Using Linux to rescue Windows

You can use the Linux operating system to clean malware from Microsoft Windows on your PC. Even if you cannot boot Windows due to a viral infection, you can use Linux to rescue Windows. You need not install LInux, you need only create a Linux live CD, use it to boot your PC, and then install and run the ClamTk antivirus software to clean malware from the Windows partition or drive.

Xubuntu is a lean version of Ubuntu, a Linux distribution. To create an Xubuntu live CD, see the Creating an Xubuntu bootable disc procedure in Installing Xubuntu. You can then use the procedures below to install and run ClamTk through your Xubuntu live CD.

Note: You need not use Xubuntu; procedures are similar for other Linux live CDs.

Installing ClamTk - To install ClamTk, do the following:

1. If you have not already backed up all data on you PC, do so now. Caution: You will lose your data if you accidentally install Linux over your Windows operating system.
2. Boot your Windows PC through an Xubuntu live CD, click on Try Xubuntu. Do not install it.
3. Click the Applications Menu (the white mouse at the upper left corner of the screen) and then click Ubuntu Software Center to display its window.
4. In the search field, type clamtk, select ClamTk, and then click Install.
5. After ClamTk finishes installing, close the Ubunutu Software Center window, and then run ClamTk according to procedure below.

Running ClamTk - To run ClamTk, do the following:

1. Install ClamTk according the procedure above.
2. Click the Applications Menu (white mouse at upper left), select Accessories, and then click ClamTk to display its Virus Scanner window.
3. Click Preferences, select the Scanning Preferences tab, select (check mark) Scan files beginning with a dot, select Scan all files and directories within a directory, and then close the Preferences window.
4. Click Scan, click Recursive Scan, select the partition or drive that contains your Windows operating system, and then click OK to start the scan. Be patient; the scan takes a long time.
5. After ClamTk completes its scan, it displays any threats it has found. Quarantine all threats.
6. Shut down Xubuntu, remove its live CD, and then boot Windows.

Restoring your PC through a Redo live CD

After Creating a Redo live CD and Backing up your PC through a Redo live CD, you can restore that PC through your Redo live CD and the most-recent backup on your external drive.

Note: Redo cannot back up and restore a dual-boot PC.

To restore a full-system backup to your PC through a Redo live CD, do the following:

1. Through one of the USB ports on your PC, connect the external drive that contains the most-recent full-system backup that you created through your Redo live CD.
2. Boot or reboot your Redo live CD and wait for it to display its Welcome window. Be patient; booting the Redo live CD takes time.
3. Click the Restore icon (red down arrow), select the hard disk that contains your backup, such as Drive 2 - - External Drive, and then click Next.
4. Click the small blue box (at the right),  and then double-click the folder that contains the backup, such as StandbyPC.
5. Select the backup, such 20120710, click Open, click Next, and then click Next again.
6. Select your destination drive, such as Drive 1, click Next, click Yes to verify that you want to restore your backup, and then click Next to start the restoration. Be patient, the restoration takes time.
7. After Redo completes the restoration, click OK, click Exit, and then restart your PC, which ejects the Redo live CD.

Backing up your PC through a Redo live CD

After following the procedure in Creating a Redo live CD, you can use it to back up all software and data on the main hard drive in your PC. You can use the Redo live CD to back up any PC that has a single operating system, which is either Linux or Microsoft Windows.

Note: Redo cannot back up and restore a dual-boot PC.

To create a full-system backup of your PC through a Redo live CD, do the following:

1. Connect an external drive to your PC through one of its USB ports.
2. Boot or reboot your Redo live CD and wait for it to display its Welcome window. Be patient; booting the Redo live CD takes time.
3. Click the Backup icon (blue up arrow), select the hard disk that you wish to back up, and then click Next.
4. Select all drive parts (partitions), click Next, select the destination drive, such as an external hard drive, and then click Next.
5. Click Browse, click Create Folder (at the upper right of the screen), type a folder name, such as StandbyPC, and then press Enter to create your folder and display it at the top of the screen.
6. Click Save Here (at the lower right of the screen), click Next to display the default backup name, which is the current date, such as 20120710.
7. Click Next to start backing up your hard drive. Be patient; backing up your PC takes time.
8. After Redo completes the backup, click OK, click Exit, and then restart your PC, which ejects the Redo live CD.

Alternative disc-burning software for Ubuntu 12.04

In the Ubuntu 12.04 distribution of the LInux operating system, Brasero Disc Burner is the default disc-burning software, which lets you write to (burn) any blank, writable disc (CD or DVD) that you place into your optical drive. If you have any problem with Brasero, you can install alternative disc-burning software, Xfburn.


To install Xfburn into Ubuntu 12.04 on your PC, do the following:

1. In the Launcher, click on the Ubuntu Software Center icon.
2. Type xfburn in the search field.
3. Click Xfburn, and then click Install.

Note: Do not remove (uninstall) Brasero because you might need either Xfburn or Brasero or according to various circumstances. Either burner might work when the other cannot. For example, while making my first video, How to create a Redo live CD, I needed to burn several CDs while learning to make a correct screencast. To my frustration, after I burned one CD, Brasero would not let me burn another until I rebooted my PC. I later verified that I did not need to reboot my PC while burning multiple discs through Xfburner.

Creating a Redo live CD

You can use the free, open-source Redo Backup and Recovery utility to back up (and, if necessary, restore) all software and data on your PC hard drive. This document can help you create a Redo live CD, though which you can create a full-system backup of any PC that has a single Linux or Microsoft Windows operating system.

Note: As of June, 2012, Redo does not let you back up and recover a dual-boot PC. For example, if you have set up dual-boot Linux and Windows on your PC, you cannot use Redo to back up that PC. However, the free, open-source Clonezilla does let you back up and restore any dual-boot PC.

Downloading and Burning - As I demonstrate in my video above, you can create your CD as follows:

1. Go to the Redo website, and then, at the top of the page, click download to display the Get Redo Backup page.
2. In the section Getting Started - 1. Download the latest live CD image, click the yellow word here to display a SourceForge Redo download page.
3. Click Download, and wait until the ISO file has finished downloading.
4. Place a blank, writable CD into your optical drive.
5. Burn the Redo ISO image to your blank CD. For example, in Ubuntu, you can right-click redobackup-livecd-1.0.3.iso, click Open With Brasero Disc Burner to display the Image Burning Setup window, and then click Burn. For more information, see How to burn a bootable CD or DVD.

Backing up and restoring - The Redo live CD lets you backup and restore the main hard drive on your PC:

• As I explain in Backing up your PC through a Redo live CD,  you can back up any single-operating-system PC.  Boot your PC through the Redo live CD, which lets you create a backup of the hard drive on that PC. Redo stores the backup on external media, such as an external hard drive.
• Subsequently, as I explain in Restoring your PC through a Redo live CD, you can use your Redo live CD, and the backup on your external drive, to restore the backup to your PC.

Installing Xubuntu

Based on Ubuntu, Xubuntu is a lean distribution of the LInux operating system that:

• Lets you access your applications through traditional menus, providing an alternative to other operating systems that access applications differently.
• Runs well on older or slower PCs. Why discard a PC simply because it is too slow for MS Windows?

Xubuntu has an Xfce desktop environment that requires fewer hardware resources than does Unity, which is the standard Ubuntu desktop environment. This document contains procedures that can help you create an Xubuntu bootable disc, and then use it to install Xubuntu.

Notes:

• The procedures for installing Xubuntu are similar to those for Ubuntu.
• For more information, please see Getting started with Xubuntu.

Creating an Xubuntu bootable disc - You create an Xubuntu bootable disc (live CD or DVD) by downloading and then burning an ISO file. To create an Xubuntu bootable disc, do the following:

1. Go to the Xubuntu website, click Get Xubuntu, and then click a download mirror according to your region, such as the United States. Alternatively, you can use a torrent download.
2. Click on PC (Intel X86) desktop CD to download its ISO image. Alternatively, you can select  64-bit PC (AMD64) desktop CD.
3. In your Downloads folder, right-click the image file, such as xubuntu-12.04-desktop-i386.iso, and then select a disc burner, such as Brasero.
4. Place a blank, writable CD or DVD into your optical drive, and burn your Xubuntu bootable disc.

Installing Xubuntu on your PC - To install Xubuntu through its bootable disc, do the following:

1. Place your Xubuntu bootable disc into the optical drive on your PC, and then reboot it.
2. Click Install Xubuntu to start the installation process. Note: You can first try Xubuntu by running it from its live CD. This does not disturb your current operating system.
3. Select an installation type, and then click Continue.
4. When your are ready to install Xubuntu, click Install Now.
5. Select your time zone, and then click Continue.
6. Either accept the default keyboard layout, English (US), or select another according to your requirements, and then click Continue.
7. Type your user name, create a password, and then click Continue.At the upper-left desktop corner, click the Applications Menu (mouse) icon, select System, click Update Manager, and then install all updates.

How to install TrueType fonts in Ubuntu

Microsoft TrueType fonts facilitate creating and editing documents that you can share among MS Windows and other operating systems. If you cannot successfully install TrueType fonts graphically, you can do so by command line.

Installing Ubuntu TrueType fonts graphically - To install TrueType fonts graphically, through the Ubuntu Software Center, do the following:

1. In the Launcher, click the icon for Ubuntu Software Center.
2. Type installer truetype in the search field (at the upper right), select installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts and then click More Info.
3. Read the description of the Installer, and then click Install.
4. Type your password and then click Authenticate.
5. Accept the EULA licence terms, and then click Forward.
6. Close all applications, reboot your PC and then verify you can apply TrueType fonts through an installed application, such as LibreOffice.

Installing Ubuntu TrueType fonts by command line - You might not be able to apply TrueType fonts after installing them graphically. If so, you need to remove the graphic installer for these fonts and then install them through the command line, as follows:

1. Click the icon for Ubuntu Software Center, type installer truetype in the search field, select installer for Microsoft TrueType core fonts and then click Remove.
2. Click the Dash icon (the Ubuntu logo at the top of the Launcher), type terminal to display its icon, and then click it to open the terminal.
3. Type sudo apt-get install ttf-mscorefonts-installer to run the installation and then display a license-agreement window.
4. Press Tab to select OK, and then press Enter.
5. Press Tab (if necessary) to select Yes, and then press Enter.
6. Close all applications, reboot your PC and then verify you can apply TrueType fonts through an installed application, such as LibreOffice.