Hey guys,

I am trying to recover a certain file from a Windows partition which has become inaccessible owing to the fact that I've accidentally wiped the boot sector and the first two Linux partitions. Don't you just hate it when THAT happens? Anyway, I am going to reformat the HDD and meant to save this file before wiping it, but now I have to recover it from a Linux live CD (Knoppix in this instance).

So I've got to the root of the Windows ntfs system in the console and can see the file system fine. Now I need to locate this very large (movie) file (>5Gb). What's the best command to use from the console to locate in which directory this file is? Something based on its huge size would be just the job, I guess. Thanks, CC.

Hi CC,

find has many, many options. You could try (from the root of the Windows partition):
This should find all files larger than 5 gigs.

Hey, thanks, man. You've saved my scrawny ass. It was the ONLY file on the system that big and your command found it immediately!

I had already checked out the man page for "find" but those man pages are SO indecypherable for us mere mortals as to be totally unintelligible; they seldom if ever provide useful example commands and as such are only suitable for nerds suffering from Asberger's Syndrome. Thanks again, buddy.

De rien (or graag gedaan)!

One day, you too will finally be able to understand the man pages. On that day, you will realise you are no longer able to have a conversation with an ordinary mortal...

Rather nicely, though, O'Reilly have made the command reference from "Linux in a Nutshell" available online. Much more readable.