Recovering Files Using Live CD
From Knowledge76
Contents |
Overview
If you need to reinstall your operating system, please follow the instructions below.
For users who want to back up their data and have a working system, please see Backing Up Your Files.
Insert a Live CD
First, insert an Ubuntu live CD. If you don't have one, you can download one from here. Burn it to a disk according to these instructions, then insert it into your computer. Boot from it. You will see the following screen:
At which point you will need to press a key. Next, you will see a menu with several languages.
Select your language. After this, you can select "Try Ubuntu Without Installing."
Note
If your computer does not automatically boot from the CD Drive, you may need to enter your system's BIOS and edit the boot order. Make sure the CD Drive is listed above the Hard Drive.
Mount the Hard Drive
Once the live CD has booted up and you are at the desktop environment, click on the places menu. In the second section, directly beneath "Computer", there should be one or more file system entries, with a Hard Disk Icon next to them. Click on the one that had your old home folder on it, and it will mount.
Copy Your Files to an External Drive
On the partition you just opened navigate to your old home folder. It may present by default, or it could be located in a folder named "home".
This is your old home folder. Now, insert an external drive, like a USB flash. It should appear momentarily in the list on the left. Open your home folder and copy its contents from the left to the external drive on the right, and drop it there.
Copying your files may take a long time, but your should be able to leave the computer and let it run until it is finished. Alternatively, you can select individual files and folders to copy.
Reinstall Ubuntu
You are now ready to Reinstall Your Operating System.
