Accessing HD from dsl

Forum: Other Help Topics
Topic: Accessing HD from dsl
started by: bobmagoo

Posted by bobmagoo on Feb. 12 2006,20:38

i have a computer that runs win2kpro and it decided it didnt want to boot about a week ago. i am hoping something just got screwed up w/ a boot.ini file or some other software thing, and i was wondering if i could use dsl booted from a usb to get at files located on the hard drive. i am unfamiliar with unix commands, and therefore unable to get at the hd through a the terminal. i am however, good w/ copying and pasting, so if some one could help me out w/ the commands that would allow me to get into the hd and copy files off or to it, that would be much appreciated.

Posted by ospreyeagle on Feb. 13 2006,02:02

I think you need a Linux distribution that has ntfs support. I doubt if DSL has ntfs support. However, if you have CD drive, you can boot up with ubuntu
< http://ubuntuguide.org/#mountunmountntfs >

If you are not at all familiar with unix, I think the easiest option would be to remove the hard drive from the computer and put in another working computer or mount it as a external USB drive. It is much simpler than step by step instructions and only requires removing screws etc...

Correction: I just looked around and found this. I stand corrected.

From < http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/talk/node?from=110 >

I first downloaded DSL to recover some data from a managers laptop. The data was in an NTFS partition that was not readable in windows. I was also unable to read it in ERD Commander.I am typing these steps from memory and will check for accuracy later.

1) Boot PC with needed data using a DSL CD.

2) After DSL is running open a command prompt and mount the drive with the needed data and mount whatever you are planning on copying the data to (You could copy over the network but I used a 1GB Pen Drive.)

a) 'mount -t ntfs /dev/hda1 /mnt/hd' . Where hda1 is the first

Posted by humpty on Feb. 15 2006,19:05

If you are in the majority, then you probably installed win2k on an ntfs partition.

You can read ntfs partitions from most linux distros but not write back to it. So data recovery is o.k, but not data modification.

You could try the trinity rescue disk (just google it), the latest version allows read/write ntfs.

I can't suggest you move your HD to another PC because unlike DSL, win2k commits suicide when you put it in a new home and is liable to do it the hara-kiri way.

If you end-up re-installing, i'ts a good idea to use fat32.
(or just stay with linux!)