Ways To Use Linux To Fix Your Windows PC

Ways To Use Linux To Fix Your Windows PC

First things first, you love your Windows desktop and you won't trade it for any other! Fine with us, but don't come running to us when you get into trouble, which in the case of Windows are far too many. Ok, we know, you'll still come to us (Linux and open source we mean) and we will help you out like always. Here are 8 ways of using Linux to fix your Windows PC. You'll have to make yourself a Live Linux CD (Ubuntu preferably) first.

1.Change/Reset Your Windows Password

chntpw is a software utility for resetting or blanking local passwords used by Windows NT, 2000, XP, Vista, and 7. It does this by editing the SAM database where Windows stores password hashes. It is included in many security focused Linux distributions. 

2.Clone Your Hard Drive

dd command is a simple, yet versatile and powerful tool that can be used to copy from source to destination, block-by-block, regardless of their filesystem types or operating systems. 

3.Recover Data

-TestDisk

TestDisk is a free and open source data recovery utility designed to help recover lost data storage partitions and/or make non-booting disks bootable again when these symptoms are caused by faulty software, certain types of viruses or human error (such as accidentally erasing a partition table). 

-Foremost

Foremost is a forensic data recovery program for Linux used to recover files using their headers, footers, and data structures through a process known as file carving. Although written for law enforcement use, it is freely available and can be used as a general data recovery tool.

4.Recover Deleted Files

-Recuva

Recuva is a data recovery program for Windows that can recover files that have been "permanently" deleted and marked by the operating system as free space. The program can also be used to recover files deleted from USB flash drives, memory cards, or MP3 players.

5.Repair Damaged Backup CDs

-Ddrescue

GNU ddrescue is a data recovery tool. It copies data from one file or block device (hard disk, cdrom, etc.) to another, trying hard to rescue data in case of read errors. GNU ddrescue is not a derivative of dd, nor is related to dd in any way except in that both can be used for copying data from one device to another. The difference is that ddrescue uses a sophisticated algorithm to copy data from failing drives causing them as little additional damage as possible.