Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: DiskInternals Linux Reader v3.3

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Dual boot Linux? Need to access your Linux partition or drive from Windows? Need to recover data from a customer’s Ext2/3/4, ReiserFS, Reiser4, HFS, H
[See the full post at: Deanna’s Freeware Spotlight: DiskInternals Linux Reader v3.3]

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Fritz, Ascaris, abbodi86, Elly, WildBill, johnf, David F

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Thank you for this, it will prove really useful

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abbodi86, johnf, Deanna McElveen

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There are some Linux Distros specific for system and data recovery, but usually a Mint bootable ISO from USB with internet access (or the .deb files previously downloaded) does the trick, allowing one to recover and enter partitions, fix boot issues, restore a previous backup, have an emergency OS for some work (LibreOffice) or a browser to go online for researching emergency procedures.

With the continual and historical Windows’ failed recovery methods (including System Restore or even the recovery units created on my new laptop both with 1803 and 1809), and the absence of the F8 option to boot into safe mode, I just cannot rely on Windows for anything, much less when I am on dire straights and due to emotional interference where my rational mind may fail, I need an effective procedure that works as reliably as possible.

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johnf

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anonymous wrote:

and the absence of the F8 option to boot into safe mode,

That was one in a long series of questionable decisions by Microsoft, but fortunately, this one is reversible.

The stated reason (echoed on the site linked) is that Windows 8 or later boots too fast for it to work.  It’s nonsense, of course– I’ve never had any difficulty getting into the boot menu via F8 on Windows 8.1 once it was enabled on various PCs.  If you’re having trouble, just start spamming F8 right before POST ends.

That spamming F8 bit doesn’t appear, at first glance, to work for me on my desktop PC, as Asus (maker of my motherboard) has “wisely” chosen the same key Windows has been using to get into safe mode since Windows 95, nearly two decades before my motherboard was made, as their key to bring up the boot override options if I press it during POST.  In that case, all I would need to do is move the selection bar to the same boot device as usual, then hover a finger over F8.  Hit enter to select the boot device, then immediately hit F8 (almost hitting it at the same time as enter).  It should work every time to get you to the Windows menu.

That’s if you’re only using Windows on the PC. If it’s a dual-boot Linux/Windows PC, getting into the F8 boot options is even easier.  Simply wait for it to boot to the GRUB menu, then select “Windows boot loader” in the options, and do the same hover-finger thing as described above.

Even if you do not have F8 enabled, you’re not in trouble.  If you have access to a Windows install DVD or USB drive, you can boot that to get the same options you would have if you booted into the Windows recovery environment from your hard disk or SSD.  It’s a very good idea to have one on hand in advance, just in case something happens.

You can also use Windows to create a recovery disk.  There are directions about that on this site… I haven’t done it myself.

If you don’t have an install/recovery DVD/USB drive and something happens where you need safe mode or the recovery environment, you can download a Windows .iso from Microsoft and write it to a USB drive if you have a spare PC with which to do it.  When Woody posted the story about how MS was providing Windows install images the other day, I followed the link to see what was different from before (I was not aware of them ever not doing this).

I was able to download the Windows 8.1 .iso without first entering a Windows key, which always was necessary before.  Windows 10, when I downloaded 1809 a month or so ago for some thing or another, was the same way… no Windows key needed to download.  If you have a Mac, Linux, or Windows PC that you can use while your main one is not working, you can download the .iso and create the installer DVD/USB drive that will hopefully get the system working once again.

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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Hm, I suppose it could be useful if I’d happen to not have any Linux live-USBs in my pockets … or otherwise in reach. Which is… well, unlikely.

And about half the time, it’d be insufficient on its own anyway… well, it’s a DiskInternals product actually… the RAID Recovery product is a separate one and not freeware, and you apparently need that one to recover dm/md, LVM or ZFS.

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Does this work with encrypted linux filesystems, whether Home partition only or complete OS install in a Windows dual-boot environment?
Pretty sure I tried this years ago and it didn’t then, was in a dual-boot with Win7 at the time.

Windows - commercial by definition and now function...

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I have not been able to see http://www.oldergeeks.com since mid December. Are they off line at the moment, or what. I have tried Firefox and IE on windows 7, and my Samsung tablet too — all to no avail.

I look at their site in early December and all was ok. Now I get a timed out indication.

Anyone else seeing this.

mbhelwig

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Just worked flawlessly for me following your link.  If they were all using the same internet connection, there could be a DNS issue or some other thing with that going on.

Dell XPS 13/9310, i5-1135G7/16GB, KDE Neon 6.2
XPG Xenia 15, i7-9750H/32GB & GTX1660ti, Kubuntu 24.04
Acer Swift Go 14, i5-1335U/16GB, Kubuntu 24.04 (and Win 11)

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Just worked flawlessly for me following your link

Thank you. I will reboot my router first and follow this through. I am getting the following message from Firefox —

The connection has timed out
The server at http://www.oldergeeks.com is taking too long to respond.

” The site could be temporarily unavailable or too busy. Try again in a few moments.
If you are unable to load any pages, check your computer’s network connection.
If your computer or network is protected by a firewall or proxy, make sure that Firefox is permitted to access the Web.”

 

mbhelwig

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mbhelwig, just for information, I am using Firefox version 64.0 with the Add-on extension ‘HTTPS Everywhere’ and note that the url address from Woody’s Original  Post has “s” in the https address, maybe the lack of ‘s’ is possibly causing your problem?

https://www.oldergeeks.com/downloads/file.php?id=2403

https://www.oldergeeks.com/

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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mbhelwig

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This appears to be a stand alone program that does not need an install, it appears @ https://www.portablefreeware.com/?id=1159&ts=1546179332. This a plus for a utility. My personal preference is to d/l a file directly from the author’s site.

Just because you don't know where you are going doesn't mean any road will get you there.

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I have an old linkstation network drive that has embedded linux using the XFS file system. Does this utility work with XFS, I don’t see it listed (so probably not?)

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