Hello all...!

First off: I am TOTALLY new to Linux... so please spare me wise ass remarks!!!!

Ok, now here the problem:

I have been using windows (shame on me) since ages. Recently my win2000 has not been booting up properly, bootdisks won't work, etc., so I've decided to boycott microsoft from now on.

Because I cannot even log on to my PC (Safe Mode won't even load), I have no access to important documents, etc. as well as no access to the 20000+ mp3s on my hard disk, which I've meticulously collected over the past 10 years. I am very eager to save these files before completely formatting my pc and installing a Linux OS...


Luckily I had a very intelligent teacher back in uni in 2003 who gave us Knoppix 3.2 on a cd to take home and experiment.

Knoppix works fine on my PC that won't even start windows 2000, BUT it won't let me move my files to a removable NTFS Hard Disk (Read Only attributes)...

Now to the question:

Can anyone recommend me a Linux OS that, like Knoppix, is bootable from a CD and that supports NTFS, so that I can finally relocate my data (documents, mp3s, avis, etc.) on my removable Hard Disk and eventually proceed to eliminate the nerve-wracking, piece of shite better known as Microsoft''s Windows...?

And second question:
After I've finally saved my precious....(files)......and reformatted my hard disks, which Linux OS would make a transition from Windows to Linux least problematic? (I don't care if it's CD bootable or has to be installed)...as long as it supports NTFS... I've done some research and ended up with several interesting candidates including Ubuntu, Vector, Ark, Fedora and Debian (in that order)... Opinions are very welcome!!!

Thanks ahead for any and all help!!!

hmmm, and i was told Linux users were extremely helpful....

You left the thread for less than an hour. Maybe there was no-one around LQ during that time who could help. Be more patient in future. Threads that get no replies are automatically bumped twice after a certain time. Also, don't post more than one thread on a topic. Your other one has been reported.

Linux still doesn't have stable write support for NTFS, so you're advised not to try it. There's something called Captive NTFS but I don't know what its limitations are, having never used it. I don't think you'd be able to use it with a live CD distro though, as it probably would need to be installed (unless there's a distro that comes with it) but again I'm not sure of this.

Using FAT is preferable, because Linux can read/write FAT partitions/systems with no problems.

If you put your drives in a Linux box running the 2.6.15 kernel you can copy the files from one NTFS drive to another.

And while we're at giving corrective feed-back... you agreed not to
bounce your posts for 24 hours. Stick to it; also, to expect a response
in the time frame of one hour is a tad unrealistic for any forum, unless
you pay mega-bucks for support.


Cheers,
Tink

Hear, hear!

sorry for lack of patience, but i'm very desperate!

as mentioned before, i'm a bloody beginner in Linux, what does this exactly mean???

i received this suggestion on the other thread. I've thought of this myself, but I thought I had to format the entire HD if I installed it on another machine??? Is it really that simple, that i can remove the HD, install it on another pc without Data loss??? I thought it was too easy to work...

Edit:
@ Tinkster: sorry for the double post, I saw the newbie forum after posting this topic... ;-)
anyways, could u close this thread and reopen this one: http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=409214


I got more helpful responses there and I think the other thread is more useful to others with similar issues!

thx!

I have re-opened the thread in Newbie and asked my fellow mods
in Software to close this one. Please abstain from further posts
to this thread. As for the desperate: so will most likely anyone
else who posts on the boards be, this is at best an explanation,
not an excuse ;}


Cheers,
Tink

closing, go here
http://www.linuxquestions.org/questi...d.php?t=409214