How to Keep Working When Windows Crashes

Scenario: You're hours away from submitting that big research paper or business report. It represents significant discipline and hard work over several months. You're polishing up the conclusion and are about to start writing executive summary, when *BEEP!* your computer reboots itself. You wait, but Windows won't start. Now what?! With a Linux LiveCD handy, you'll be able to do several things: (1) perhaps fix your Windows installation, (2) rescue your file and copy it to a safe location, (3) continue working on your paper and submit it using the applications on the LiveCD. For options one and two, please refer to eHow articles in the Resources section. This article provides the steps necessary to accomplish option three. You'll boot up to an alternate operating system with the LiveCD, use the applications that come with it to continue writing your paper, and finally, submit it when you're finished.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• KNOPPIX LiveCD

1. 1
   
    
   CD-ROM

   MAKE THE LIVECD: Download KNOPPIX and burn the CD. You won't be able to do this if Windows has crashed, so it's a good idea to do it now, when everything is working properly. After you've burned the CD, label it, test it, and put it in a safe place. Visit the articles in the Resources section for step by step instructions for downloading the KNOPPIX .iso file and burning the image to a CD.

2. 2
   
    
   KNOPPIX Desktop

   BOOT TO KNOPPIX: When Windows won't boot and you need to access your hard drive in order to rescue that important project, put the KNOPPIX CD in your CD drive and restart your computer. In order for the computer to recognize the CD as the boot device, you'll need to change the boot drive order in your computer's setup. Directions for accomplishing this step are found in the articles listed in the Resources section. The screenshot in this step shows the KNOPPIX desktop.

3. 3
   
    
   K Menu

   EXPLORE THE K MENU: Once KNOPPIX has loaded, you'll need to find your files. Click the K Menu icon, the equivalent of the Windows Start button. You'll see that KNOPPIX has many applications available. To find your files, open the Home Personal Files application (see screenshot). The Home Personal Files application is equivalent to Windows Explorer.

4. 4
   
    
   Locate Files

   FIND YOUR FILES: Your hard drives and partitions will appear as "hda" in the Home Personal Files application. As depicted in the screenshot for this step, I've clicked on hda1 and navigated to Documents and Settings >> Allison (my profile name) >> My Documents. If you don't normally save your files to the My Documents folder, you'll browse to wherever you save them.

5. 5
   
    
   Continue Work

   OPEN YOUR FILES: The KNOPPIX LiveCD comes loaded with free and open-source applications you can use to continue your work. Use OpenOffice to open Microsoft Office Word and Excel (.doc and.xls) documents (see screenshot). KPDF will open Adobe Acrobat .pdf files. The Gnu Image Manipulation Program (GIMP) is used to edit graphics files. With the X Multimedia System, you can view and listen to .mpg, .mp3, and a variety of other video and audio formats. Finally, there are many Internet connection applications to get you online to download and upload your work.

6. 6
   
    
   Save to Desktop

   SAVING YOUR WORK: When you open a file to work on it, it will be Read-Only. This means you can't write to the file in the same location where you opened it. When you've finished editing, save your file to the KNOPPIX Desktop (see screenshot). You'll do this very much the same way you would in the Windows application you've been using.

7. 7
   
    
   Open Browser

   LAUNCH A WEB BROWSER: Once you've saved your files to the KNOPPIX Desktop, there are several options for getting them off your damaged computer to a safe place online where you can access them later from another computer. First, you'll need to launch a Web browser. Click the Iceweasel Web Browser icon (see screenshot).

8. 8
   
    
   Email Attachment

   STORE, EMAIL, UPLOAD YOUR WORK: When the Web browser has opened, browse to a site where you can store, email, upload, or otherwise submit your work. Sign up for a free account at Box.net or 4-Shared and store your files online. You can also create accounts and upload your documents to Google Docs, Zoho Office, or ZoooS Desktop. Visit the Resources list for links to these services. In the screenshot for this step, I illustrate emailing a document to myself using a free GMail account.

Tips & Warnings

• PRACTICE EMERGENCY OPERATION. You'll hopefully never have to use the LiveCD, but in the event of an emergency, fumbling around with an unfamiliar contingency plan will only add to your frustration and stress. Give the LiveCD a try when you're not in a panic. Practice booting up and using the word processor and Web browser to do your work. When you need it, you'll know how to use it.
• SAVE YOUR WORK. Save your work often. Many word processing programs have an auto-save setting. I set mine to save my work every five minutes.
• USE VERSION CONTROL. Avoid opening and editing the same file. If it gets corrupted, you'll lose all your work. I use a simple version control method. I add the current date to the file name of my latest version (for example, thesis-2008.12.24.doc). The filename changes for each new day. If something does go wrong and I lose today's work, I can always go back to yesterday's file.
• USE REMOVABLE MEDIA. If you don't have one, purchase a USB drive with large enough storage capacity for your work. Copy your work to it frequently. An alternative is to periodically back up your work to CD or DVD.
• CREATE ONLINE ACCOUNTS. Create a free Webmail account as a backup to your regular email. You can access it from the Web browser bundled with the KNOPPIX LiveCD. Online storage is yet another option for saving copies of your work. Sign up for a free 1 GB account at Box.net or 4-Shared and store your files online. You can also create accounts and upload documents to Google Docs, Zoho Office, or ZoooS Desktop. See the Resources list for links to these services.
• This how-to is useful only if Windows won't boot. It won't help you if your power supply, memory, processor, or other hardware has failed.

Resources

• GMail
• Google Docs
• Zoho Office
• ZoooS Desktop
• Box.net
• 4-Shared
• KNOPPIX Documentation
• How to Burn Iso Files on Cd Using Nero 5
• How to Burn ISO Image With Deep Burner
• How to Burn an ISO File to DVD With CloneDVD2
• How to Boot From a CD-ROM
• How to Fix Windows XP ntfs.sys Errors Using a Linux LiveCD

on 2/24/2009 Good article, Thanks

on 2/3/2009 well done! I just experienced a computer problem that kept me pretty sad for a day without the machine. I have recommended you and read, rated and commented. sorry it took me some time.

on 1/3/2009 Wow! This is a very extensive article! It is too complicated for someone like me though but I'll pass it along to my 17-yr old daughter who certainly is more adept in computers than good old mom! 5 stars!