10 Ways You Can Use Linux to Fix Your Windows PC

Even though you may not want to use Linux as your desktop, you can use it to save your Windows PC—for resetting passwords, recovering deleted files, or scanning for viruses. Let’s see how you can do it in the article below.

As cited on howtogeek.com, here are ten ways of doing it -

1. Making Your Ubuntu Live CD - The first step that you can take is to create your own Ubuntu Live CD and as you can only burn an ISO image to a disc, you can try making a customized live CD through a reconstructor that may have custom applications that aren’t there by default.

2.Alternate: Making Your Ubuntu Live USB - As carrying around a CD might not always be the most convenient thing, you might want to also make an Ubuntu Live USB that is nothing more than a flash drive which has a copy of Linux installed on it. You can also make a persistent Ubuntu flash drive for saving your settings.

3.Changing or Resetting Your Password – One of the simplest ways to use Linux to fix Windows is while trying to recover a forgotten password. You simply need to boot it up and run a few commands, and your password will be reset.

4.Diagnosing Windows or Hardware Problems – There are many ways to use Ubuntu to diagnose hardware issues. Simply boot off the Live CD, and start running some applications and test out all the hardware from a working Linux environment. If the system functions well in Linux, the problem is probably a Windows, virus, or driver issue.

5.Cloning Your Hard Drive – For simply replacing your hard drive with a new one, or simply creating a backup of your entire system, you can make use of the Ubuntu Live CD to make a clone of your drive, make a drive image, or even transfer that drive image across the network to another computer for safekeeping.

6.Recovering Data - You don’t require to go to school for becoming a forensics expert, you can use the Ubuntu Live CD to do and add it on your CV to earn extra brownie points.

7.Recovering Deleted Files - You can utilize an Ubuntu Live CD for recovering the files with a couple of keystrokes from the terminal and get yourself back in business instantly.

8.Scanning Your Windows PC for Viruses - Utilizing a host of very good antivirus applications that have Linux versions these day you can remove viruses in little time. You simply need to go into the Synaptic package manager, search for Avast, and install it into the live cd session.

9.Securely Wiping Your PC’s Hard Drive –For ensuring your hard drive is clean, you can make use of the Ubuntu Live CD to wipe the drive. This wipe will be secure, with every bit of data overwritten to ensure no one can recover anything.

10.Repairing Damaged Backup CDs – If you have a backup CD that is too scratched up to read very well, you can utilize the ddrescue tool from the command line to recover as much information from that disc as possible. You can simply boot into the Live CD and follow through the guide for recovering some files.