When our computer runs smoothly, we don’t worry about our data or usually think about what to do if, for some reason, the PC fails. Therefore, when problems appear, most of the time we do not know what to do or where to start. The problems that may suddenly appear on our computer can be very varied. But if they are related to hard drives and the operating system boot (either Windows or Linux), surely we can solve it with a tool like SystemRescueCd.
SystemRescueCd is an emergency operating system designed to run on our computer in Live mode (from RAM). With it we can analyze and repair any possible problem that may be causing the equipment to not function properly.
Since version 6.0, SystemRescueCd is based on Arch Linux with XFCE desktop. This has allowed developers to reduce their size considerably, and can include it in less than 700 MB. Thus, we can even burn it to a CD.
Tools included in SystemRescueCd
This distro is not intended to be used as a main operating system. It does not bring programs and tools that we can easily find in other distros. Instead, it does come with a series of programs and tools installed by default with which we can repair our PC when it is failing.
For example, if what has failed is our hard disk and we need to recover the data, SystemRescueCd offers us programs such as FSArchiver and PhotoRec, with which to analyze the structure of the disk and be able to recover, without problem, the deleted data. We can also find other tools, such as TestDisk, to analyze disks and recover deleted partition tables, or sfdisk, to backup (and restore) partition tables.
We will also find other very useful system tools to recover the correct functioning of the PC. For example, we can find programs to create, delete and format partitions (such as GParted and GNU-Parted ). We will also find specific tools to work better with certain file systems. We can even find several tools to erase files safely from hard drives.
Programs to compress and decompress files, text editors, file browsers and even an Internet browser are part of SystemRescueCd.
Finally, indicate that we also have several programs for the analysis of the PC in text mode, such as MemTest + , to analyze the physical memory of the system, or HDT, to obtain all the information about the PC hardware.
Free download
This distro is completely free for all users. If we want to download it, either to repair a PC or to save it just in case, we can download it from the following link . We will find images for both 32-bit systems and 64-bit systems.
To verify that the image has been downloaded correctly (and have no problems), we can check the checksum with the SHA256 and SHA512 codes provided by the developers.
How to repair our PC with SystemRescueCd
This distro is intended to run from RAM, from a CD, DVD or a USB memory. We do not have to install anything to use it. Of course, we must use it with caution, because if we play functions without knowing we can make our system stop working.
When we boot the computer from this distro (both BIOS and UEFI), we can choose whether we want to boot the distro directly, or execute some commands that help us use it better. The ones that interest us the most are:
- setkmap = xx – to specify the keyboard layout (we must change xx for the keyboard layout code).
- copytoram – to copy the image to RAM and be able to boot.
- rootpass = xx – to change the root password (we must change xx for the password we want to use).
By default, the distro loads in TTY, in text mode. If we have knowledge about Linux we can defend ourselves from it. However, if we prefer, we can start the graphical interface, which will be easier for us to use, and will allow us to run programs such as GPared, by running:
startx
From here we can begin to investigate why the computer does not start, what is the problem and make the corrections we deem appropriate.