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True Stories of Knoppix Rescues

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the and-it-fits-in-your-wallet dept.

Omniscientist writes "We've all been there: Our system is on the edge of death and we need to either fix it or retrieve important data that still remains hidden away in its dying clutches. LinuxDevCenter has a funny article on a heroic tale of a sysadmin relying on Knoppix to save the day. I for one, always make a boot disk in case of problems, but Knoppix can turn a bad day into a good one for just about anyone. Perhaps every administrator should have a Knoppix CD on reserve."

6 of 335 comments (clear)

  1. I use it on crapped on WIndows boxes too.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    works like a charm to save data on corrupted windows boxes..

    1. Re:I use it on crapped on WIndows boxes too.. by xanadu-xtroot.com · · Score: 5, Informative
      works like a charm to save data on corrupted windows boxes..

      1. INDEED! I've saved several millions of dollars worth of info by booting NT* servers with a Knoppix CD (or Gentoo before they dropped samba support from the live CDs). I was praised as a herald. Nope. It's not me. I just used the right tool for the right job. Recovering a Windows system with Windows is near impossible.


      2. Aside, I use Linux bootables (Gentoo mostly) for checking the life of my HDs. I run a Gentoo machine (installed near 3 year ago). hda has seen a LOT (even before I put Gentoo on it - it was an MDK drive after it was a Win* drive). I've noticed SMARTd telling me latley that his life may be running short these days, but, after a e2fsck, it's fine. /me shrugs. I still need to replace him regardless.

        It's only a 10G drive (I have 4 others, much larger, in this box), but he needs to be replaced soon.

        Aside, I've saved a LOT of Win* Servers / laptops / desktops with "Live CD's".
      --
      I'm not a prophet or a stone-age man,
      I'm just a mortal with potential of a super man.
  2. Damn Small Linux by tuxliner · · Score: 5, Informative

    In case you need a smaller, Knoppix based, distro : Damn Small Linux is much smaller and is very good as a system rescue tool too.

  3. Other distros work, too by gardyloo · · Score: 4, Informative

    Not only Knoppix, but many of the new "live CDs" work very well for such rescues on hosed (Windows, and others) systems. I, myself, have used Knoppix, Mandrake, PClinuxOS and Mepis as rescue CDs (preferring Mepis, but that's just me), and I've seen Ubuntu, SUSE, and some others used in the same ways.

  4. RTFM by BaldGhoti · · Score: 4, Informative

    He didn't make these mistakes on a production server either. The first was on his main workstation (not a server) and the second was on his laptop (also not a server).

    Really, if you wanna flame him, you'd be safer pointing out that this is just some guy dicking around on his home machine and managing to not scrag his mp3 collection thanks to the wonder of Knoppix.

    --
    [insert witty sig here]
  5. INSERT by EnigmaticSource · · Score: 5, Informative

    If you're going to suggest a Knoppix-STD alternative, why not name one that's intended for data recovery and system restoration...

    The only recovery disks that I've found worth using are a custom gentoo based live-cd and INSERT

    Knoppix-STD or some other live disk is good for imaging and file recovery, but lacks real utility... like editing a windows 2000 registry, or doing vfat/ntfs hacking

    Go Ahead, try INSERT (and yes, i know it's Knoppix Based)

    --
    The Geek in Black
    I know my BCD's (when I'm Sober)