I was working on a friend’s computer recently, with my toolkits I’ve put together over the years, when my friend, a devout Windows user, went snooping though my CD toolkit. He found what I always carry on me when it comes to a repair job: a copy of Windows XP, Vista, and 7 both in 32 bit and 64 bit system configurations, DBAN, Avira and Kaspersky Live CD scanners, RIP Linux, Clonezilla, DriverPack 10 Professional, and a LiveCD of Puppy Linux 5.0.1. Like many people that aren’t in depth aware of computers, he asked me what each one did, and how and why I use it. When it came to RIP Linux, Clonezilla, and Puppy Linux, he was especially puzzled by them because he didn’t know what they did. So I told him that I use RIP to recover data off computer and to use a liveCD partitioner and Clonezilla was to be a replacement for Norton Ghost.
As for why I always carry Puppy Linux with me to repair sites, is to give me a second option in trying to copy data over from a dying disk. For those people who have never used it as an operating system, or an LiveCD, it is a very quick operating system that won’t complain when you try copying files over, no matter what the situation. I’ve actually used Puppy to recover data off computers that wouldn’t boot for me to use Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier, though technically Clonezilla could do the same thing. However, this is direct access to any file system on any computer, something I’ve personally noticed only Linux can do. The other nice thing is that I can test to see if it’s only Windows that can’t do something, implying a problem inside of Windows that needs fixing, or if the hardware is bad. I say this because sometimes people are in a rush and very vague when asking for my help, so usually I’m not aware of what I have to do before I actually have to do it. With Puppy Linux, it will strike out another possibility that I would otherwise would left wondering about if the person is in a rush, which most times I’ve noticed, the person is when I’m repairing their computer on site. I’ve also left Puppy Linux on a computer while I’ve worked on the hard drive of a computer, because it doesn’t rely on the hard drive at all, being a liveCD. This allows me to have a bit more time when trying things out when the person is impatient and needs to get stuff done, or is bored and would like to use the computer, even though it’s still being repaired by yours truly. Finally, I have direct access to the hardware, unlike Windows. I admit, I could use Unknown Device /Unknown Device Identifier but even so, they’re limited when it comes to the Linux command of lspci.
Puppy Linux, more then just cute when it saves your computer
While you aren’t limited just to Puppy Linux in terms of selection (one of my friends swears by MicroCore Linux, another friend swears by Lubuntu) and it was never designed to do some of the things I use it for, it’s definitely earned itself a place in my toolkit. I feel it is a better choice then a ‘Live Windows CD’ that most warez sites would offer, because not only is it lighter, but if you are called upon by a company, you won’t have to try and explain yourself for a possible infection for them to face. With it also being free as in cost, and is able to be quickly remixed to how you’d like to use it, per computer with it’s repositories being only a click away, it’s not as hard as most people think. And since Puppy is so small and lightweight, older computers can be worked on without having to worry about waiting forever and a day for everything to load.
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