How to Use Linux to Fix Windows
When your Windows computer becomes unresponsive, you can use a Knoppix Linux Live CD to make changes to the system's registry or retrieve valuable data before reinstalling the Windows operating system. If the issue is due to a virus, removing the virus from the registry may be all that is needed to recover your computer. If the issue is more involved, but you do not have a backup of your data, you can use the Live CD to recover the data before reinstalling the OS or replacing the hard drive.
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Instructions
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Starting Knoppix
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1
Download a copy of Knoppix Linux (see Resources) and burn the .iso file to a CD.
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2
Reboot the computer.
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3
Press "Enter" to boot in the CD-Rom when prompted.
Editing the Windows Registry
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4
Open a Terminal window. The Terminal window will be found in the operating system's main Application menu under either "System Tools" or "Utilities." You will be presented with a command prompt.
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5
Type "regedit" at the command prompt.
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Make the required changes in the "Registry Editor" window that will appear.
Recovering Data
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Click on "Hard Disk Partition" on the desktop.
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Browse to the folder where your data is stored.
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Copy all important data to a writable CD, DVD or USB drive. You can use the "K3b" program found in the "Program" menu to write to a CD or DVD, or drag and drop the files to the USB drive folder found on the desktop.
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Tips & Warnings
You can use the "QTParted" program found in the "Programs" menu to reformat the Windows partition without losing data if you have your Windows hard drive partitioned into an operating system partition and a data partition.
