However, if it IS broken (your PC, that is), you might want to have a SystemRescueCD Live CD nearby, even if you don't use Linux as your OS of choice. While there are some black bag recovery discs out there ::cough-coughminiPEcough-cough::, SystemRescueCD has the benefit of being completely Open Source, which means you won't ever violate the law while using it. Anyway, excerpt:

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of using SystemRescueCd, the Linux kernel 2.6.24.2-based distribution can be booted from either a CD-ROM or a USB stick. Once it's running, and I've yet to meet a busted PC that still had a working CPU and memory it couldn't run on, you have your choice of the lightweight WindowsMaker GUI or a shell command-line interface.

The distribution comes with a variety of system tools, such as the low-level disk partition programs GParted and sfdisk and disk repair tools like TestDisk and Partimage. For higher levels of repair, it comes with such programs as Midnight Commander, an excellent file manager based on the design of the old MS-DOS Norton Commander and CD/DVD writing tools such as dvd+rwtools.
[ed. note: I used to love Norton Commander back in my old DOS days]
...
The new SystemRescueCd also has better support for fried graphic systems. It now includes Xvesa. This is a generic X Window server that can deliver a graphics interface without needing to know anything about the graphics hardware. You won't get a great display, but any graphic display is better than none.

Very cool. While I'm quite comfortable with a command line interface, I know that many people are not. That's one of the -very few- advantages of getting old. One of the more notable advantages is not being, you know, dead, so I'm not complaining.

Posted by: Physics Geek at 10:57 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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