Too long winded a question on linux to put in title

Dafong · 10-09-2009, 12:22 PM

My question is, I currently have a Win XP machine that is very old, which I have been told (and trust the information to be true) is heavily infected with what they called 'back door trojans. It has been recommended that I format and re-install since you can never sure that the machine is ever actually clean after that. Also hav

This would mean the loss of a great deal of information, 3 or 4 years worth of information that I could not replace. I really don't want to do that.

So i had the thought, if I install Ubuntu on Partition C: over the top of windows, would this defeat the trojan and still allow me access to the data on partitions D: and E:

Or am I day dreaming here?

sultanqasim · 10-09-2009, 01:47 PM

You cannot install linux on the same partition as Windows, and it cannot "defeat" the trojan. However, you can save your files.

Instructions:
1. Download and burn a LiveCD with linux such as the ubuntu cd.
2. Reboot your computer and start from the LiveCD. You will be taken to the linux desktop, that is free from viruses.
3. Open up your windows hard drive from linux, and copy over your important files onto a USB drive. I suggest showing hidden files as well to make sure that you don't accidentally copy the viruses on the USB drive too.
4. Re-install windows, or better, install linux on your computer (provided that all your documents are compatible. You can test that by trying to open files in the LiveCD. Most video and audio files won't open on the LiveCD but you can install applications to open them on Linux. I suggest using linux because it is faster on the same machine, and virtually eliminates the risk of getting viruses.

Dafong · 10-09-2009, 02:05 PM

That is an awesomely good idea.

Doing that now. Thanks.

**koala** · 10-12-2009, 10:43 AM

If you've got 3-4 years worth of irreplaceable data, you should back it up to an external drive and to DVD, then verify that both backups are working and not corrupt.

The one thing you can guarantee for all hard drives is that they will fail at some point, so keeping all your important files on a single hard drive is a disaster waiting to happen.

10-09-2009, 12:22 PM	#1 (permalink)
Dafong Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista ultimate x64	Too long winded a question on linux to put in title My question is, I currently have a Win XP machine that is very old, which I have been told (and trust the information to be true) is heavily infected with what they called 'back door trojans. It has been recommended that I format and re-install since you can never sure that the machine is ever actually clean after that. Also hav This would mean the loss of a great deal of information, 3 or 4 years worth of information that I could not replace. I really don't want to do that. So i had the thought, if I install Ubuntu on Partition C: over the top of windows, would this defeat the trojan and still allow me access to the data on partitions D: and E: Or am I day dreaming here?

10-09-2009, 01:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
sultanqasim Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 19 OS: Windows XP SP3, Windows 2000 SP4, Mac OS X 10.5.8, Mac OS X 10.6.1, Various Linux Distros	Re: Too long winded a question on linux to put in title You cannot install linux on the same partition as Windows, and it cannot "defeat" the trojan. However, you can save your files. Instructions: 1. Download and burn a LiveCD with linux such as the ubuntu cd. 2. Reboot your computer and start from the LiveCD. You will be taken to the linux desktop, that is free from viruses. 3. Open up your windows hard drive from linux, and copy over your important files onto a USB drive. I suggest showing hidden files as well to make sure that you don't accidentally copy the viruses on the USB drive too. 4. Re-install windows, or better, install linux on your computer (provided that all your documents are compatible. You can test that by trying to open files in the LiveCD. Most video and audio files won't open on the LiveCD but you can install applications to open them on Linux. I suggest using linux because it is faster on the same machine, and virtually eliminates the risk of getting viruses.

10-09-2009, 02:05 PM	#3 (permalink)
Dafong Registered User Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 5 OS: Vista ultimate x64	Re: Too long winded a question on linux to put in title That is an awesomely good idea. Doing that now. Thanks.

10-12-2009, 10:43 AM	#4 (permalink)
koala Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: UK Posts: 12,303 OS: XP/7/Ubuntu My System	Re: Too long winded a question on linux to put in title If you've got 3-4 years worth of irreplaceable data, you should back it up to an external drive and to DVD, then verify that both backups are working and not corrupt. The one thing you can guarantee for all hard drives is that they will fail at some point, so keeping all your important files on a single hard drive is a disaster waiting to happen. __________________ New members: Subscribe to your thread (Thread Tools) to receive an instant email notification when you get a reply. TSF Folding@Home Team 85015 - details here