Computer First Aid Using Knoppix

By Cedric Shock and Susan Sullivan

These instructions were written using Knoppix version 3.7. It can be downloaded from http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html. This document is available online at http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/. There is also an older version written for Knoppix 3.2. If you need help with these instructions or have corrections or suggestions please direct your communications to cedricshockfamily.net.

Preface: Don't Panic

Windows just crashed. The computer won't boot back up. Those "System Recovery Disks" that came with your computer will erase all of your data. In most cases, when Windows breaks and will not start up again, none of your data has been lost, you just don't have a way to get to it. These instructions are a way of getting to your data when Windows won't work. If these instructions fail to recover your data, don't panic; even in cases of physically damaged drives, reformatted drives, and accidentally deleted files, professional data recovery companies such as Hard Drive Recovery Group typically have a 95 to 98% success rate. These services cost $50 to $2500 depending on the severity of damage to the drive.

You should not use Knoppix if your drives are physically damaged. If your drive was making strange sounds that you have not heard before, such as whirring, clicking or buzzing, you should get professional data recovery help and you should not use Knoppix. If your computer was damaged in a flood, a power surge, or any other kind of disaster, get the help of a professional recovery service. In these situations any further use of the drive will cause more damage, making recovery more expensive or impossible.

If you have accidentally deleted files or reformatted a drive it is imperative that you do not write anything to the drive; save your current work (on a different drive if possible) and turn off the computer. This means don't download or install any data recovery software onto the affected drive (at all if you have only one drive). You should only use recovery software that does not write to the drive. You can use Knoppix to get to and back up your other files, but do not remount the drive so that it's writable. You can find more about what to do when you lose data. Get professional help with damaged drives and deleted files and please, don't panic.

I can not provide complete step by step instructions for all of the methods covered because they depend on your computer's setup, so in places you may need to know a little about your own computer. For this reason, it might be helpful to find the manuals, documentation, and disks that came with your computer and any documentation provided by your internet service provider or information about your network. These are certainly not required, but may be helpful.

Go there...
http://www.shockfamily.net/cedric/knoppix/

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