In 2015 I had a Windows malware crash (black screen) on my i386 desk top system.. I rescued my data using Linux Puppy boot USB to new partition [hdb1], ditched Windows by formating [hda1] and installed Ubuntu 7.04 Firefox etc on [hdb1].. all seemed ok. I left the machine idle for years. I now want to retrieve some photos and also delete 50G of old TV recordings then re-install Windows XP on hda1 (purely for some local software) and a new Linux distro on hdb1 to achieve a dual boot system. However..

GUI file tree on hdb1 sees.. {my text}
>Home Folder
>File System
>hda1 {20G partition is empty}
>Pictures

{I want to regain ownership of Pictures}
{I want to delete Pictures/MIKE/Recordings}

Delete from the GUI says I am not the owner.. but in fact I am its just they were created under a former Windows system..

Properties says the files are owned by 'root'.. and the Group is 'plugdev'.. I am in 'workgroup'..

From the terminal (using $sudo su -) df gives the following mount points..

./dev/hda6/ {55G 2G 50G 5%} /
...
./dev/hda1 {20G 66M 20G 1%} /media/hda1
./dev/hdb1 {78G 64G 14G 83%} /media/hdb1

GUI Disc Usage Analyzer indicates..
> Pictures
>> MIKE 90.0% 55.1G {mem area on disc}
>>> Recordings 90.8% 50.1G {no mem area on disc}
>>> Movies 7.8% 4.3G {no mem area on disc}

and after checking with ls..
root@mike-kitchen:/media/hdb1/MIKE# rm -rf Recordings
gives
rm:cannot remove 'file_1':Read-only file system
etc..

The old Ubuntu 7.04 will not get or allow installation of any new software utilities as its all out of date. I have a network of other PC's and Laptops but I can't move the files via network. When I attach a USB hardrive from any other computer it says I can't write to it.

Please is there a way I can
1) get back ownership of files or
2) force delete of some of the files

Thanks

Read-only filesystem generally means the filesystem has error(s) and fstab has that option enforced. Typical for Ubuntu. Check your logs.
I'm surprised it even boots to a GUI. Before you do anything, post the output of theseCopy off what you want to keep - show dmesg for that USB problem if you can't.
After that, you need to fsck the system - with a system that old you should be able to use forcefsck. As root, do this and see if it fixes things - be aware that it may trash your data

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Which version of windows did you have installed on the crashed system?
You copied the folders/files from this partition using Puppy Linux. Puppy Linux runs as root by default hence the root ownership.
Not sure why you can't access as root (using sudo) in Ubuntu. This is a windows ntfs(?) filesystem, correct? Not much chance of fixing ntfs filesystem errors with a Linux system, particularly one that old. There is software available (ntfs-fix) which can do minor repairs on windows system but I doubt that is available on an Ubuntu that old. Do you not have any windows system to use to repair the filesystem?

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(I think that is the command that you want.)

Then, as 'root', copy all the files you want to an external media/drive.
Then copy them onto your new system as your username.
Then you should go ahead & reinstall the O/S that you want onto that disk.

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I would just boot he machine "from the outside" i.e. with a live distro usb stick or something.
plug in a second usb stick, and copy everything you need over to that.
after that just scrub the whole machine, check for harddrive hardware errors etc. and start from scratch.

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Thank you all.. The old Windows system was XP home

Attached is a screen shot of the outputs..

I succeeded in copying 3.5G of photos to a USB and found I had ownership of the copies.. aha.. (learn something every day). I thought I needed to copy some 50G of photos but it turns out the 50G is old TV stuff I don't want.. So I am sure I can now copy all the data I actually need to save and then get a new distro.. However the NTFS on hdb1 file system bothers me and the fact I may not be able to 'fix' it with Linux..

I assume I can get a new distro (like Mint) and use it to partition the drive and format to something more friendly.. For a general 'rescue' USB stick boot distro what would you recommend..?

Thanks

Attached Thumbnails

 

I'm not sure I understand the problem. If I'm reading your post correctly, hdb1 (windows ntfs partition) is where you copied the data using Puppy Linux from your crashed xp. What's to fix? It just contained data from your crashed xp and you've copied the data from it, correct? It would not be realistic to expect any Linux system to repair your proprietary closed source windows system.

If you simply want to install a newer Linux there (hdb1), you can format it with a Linux fileystem during the install.

SystemRescueCD was designed for that purpose but most Linux distributions contain most of the same software, matter of choice really.

http://www.system-rescue-cd.org/

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Thanks again..

hdb1 is the partition (about 150G) on which I installed Ubuntu now 7.04.. Previously Windows XP home..

hda1 (20G) is empty (was just a data drive), I am sure both partitions are NTFS.. Anyway I can now get the data I want and plan to re-install Windows XP home on hda1 (unplug internet access when using it for local software) and maybe Mint on hdb1 all after a full format.. while we are talking about installing new distro's..

This machine is a HP Compaq nx6120 laptop running Zorin OS 7 which is also out of updates.. Not sure what to replace it with.. I would say my priority is for best long term updates and I am not sure if replacing an out of date system will keep any installed applications.. So I would appreciate your thoughts on that thank you..

If you installed Ubuntu on hdb1 it certainly isn't an ntfs partition. Installing any Linux system on ntfs simply won't work.

You can't upgrade Ubuntu 7.04. It is too old. It is possible to update different releases and save applications but not with a 10 year old Ubuntu.

Mint and Ubuntu are similar, Mint being based on Ubuntu so you might test each to see which you prefer. Or you could google 'distrowatch' and go to their site as they have a list of current Linux distribution with a brief description of each and links to the home page of each where you can get more details.

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