Comparison of Software RAID on Windows versus LinuxFebruary 18th, 2007 The basic idea of RAID (Redundant Arrays of Inexpensive Disks) is to combine multiple small, independent disk drives into an array of disk drives which yields performance and recoverability exceeding that of a Single Large Expensive Drive (SLED). Redundancy is also provided (unless RAID 0) which allows easy and often automatic recovery from hard disk crash.
How To Copy Master Boot Record (MBR) Between Hard DisksMarch 18th, 2008 In Linux you can use the dd command to copy MBR from one hard disk to another. You can also use dd to backup your master boot record to a different (or same) media.
How To Burn Cross-Platform Readable CD's in Windows VistaAugust 30th, 2007 By default, Windows Vista uses Live File System to incrementally add files to your CD. Live File System is a file storage system that can be used to create CDs and DVDs.
Partimage: Free Norton Ghost / DriveImage AlternativeSeptember 3rd, 2007 Partimage is a Linux utility which saves partitions having a supported filesystems (see below) to an image file. It is a free and open source alternative to the popular software Norton Ghost or DriveImage.
FAT32 versus NTFS: What Should You ChooseOctober 8th, 2006 When installing Windows 2000 or Windows XP, you have to decide the evergreen question: Should I choose FAT32 or NTFS and why? Today I will try to answer it once and for all. Note: I haven't discussed FAT file system because it is very much obsolete with todays high volume hard-disks.
Why do IT people really bash Windows?July 21st, 2005 Angus McLaren at TechRepublic writes cluelessly:
Anyone who claims to hate Microsoft Windows, Linux, Mac OS or any other operating system is not a true techie or network guru. You don't ever bash the OS, in fact if the OS crashes then it's your fault not the OS; Why didn't you make sure that it was using the right drivers, or the hardware is compatible or blah this and blah that, and so the list goes.
How to Use Virtual Hard Disks as Real Hard Disks in Windows 7December 30th, 2008 Windows 7 has this unique feature of creating and manipulating a virtual hard disk drive as if they were real. More importantly, you don't even need to boot in virtual PC environment to do so.
A Complete Guide To Clean the Hard Disk Space You Weren't Aware ofJanuary 20th, 2009 Things kept will rot if you don't stitch in time. This is for those of you not in a habit of cleansing you hard disk.
Samsung SGH-i310 Smart Phone Comes With Digital Camera, MP3 player And 8GB Hard Disk (Kitchen Sink Not Included)March 6th, 2006 I am really missing the kitchen sink from this one. This beast of a phone can store about 2,000 songs.
10 Most Useful External Hard DrivesApril 6th, 2009 Hard drives used to be one that comes with the computer a decade ago. People wouldn't care about it unless its crashed.
Hard Disk Crash Recovery Using Bootable SystemRescueCd (Free)September 3rd, 2007 SystemRescueCd is a Linux system on a bootable CD-ROM for repairing your system and recovering your data after a crash. It aims to provide an easy way to carry out admin tasks on your computer, such as creating and editing the partitions of the hard disk.
How to Recover Deleted Files from Removable MediaOctober 20th, 2008 There is hardly anyone who has any relation with computers and doesn't own one pocket hard drive or a pen drive or a flash drive. The mobility they provide is absolutely remarkable.
How to Password Protect Windows ProgramsMarch 20th, 2009 We have always been concerned about hiding a particular file or folder from someone for definite purposes. I won't go into that now.
Data Recovery Software: A GuideMarch 1st, 2009 The loss of accidentally deleted computer files can be catastrophic for an individual, much more for an organization. Lickily 'deleted' files are not always really gone from your computer.
Top 10 Data Recovery Software: Windows, Linux and Mac March 2nd, 2009 Suppose you have worked on a project for hours and stored it on your hard drive. The next time you turned on your PC, to be horror-struck - virus has wiped out your hard drive.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:15 pm
Buy a cheap usb hard disk (LaCie 250GB or similar) and build a copy of the drive (disk image) on that with a cd bootable linux distro like http://www.sysresccd.org/ . You can build the image with dd_rhelp , http://www.kalysto.org/utilities/dd_rhelp/index.en.html
. After building the image copy that to a new hard disk with simple dd if=imagefile.img of=new_harddisk_device (usually hda or sda) .
You have to rebuild the partition table with gpart or testdisk (www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk) . You must recovery the boot sector to boot the system. Start the Windows recovery console from a windows installation cd. Use the fixmbr command to recover the boot sector. Also run chkdsk . I’ve also used BartPE (www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/) to run these commands. I’ve been able to recover over 97% of data on 6 hard disks with these methods.
You can also directly “mount” the disk image which you have built with dd_rhelp / dd_rescue in linux using the loop back device. After that you have a choice of copying the files to the usb drive in other directories.
February 13th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Links:
http://www.ubuntugeek.com/recover-data-from-a-damaged-hard-disk-using-dd_rhelp.html
http://www.oreillynet.com/sysadmin/blog/2004/07/save_your_data_from_the_click.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpinRite
February 13th, 2007 at 3:27 pm
Mounting disk images in Linux (howto):
http://edseek.com/~jasonb/articles/linux_loopback.html
February 13th, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Thanks for all your ideas. I will try them today and let you know how it goes.
November 28th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
SpinRite 6.0 for Windows XP (NTFS),
FAT, Linux, Novell, and ALL OTHER file systems!
Takes anywhere from 12 to 22 hours to run but worth every hour, every minute, every second.
Link: http://www.grc.com/spinrite.htm
April 17th, 2008 at 6:02 am
Hi!
My hard-disk crashed and now I used the old hard disk as a mobile harddisk after I installed a new harddisk…
How do I recover all my emails and addresses from my Outlook 2007?
I could not do the suggested export, since the harddisk crashed….
November 25th, 2008 at 12:58 am
my hard disk cannot be detected how could i recover my files on my hard disk?
April 25th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
My hard drive has crashed. Unfortunately, I did not back up for a month and a half. I have a “Clickfree” desktop backup system. I also have a 3rd party program but it did not back the information for this system up for some reason. It is really bad-3 years lost. I need to do anything I can to get the information off my hard drive. My problem is, it is dead. It will not even spin. Does anyone know a way that I can retrieve the information on the drive?
July 23rd, 2009 at 1:44 pm
My computer crahsed and I installed a new hard drive. Now the McAfee antivirus that I had, I no longer have. Do I have to purchase new? Or how can I get it back - since I already paid? Thanks.