Computer Help Required [Archive] - SV650.org

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fenjer

29-11-09, 02:20 PM

Does anyone have any experience with Linux?

I have a desktop that is running on Linux, it was acting as a stop gap between my old pc and my new laptop, and it appears to have "eaten" everything on the hard drive import (and infact is refusing to open the linux eqivilent of "my computer") so now I cant get anything off it on to my new external hard drive. My regular IT guru is in Blackpool, so although he reckons an hour in front of it would probably be enough to fix it, thats one heck of a call out charge...

So I appeal to you oh mighty Org... can anyone fix my pc problems before I take this kind of action :compcrash: and destroy my many photos forever?!

TheRamJam

29-11-09, 03:11 PM

suicidesam

29-11-09, 06:27 PM

If you have your new laptop, I have an adapter cable that turns a normal IDE hard disc into an external type just for this kinda thing happening! Just plugs into a USB port so you can just drag stuff off the doomed drive to a happy new place on your lappy or ext drive. :D

fenjer

29-11-09, 07:20 PM

I think Linux and Ubuntu both use the NTFS file system. Not much experience with Linux really but in theory you should be able to whip out your internal HDD and connect to a PC and copy the data off it.

HTH :o

Hmmm... nope. Linux wont copy anything to the external HDD, it uses exFAT, so I converted the EHDD to exFAT which took about a million hours cos it's 1tb of memory space, and Linux STILL wont copy anything on it.

If you have your new laptop, I have an adapter cable that turns a normal IDE hard disc into an external type just for this kinda thing happening! Just plugs into a USB port so you can just drag stuff off the doomed drive to a happy new place on your lappy or ext drive. :D

Hmmm....we could maybe give that a try, although I'm not optimistic, surely copying to the external HDD *should* be just as easy? When you double clikc on anything in Linux it brings up and "Open With...?" menu...which is not inspiring confindence!
You are probably much more technically minded than me though so I'm open to all offers of help!

pookie

29-11-09, 07:31 PM

can you ftp to it from another pc and download from there?

fenjer

29-11-09, 07:32 PM

can you ftp to it from another pc and download from there?

Ummm... 8-[ No Idea.

I only have my laptop...not sure how to do that.

TheRamJam

29-11-09, 07:57 PM

Hmmm... nope. Linux wont copy anything to the external HDD, it uses exFAT, so I converted the EHDD to exFAT which took about a million hours cos it's 1tb of memory space, and Linux STILL wont copy anything on it.

Hmmm....we could maybe give that a try, although I'm not optimistic, surely copying to the external HDD *should* be just as easy? When you double clikc on anything in Linux it brings up and "Open With...?" menu...which is not inspiring confindence!
You are probably much more technically minded than me though so I'm open to all offers of help!

I mean the internal HDD of the PC running Linux should be NTFS. Take your old PC apart put it in the cradle thing that SuicideSams on about and connect that to your PC. SHould then just be a matter of drag and drop. Assuming the HDD is not corrupt and/or the plates are damaged.

HTH:)

fenjer

29-11-09, 07:59 PM

hmmm... I dunno. lol Sounds technical, I would probably need a lot of help!

I can pay in bottles of Stella...lol

TheRamJam

29-11-09, 08:01 PM

its easy takes two mins

its a couple of screws really, so assuming you know how to hold/use a screwdriver its a piece of cake.

Just dont cut the red wire lol :D

fenjer

29-11-09, 08:02 PM

hmmm.... *is not convinced*

I can use a screwdriver btw - not totally incompetent, just not sure about computer stuff... :P

TheRamJam

29-11-09, 08:05 PM

if you get a loan of the thing SS has then maybe he can do it for you. Else they only other way is to remove your internal IDE HDD and connect it to another PC.

If you need a hand with this give me a bell...:)

suicidesam

29-11-09, 10:48 PM

Taking a drive out of a pc is simples! Unsrew case, pull cables off drive carefully then take remove 4 screws holding drive in place... done.
On the Linux front.. I know nothings! I've only used windows systems. If someone knows if you can view linux files when a drive is plugged into a windows system, or if some software is reqired might help ;)

Kirkybhoy

29-11-09, 11:15 PM

should be able to view linux files by piggy-backing drive onto another system internally or externally.

vjones777

30-11-09, 01:42 AM

Not sure what you mean by import "it appears to have "eaten" everything on the hard drive import"

I assume the desktop PC was working ok at one point, as you had your data on there ok. Have you've deleted it, moved it somewhere else, or had a hard drive failure? If you can still boot into linux, a hard drive failure isn't that likely.

Your linux desktop is probably formatted with Ext2 or Ext3, though it could be FAT32. Windows cant natively read Ext2 or 3, though you can get drivers for windows that will let it read drives. http://www.fs-driver.org/
However, there shouldn't be any need to do that.

Linux can read and write to ext2, ext3 and fat without problem. I could be that your external hard drive is formatted as ntfs (windows XP an onwards). Some versions of linux need extensions to be able to access nfts - if you're using one of those then you wont be able to write to your external HD. 2 solutions for that situation:
a) Format the external HD to fat (it sounds like you've tried that)
or
b) Use a 'live' linux CD that supports ntfs write, such as knoppix.

If the problem is that you can't even see the files you want to copy, it seems they may have been accidently deleted/moved. I'd try to boot the desktop with a 'live CD' and use that to browse/search for your files. If the files have been deleted, the more you use the PC, the less the chances of recovery.
To get a live knoppix CD, download it using your laptop or another PC eg from http://www.knopper.net/knoppix-mirrors/download.php?lang=en&link=http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/
Be sure to get one ending in EN unless you want the menus in German eg
KNOPPIX-ADRIANE_V6.2CD-2009-11-18-EN.iso (http://ftp.uni-kl.de/pub/linux/knoppix/KNOPPIX-ADRIANE_V6.2CD-2009-11-18-EN.iso)
PS when you burn the CD be sure to burn it as an '.iso', dont just copy the one big file over. Most CD buring s/w has that option.
Then put the CD in your desktop and boot from the CD - you'll probably have to press 'INS' or F4 or F12 or something to get to the boot menu (you may even need to change your BIOS settings to do that) - it all depends on your motherboards BIOS.

If you still cant see the files on your internal hard drive using the live CD you may be looking at data recovery. In that case dont use the desktop until you can get your mate to look at it.

Good luck.

SoulKiss

30-11-09, 09:36 AM

I mean the internal HDD of the PC running Linux should be NTFS. Take your old PC apart put it in the cradle thing that SuicideSams on about and connect that to your PC. SHould then just be a matter of drag and drop. Assuming the HDD is not corrupt and/or the plates are damaged.

HTH:)

Please stop giving advice - a Linux box running NTFS on its primary drive is VERY unlikely, EXT3, EXT4, XFS or ReiserFS, NTFS is a WINDOWS file system and its only recently that support for Read/Write NTFS was hacked to be working.

Come back when you know what you are talking about

Tiger 55

30-11-09, 10:49 AM

Come back when you know what you are talking about
Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

SoulKiss

30-11-09, 10:59 AM

Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

Thats Ayrshirers in London to you :p

Puppie

30-11-09, 11:05 AM

wyrdness

30-11-09, 11:12 AM

Does Mr Grumpy need a hug?

Londoners.

No, SK is rightly pointing out that TheRamJam doesn't know what he's talking about and his advice should be ignored.

I'd suggest trying to boot up using an Ubuntu CD and seeing if that can see the drive.

SoulKiss

30-11-09, 12:35 PM

No, SK is rightly pointing out that TheRamJam doesn't know what he's talking about and his advice should be ignored.

I'd suggest trying to boot up using an Ubuntu CD and seeing if that can see the drive.

Thank you :)

Fenjer, sorry that the above negativeness was the best I could add at the time - I like to be a bit more helpful than that when possible.

It seems like what you really need is somone who understands Linux to pay a visit, see whats going on with your machine THEN advise on what should be done.

Second best would be if you had someone you trusted to see everything on the machine, who could log in remotely and do some diagnostics.

Thirdly, use google, make sure you put Ubuntu in the search with everything else you are searching on.

Linux IS a great thing, and when it goes wrong, its not any worse than when Windows does, its just that there are fewer places to get answers from.

Oops - just re-read your original post - can your guru not log in remotely? It should be relatively simple (if involved) for you to find your IP address, tell your router to allow SSH in to the machine in question and then install the SSH server to allow remote logins to enable someone access to your machine remotely.

Sally

30-11-09, 12:47 PM

Or you can pop in past on you're way up to Aberdeen?

When is that again? :)

Tiger 55

30-11-09, 12:59 PM

Thats Ayrshirers in London to you :p
My god, it's like a virus then, get out man! :)

@wyrdness, I'm happy to accept SK is right and RamJam deserves a thorough ignoring, I'm just looking for Ecosse level manners. This isn't IB you know.

SoulKiss

30-11-09, 02:26 PM

Or you can pop in past on you're way up to Aberdeen?

When is that again? :)

I dont think that BA have hop-off, hop-on facilities...

Will be in Alford on the 19th

SoulKiss

30-11-09, 02:45 PM

@wyrdness, I'm happy to accept SK is right and RamJam deserves a thorough ignoring, I'm just looking for Ecosse level manners. This isn't IB you know.

I was a bit terse, but it was intentional to show the strength of feeling and conviction behind my words.

If the question had been oil related and someone had posted, "I think the SV uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil", then later said "The SV uses Extra Virgin Olive Oil" I would have expected someone to be equally terse.

I dont really understand the actual problem, but as I am actually paid to look after Linux boxes, I do know the potential problems and how to get round some of them.

Fenjer, if you want to, PM me and I can talk you through some diagnostics we can do to find out exactly what is wrong - probably best done on the phone, so maybe we can arrange something for tonight/tomorrow night?

suicidesam

30-11-09, 10:16 PM

And the above is the reason why i posted up i know nowt about Linux, Done a quick web search of Linux file types and thought Ermmm... Nahh.

Always thought about re-building a spare tower to stick Linux on to play with, never got bored enough though :(

fenjer

01-12-09, 02:00 PM

I know that the version of linux that is running on the pc is 4.1 from 2004...
I know very little else about it.

The entire pc was rescued from my dad's work for me to use as a stop-gap. The files I think have the potential to open, but it just keeps asking me what I want to open them with, to which I have no idea. They have not been deleted or moved, the folder is there in the desktop but when you double click it brings up and "Open With" menu....

I tried doing telephone maintenance with my Guru from blackpool. it didn't go well as I am unable to convey *exactly* what the machine does. I think it will need someone to come and sit in front of it. The call out charge from London will be higher than from Blackpool though! lol

As for remote assisstance, pass - i have no idea. Tried once before and it wouldnt work, so no idea how to get it to work again!

I really just want to rescue my photos from it's evil clutches! I;m not using it for day to day stuff now that the laptop is here.

J

Bibio

01-12-09, 02:11 PM

i think your going to have to get someone with a computer running Linux with the same formatting as you to plug your harddrive into their computer to move the files over to some other medium. try taking your harddrive along to your local collage or university and flutter your eyelids at the tech department (they are used to recovering files for students all the time), i'm sure they will help.

Sally

01-12-09, 02:53 PM

I am terrible with computers..
But have you tried selecting a program to open them with when prompted?

SK please shout at me if this is wrong :)

SoulKiss

01-12-09, 11:23 PM

I am terrible with computers..
But have you tried selecting a program to open them with when prompted?

SK please shout at me if this is wrong :)

Lol - no need to shout - its a sensible answer (and probably one that I would have tried had I been in front of it, the behaviour didnt make any sense...

Still with the wonders of MSN, all is fixed - biggest problem is that Windows doesnt allow you to format large drives as FAT32 any more, using exFAT which an older Linux box (this was an Ubuntu box running a 2 year old kernel).

So was just a case of checking a few things, using gparted to reformat the USB HD, then a quick sudo cp -vfr ~/Desktop /extdrive and leave for a while.

Just got a PM a while back saying pics are now visable on the EXT HD when connected to the Laptop.

Still no idea what the machine is playing at with regards to opening files, but that doesnt matter as only the data was important and I'll talk her through installing the latest Ubuntu if she wants :)

So, all done :)

fenjer

01-12-09, 11:26 PM

Yup _ I should have posted earlier, but i have spent a lot of time looking at pretty photographs!

Thank You SK, very much appreciated... and we may well do that re-boot thingumy later. :)

SoulKiss

02-12-09, 07:51 AM

Yup _ I should have posted earlier, but i have spent a lot of time looking at pretty photographs!

Thank You SK, very much appreciated... and we may well do that re-boot thingumy later. :)

LOL - I guessed you were side tracked with piccies, but wanted to make sure Sally knew he wasn't going to be yelled at :p

If you want that machine back to full fitness, just drop me a PM :)