Wednesday, May 15, 2013

How can I install usb drivers into my bios so i can boot from usb?

Q. I am trying to utilize not only backtrack from usb but also ophcrack and a usb version of knoppix. the problem is that all of these require me being able to boot from the usb. I have a phoenix bios toshiba that only has hdd, fdd, cdrom, and LAN in the boot menu of the bios, That is why i need to install the usb drivers into the bios. any help appreciated : )

A. Go to Toshiba's web site and see if they have any BIOS updates for your computer. If it has a flash BIOS chip you can upgrade it to something that can probably boot from USB devices. If not, you can boot a USB device from a floppy using grub - see http://www.pendrivelinux.com/2007/11/21/use-a-floppy-to-boot-usb-pendrive-linux/ and modify to your needs.

How can I fix my laptop?
Q. Just one random day when I go to start up my laptop it goes to a black screen saying " a disk read error occurred. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart" and it does this over an over again. Someone told me to do a primary hard disk self test but the test won't run. Please help! It is an HP Pavilion dv4-1117nr entertainment notebook PC if that matters thank you.

A. It means your hard drive's boot information can't be read.  This may be a corrupted MBR, a disconnected or faulty cable, faulty hard drive controller, or a dead hard drive.  To see if one of these is the case, boot the computer with the Windows 7 DVD (I'm assuming that's your version of Windows) and start up the System Recovery Console, and see if you can access the hard drive with one of the tools there. Check out this Bleeping Computers tutorial on using the Recovery Environment:  http://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/windows-7-recovery-environment-command-prompt/

If you don't have a Windows 7 installation DVD, you can download it from http://www.downloadcrew.com/?act=search&cat=67   Make sure you get the one that matches your current system.  Alternatively, you can download a Windows Repair disc image from http://lair360.co.uk/blog/1053/windows-7-repair-disk-iso-file/ or http://techfleece.com/2011/05/06/windows-7-repair-disks-and-windows-vista-recovery-disks/   Use ImgBurn from http://www.imgburn.com/index.php?act=download to burn the image to CD or DVD.

If your hard drive is malfunctioning and you don't have an up to date backup, then you'll need to get your documents copied onto an external hard drive as soon as possible before it breaks down completely, so you can send it back to where you bought it for repair/replacement under warranty if appropriate, or buy a new one to replace it yourself.  To do this, since Windows won't boot, you'll need an alternate operating system.  I'd recommend you download a small Linux distro (such as Puppy -- http://puppylinux.org/main/Download%20Latest%20Release.htm#lucidpuppy ) and make a bootable CD or better, make a flash drive with Pendrive Linux.  Get this from http://www.pendrivelinux.com/universal-usb-installer-easy-as-1-2-3/ and follow the instructions on that page -- it's very easy.  Once you've booted to this flash drive, insert another flash drive or USB hard drive into another USB port, and you can copy your files to it.

If you're unable to repair Windows, you'll have to attempt to restore factory settings, and recover your files from your backups.  If the hard drive has indeed died, you'll have to get a new one and restore your backup image, or restore factory settings from the restore discs that either came with your computer, or that you made when you first got the computer.

Good luck!
 

Is linux a complete operating system?
Q. i have a computer that has a window xp operating system that needs to be activated. I can get into system account in safe mode so i can download things of a usb. So i was woundering if i could download linux to a usb and run it on that computer? Would it be a complete operating system?

A. depends which version of linux you want to use, not all can be run from usb,

its not a 'complete' operating system, just as windows is not a 'complete' operating system,

it only becomes complete after you install all the programs you need,

there is only a certain amount of software that can fit on 700mb's worth of cd,
the image you download will be enough to fit on a cd,

if you install to a usb drive then you need to understand that installing extra software will take up space, so you need a pendrive that is large enough to handle the extra software and any personal files you may download or create



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