Linux experts

[Matt_B]

Now is your chance to shine!

My bro in law's bro has a Windows 7 netbook that he got for Christmas. He thought he had a virus (I can neither confirm nor deny this) and got a message saying he should restore the computer to it's factory settings, to which he clicked OK.

Whether this was a legit message or the virus I know not, but it seems to have wiped the OS and left it unbootable. When it boots into bios is says a message about media being disconnected and No OS found. Normally I would boot into Windows and restore the OS from the restore partition (as a netbook it has no CD drive), but as it won't get into Windows at all (there is no OS, so no safe mode), I am at a loss.

Is there anything Linux-y option here that I can put onto a USB stick and run to access the restore partition on the HDD and run the re-setup?

Any help is of course gratefully received, and any sarcy comments can f off!

 

[Macky]

Is there anything Linux-y option here that I can put onto a USB stick and run to access the restore partition on the HDD and run the re-setup?

There sure is

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

I have an old 2Gb flashdrive with Mint on it just for occasions like this

 

[Matt_B]

There sure is

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/

I have an old 2Gb flashdrive with Mint on it just for occasions like this

Cheers Mackster, currently Torrenting v10 of LinuxMint, should this allow me to run the exe setup file in the restore partition, or do I need a windows terminal? I haven't touched Linux since first year of Uni!

 

[Macky]

Cheers Mackster, currently Torrenting v10 of LinuxMint, should this allow me to run the exe setup file in the restore partition, or do I need a windows terminal? I haven't touched Linux since first year of Uni!

It'll allow you to boot the netbook and browse whatever partitions there are on its HD. It all depends on what is contained, if anything, in the restore partition.

 

[spionfox]

My bro in law's bro

Surely your bro in law's bro is your bro in law too

 

[Matt_B]

Surely your bro in law's bro is your bro in law too

How so? Technically he isn't my bro in law anyway, it's my sister's bf('s brother).

 

[spionfox]

Surely your bro in law's bro is your bro in law too

How so?

To be your brother-in-law you would have to be married to his sister (or brother!). All of her (or his!) brothers would then be your brother-in-law too.

Technically he isn't my bro in law anyway, it's my sister's bf('s brother).

Sheesh! :icon_wink

 

[Matt_B]

To be your brother-in-law you would have to be married to his sister (or brother!). All of her (or his!) brothers would then be your brother-in-law too.



Sheesh! :icon_wink

I always thought that if he married my sister he would become my brother in law?

 

[spionfox]

I always thought that if he married my sister he would become my brother in law?

Yes, that is just a vice-versa version of what I said!

 

[Matt_B]

Yes, that is just a vice-versa version of what I said!

But surely by him marrying into our family he gains us as in-laws, not visa versa?

Anywho, I have found the recovery files in Mint and the recovery setup .exe. I am installing Wine1.2 now to run it, is that right?

 

[Matt_B]

The recovery .exe doesn't have the Executablebit flagged apparently, and when I check the chckbox in the properties it just unchecks itself. Grr.

 

[Siouxsie]

To be your brother-in-law you would have to be married to his sister (or brother!). All of her (or his!) brothers would then be your brother-in-law too.

My sister (if I had one)'s husband would be my brother in law. His brother wouldn't also be my brother in law surely?

 

[Blue Maniac]

visa versa

Something to do with credit cards, or immigration? I dunno

 

[Macky]

I have found the recovery files in Mint and the recovery setup .exe. I am installing Wine1.2 now to run it, is that right?

The recovery .exe doesn't have the Executablebit flagged apparently, and when I check the chckbox in the properties it just unchecks itself. Grr.

I didn't think it'd be straight forward (after I'd read your post, properly) The restore partition can be actually set up as part of the main installation, so you might be screwed if that installation is screwed, if you know what I mean.
I've not actually slept for a couple of days, so I may not be making much sense now and I may not be your best resource of info at the moment.


HTH hehhehe

 

[Matt_B]

Brilliant hehe!

Going to install an old copy of xp I have lying around and run the restore from that. Hopefully.

 

[Macky]

Brilliant hehe!

Going to install an old copy of xp I have lying around and run the restore from that. Hopefully.

If you go down that path, it'll reformat the drive. So any hope of restoring Win7 will be banjanxed

 

[Durham Fox]

Whip the HDD out and connect it to a PC. Unless it's solid state then you are knackered.

 

[Macky]

Whip the HDD out and connect it to a PC. Unless it's solid state then you are knackered.

Not sure that'll make any difference tbh. If the BIOS on the netbook isn't detecting an OS, it's unlikely that any other PC will.

 

[Matt_B]

If you go down that path, it'll reformat the drive. So any hope of restoring Win7 will be banjanxed

The HDD is formatted into two partitions, with the recovery on it's own partition, so it should be fine.

 

[Macky]

The HDD is formatted into two partitions, with the recovery on it's own partition, so it should be fine.

I wouldn't be so sure, I made the same assumption before and it blasted the entire drive.

It was arranged so that the setup file on the recovery partition could only be launched by the actual Windows installation on the main partition, and effectively just overwrites whatever is on the main partition. So it's never a clean install.

It sounds as if that's the way this netbook is setup.