TR Forums

Not RIP in the sense you're thinking.

Recovery Is Possible Linux

I decided to take a risk and gamble on an open box deal of a 2TB WD Caviar Black. It was 50% off and the drive can be returned to the local vendor, but I've only got seven days to do so.

So naturally I was looking for a good SMART tool to view the current status of the drive and to test the drive for faults. and Smartmontools fit the bill.

Now I'm sitting in a Live USB install of Linux. It let me download Chrome from the repository and now I'm surfing the web while a SMART extended test completes. WinPE does offer some level of this flexibility (see BartPE), but the licensed nature of Windows impedes freely sharing pre-built designs.

It's total geek, but I love stuff like this. This little Slackware distro is worth poking at in a VM and keeping in mind the next time you need a recovery platform.

It's not dead yet! It's getting better!

Heh... when I saw the subject line, I thought maybe some recent distro had done something to really piss you off (like say Ubuntu's Unity desktop, or GNOME 3), causing you to swear off of using desktop Linux entirely!

Yes, these lightweight special-purpose Linux distros can be quite handy. I haven't used RIP Linux, but I've used Knoppix for similar things before.

I've also used Ubuntu CDs (their install CDs double as live CDs) to test systems and clone hard drives. When we upgraded the RAID array in the software group's Linux server at work, I used an Ubuntu live CD and a spare workstation to build the new array and rsync the contents of the old array (which was still live during the initial rsync pass) to it over the network. Then, after hours (when nobody else was using the server) we did a final rsync pass (which completed very quickly since only the changes needed to be copied) to catch any files that had changed, and swapped the new drives in to the server. Quite painless!

Yeah, I've used the PartedMagic CD for similar things. TestDisk has really helped me out on several occasions when I needed to resurrect a "disappeared" partition, and like your distro, it's on the LiveCD.

I'll have to try out that PhotoRec software. I have had a few occasions where that could be useful, and it may be better than my older tools for the same purposes.

Even open box, I bet the WD drive is still under warranty. I'd be inclined to RMA it through WD rather than return it if there is a problem, at least if you got a good deal.

Yeah these little diaries are handy. I've used knoppix and system rescue cd for these types of recoveries and they usually work unless the hardware itself is bad.

just brew it! wrote:

Heh... when I saw the subject line, I thought maybe some recent distro had done something to really piss you off (like say Ubuntu's Unity desktop, or GNOME 3)

Speaking of which - I installed a VM of the newest Ubuntu (11.something) and spent about 10 minutes with it before being so pissed off that I deleted it. I understand the point - but when I want to open a freaking terminal I don't want to have to SEARCH for the goddamn thing first, then pin it to whatever that left bar is.

TheWacoKid wrote:

but when I want to open a freaking terminal I don't want to have to SEARCH for the goddamn thing first, then pin it to whatever that left bar is.

What He Said. The Unity devs don't understand the importance of discoverability.

Back on topic, the SystemRescueCD is another good alternative.

LoneWolf15 wrote:

I'll have to try out that PhotoRec software. I have had a few occasions where that could be useful, and it may be better than my older tools for the same purposes.

I have used PhotoRec for recovering photos, music, docs, etc...and the current version does a much better job of organizing the data into folders. The older versions would store ALL the random files in 500-item-maxed-out folders, lol! Took forever to sift through that nightmare...heheh!

~ Trellot

re: "when I want to open a freaking terminal I don't want to have to SEARCH for the goddamn thing first"

you don't.

but you do need to keep up with changes.

There are a number of postings around with the keyboard shortcuts (e.g. CTRL-ALT-T for the terminal window) around.

I have found it profitable in many ways to try to take a positive approach to being subject to different ways of doing things.

Both Unity and Gnome3 are changing paradigms to fit modern hardware and screen sizes and aspect ratios. It bothers me to see so much bashing and trashing based on cognitive dissonance and resistance to change. I can understand the frustration but when it comes to a knee jerk that is so bad it knocks a few teeth loose, I think another route might be better - one that doesn't assume something isn't there just because its different.

bryanl wrote:

Both Unity and Gnome3 are changing paradigms to fit modern hardware and screen sizes and aspect ratios. It bothers me to see so much bashing and trashing based on cognitive dissonance and resistance to change.

OK, can we bash on the current lack of 5:4 and 4:3 displays instead? Because that's the *real* crux of the problem.

Widescreen is great for people who like to watch video/movies on their computer. Pretty much sucks for everything else.

Eh, I don't mind widescreen. Better 16:10 than 16:9, though.