.

You will also get a window titled 'Knoppix 5.1.x - Knoqueror; JUST CLOSE IT -- it's advertising

Click on the Icon for the Hard Disk{hda1} to mount your system's hd
that will not boot. You get a window, but you don't want it just yet; just
close it -- trust me.
Click the Icon for the Hard Disk {sda1} for your USB drive and just
close that window too.

Now here's the only tricky part; your HDs are all mounted READ-ONLY and we
need to make the USB drive READ-WRITE.

>>> click on the 6th icon from the left at the bottom of the screen which
looks like a PC Monitor; this will give a command line interface to assist you
with the next three tasks:

click the Settings menu->pull down to Font->select shrink font

1)>>>switch to root; just type

su

and hit enter. the command prompt will change to %root@Knoppix: .....
then enter

cd /

followed by

mount

The last line is your USB HD and shows up something like:
/dev/sda1 on /media/sda1 type vfat (ro,nosuid,....)

We need the ro to become rw! here's how.

2)>>> we will edit a memory only file using the Linux 'vi' command. each line that follows is a shell command or a vi command.
the notation <esc> is to be understood as

hit the escape key once
<sp> means the space key
and <ret> means hit the return key

so here we go:

vi<sp>/etc/fstab <ret>

several lines appear and we want that line which starts with

/dev/sda1

use the down-arrow key to move the cursor to that line
hit the letter 'w' slowly until the cursor is in front of

noauto,...

(if you go too far right, just <backspace>)
and then enter exactly

irw,<esc>

your cursor will be on the comma following the rw you inserted!
you save this edit by entering exactly

:wq<ret>

prove you did it correctly by entering

cat<sp>!$<ret>

you will see the 'rw,noauto,.....' is present on the last line

3)>>>we need to remount the USB drive with the new RW option thusly:

umount <sp> /dev/sda1

followed by

mount <sp> /dev/sda1

and prove it's rw with a plain

mount

Notice the (rw,noauto,....) on /dev/sda1
Get the GUI window for it with a single click on {sda}

Use the Edit Menu-->pull down to Create New-->Folder
and just use _JUNK_ and click ok
{the folder is created or you get an error}

>>>> just leave the Shell- Konsole window alone (click the minimize) and use the
GUI interface for the remainder of our work

>>> Get another GUI window for your downed system's HD
There are some buttons under the Menus: directly under Settings is a TreeView button
click on it to get a Windows styled Detail list of names, size, types, dates

IF you were diligent in saving your files in your Windows Profile area
then they are all located at
Documents and Settings/$yourlogin/
[btw: click only once to open a directory ]
and they're under My Documents
{but I structure mine uniquely too}
so for each FOLDER you want saved on the USB HD
right-click on the SOURCE file or folder-->pull down to COPY TO

pull down to Browse
scroll UP to MEDIA and click
click on SDA1

This is then a TreeView of the external USB HD.
find a locaton for the copy OR create a new folder with the
button at the bottom of the Select Folder window.
click OK and the data will start to flow


>>>when you have saved everything you want to the USB drive,
reopen the Shell-Konsole window with a single click on that name
where the Windows Task Bar would have been -- then enter

halt

in the terminal window and the system will cleanup, eject the CD
and dismount your USB drive.

Your data is now safe on the External USB drive and you can reload the OS of your choice.

Microsoft Live One Care does this automatically. Just attach your USB backup drive and Live One Care will back up your system for you, and keep the backup current. I actually was able to recover some documents sucessfully today

I think you missed the point -- the system was not bootable and as yet
has no backups to restore. This technique allows you to recover files
from the HD without the assistance of any MS software. Too many times
I've seen users loose everything due to circumstances where the only choice
left was a reformat/reinstall.

You bet I'm going to get my Slipstream project completed immediately

1st i tried spotmau professional 2008,( wont boot ), spotmau email support said to try XP cd recovery console. I viewed files on LAPTOP that wont boot. now XP cd wont let me back in recoery console (admin password). 2nd i ordered KNOPPIX cd. Next i purchased 500gb ext. hd. NOW how many partitions should i make & how large?

The ext HD will usually come preformatted ( it is USB isn't it?). Just plug it in before booting the Knoppix CD and follow the outline.