What is a Live CD?
LiveCDs can be used to recover data on a PC that will no longer boot. Ensure that your system's BIOS will look for a bootable CD before booting from the hard disk (links in Help). Simply switch on your PC with the Live CD in the CD drive.Then just sit back and watch as the CD starts your computer running an entire operating system from the CD and using whatever memory your PC has available. Obviously, because a CD's are much slower than hard disks, unless you're using a CD that can entirely load itself into RAM, it will run comparatively slow... BUT...
- You will be able to see the files on your messed windows partition.
- You will be able to use USB Devices like stick drives and CD/DVD writers.
- You're intelligent enough to figure put together (i) and (ii). Go save your data!
- Many such as System Rescue CD, come with Clam Antivirus and download current virus signitures from the internet and clean "on the fly"!
- Most allow you to install the booted system graphically.
Live CDs by function...
Partition Rescue: Parted Magic, gParted, Insert, System Rescue CD, others...Password Reset: Ophcrack, chntpw with instructions.
For Low-Spec PC: Damn Small, Puppy, Austrumi (No hard disk needed).
General installable desktops: Best resources at FrozenTech and Distrowatch.
The frozen tech list is categorised by function such as education, rescue etc.
More to follow... LOTS more!