Linux can be useful, too!

Please don’t be scared by the title of this tip, I’m not asking you to shun Windows for eternity! What I am suggesting you do, though, is to always have a Linux Live CD around if you are ever, for your sins, charged with fixing computers and broken Operating systems.

A Linux Live CD can, very quickly, load a completely working operating system into your computer’s RAM, which, amongst many other things, can allow you to back up your critical files from the windows formatted partition(s), onto another medium of your choice.

My favourite Linux distribution for this purpose is Knoppix ([http://www.knoppix.org/]), as it ‘mounts’ your other partitions automatically, and has great inbuilt support for various pieces of hardware.

The only caveat here is to make sure your computer is set to boot from the CD drive before your hard drive. Do this by changing the boot order in the BIOS.

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Jean
Very good advice, PC daily always gives us tipsfor solving comon and delicate problems we meet, and giving highlight with the move on new technologies.
I am A+ certified, doing a Bsc course in computer networks and security, but with your advice, I am very delighted to be up-to-date when it happens to make a research.
Well done
Garry Bradley
I love the Knoppix Cd but You might add Puppy linux cd to your toolbox because of it’s low memory requirements. Not as glitzy as some of the main stream lixux distro’s but if your box has dropped back to 128mb
(because of a bad memory card) you will like the Puppy!