Help Recovering Windows Files With Puppy Linux

Greetings Geeks -

I need to recover some Windows files from the wife's laptop. Some sort of windows startup/system file went bad and standard approaches to getting it running again or not working. So . . . .

I downloaded Puppy Linux. I am not Linux saavy, but I do have it running from a CD. I can access files on the hard drive, but I am having accessing the files she really needs; which were in folders on the desktop. I cannot seem to locate those folders. I did locate a desktop folder, but I don't think what I need is buried in there.

Based on that, I have a few questions:

- Where might I find these folders that were on the desktop?
- How to Search for folders in Puppy Linux?

Okay, bonus questions

- There seems to be some gesture based interface on the touchpad, is that the case? It seems to act wonky and it is driving me nuts!

A Super Giant THANK YOU for any help!

 

Welcome to MajorGeeks, Valve! :major

The question here seems to be - What are you going to do with the laptop after repair? Are you installing Windows back, and restoring the files?
You did not indicate if you have visited the Software Section of this Forum. A visit there may help recover what you have with little frustration. A visit to the Malware section is always the best next choice.

You should be able to right-click and mount the Win drive from Puppy. You would then be able to browse to the folders within that drive the same as using an Explorer window. If you need to copy to a thumbdrive, you have to mount the drive first before drag and drop. BE CAREFUL YOU DO NOT DRAG AN EMPTY FOLDER OVER YOUR DRIVE WITH FILES.!!!!!!

Is this the Synaptics Touchpad on the laptop, or HP Touchpad interface?:confused

I am clueless on HP Touchpad, but have you tried WebOS Doctor to upgrade/reinstall the WebOS on your device?

:cool

 

Initially I was going to post in the software section, but my instinct was the nature of the question had more to do with Linux than Windows or other software.

I am almost positive the problem is not a virus or malware, I am thinking it is a very corrupt windows startup-sensitive file or a corrupt boot sector.

I thought I had browsed the folders as per the right click, but there is no desktop, only the directory structure. I am sure the files are there somewhere, I just cannot find them as they are not just laying on the desktop! Any idea how to use the search function in Linux?

The touchpad is a Synaptics.

Thanks for taking the time to help!

 

Here is a guide to using Puppy to recover files: http://help.artaro.eu/index.php/win...windows-7/recover-files-from-hard-disk-7.html

Typically the desktop would be found at sda#/users/wife'saccountname/desktop is this where you have been looking?

You should also be able to search for a folder name if she knows the name of the folder.

****
When you get a chance--Do make a post in software explaining what you see when you try to boot Windows and which OS and what you have tried. We may be able to get Windows up and running if it is just a corrupted boot file.

 

Okay . . .

I found most of the folders I need. Of course, my wife's descriptions were less than accurate as to names and locations of files and folders. I am still looking for one folder I cannot find.

I tried the search function, but I don't know the syntax for searching in Linux. I know I right click on folder/directory, or ctrl+f, and then type in the search command line. I tried the name of the folder only, but of course, that does not work. So, if I am looking for a folder named "RLW" what would the search command be?

The suggestion was made to visit the software forum for restoring things, and I will do that eventually after I troubleshoot myself, my wife needs the information pretty quick, and that would take more time. I figured the Linux route would yield speedy results.

Thanks for any more help!

 

Hi,

I'm not that familiar with Puppy but try Menu>Filesystem>Pfind and type in RLW and see how it goes. The list is comprehensive as far as I can tell.