Linux to the rescue ?

[Scott Lawton]

Regarding the Test Message, OK, so it works. 

Apropos Linux Withdrawal:

I got a 2nd hard drive and fed it WIN 98. Ultimately, one drive was going to be for Windows, and the other 
for Mandrake. The original currently had Win 95 and Mandrake cohabitating. I had begun zipping and 
transferring files over when my ISP changed my domain name and I lost NFLUG messages. 

While using Internet Exploiter in Win95 [ a mistake, I know] I think a popup  tried to write a font to C:\ 
Windows\ Fonts  and absolutely seized up the machine. I had to shut down by killing the power because 
it would not even recognize the system reset button. I had a BSD error message in the Symbole font, 
but my knowledge of Greek is limited to algebraic equations. I was able to figure out that fonts was one 
of the files corrupted in the illegal operation by that. 

I tried using the Windows "rescue" program and was told win.com was corrupted [ is that what the 
registry is actually called ?], and it was going to format C: and install Windows, and I would have to 
reinstall all my other software [ kill everyone, then shoot the survivors ] . I cancelled, but I think that 
snuffed my LILO. 

Next reboot, no LILO, no nothin'. I then used the Windows boot disk, and was told it could not load 
Windows because win.com was missing or corrupted. Booting to MS-DOS, everything is still there; at 
least all the files are there in the list with what appear to be correct file sizes. 

To my horror and disgust, I've lost everything - games, saved games to 5th and 6th level, themes I've 
created, including wallpapers, cursors, and icons that took many hours to refine, e-mail programs 
including address books and saved messages, browser histories and bookmarks, and several gigs of 
things archived in .zip files. It's there, but inaccessible. 

Since the Linux partitions are hopefully untouched, is there a way to use a Linux rescue program,  which 
hopefully is of the "salvage" type, not "burn and bulldoze" like Microsoft, to access Mandrake and then 
"backdoor" my way into Windows to get what I need ? 

I would like to bring it in to a meeting sometime, where we can pool the knowledge of those Windows 
savvy and those who are Linux savvy, and make it the demonstration project, rather than just get 
messages through the list that say "do this, try this" because I'm afraid of doing irrevocable damage to 
the data. Once I retrieve everything, it will be how to install Linux and Windows to be dual boot from two 
physical drives, and how to get LILO or GRUB to do that. It's been sitting idle for a few months, and can 
sit for more, until this can be coordinated. 

P.S. - Greg Neumann, if you're out there, I lost your phone, email, address, and directions to your house 
in the aforementioned great crash of ' 95.

-- 
Scott
Pegasus v 4.01

"There are 10 kinds of people in the world: 
those who understand binary, and those who don't."
Richard Hubbard