The bottom line
The list above is by no means exhaustive,
and there are new tools and compilations springing up all of the time. And the
live distros and tools listed can be downloaded for free, and burned to a CD or
USB stick.
It should be noted that, while these are
extremely useful tools, they need a certain amount of expertise in Windows, if
not in Linux, in order to be of use. It is still far too easy to completely
trash a Windows installation with injudicious use of the powerful tools
available. For example, if you don’t understand the basic rules of hard disk
partitioning, you’re probably not best suited to manipulating hard disk
partitions. That said, for the careful and reasonably tech-savvy user, they’re
great additions to the toolkit at a great price – free!
Anatomy of a live CD
Live CDs are disc-based installations of an
operating system, usually Linux, which can be booted and run without having to
install themselves on the hard drive.
Linux
LiveCD can be Helpful
A Linux live CD (or a live USB stick) will
run the ISOLinux boot loader, using it to launch the OS into RAM from the
media. Usually the OS will create a temporary RAMdisk for caching variable
data.
If possible, some will install themselves
completely into RAM, and only load programs as and when needed from the CD,
although some, like Puppy, have clever routines that will allow you to save
changes to the empty space on a CD or USB stick.
They were originally designed as a way for
someone to try Linux without having to make any changes to their PC (and hence
their Windows installation would remain safe), but many people rapidly
recognised that they could be extremely useful when your Microsoft OS is too
poorly to rouse ifself.
You may be able to restore the system, or
in the worst-case scenario, you can at least use it to recover any valuable
data from the disks before reinstalling
Anti-virus companies have been quick to
realize the advantages of booting from a ‘clean’ read-only medium when fighting
malware, and although some of them use a Windows ‘pre-installation environment’
CD, many of them use a Linux-based live CD that you can boot to run their
software.
Live CD distros can be also be used for
running firewalls or routers, their read-only format making them particularly
hard to infect with rootkits, for example.
If you buy a server from one of the bigger
operators such as HP, Fujisu or Dell, these days it comes with a Linux-based
live CD which will create RAID arrays, format disks, configure hardware, and
install the OS of your choice (Windows Server, Suse Enterprise or Redhat Linux
usually) with all required drivers in place.
You can even find tools in Linux distros
for creating your own tailored live OS CDs should you wish to.
Why are they free?
These tools have been developed by a wide
range of developers, some by individuals, some by groups, and some by
companies. Many hours can go into producing a finished bug-free version.
Often they are initially created as a
solution to a particular problem, and because it is very rare for only one person
to have a particular problem, they tend to grow.
There are many reasons for making the final
product free. It may, for example, be a ‘taster’ for a more advanced, non-free
version. It may simply be free through the developer’s wish to return benefit to
the community, through simple altruism, or it may be the combined work of so
many widely spread individuals that it would be impossible to release it any
other way. The open-source community is one of the most diverse on the planet,
with people from all walks of life and every race under the sun contributing in
one way or another.
You may find some more to your liking than
others, but if you find one useful, spread the word on forums and in the Micro
Mart letters pages; let others know about them. If they’ve saved your precious
data, or you find yourself using them to help you make a living, consider
making a donation. After all, the developers work hard to perfect these tools,
and they deserve our thanks and recognition.
