Knoppix has no "restore Windows" function and is not a replacement for a Windows Restore disk (whatever that is). I would say that the advertiser was very deceptive in the claims for the disk (ebay by any chance?).

Knoppix is used by many people to recover important files from crashed Windows systems. This is most often done by moving the files to another computer on a local network, writing them to a flash drive, or burning a disc right from Knoppix (some memory or hardware limitations come up in this last case). Since you have Win98 and not XP, Knoppix can also write to your hard drive Win98 partition (although most versions of knoppix default to opening the partition read-only for safety this can be changed by the user when writing to the partition is intended). So if you know what you are doing and need to change a particular file to recover Windows, you could do this with Knoppix (assuming that you have a copy of the needed file). Knoppix can not safely write to most Windows systems, such as XP, Vista and Windows 7 that use NTFS.

I purchased it online from...

numus software ltd
5 st dominic st
penzance
CORNWALL
TR18 2DL
UNITED KINGDOM
http://user-guides.co.uk

Im requesting a refund..... we'll see how far i get with that. I was just trying to do something quick instead of waiting in the mail for an physical cd. It may actually be Windows XP I can't get that far on the computer as it is right now.

You "purchased it" and you didn't get a physical CD? What sleazebags, Knoppix has always been available as a completely free download. Of course, the legitimate and free download sites don't tend to make false claims about it. Assuming that you paid for it with a credit card, I would certainly say to dispute the charge based on a false claim. It's open source software so vendors are free to charge for it, but I had never heard of any so sleazy as to charge and just provide a download.

If it is Xp then do not try to write to the disk. But in either case you can read from the disk and recover important files. Windows recovery is best done simply by reinstalling Windows from the original discs after you have recovered what you need.

And if you ever what to download free copies, newer versions, older versions (frankly the 6.x versions are pretty poor), or CD or DVD versions, just follow the Get Knoppix link near the top of this page. I recommend using the BitTorrent download to get a copy of the ISO file very quickly and with extra file checking to prevent the corruption that I often see on the mirrors, and be sure to burn the ISO at low speed for best compatability on booting.

Hi Shana, sorry for your bad experience. There are some dodgy sellers around and that's why I recommend that if you want to buy a physical copy of Knoppix you should do it here. Out of the thousands of orders we send them I've never had a single complaint. If in future one of our visitors ever has a problem with this supplier I recommend that they contact me and I'll sort it out.

That said, you've already paid. I suggest you take a copy of their advert saying you could recover Windows in case they give you trouble with the refund. Also, mention the EU Distance Selling Directive. All UK suppliers are bound by law, the Sale of Goods Act and the DSD. Trading Standards and the ASA would be interested in any false advertising.

Hope you follow Harry's advice and get a working copy.

Yes it can, lol!

Windows 98 is easy!

With the Knoppix Live CD, check your autoexec.bat and config.sys files for errors.

check path windows/options/cabs for existence.

delete all registry files [*.dat]

run setup from dos:
c:\windows\options\cabs:>setup

Now, maybe we should include that in a "distro" for him???

But running anything windoze before XP (dunno 'bout NT) is really just doing a backup (copy entire HD) once a month to an external.
Use the Knoppix (or BartPE) to boot/format and copy back...

I guess Windows 3.1 might be easy too. But any current Windows with a NTFS file system is dangerous to write to at all with Knoppix, hardly what you want to be doing when you already have Windows problems.

Okay Harry,

I'm trying to follow in your footsteps and never go back, LOL!

Well, I was going back to Win95 but nothing, absolutely NOTHING is useful anymore in it...so here I AM!!!

What replacement for MS outlook EXPRESS do you recommend?

I tried sea-monkey or sumthing awhile back...