Sorting out problems on a Windows PC using a Live CD

Carrying a Live CD with you can come in very handy if you help Windows users. I have often been able to help people backup their crashed Windows PC using a Live CD and an external hard drive or iPod. But surely there is more that you can do than simply copy files over? Let us take a look at a few options now.

(A Live CD allows you to boot into Linux, in this case Peppermint, without having to install it on the PC. Take out the CD and reboot and you have Windows back. Easy as pie, and it is usually not risky either.)

1. Recover a lost Windows password

Your friend / relative has forgotten their Windows password. No need to get excited, boot from your Live CD. Now we need to install a program, so connect to the Internet then open Software Manager.

Search for chntpw and install it.







2. Virus scan a Windows PC

Your friend / relative has a PC that has been crippled by viruses and you can't fix it from within Windows. Boot from your Live CD, then connect to the Internet. Now you need to decide which anti virus to use.

2.1 ClamAV
The best known free anti virus on Linux. Open a Terminal Window and type:

• sudo apt-get install clamav clamav-daemon clamav-freshclam clamtk
• press <ENTER>
• follow the prompts

To run, click Menu, run then type clamtk then press <ENTER>

2.2 Kaspersky
Go here and download the .deb version, follow the guidelines on the website.

2.3 Avast!
It looks like Avast! used to have a Linux version, but I can't find it now.

2.4 AVG
Go to this page, then click on ACG Anti Virus Free for Linux, click on the .deb version. You should be able to install it by double clicking the downloaded file.

3. Test hardware

If you doubt the condition of your CPU try CPU Burn-in, for RAM issues try MemTest86+ (there is usually an option to boot into this when booting from the Live CD) and gsmartcontrol (install it in Software Manager) can check the health of your hard drives. Peppermint comes with a tool called Disks (click Menu, Preferences, Disks) which also has SMART data and Tests that you can run.





Did I miss something? Mention it in the comments please.

Recovering data Part 2: deleted partitions

While PhotoRec will recover lost files, what happens when an entire disk partition vanishes? Enter TestDisk.

The ideal situation will be that after you realized you wrongly deleted that partition, that you boot up with a Live CD or Flash Drive. Connect to the Internet, then open Software Manager and search for TestDisk (remember to include the Universe repository in the settings).

When you recover data it is always better to recover it to a different drive, the ideal would be a large external HDD.

For an in depth look at TestDisk check out the HowToGeek tutorial here. At the moment I don't have a test machine and I am sadly not going to risk deleting an important partition on my laptop for this tutorial.

Sorry folks, maybe some day I will revisit this when I have a test machine and an empty external HDD.


Thank you for understanding.

Recovering Data Part 1 - deleted files

Have you ever deleted a file, only to realize that you in fact, still needed it? That's what the Trash Can is there for (Recycle Bin for Windows users). But what if you emptied the trash and then realized you still needed stuff?

Recovering deleted files can save you a lot of time and effort, in that you do not have to redo the work you spent hours or days doing and in some cases like with holiday photographs it can help you save precious memories. You can't go on holiday to the exact same place and retake all the photos you lost (normally).

Enter PhotoRec, it comes bundled together with TestDisk (which we will discuss in a later post). To install:

• Open a Terminal Window
• Type in: sudo apt-get install testdisk
• Press <ENTER>
• Type in your sudo password and press <ENTER>
• Follow the prompts

(Alternatively search for testdisk in software manager)
(remember to include the Universe repository in the settings, if you get an error message when you try to install the program)

If you are not in a Terminal window, then open one. Type in sudo photorec and press <ENTER>. You might not have to enter your password again, unless if more than a few minutes has passed since you last typed it in.

PhotoRec will now ask you on which partition you want it to search for deleted files. I deleted a few files from a flash drive before installing the program and here I choose my Adata flash drive. Next you will need to choose what type of partition it is for PhotoRec to be effective. Now you are asked to choose the partition to scan for deleted files, do so.

  If you are asked which file types to recover, then make a selection (I must have chosen all files somewhere).

You will now be asked where to save the recovered files. I choose my home folder, PhotoRec make a sub folder with all the recovered files in it.

The only thing that was strange (to me at least) is that the recovered files where:

1. Not in folders, as they had been on the drive and
2. Had all been renamed, of the 238 recovered files all of them started with f

I tested some of the recovered files and found that they had successfully been recovered (unlike my experience with some Windows file recovery programs where you are told that your files are now back, but they don't open properly any more).

A program worth checking out.

Sorry I have been so quiet lately

I started a new job in August, which keeps me away from home for 13 hours a day. I now have a lot less spare time and it has cut into my blogging time as well.

I really should try to put up a new post every week, fingers crossed.

Ubuntu for phones, thoughts and opinions

I've been thinking about this since I listened to a podcast today (FLOSS episode 252 where Jono Bacon talks about Ubuntu for mobile phones).

When Android first came out, it was strange and new. Being in South Africa we have excessively high mobile data charges and people were getting slammed by the mobile phone operators for high data usage. At that point the HTC Dream phone was the only phone running Android, I worked as a Customer Service Agent at a mobile phone store selling contract phones. A friend bought one of these phones and managed to install something that totally bricked his phone, he sent it in for repairs and ended up waiting almost 6 months for HTC to send it back. I was NOT going to recommend this phone or the Android brand to clients.

Fast forward 2 years, Samsung had launched plenty of phones running Android (Gingerbread the then current flavour) and the platform had matured a bit. I started to get to know how it works and how to stay out of trouble. Fast forward to today and there are many communities that will help you get the right software tools, advice and ROMs needed to customize your phone. 

Why is this relevant? Because we are at the point of Ubuntu phone being launched. It's still a work in progress, but if you listen to FLOSS #252 you will see the passion that these people have for the new platform. Ubuntu One will play a crucial role in everything as you can sync your files across phones and computers, buy and stream music and sync your contacts to it (among other things). 

When comparing Ubuntu One to its greatest competitor, Dropbox, you will notice that Dropbox is more polished. Dropbox probably has more money invested in its service than Ubuntu One though. 

It's not really fair to evaluate a new platform that's still being built. I mean, the first iPhone could not send MMS messages and iOS 7 has now only caught up with Android as to having live wallpapers. But Android wasn't perfect either when it launched, it's going to take Ubuntu a while to catch up to the competition, and they aren't the only one's trying to get a slice of the action. Nokia and Blackberry and trying desperately to make their platforms a success again, while Firefox OS has beaten Ubuntu phones to market (who knows if they will become a mayor player?). 

The future is uncertain, but I wish the Ubuntu phone team every success with their endeavour. I'm not a fan of using Unity on the desktop and I may not like how their phone OS turn out. They have a lot of hard work ahead of them. Google (with Android) proved that it is possible to come out of nowhere with a new phone OS and become a dominant player within 4 years of launching it, so anything is possible.

So I got tired of double clicking

Computer mice have been around for a while now, I have used a lot of different ones in my time. This morning I started thinking about double clicking again. I've been double clicking, because that is the Windows default way of doing things (single click to select) - but I don't have to. So I enabled single click on Peppermint.

Here's how to do it:

• Open PCManFM
• Click on Edit
• Click Preferences
• Click on Open files with a single click

These instructions are specific to LXDE, which uses PCManFM as it's default file manager.


Other desktop interfaces:

To do this in KDE: (if it's not the default)

• Click "Start"
• Go to System Settings
• Open Keyboard and Mouse
• Click the Double click to open files and folders radio button
• Confirm if you have to, or close the window

To do this in Gnome 2:

• Open your file browser (Nautilus)
• Click on Edit
• Click on Preferences
• Click the Behaviour tab
• Click the radio button for Single click to activate items
• Click Close

To do this in Gnome 3:

• Open your file browser
• Click on File (top left)
• Click Preferences
• Go to the Behaviour tab 
• Click Enable single click
• Click Close

To do this in Unity:

I found a tutorial on this, click here to check it out.

I meet an old friend! PDFTK

I have used PDFTK in Windows as a portable app (thanks Portable Apps!) and today I needed to combine a few PDF's again. A quick Google search got me onto PDF Shuffler, which in my experience, does not work on Peppermint 4 (or Ubuntu according to an article I read).

My next option was PDF Chain, a GUI for PDFTK (which I really love). This program has helped me combine hundreds of PDF's into 1 file, place watermarks onto PDF's and split and recombine PDF files. It is an amazing piece of software and every printing shop needs to have this (I used to work in a printing shop and this came in real handy at times).

It can join (concatenate), split, stamp and even rotate PDF files.

Let's install PDF Chain:

• Open a Terminal (Click Menu >> Accessories >> Terminal)
• Type in sudo apt-get install pdfchain , press <ENTER>
• Type your password, and press <ENTER>
• Confirm the install

It is now installed in the Office section of your Menu.

Enjoy