How to backup your broken Windows PC with an Ubuntu Live CD

Your Windows PC is broken and all your important documents are stored on the hard drive? Don’t panic! Even if your computer won’t boot anymore, there is still a chance to get access to your data - an Ubuntu Live CD. As long as no critical hardware is broken, this might be the solution for you and it’s totally free.

What is a Live CD?

A Linux Live CD is a bootable disk which loads a Linux operating system from the disk into RAM, in our case Ubuntu. The system running on a Live CD doesn’t require an installation and is mostly used for demonstration, system recovery and testing system compatibility. Running a Live CD will not modify any data on your computer unless you choose to. Alternatively, a bootable USB flash drive can be used which often has the added functionality of writing changes back to the bootable medium.
We will use an Ubuntu Live CD in this How-to. According to DistroWatch, a website which tracks the popularity of Linux distributions, Ubuntu has been the most popular Linux distribution in 2008.

How to access my Windows data?

After downloading and burning the ISO file, you boot from the Live CD on your broken computer. When the Ubuntu menu shows up, you select the first entry which should be something like “Try Ubuntu without any change to your computer”, depending on the system version. Once the operating system is loaded, you go to Places -> Computer which will show you all available drives. Now, try to open your Windows drive with a double click. If you can access the drive, congratulations! You can now backup your data.

In case you get an error message and the file system of the drive is NTFS, try to force to mount the drive like described at How-To Geek or install ntfs-config, a GUI configuration tool.

Once you can access the Windows drive, you can either copy all files or a selection of your documents. For example, on Windows XP you copy the “Documents and Settings” folder, on Vista you copy the “Users” folder.

Can a Live CD repair my system?

In this How-to, I just wanted to show you how to save your data as a last resort. But Live CDs can do more. For example, an Ubuntu Live CD can also fix your Windows MBR (Master Boot Record), if it’s broken.
If you want to get advanced, check out this list of Rescue and Repair Live CDs. Live systems like the Trinity Rescue Kit can be a huge life saver. They include programs which are able to reset Windows passwords, scan & remove viruses, recover deleted files and save lost partitions.

Conclusion

You see, even if your Windows computer crashes, there is still hope called Linux Live CD. Even if you don’t use Linux as your primary operating system, it’s always handy to have an Ubuntu Live CD, just in case something bad happens to your computer. And while you at it, you could give the Ubuntu operating system a try and take a look at one of the most advanced Linux distributions. It’s worth it.
Also, remember the importance of making regular backups. All you need is an external hard drive and a backup software to handle the process and you are safe.