Recover Files

Recover files from Windows hard disk using Puppy Linux ByMargusSaluste

1. DOWNLOADINGPUPPYLINUX2. CREATINGTHEPUPPYLINUXBOOTABLECDWITHCDBURNERXPOR

WINDOWSDISCIMAGEBURNER3. CREATINGTHEPUPPYLINUXBOOTABLEUSBDRIVEWITH

UNIVERSALUSBINSTALLER4. STARTINGPUPPYLINUXINLIVECDMODE5. MOUNTINGDRIVESANDPARTITIONSINPUPPYLINUX6. RUNNINGABASICDISKCHECKONPARTITIONSINPUPPYLINUX7. COPYINGYOURFILESTOEXTERNALHARDDISKORUSBFLASH

DRIVEIfnothinghelpsyoutogetWindowsstartingandworkingproperlyandyoudonothavearecentorvalidbackup,youcanstillrecoveryourimportantfilesifyourcomputer'sharddriveisworkingfine.PleasenotethatPuppyLinuxcannothelpyouifyourharddiskisunreadableoritsfilesystemisbadlydamaged!Also,ifyourWindowsdriveisencryptedwithTrueCrypt,youmustuseitsRescueDisktodecryptitfirst.FilesencryptedwithWindowsEncryptingFileSystem(EFSakaNTFSencryption)cannotbecopied.Thereareseveraltoolsavailableforthejob,butwewillusePuppyLinux,becauseitdoesnotrequireyoutohavetheoriginalWindowsinstallationCD/DVDanditisarelativelysmalldownload(around133megabytes,comparedtoUltimateBootCD250+megabytesandrequiredWindowsXPProfessionalinstallationCD).PuppyLinuxhaslowsystemrequirementsandworksprettyfast.ForgetthecommonLinuxversusWindowsnonsense,thisisneverreallyrelevantbothWindowsandLinuxaregoodoperatingsystems.Fullstop.YouwillneedaCDwriterandaprogramcapableofwritingCDimages(ISOfiles)ifyouwanttobootfromCD.YoucanuseWindowsDiscImageBurnerincludedinWindows7and8/8.1orfreeCDBurnerXPforthistask.AsyourWindowscomputerisbroken,visitafriendofyoursandcreatethePuppyLinuxbootableCDthere.WithUniversalUSBInstaller,youcancreateabootableUSBflashdriveinstead.Thiswillprobablyworkfaster,butyoumustbesurethatyourPCsupportsbootingfromUSBdrives.Also,makesureyouhaveaUSBflashdriveorexternalharddrivethathasenoughfreespaceforthefilesyouwanttorecover.Ifthisarticleisofnohelp,tryusingthewww.winhelp.usDataRecoveryCD/USBthathastoolsforfixingseriousfilesystemerrors,duplicatingdisks,restoringdeletedfilesandpartitions,recoveringdatafromharddiskswithunreadableclustersandevenresettingWindowspasswords.

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DOWNLOADING PUPPY LINUX OpenPuppyLinuxdownloadpageandfind"Downloadlatestversionfromibiblio.org".Clicklupu.isolink(forexample,"lupu528.iso").NotethattherearesomeotherPuppydistrosonthepage,butyouneedLucidPuppy(lupu),theUbuntucompatibleone.Alwaysmakesureyoustartdownloadingafilethatstartswith"lupu"!

InWindowsXP,Vistaand7,clickOpeninInternetExplorerdownloaddialogifyouwanttocreateabootableCD.IfyouwanttocreateabootableUSBdrive,clickSaveinstead.InWindows8and8.1,clickSaveotherwisethedownloadedfilewillbemountedasanewvirtual

CD/DVDdrive.IfyouselectedOpen,InternetExplorerSecuritydialogwillpopupinWindowsVistaand7afterthedownloadandwarnaboutopeningaprogramonyourcomputeroutsideProtectedMode.ClickAllow.

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CREATING THE PUPPY LINUX BOOTABLE CD WITH CDBURNERXP OR WINDOWS DISC IMAGE BURNER CDBurnerXPopenswithBurnISOImagewindow.InsertablankCDorCDRWnow.ClicktochecktheVerifydataafterburningandFinalizediscboxes.ThenclickBurndisc.

IfyouinsertedaCDRWwithsomefilesalreadywrittenonit,CDBurnerXPwillaskwhetheryouwanttoerasethewholedisccontentsornot.MakesureyoudonothaveanythingimportantonthediscandclickYes.

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LeaveFastselectedandclickErase.

CDBurnerXPislikeyourmomandwantstobesureyouwanttoerasethedisc.Ifyouwantto

turnthe"mom"off,checktheNeveraskagainbox.ClickYes.Aftereraseiscomplete,CDBurnerXPwilltellyouaboutthis.ChecktheNevertellagainbox,ifyoudon'twanttheprogramtobelikeyourmomanymore.ClickOK.

Thediscburningwillstart.Itwilltakeseveralminutesuntiltheburningiscomplete.CDBurnerXP

willnotifyyouwith"Writingprocessissuccessfullycompleted"message.ClickOK.ClickClosetoexitCDBurnerXP.

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InWindows7,WindowsDiscImageBurnerwillstart.InWindows8and8.1,openDownloadsfolder,rightclickthedownloaded.isofileandselectBurndiscimagefromthemenu.Inserta

blankCDRorCDRWnow.TicktheVerifydiscafterburningcheckboxandthenclickBurn.IftrayofyourCDwriteropensandStatussays"Thereisnodiscinyourdiscburner",youshouldreallyinsertablankCDRorCDRW.ClickBurnin1015secondsafterinsertingthedisc(CDwriterneedstocheckthediscfirst).

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Ifyougetthe"Pleasewaitwhilethediscburnerisgettingready"messageinStatusbox,wait

around10secondsandclickBurnagain.TheCDwriterisjustnotreadyyet!IncaseyouinsertedaCDRWthatisnotblank,EraseDiscdialogwillopen.MakesurethatyouhavenotinsertedadiscwithimportantdataandthenclickYes.ThiswillerasealldataontheCDRWandthenburnthediscimage.

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WindowsDiscImageBurnerwillthenerasethedisc(ifnecessary),writethefiles,finalizethediscandverifythewrittenimage.Thistakesseveralminutestocomplete.Aftereverythingiscomplete,yournewdiscwillbeejectedandStatusboxwilldisplay"Thediscimagehasbeensuccessfullyburnedtodisc".ExitWindowsDiscImageBurnerbyclicking

Close.

CREATING THE PUPPY LINUX BOOTABLE USB DRIVE WITH UNIVERSAL USB INSTALLER IfyourlaptopdoesnothaveaCD/DVDdrive,youshouldcreateabootableUSBversionofPuppyLinuxinstead.AfterdownloadingthePuppyLinuxISOfile,headtoUniversalUSBInstallerdownloadpageandclicktheblueDownloadbutton.

Afterthedownloadiscomplete,connectablankUSBthumbdrive(allfilesonthedrivewillbeoverwritten!)andopentheprogram.LicenseAgreementwindowswillpopupfirst,clickIAgree.

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IntheSetupyourSelectionsPagewindow,opencomboboxentitledStep1:SelectaLinuxDistributionfromthedropdowntoputonyourUSB,scrolldownandselectLucidPuppy.

ThenclickBrowseontherightoftheStep2:Selectyourlupu*.isofield.

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Locatethelupu.isofileyoudownloadedearlierandclickOpeninthedialog.ThenselectthedriveletteroftheUSBpendriveyouwanttouseforPuppyLinux.UsethecomboboxinStep3:SelectyourUSBFlashDriveLetterOnlyforthis.YoucanusekeyboardshortcutWINDOWSKEY+EtoopenWindowsExplorer(FileExplorerinWindows8)todoublecheckthatyou'llusethecorrectUSBdriveletter.TobeabsolutelysurethattheUSBdrivebootscorrectly,enabletheFormatDrive(ErasesContent)option.

Finally,clickCreate.

UniversalUSBInstallerthenwarnsthatitwillcloseallopenWindows/FileExplorerwindows,formattheselecteddriveandturnitintoabootablePuppyLinuxUSBdrive.ClickYestocontinue.

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Theformattingandcreationprocesswilltakeafewminutesand7zipwindowwillpopupwhileextractingfilestotheUSBdrive.Aftereverything'sdone,clickCloseinInstallationComplete

window.TheselectedUSBdriveisnowreadyforbootingintoPuppyLinux.

STARTING PUPPY LINUX IN LIVE CD MODE MakesurethatyourcomputerisconfiguredtobootfromCDorUSBfirst,insertthePuppyLinuxbootableCDor

USBdriveandrestartyourcomputer.RememberthatinLiveCDmodePuppyLinuxwillnotwritetoorchangeanythingonyourharddisk(s),soitisacompletelysafeoption.AfteryourcomputerbootsfromCDorUSB,you'llseePuppyLinuxbootoptionsscreen.Youdonotneedtodoanythinghereexceptwaitingfor5secondsforPuppyLinuxtostart.OryoucanpressENTERkeyonyourkeyboardtolaunchPuppyrightaway.

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Ifyoudorunintotroublelater(screenisunreadableorblank,ornoharddisksdetected),rebootyourcomputerandpressF2keywhilethescreenaboveisdisplayed.First,trytypingpuppyacpi=noirqandpressingENTERtoseeifeverything'sworkingfineafterthis.Ifnot,rebootagain,pressF2keyandtypepuppyacpi=strictinstead.

AfterthatPuppyLinuxwillloadessentialfiles,thatmighttakeseveralminutes.

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ThenDesktopwithiconsappearsandPersonalizeSettingswindowopens.Asyoudonotneedhighresolutionforrecoveringfiles,justchooseyourkeyboardlayout(thedefaultisUS)andclickOK.

Incaseyouchangedthelayout,testitoutbytypingsomecharactersandclickOKagain.SomeusersmightseeaSimpleNetworkSetupwindownext.Inmostcases,networkisnotrequiredandclickingtheXmarkontoprightofthewindowwill

closeit.Ifyouneednetworking(forexample,youhavesomenetworkedstorage),clicketh0,wlan0orthenetworkinterfaceyouneed(drivernamesandconnectiontypesarelisted).Thepersonalizationpartisnowdone.Let'sgettowork!

MOUNTING DRIVES AND PARTITIONS IN PUPPY LINUX

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PuppyLinux5looksprettynice,despitebeingoptimizedforreasonableperformanceonoldermachines.OnequicknotetothosenotaccustomedtoLinuxmostitemsopenwithjustonemouseclick,notdoubleclick.BynowyoushouldhavenoticediconsonthebottomleftofDesktop,justabovethemenubutton.Theseareyourfloppy(FDD)drives,partitionsonlocalharddisksandCD/DVDdevice(s).Floppydisksstartwith"fd",partitions/volumesonlocalharddiskdrivesstartwith"sd"andCD/DVDdevicesstartwith"sr".Eachonehasapartitionnumber.ThisisthewayLinuxdistinguishesbetweendifferentdevicessoifyouhaveoneharddiskwithtwopartitions,theywouldbenamed"sda1"and"sda2""a"forthefirstphysicalharddiskand"1"and"2"forthepartitionsonit.Ifyouhavetwoharddisks,bothcontainingonepartition,theywouldbecalled"sda1"and"sdb1".Ifyouhavejustoneharddiskwithonepartition,therewillbeonlyoneicon

"sda1".Toeasilydistinguishbetweendifferentharddisksandpartitions,hoveryourmouseoveraniconandcheckoutthepartition'sfilesystemtypeandsize.

ManyWindowsVista,7and8/8.1installationshaveaspecialrecoverypartitionwithsizearound100MBor350MB.Ifyouhavesuchpartition,thereisnoneedtouseit.Yourfilesandsettings

areonsda2orsda3insuchcase.InPuppyLinuxyouhavetomountadiskfirsttostartusingit.Todothat,clickonsomeiconstartingwith"sd""sda1",forexample.Afterafewseconds,contentsofthediskwillopeninnewwindow.

AsLinuxdoesnotusedifferentdriveletters,suchas"C:"or"D:"todistinguishbetweendisks,allmounteddiskswillbeputinaspecialfoldernamed"mnt",shortfor"mount".Youcanseethatfromthepictureabovethesda2partitionmountedappearsas/mnt/sda2inPuppyLinux.On

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Desktopyouwillseeagreenringonamountedpartitionicon.IhavealsoconnectedmyUSBflashdriveandthishasbeennamed"sdd1".Whynot"sdb1"?Becauseitisaremovableflash

drive,notaharddisk.Linuxessentials!ConnectyourUSBflashdriveorexternalharddiskandwaitfortheicontoappearonDesktop.Thenclickitsicontomountit.Pleasenotethenameofthemounteddrive,suchas"sdd1"or"sdb1",you

willneeditsoon.Donotclosethemounteddrivewindowsyet.Ifyouhaveto,justclickthemounteddriveicononDesktopandthecontentswillopenagain.

RUNNING A BASIC DISK CHECK ON PARTITIONS IN PUPPY LINUX IncaseyoujustwanttorunadiskchecktoseeifWindowsisabletobootafterthis,makesurenoneofthepartitionsismountedyoucannotrunacheckonamounteddisk.Ifoneis,clickto

openMountonthetopleftofDesktop.ThenclicktheUnmountbuttonforthediskorpartitionyouwanttocheck.VerifythatthegreenringdisappearsfromthedriveicononDesktop.

ExitPmountbyclickingtheQuitbutton.NowlaunchConsolefromthetoprowofDesktop.

Oneclick,notdoubleclick!Nowtypentfsfix/dev/sdawhereisthepartitionyouwanttocheck.Forexample,ntfsfix/dev/sda1orntfsfix/dev/sda2.PressENTERkeytolaunchthecheck.Pleasemakesureyouareusingonlylowercaselettersinthecommand,

asinLinux"ntfsfix"doesnotequal"Ntfsfix"and"/dev/sda1"doesnotequal"/Dev/sda1"Linuxisverycasesensitive.TheactualchecktakesnormallyverylittletimebecausentfsfixisnothingasthoroughasWindows'CheckDisk.Donotexpectittofixeverything!

Incaseyouseeanerrormessagestating"Refusingtooperateonreadwritemounteddevice"instead,thepartitionisstillmountedandyoumustunmountitfirst.

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Ifyouhavemorethanonepartition,runntfsfixonthese,too.TofinishandcloseConsole,typeexitandpressENTER.NowyoucantrybootingWindowsagaintoseeiftheproblemwasfixed.PleasebeawarethatntfsfixalsoforcesafullWindowsdiskcheckonthepartition(s)youchecked.Thismighttakealongtimetocomplete,butitwillprobablyrepairallremainingerrors.Windowsmightrebootandrepeatthediskcheckbyitselfthisisnormalandyoushouldnotinterfere.IfyoususpectthatyourcomputerhasstoppedrespondingduringWindowsdiskcheck,verifythatharddriveactivityindicatoronyourPCisblinkingorconstantlyon.Ifitiscompletelyoffformorethanfiveminutes,WindowsisstillunabletobootandyoushouldbootbackintoPuppyLinuxtorecoveryourfiles.

COPYING YOUR FILES TO EXTERNAL HARD DISK OR USB FLASH DRIVE ReturntomountedpartitioncontentswindowandclickDocumentsandSettings(forWindowsXPdisk)orUsers(forWindowsVista,7,8or8.1disk)folder.Pleasenotethatyouneedtoclickonlyoncetoopenafolder.Ifyouneedtogobackinfoldercontents,clickthegreenuparrowontoolbar.HerearecontentsofatypicalUser'sfolder.Youcanalwaysignorefoldersnamed"DefaultUser","Default"and"AllUsers".Intheexamplebelow,thereisjustoneuserMirjam.IfyouuseShared/PublicDocuments(thefilessharedbetweendifferentusersononecomputer),thenyoucanfindtheseinAllUsers(WindowsXP)orPublicfolder.Incaseafolderhasanoverlayiconwitharrowpointingtoleft,itisjustalinkforbackwardscompatibilitycopyingthesefoldersisneverneeded.

Clickonauser'sfoldertoseeitscontents.HerearethemostimportantfoldersyouneedtocopytoyourUSBdrive.ForWindowsXP:

DesktopallitemsonyourWindowsXPDesktop(icons,files,folders,etc) FavoritesyourInternetExplorerfavorites MyDocumentscontentsofyourMyDocumentsfolder(inAllUsers,orShared

Documentsthisiscalledjust"Documents")yourdocuments,pictures,videos,etc TemplatesonlyifyouuseMicrosoftOfficeandyouhavecreatedspecialtemplatesfor

documents

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ForWindowsVista,7,8and8.1(donotcopyfoldersthathaveaniconofarrowpointingtoleftthesearecompatibilitylinks,notrealfolders!):

ContactsonlynecessaryifWindowsMailorWindowsLiveMailhasstoredcontactdata DesktopallitemsonyourWindowsDesktop(icons,files,folders,etc) DocumentscontentsofyourMyDocumentsfolder(notethatinWindowsVista,7and8

thisdoesnotincludeMyPictures,MyMusicandMyVideosfoldersthesearejustshortcutsforWindowsXPbackwardscompatibility!)

DownloadsfilesdownloadedfromtheInternet FavoritesyourInternetExplorerfavorites Musicyourmusicfiles(mp3s,wmas,etc) Picturesyourphotosandpictures SavedGamesonlynecessaryifyouhavesavedsomestateinWindowsgames(e.g.

Solitaire) Searchesonlynecessaryifyouhavesavedsomesearchcriteria TemplatesonlynecessaryifyouuseMicrosoftOfficeandyouhavecreatedspecial

templatesfordocuments Videosyourvideofiles

IfyouwanttorecoveryouraccountpictureinWindows8or8.1,youshouldalsocopytheAccountPicturesfolderfromPublicfolder.Incaseyou'vecreatedcustomLibrariesorchangeddefaultones,youmightwanttocopyLibraryfolderfromAppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Librariesfolder.Pleasenotethatyoudonotneedtocopyanyfolderthathasalinkmark(arrowupandleft)onitthesearejustcompatibilityshortcutstootherfolders!Ifthecontentsareorganizedwithhugespacesbetweenitems,clicktheShowextradetailsbuttononToolbartouselistview.

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Todeterminediskspaceneededforcopyingafolder,rightclickthefolder,selectDir''andclickProperties.Orusearrowkeysonkeyboardtomovetothefolder,press

SPACEtoselecttheitemandthenusekeyboardshortcutCTRL+P.WaituntilfoldersizeiscalculatedinSize:field.Here,"K"meanskilobytes,"M"meansmegabytes,and"G"meansgigabytes.Toclosefolderproperties,clicktheblackXintherightsideofTitleBarorclickClosebutton.

Toseediskspaceavailableonyourflashdriveorexternalharddisk,clickmountonthetopleftofDesktop.

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ThisopensaprogramnamedPmount.ClicktheusbdrvtabandcheckthefreespacesizeforyourUSBflashdriveorharddisk.Again,"K"meanskilobytes,"M"meansmegabytesand"G"

meansgigabytes.ClosePmountbyclickingtheQuitbutton.Incaseyouhavesufficientfreespaceontheexternaldrive,itisrecommendedtocopythewholeuserfoldertoit(forexample,thewholefolderMirjaminUsersfolder,notjustDocumentsorDesktop)thiswayknowledgeableITpeoplemightbeabletorecoveryouremails,programsettings,etc.First,youmightwanttocreateaseparatefolder

ontheexternaldisk.Openitscontents,rightclickonablankspaceandselectDirectoryfromtheNewmenu.

Typeanameforthefolderintheendoftheline,preservingthe/mnt/sd/part.

ThenclickCreate.Tocopyjustonefoldertoyourflashdriveorexternalharddisk,rightclickonthefolder,selectDir''andthenclickCopy

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TypethepathtoyourUSBflashdriveorexternalharddisk(seetheiconsonDesktop),forexample"/mnt/sdd1/rescue/"or"/mnt/sdb1/"andclickCopy.Don'tforgettheslashesinthebeginningandintheend!PleaserememberthatinLinuxeverythingiscasesensitive,so"sdd1"

doesnotequal"Sdd1"or"SDD1"or"sDd1".Useonlylowercaselettershere!Thecopydialogwillopenanditwilllistallfilescopied.Waituntilthecopyprocessiscomplete.

PleaseremembertocopyallsubfoldersnamedDesktop,(My)Documents,Downloads,Favorites,Music,Pictures,SavedGames,Searches,TemplatesandVideos,notjustoneofthem!Tocopymultiplefoldersorfilesatonce,openharddiskcontentsinonewindowandremovabledrivecontentsinanotherwindow.ThenselectfilesandfoldersyouwanttocopykeyboardshortcutCTRL+AselectsallitemsholdingdownCTRLkeywhileclickinganitemselectsordeselectsit.Thenholddowntheleftbuttonofyourmouseandjustdragtheselecteditemstothewindowofexternaldisk.Mousepointerturnsintoadocumenticonwith+sign.

Adialogopens,askingwhetheryouwanttocopyormoveitems.AlwaysclickCopyheremovingisaverybadidea,andlinkinghasnoeffectwhatsoeveraftershuttingdownPuppy

Linux.Aftercopyingallnecessaryfoldersforeveryuser(andpossiblyalsofoldernamed"AllUsers"or"Public"plusallcustomfoldersyou

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mighthavecreatedoutsideUsersfolder)totheexternaldiskthereisonemoreveryimportantsteptotakecopyingWindowsregistry.ThisonehelpsITspecialistsrestoreallWindowsandprograms'settings.NavigatetoWindowsfolder(orthefoldercontainingWindowsinstallation)andopenSystem32folder.Thelatteronemighttakeseveralminutestofinishlistingallitemsinit.Thenlocatetheconfigfolderandcopyittoexternaldrive.

Nowthefilerescuingpartisdone.ClickMenubuttononPuppyLinuxTaskbar.Select

ShutdownandclickPoweroffcomputertoshutdownyourcomputer.AsyouranPuppyLinuxinLiveCDmode,itwillaskwhetheryouwanttosaveyoursessionsettingsonaflashdrive.Youdonotneedtodothat.PressARROWLEFT

keyonyourkeyboardoncetoselectDoNotSave.ThenpressENTERkeyonyourkeyboard.

PuppyLinuxwillthenshutdownyourcomputer.AfterreinstallingWindowsyoucancopythefilesandfoldersbacktoyourcomputerandsetupregularbackupstoavoidsuchproblemsinthefuture.

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Date post:	17-Dec-2015
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