PC Pals Forum
Technical Help & Discussion => Windows PCs & Software: Help, News & Discussion => Topic started by: Simon on July 04, 2011, 11:21
-
A friend has a hard drive where Windows is on the C partition, and Documents on the D partition. Windows is knackered, and the C drive is so full that it has less than 200mb disc space left, and the computer basically won't function.
Would booting from a Linux CD enable them to recover their data on the D partition, to an external hard drive? If so, how exactly is this done?
Alternatively, could they boot from a Windows CD, delete the C partition and reinstall Windows, without putting the data on D drive at risk? Could they also expand the C partition this way, and again, would this put their data at risk?
I'm not getting involved with this one, other than to offer advice!
-
Why not just mount the drive in an external enclosure on another box and backup/delete out some of the crap from the ailing HDD? Then you can do a windows repair once you've got some breathing space.
-
Because they haven't got an enclosure or another box, and I'm not taking mine to bits! ;)
-
What kind of computer-mender-man are you? :o
-
The current plan is to use an external USB drive to try to save some of the essential data, then to format and reintall Windows.
-
One that's tired of spending my free time on other people's machines! ;D
-
The current plan is, of course, reliant on Windows being able to wheeze it's way through the process, without completely croaking.
-
One that's tired of spending my free time on other people's machines! ;D
I know the feeling. On the other hand, I've just had my car valeted to showroom standard in exchange for sorting someone's laptop. 8-)
-
Nice trade. :)
-
Make a copy of Puppy live cd
Use it to put all the info on a disc
When the live cd opens all drives should be mounted
Its basically an easy process once the info is saved on a disc
You can do anything you want with the hard drives
Repair the windows install or a complete reinstall
Puppy
http://is.gd/hNpqt7 (http://is.gd/hNpqt7)
-
Thanks Dave.
-
Your welcome Simon
Its what i use for all repairs and virus removal on all my friends windows installs
-
I have a HDD partitioned between Windows Vista and Ubuntu. Could I use a live CD to remove Ubuntu and free up more space for Vista?
-
I have a HDD partitioned between Windows Vista and Ubuntu. Could I use a live CD to remove Ubuntu and free up more space for Vista?
Yes use gparted in puppy to delete ubuntu then use it to expand the windows partician
then you have one of two choices either install grub with puppy or use a windows disc and repair windows mbr
Windows mbr will be messed up when you remove ubuntu so it will need to be repaired before you can log in
-
What about the data on the D partition of my friend's drive, Dave? If I use Gparted to expand the C drive, does that not put the other data at risk, given it's all on one physical drive?
-
Quote:
A friend has a hard drive where Windows is on the C partition, and Documents on the D partition. Windows is knackered, and the C drive is so full that it has less than 200mb disc space left, and the computer basically won't function.
Ill start over I didn't make it very clear
Use puppy to retrieve all data from D partition to hard drive,cd,dvd or flash drive
all you need to do is copy and paste to retrieve the data
copy from D partition to either desktop or a CD,dvd or external drive which will be shown in puppy
All mounted up drives will show in puppy and you can move data back and forth
Use gparted to either delete or re size D partition
If the windows installation is in working order other than not having enough space
Use gparted to resize C partition
You have already saved the data on D partition
So you can either delete it or resize it to make room for C partition
I hope i made that more clear im not used to giving directions more used to doing it lol
-
Interesting, thanks Dave. :thumb:
-
sorry it wasnt very clear Simon
Ive done it so much I dont have to think how anymore but its hard for me to tell someone how
puppy will do whats needed
-
I hope it's house trained!
-
It actually is i have it installed on a hard drive so I wouldnt have to have a leash (cd)
:laugh:
-
I'd have just use a Ubuntu disk... I don't like puppy.
-
I have a HDD partitioned between Windows Vista and Ubuntu. Could I use a live CD to remove Ubuntu and free up more space for Vista?
Yep - but why would you :p I thought you were getting on well with Ubuntu.
-
I could use ubuntu or linux mint myself Sam
But when puppy loads all available drives are mounted and show at the bottom of the page
Puppy easier for a newbie to try a repair on a windows partition
-
I guess so. I guess I'm fickle when it comes to what I use. I guess it auto-mounting is quite nice, then again I'm not sure I'd want it to auto-mount everything, but I guess I wouldn't be the newbie trying to repair linux.
I'm intending to give mint another go at some point this week.
-
Try mint 10 not 11
11 still has the ubuntu bugs especially with different video cards
-
will do.
-
I'm having trouble with this. I've loaded Puppy, and can see all the drives in the Gparted window. It will let me reduce the size of the D (Documents) drive, but it won't let me increase the size of the C (boot) drive, only reduce it, which is the opposite of what I want to do. Any help?
-
Yep - but why would you :p I thought you were getting on well with Ubuntu.
Ubuntu is good so long as you don't want to operate a TV capture card. Vista recognises it automatically and is simple to use.
I haven't re-partitioned my computer yet - it's a job for when I've got nothing else to do :) .
-
I'm having trouble with this. I've loaded Puppy, and can see all the drives in the Gparted window. It will let me reduce the size of the D (Documents) drive, but it won't let me increase the size of the C (boot) drive, only reduce it, which is the opposite of what I want to do. Any help?
Sounds like it didn't actually reduce the size of D drive
When you reduced the D drive did gparted tell you it was finished resizing
There should have been a progress bar showing it working
Then it should have refreshed
and shown C drive then an empty space then D drive
If not then something went wrong
-
That sort of happened, but it created a new blank bit of drive which I then couldn't do anything with. It called it un-something or other, can't remember now.
-
Ubuntu is good so long as you don't want to operate a TV capture card. Vista recognises it automatically and is simple to use.
I haven't re-partitioned my computer yet - it's a job for when I've got nothing else to do :) .
wasn't there a list of things posted not too long ago on how todo this? Maybe davy posted it? I don't recall.
I though you weren't trying to capture TV with this one :dunno: oh well. Soon you won't be able to use your capture card anyway. I guess? Or can it cope with freeview?
-
That sort of happened, but it created a new blank bit of drive which I then couldn't do anything with. It called it un-something or other, can't remember now.
That blank bit of drive is the free space created when you shrank D partition
it should allow you to resize the C partition to fill that space
click on the free space
then click edit at the bottom
a box should show up in that box is a drop down window
I cant see it but bet it says do not use this partition
try shrinking D partition by 1mb again
let it completely finish and refresh
And try to resize C partition by right clicking on the right side of it and drag it to fill the free space
If that doesnt work
Im gonna start screaming for sam :laugh:
-
The only options the blank partition gave was 'New' when right clicking, then it complained that there were already a maximum of four partitions, and I couldn't have any more. It was fine, as they'd managed to save all they wanted anyway, so deleting D wasn't a problem.
I then had another problem which turned out to be a dead router, and now it appears to be full of viruses, so I'm going to reinstall Windows, which it would have been easier to do in the first place. After that, I never want to see the sodding machine again.
-
If it was full of viruses not much else to do but reinstall easiest and fastest way
The way it sounds a complete reinstall was needed bad anyway
-
All of that said, I have to admit, I quite liked Puppy, and will probably experiment more with Linux CDs in the future. :)
-
Stick it on usb will be faster
-
Well, once I've got this other POS sorted out, I'll have more time to play. :)
-
a whole new world of live cd's and dvd's out there
-
;D