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be able to recover deleted and damaged files,
(Continued from page 3)
directories, and partitions, should that be nec-
adapter to take advantage of the increased essary. If the problem PC is dead, you will of
connection speeds associated with the new Wi course have to remove its hard disk and install
-Fi version. it in a good computer to clone it.
Third, you could use this event as the catalyst
to finally cut the Microsoft cord, and switch to
an Apple or Chromecast computer. This Before you try to diagnose the problem, recog-
would require learning a new operating system nize that you may not be able to trust either
and would still pose the Wi-Fi 6 issue that I the hardware or software in the problem PC.
mentioned above. But, if this is something you My preference is to use a USB memory stick
have been fantasizing about, it is worth think- with a bootable diagnostic operating system,
ing through before you go out and buy another
Windows PC. such as PartedMagic, which has tools to check
hardware, recover files, and test for malware.
In any event, the good news is that we have 8 (See my articles in June, July, and August,
months in which to stay abreast of the latest 2012 on file recovery, in April 2012 and Febru-
Win 7 news and think through what we will do
to ensure we still have safe, efficient connec- ary 2017 on PartedMagic, in May 2015 on the
tivity to the Internet after 1/14/2020. Trinity Rescue Kit, and in June 2015 on the
SystemRescueCD, all available at
Phil
www.bcug.com.) Whichever diagnostic tool
=================================== you use, become familiar with it on your own
PC before trying it on one with which you
(Continued from page 1)
aren’t familiar.
you’ve mucked about with their PC, they may
suspect that any subsequent troubles are your If you save the user’s files you should check
fault. them for malware before reinstalling them on a
repaired or new PC. Take the clone disk home
and run a thorough malware check. (Parted
Finally, because you are working in an unfa-
miliar environment, you will probably be Magic, in particular, has the relatively weak
spending many hours, even if you aren’t suc- ClamAV, which checks only and doesn’t re-
cessful. Repairing someone else’s PC is usu- pair. If you use Windows, you most likely have
ally a lose-lose situation. If you fail, you lose a far better software on your machine.) Once
you have cloned a disk, you can use Parted-
friend, and if you succeed you’ll most likely be
asked to do it again. The bad habits and poor Magic’s tools, or those of a similar system, to
recover damaged files. If, as is likely, the prob-
maintenance that led the initial problem are
still present. lem PC runs Windows, some user data (for
example, Internet favorites and e-mail) may be
stored in the system area. The locations vary
If you decide to help, what are some reasona- with the version and restoring them in a new
ble actions? Your first concern, of course, is to system may be difficult. Before spending a lot
safeguard the owner’s information, which of time, ask the owner if they really need to re-
means cloning the entire disk (or disks) to an cover these.
external drive, which can take several hours.
Note that this means you copy every byte, not (Continued on page 5)
just the complete files. By doing so you may
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