There are two ways you can use this manual. The first, of course, is to read it from cover to cover. You’ll learn a lot about live CDs and what they can accomplish.

The other way to read this book is to explore the table of contents and look for any tips you might not know already. You’re bound to learn something new, regardless of how experienced you are. Either way, there’s a lot to find out here, so check it out.

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In this manual you’ll learn about:

• Using a computer with a busted operating system.
• Continuing to work on a seemingly broken computer.
• Recovering and editing your data.
• Finding Windows passwords.
• Cloning your entire hard drive.
• Bypassing snooping employees or parents.
• Editing your computer’s partitions.
• Setting up temporary servers.

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There are plenty of reasons the average Windows user may want to create a Linux live CD or USB stick before it’s too late. A USB-based distribution will be speedier (you’ll need Unetbootin) or you can simply burn a CD/DVD with something like ImgBurn.

If you’ve not got one yet and are interested in the potential benefits then read on.

Which One?

For the purpose of this article I’m going to keep it simple and stick to the most widely used Linux home desktop distribution ““ Ubuntu. This version of Linux includes a live CD from which you can use or install the operating system, as well as plenty of software to start you off.

There are hundreds of free Linux distributions available, so it can be quite tricky choosing the right one. Ubuntu is a simple, easy to use distribution with a straight-forward interface making it perfect for newcomers. Driver support is also excellent, and driver issues are the last thing you need when you’re trying to fix existing problems.

Scenario 1 ““ Windows Won’t Boot

Whilst you can often resolve issues with Windows via a Windows CD/DVD, not everyone has one. Luckily enough, you can also have a go at fixing your Windows partition with Linux. You’ll need a few tools, notably lilo and ntfs-3g which are readily available in the repositories if you’re using Ubuntu.

You can then have a crack at repairing a corrupted NTFS file system and fixing the Windows master boot record. You can find full instructions on how to do this here.

Scenario 2 ““ Windows Is Dead

So you’ve tried fixing what you can and nothing seems to have helped ““ looks like you need to re-install Windows. But oh no! You’ve (foolishly) left some vital documents on your Windows partition and you’re not formatting till you’ve got them back. Step in Linux!

Even if your Windows installation is butchered beyond repair, there’s a good chance you’ll be able to both access and backup any data you had on that partition with a live CD. Many distributions will detect your Windows filesystem, allowing you to mount the drive and recover your data via a nice friendly GUI.

We’ve covered mounting and accessing a Windows partition through Linux here.

Scenario 3 ““ Isolating Hardware Issues

Another handy use for a live CD is the ability to check whether or not your PC is suffering from a hardware or software fault. If Windows won’t play ball, and Linux loads fine then chances are you’re looking at a software fault (at which point you could try and fix and recover).

Of course if Linux doesn’t work either then you may have identified a hardware issue. Some live distributions come with diagnostics tools on the disc, such as Ubuntu‘s inclusion of Memtest86+. Even if you can’t isolate the exact piece of hardware giving you grief, your live CD has saved you some time so you can take the next necessary steps.

Scenario 4 ““ I Badly Need The Web!

So you’ve accepted that Windows is dead and gone, got your data back but now you’ve realised your boss has been waiting for an email for 2 hours, and you’ve got no functioning OS on your PC. Insert your live CD, connect to a network and use your live CD’s built-in web browser to send that email ““ tragedy averted.

Wireless internet might be an issue for some users as additional drivers are often required. If you find yourself in this boat then a direct connection via Ethernet should provide network and internet access.

Scenario 5 ““ My C:\ Drive is Full of Fail

If you’ve got a nasty case of malware poisoning and the idea of booting Windows only to watch it eat all your data doesn’t appeal, Linux might help you out.

Linux is a very secure operating system, with some distributions being more secure than others. Generally speaking viruses do not affect Linux, so most Linux antivirus applications are designed to stop the spread of malware between Windows machines.

It’s no lie that most malware and viruses are geared towards the Windows operating system, and being able to scan your Windows drive within Linux is very useful. Justin has written an article regarding the validity of a Linux antivirus and the best tools for the job.

Conclusion

When it comes to PC security, maintenance and recovery it really does pay to be one step ahead of the game. If you’ve got a spare USB stick you’re willing to sacrifice (2GB or more) then you’ll find loading speeds and boot-up time to be faster than a CD counterpart.

You won’t know how useful that live CD can be until you really need it!

Have you got a spare live CD in the drawer? Do you use a USB stick? Which distribution? Has it ever saved your bacon? Let us know in the comments below.

With support for a shockingly high number of Linux distributions and an easy-to-use Windows interface, Linux Live USB Creator makes the creation of USB boot disks effortless. From downloading the ISO to formatting your drive, there’s not much about USB booting this application doesn’t make easier than similar software.

Feel free to download Linux Live USB right now, and keep reading for an overview of the program.

5 Simple Steps

First things first: fire up the program. You’ll see 5 sub-windows, representing the five steps to making a Live USB key. The first is simple enough:

That’s right: you need to pick which key you want to boot Linux from. Once you’ve done this, pick the version of Linux you want to boot. If you’ve got an ISO or a CD handy you can use that, or you can pick from many downloadable distros:

If you select a distro from this list the program will take care of downloading the ISO for you:

So far, so good. If you want your key to keep downloaded programs and documents in place, you’re going to want persistence mode. This is step 3; simply scroll to leave room:

Step four is optional, but includes some handy tools:

Here you can choose to hide the created files on your key from being seen by Windows, useful if you plan to use your key for more than just booting Linux. You can optionally format the drive you’re writing to, and choose whether or not you want your Linux distro to be loadable in Windows.

Once you’re done you can click the lightning bolt in the fifth box to start the creation of your live CD. Congratulations; you’ve got yourself a bootable USB key.

Live Virtual Machine

The options include a step for launching your key in Windows. What is that about? Well, once your disk is created, open it up in Windows Explorer. You’ll find a new file that looks like this:

You can click this to boot your Linux distro without rebooting Windows, which is handy from time to time. Naturally you’re going to want a pretty powerful computer to try this out, but it’s a nice added touch.

Supported Distros

Wow. Just, wow. This program supports the automatic downloading and installation of many different Linux distributions. Highlights include:

• Ubuntu and Ubuntu’s many versions.
• The GParted Live CD
• Jolicloud
• UberStudent
• xPud
• Clonezilla

There’s more; check out Live Linux USB’s official list of Linux distros for a complete list.

Conclusion

Linux Live USB isn’t the first program to help users make live USB keys; uNetBootin does the same job. What Linux Live USB does better than this program is make the process painless. It’s worth checking out just for that, but according to blog OMG Ubuntu, this program works more consistently than others. So it’s easier and better.

Do you like this tool? Let us know in the comments below. Also feel free to share other tools for the job, and to discuss your favorite Linux distributions.

Each of these categories have a number of tools listed under them. To use Hiren’s Boot CD, you have to download and then burn the downloaded ISO file onto a CD. Put the CD in the drive and restart your computer. Make sure that the BIOS settings check for the optical drive before the hard disk for bootable media.

If all that is set well, you will see a screen like below (I am using the older version here):

You can now choose to boot from the hard drive, which will boot your computer as if you had not inserted the CD, you can choose Start BootCD to access all the tools included on the CD. You can also run a mini Windows XP mode or run memory diagnostics from this main menu. I will be choosing the “Start BootCD” option to show you around. As soon as you do so, you are presented with the Hiren’s Boot CD menu like so:

Here, you can choose the category of tools you want to use by either entering the numeric code listed, or by using the arrow keys and then hitting enter to select the highlighted category. You are then presented with all the tools in that particular category. Invoke any of them in a similar fashion and you will be able to use them normally just like if you had installed them on your hard drive.

Perform any operation that you might want/need and when you are done and have quit the application, you can simply hit Ctrl + Alt + Del or type reboot and hit Enter to reboot the computer (or type M and then press Enter to return to the main menu). This time, you can choose to boot from the hard drive to see if the changes you just made have taken effect or not.

Let’s just look at some of the included tools and the wide possibilities that you can use this CD with. It includes antivirus and antispyware tools like MalwareBytes, Spybot Search & Destroy; that you can use to scan your computer for viruses/spyware. Of course the definitions can become outdated after some time, still the tools can be indispensable if a virus attack has left you with an unbootable computer.

Next up in line are the partitioning tools. If you performed such a task before, you might know that partitioning, resizing and formatting are best done if you don’t actually have an operating system running from the hard disk. So HBCD’s partitioning tools are a perfect fit. Similarly you can use the backup tools with ease, fix MBR problems, run diagnostics and get detailed system information without requiring a functional operating system. Heck, you can even browse files and listen to songs using the multimedia tools.

You can also create a bootable USB drive with all the awesomeness minus the CD burning part! Here are complete instructions on how to do that.

All in all, HBCD is a truly indispensable resource to have around you. It can save you a lot of trouble and hard work when dealing with or troubleshooting computer problems. Do you have any favorite LiveCD you use for such purposes as above? We would love to hear about it.

Earlier in the month, Karl posted a tip on how to recover your Windows XP administrator password by using the installation disk.  However, he forgot to mention a few other easier ways how to reset Windows XP password without having to go through the installation process.

1. Use Alt, Control, Delete & The Windows Welcome Screen

If you have set your computer up to login via the Welcome Screen, there may be a slight chance that you will be able to login as the Administrator. Depending on who installed XP on your computer, there may or may not be a password on the Administrator’s account.

So simply press Alt+Control+Delete twice. You will be presented with a login box. Click OK to login without typing any user name or password in. If that doesn’t work, type in “˜Administrator‘ into the username box and press enter. If that doesn’t work, so far, you are in bad luck.

If you are able to log in, simply go to the control panel, go into User Accounts and change your password.

2. Login To Another Account & Reset The Password Through User Management (XP Professional Only)

This will only work if you have Windows XP Professional, and you can login with an account. Right click on My Computer and select Manage. Then select Local User and Groups ““> Users. Right click on your username and select Set Password. Follow the prompts and set yourself a new password.

If you can’t get into Device Manager because you don’t have a user account to get into your computer, you can try opening Device Manager from another computer. Right click on where it says Computer Management (Local) and choose Connect to another computer“¦ once you are logged in to another computer within your home network.

Then enter your computer IP or Name. For example 169.168.x.x, 10.1.1.x or \\DesktopPC. (replacing x.x with your computer IP address. You can also click on Browse ““> Advance ““> Find now to browse for computers on your network.

If you are granted access to the remote computer, follow the steps I mentioned above and set a new password. If not, continue reading.

3. Reset The Password Through Safe Mode & Command Prompt

If the above steps have failed so far, you can try and boot into Safe Mode. To do this, press F8 while your computer is booting. Once in safe mode, you can try going into the control panel and reset your password. If you can’t, you can try and open up a Command Prompt by opening Run and typing cmd. Enter net user [username] [enternewpassword]. For example, If I want to change my account which is Jack to password abcde, I would type in net user jack abcde and press enter. Your password should now be changed.

4. Use A Live (Bootable CD)

If you are at this stage, and haven’t so far managed to get into your computer, you may want to use a Live Bootable CD. You may want to have a look at the post 3 Ways To Reset A Forgotten Windows Administrator Password and follow those steps.

Alternatively, you can use the Live CD so you can boot into your computer and access the files so you can back them up on an external hard drive or USB stick. If you can’t get into Windows, this is your only option.

5. Remove Your HardDrive, Backup, Format, Reinstall

One final way, and probably a good thing to do if your computer is running really slow, or you can’t get into Windows at all; take out your hard drive, put it into another computer, backup your data, format the hard drive, put it back into the original computer, and re-install Windows. You may want to have a look at The Idiot’s Ultimate Guide to Building Your Own PC for some help taking out your hard drive.

So these are my basic tips if I can’t get access to a computer to a user account in a Windows XP computer. I hope these tips will come in handy.

Do you have any other tips to get access to your computer because you forgot the password? Let us know in the comments.

Image Credit : Max (Tj)