Bootable tool for accessing files?

[blueprint]

Hi

I have a non-booting laptop and I want to boot off the flash drive (no optical) to access some files on the hard drive and perhaps copy them to the flash drive. Is there such a tool that will allow DOS access to the files? The laptop's running XP. I'll format it, but need some files off it.

Cheers

[peterb]

A google search using the terms flash drive bootable dos will give you some There are several, a google search using terms like flash drive bootable dos may give you something suitable. However these are not necessarily supported methods.

There is a way of creating a bootable Linux image on a flash drive, that IS supported. That would give you networking as well as access to your files, making recovery of the files easier.

https://fedorahosted.org/liveusb-creator/ You might be able to create a bootable dod image using the tools there, but it isn't something I have tried.

[Jay]

knoppix is very good for this.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/usb-knoppix-510

[blueprint]

Thanks for that chaps. I went for the Knoppix option. If you're not used to it (me!) Knoppix is very difficult to use and awkward, but it did the job.

[peterb]

Thanks for that chaps. I went for the Knoppix option. If you're not used to it (me!) Knoppix is very difficult to use and awkward, but it did the job.

Glad you got it sorted!

While Knoppix (or any 'different' OS)may seem initially tricky to use I would suggest that time taken to learn how to use it is probably well worth it. Apart from being a full blown linux distro, it is a very useful recovery tool.

[directhex]

Glad you got it sorted!

While Knoppix (or any 'different' OS)may seem initially tricky to use I would suggest that time taken to learn how to use it is probably well worth it. Apart from being a full blown linux distro, it is a very useful recovery tool.

mmm, I think Knoppix has failed to really improve much with age - it was famous as the first LiveCD distro, which is why people still mention it - but it's far from the most user-friendly distro

[aidanjt]

Agreed, Knoppix is dying of bit rot.

In the mean time, tonnes of distros have used the same techniques with their naturally evolving OS components. So most modern Linux install/live CD/DVD image should let you access your files and do whatever you like with them.

[peterb]

mmm, I think Knoppix has failed to really improve much with age - it was famous as the first LiveCD distro, which is why people still mention it - but it's far from the most user-friendly distro

True - and when it came out it had very good hardware support. I don't know how it compares with the other live distros though. (Though I am tinkering with Fedora on a Cf card at the moment)

I suppose the point I was making (but not very well) was that any different OS seems strange, but in the case of Linux, well worth mastering!