You’ve loaded the Ubuntu Live CD to recover files from a failed system but where do you store the recovered files? We’ll show you how to store them on external hard drives, on the same PC, a Windows home network, and other places.

There are many ways to transfer files you can access from a Ubuntu Live CD to a location that a stable machine Windows can not access them.

We’ll go through several methods, from each section from the Ubuntu desktop.

Use a healthy hard disk

If your computer has more than one hard disk or your hard drive is healthy and you’re in Ubuntu for reasons of non-payment, then access your hard drive is easy as pie, even if the hard disk is formatted for Windows.

To access a disk drive, it must first be mounted. To mount a floppy drive healthy, you simply select it in the Places menu in the top left of the screen. You must identify your hard disk size.

Clicking on the appropriate hard drive mounts it, and opens it in a file browser.

You can now move files to the hard drive by drag and drop or copy and paste, which are both done the same way they are done in Windows.

Once a hard drive or other external storage device is mounted, it will be displayed in the directory / media. To see the list of storage devices currently installed, navigate to / media by clicking on the file system in a Windows file browser, then double-clicking the folder media..

Right now, our media folder contains links to the hard drive, which Ubuntu has assigned a terribly uninformative label, and the PLoP Boot Manager CD that is currently in the CD-ROM drive.

Connect a USB Hard Drive or Flash Drive

A USB external hard drive gives you the advantage of portability, and is still large enough to store a deposit of entire hard disk, if necessary. Flash drives are also very easy to connect, if they are limited in how far they can store.

When you plug a USB hard disk or flash drive in, Ubuntu should automatically detect and mount it. It can even open a file browser automatically. Since it was installed, you will also see the show on the desktop and the folder / media.

Once it’s been mounted, you can access it and store files on it like you would any other folder in Ubuntu.

If, for whatever reason, it doesn’t mount automatically, click on Places in the top-left of your screen and select your USB device. If it does not show up in the Places list, then you may need to format your USB drive.

To properly remove the USB drive when you’re done moving files, right click on the desktop icon or the folder in /media and select Safely Remove Drive. If you’re not given that option, then Eject or Unmount will effectively do the same thing.

Connect to a Windows PC on your Local Network

If you have another PC or a laptop connected through the same router (wired or wireless) then you can transfer files over the network relatively quickly.

To do this, we will share one or more folders from the machine booted up with the Ubuntu Live CD over the network, letting our Windows PC grab the files contained in that folder. As an example, we’re going to share a folder on the desktop called ToShare.

Right-click on the folder you want to share, and click Sharing Options. A Folder Sharing window will pop up.

Check the box labeled Share this folder. A window will pop up about the sharing service. Click the Install service button.

Some files will be downloaded, and then installed. When they’re done installing, you’ll be appropriately notified.

You will be prompted to restart your session. Don’t worry, this won’t actually log you out, so go ahead and press the Restart session button.

The Folder Sharing window returns, with Share this folder now checked. Edit the Share name if you’d like, and add checkmarks in the two checkboxes below the text fields. Click Create Share.

Nautilus will ask your permission to add some permissions to the folder you want to share. Allow it to Add the permissions automatically.

The folder is now shared, as evidenced by the new arrows above the folder’s icon.

At this point, you are done with the Ubuntu machine. Head to your Windows PC, and open up Windows Explorer. Click on Network in the list on the left, and you should see a machine called UBUNTU in the right pane.

Note: This example is shown in Windows 7; the same steps should work for Windows XP and Vista, but we have not tested them.

Double-click on UBUNTU, and you will see the folder you shared earlier! As well as any other folders you’ve shared from Ubuntu.

Double click on the folder you want to access, and from there, you can move the files from the machine booted with Ubuntu to your Windows PC.

Upload to an Online Service

There are many services online that will allow you to upload files, either temporarily or permanently. As long as you aren’t transferring an entire hard drive, these services should allow you to transfer your important files from the Ubuntu environment to any other machine with Internet access.

We recommend compressing the files that you want to move, both to save a little bit of bandwidth, and to save time clicking on files, as uploading a single file will be much less work than a ton of little files.

To compress one or more files or folders, select them, and then right-click on one of the members of the group. Click Compress….

Give the compressed file a suitable name, and then select a compression format. We’re using .zip because we can open it anywhere, and the compression rate is acceptable.

Click Create and the compressed file will show up in the location selected in the Compress window.

Dropbox

If you have a Dropbox account, then you can easily upload files from the Ubuntu environment to Dropbox. There is no explicit limit on the size of file that can be uploaded to Dropbox, though a free account begins with a total limit of 2 GB of files in total.

Access your account through Firefox, which can be opened by clicking on the Firefox logo to the right of the System menu at the top of the screen.

Once into your account, press the Upload button on top of the main file list.

Because Flash is not installed in the Live CD environment, you will have to switch to the basic uploader. Click Browse…find your compressed file, and then click Upload file.

Depending on the size of the file, this could take some time. However, once the file has been uploaded, it should show up on any computer connected through Dropbox in a matter of minutes.

Google Docs

Google Docs allows the upload of any type of file – making it an ideal place to upload files that we want to access from another computer. While your total allocation of space varies (mine is around 7.5 GB), there is a per-file maximum of 1 GB.

Log into Google Docs, and click on the Upload button at the top left of the page.

Click Select files to upload and select your compressed file. For safety’s sake, uncheck the checkbox concerning converting files to Google Docs format, and then click Start upload.

Go Online – Through FTP

If you have access to an FTP server – perhaps through your web hosting company, or you’ve set up an FTP server on a different machine – you can easily access the FTP server in Ubuntu and transfer files. Just make sure you don’t go over your quota if you have one.

You will need to know the address of the FTP server, as well as the login information.

Click on Places > Connect to Server…

Choose the FTP (with login) Service type, and fill in your information. Adding a bookmark is optional, but recommended.

You will be asked for your password. You can choose to remember it until you logout, or indefinitely.

You can now browse your FTP server just like any other folder. Drop files into the FTP server and you can retrieve them from any computer with an Internet connection and an FTP client.

Conclusion

While at first the Ubuntu Live CD environment may seem claustrophobic, it has a wealth of options for connecting to peripheral devices, local computers, and machines on the Internet – and this article has only scratched the surface. Whatever the storage medium, Ubuntu’s got an interface for it!

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Disk2vhd (pictured above)
Need an easy way to convert a physical machine to a virtual one? Fire up Disk2vhd and create a snapshot of any system running Windows XP or later — including server OSes and x64 builds. Partition structure is retained, and you can even save your VHD to the same drive you’re backing up.

Boot VHD
Windows 7 can also boot those VHD files you create with Disk2vhd, but adding them manually to the BCD is kind of a pain in the butt. Boot VHD takes care of the heavy lifting: browse for your VHD and click create boot from VHD. A command prompt window will appear and the necessary additions will be made for you. Close that window, check the boot drop-down, and verify that your new entry has been created.

Remember, only Vista SP1 and later can be booted this way.

VHDAttach
While Windows 7 can manage VHDs like physical disks, mounting and dismounting them is a bit overcomplicated. You’ve got to open the disk management snap-in, click attach, then browse for your VHD. VHDAttach makes the process as simple as it can get: open the folder where your VHD is located, right-click it, and choose attach (or detach) from the context menu.

XP-More
Creating new VMs and managing their settings is already dead-simple in Windows 7, but duplicating a machine isn’t as straightforward as simple as doing a copy and paste in your Virtual Machines folder. XP-More streamlines things by creating both the .vmcx and .vhd files. The settings and create buttons launch Windows 7′s built-in tools.

If you don’t have the XP Mode or Virtual PC installers, you can download them over at Softpedia without having to go through Microsoft’s validation process.

Got another handy tool for working with Windows 7′s built-in virtualization features? Share it with us!

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3GP and .3G2 are very common video capture formats currently being used on many mobile phones, but they may not be supported by your favorite media player. Here is a quick and easy way to convert those files to AVI or MPG format with the free Windows application, Pazera Free 3GP to AVI Converter.

Download the Pazera Free 3GP to AVI Converter. You’ll have to unzip the download folder, but there is no need to install the application. Just double-click the 3gptoavi.exe file to run the application.

To add your 3GP or 3G2 files to the queue to be converted, click on the Add files button at the top left.

Browse for your file, and click Open.

Your video will be added to the Queue. You can add multiple files to the queue and convert them all at one time.

Most users will find it preferable to use one of the pre-configured profiles for their conversion settings. To load a profile, choose one from the Profile drop down list and then click the Load button. You will see the profile update the settings in the panels at the bottom of the application.

We tested Pazera Free 3GP to AVI Converter with 3GP files recorded on a Motorola Droid, and found the AVI H.264 Very High Q. profile to return the best results for AVI output, and the MPG – DVD NTSC: MPEG-2 the best results for MPG output. Other profiles produced smaller file sizes, but at a cost of reduced quality video output.

More advanced users may tweak video and audio settings to their liking in the lower panels. Click on the AVI button under Output file format / Video settings to adjust settings AVI…

Or the MPG button to adjust the settings for MPG output.

By default, the converted file will be output to the same location as the input directory. You can change it by clicking the text box input radio button and browsing for a different folder.

When you’ve chosen your settings, click Convert to begin the conversion process.

A conversion output box will open and display the progress. When finished, click Close.

Now you’re ready to enjoy your video in your favorite media player.

Pazera Free 3GP to AVI Converter isn’t the most robust media conversion tool, but it does what it is intended to do. It handles the task of 3GP to AVI / MPG conversion very well. It’s easy enough for the beginner to manage without much trouble, but also has enough options to please more experienced users.

Download Pazera Free 3GP to AVI Converter

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Filed under: Features, Windows, How-Tos

The improved taskbar — or Superbar, as it’s really called now — in Windows 7 offers loads of features which make getting at the files and folders you use frequently easier and faster. The four options I’ll cover here don’t require any additional software. They’re all possible using features built right in to your OS, you just might not have realized it yet!

Pin ‘em to your Explorer icon (pictured above)
The most obvious solution, and the one you’re most likely to have tried already. The Explorer icon sits on the Superbar by default, so every fresh Windows 7 desktop should have it. Pinning a folder is as simple as it gets: find a folder you want to add to the Explorer Jump List, click on it and hold your mouse button down, and drag it to the Explorer taskbar icon.

There’s another way to add items, too. Folders you use frequently automatically appear on the Jump List. Right-click the Explorer icon to display it, and then click the thumbtack icon to pin anything you’d like to show up at the list.

The Quick Launch toolbar
This one’s been part of Windows for ages — it’s not new to Windows 7. Now, in fact, it’s kind of tucked away out of plain sight. Putting the quick launch toolbar back is easy enough. Here’s how to do it:

• right click the Superbar and choose toolbar from the top of the context menu
• click new toolbar from the bottom of the slide-out submenu
• paste the following path in the box labeled folder (quotes and all): “%appdata%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick launch”

You’ll see the toolbar appear on your Superbar. To easily add shortcuts to other folders, right-click on the Quick launch text and choose open folder. Any shortcuts you create in that Explorer window will automatically appear on the menu you just created.

You can also drag-and-drop shortcuts — just be careful where you let go of your mouse button or your shortcut may wind up somewhere you didn’t want it.

The Desktop toolbar
One very handy default toolbar is Desktop. Add it, and all the icons covering up your snazzy wallpaper appear right on the taskbar in a compact menu. Once you’ve done that, you can right click your desktop, choose view, and click on Show Desktop Icons. *poof!* Your desktop is squeaky clean, and you still have easy access to everything you stashed there.

You can still drag and drop items on your desktop or right-click a file or folder and choose send to -> desktop, too. Instead of appearing there, they’ll show up on the menu!

Adding the desktop toolbar is even easier than the Quick Launch:

• right click the Superbar and choose toolbar from the top of the context menu
• click Desktop
  

Bonus: this also acts as a way to get a functional recycle bin icon on your taskbar!

The Start Menu -> Recorded TV Library button
Sure, technically the Menu isn’t on the taskbar itself, but the Windows button is, so let’s just go with it…Starting with XP, Microsoft added a section of folder buttons to the right-hand side of the Windows Start Menu. They give quick access to things like your Documents, Music, and Photos.

In Windows 7, you can add two more: Downloads and Recorded TV. Fast access to the Downloads folder? Heck yes! The Recorded TV library, however, really isn’t going to be that useful to you if you don’t use your system as a PVR — but you can easily change it to something that you’ll find much more handy. It’s a three step process (with multiple sub-steps).

Step 1: add the Recorded TV library button to your Start Menu

• Right-click the Windows button and choose properties
• Click the customize button when the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window appears
• Scroll down through the list (it’s alphabetical) until you find Recorded TV
• Change the selection to either display as link or display as menu. Display as link means a new Explorer window will open when you click the button. Display as menu will slide out your Library’s contents when you hover over the button with your mouse.

Step 2: change the name to something more meaningful

• Click your Windows button to make the start button appear
• Right-click the Recorded TV folder and choose properties
• Click the General tab
• Replace Recorded TV with whatever you want (Miscellaneous Debris, etc.)

Step 3: add the folders you want to the library

• Click your Windows button to make the start button appear
• Right-click the Recorded TV folder and choose properties
• Click Include a Folder and browse for the folder you want
• Click the Include Folder button to add it
• Repeat until your library is complete
• Click the drop-down under Optimize this library for and set it to the most appropriate type (I use General)

Got another method for fast and easy file and folder access which doesn’t require additional software? Share it in the comments!

Go to Source Article at Download Squad

An annoyance for music lovers who enjoy FLAC format, is there’s no native support for WMP or WMC. If you’re a music enthusiast who prefers FLAC format, we’ll look at adding support to Windows 7 Media Center and Player.

For the following article we are using Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit edition.

Download and Install madFLAC v1.8

The first thing we need to do is download and install the madFLAC v1.8 decoder (link below). Just unzip the file and run install.bat…

You’ll get a message that it has been successfully registered, click Ok.

To verify everything is working, open up one of your FLAC files with WMP, and you’ll get the following message. Check the box Don’t ask me again for this extension and click Yes.

Now Media Player should play the track you’ve chosen.

Delete Current Music Library

But what if you want to add your entire collection of FLAC files to the Library? If you already have it set up as your default music player, unfortunately we need to remove the current library and delete the database. The best way to manage the music library in Windows 7 is via WMP 12.

Since we don’t want to delete songs from the computer we need to Open WMP, press “Alt+T” and navigate to Tools \ Options \ Library.

Now uncheck the box Delete files from computer when deleted from library and click Ok.

Now in your Library click “Ctrl + A” to highlight all of the songs in the Library, then hit the “Delete” key. If you have a lot of songs in your library (like on our system) you’ll see the following dialog box while it collects all of the information.

After all of the data is collected, make sure the radio button next to Delete from library only is marked and click Ok.

Again you’ll see the Working progress window while the songs are deleted.

Deleting Current Database

Now we need to make sure we’re starting out fresh. Close out of Media Player.

Click on Start and type in services.msc into the search box and hit Enter.

Now scroll down and stop the service named Windows Media Player Network Sharing Service.

Now, navigate to the following directory and the main file to delete CurrentDatabase_372.wmdb

%USERPROFILE%\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Player\

Again, the main file to delete is CurrentDatabase_372.wmdb, though if you want, you can delete them all. If you’re uneasy about deleting these files, make sure to back them up first.

Now after you restart WMP you can begin adding your FLAC files. For those of us with large collections, it’s extremely annoying to see WMP try to pick up all of your media by default. To delete the other directories go to Organize \ Manage Libraries then open the directories you want to remove.

For example here we’re removing the default libraries it tries to check for music. Remove the directories you don’t want it to gather contents from in each of the categories.

We removed all of the other collections and only added the FLAC music directory from our home server.

SoftPointer Tag Support Plugin

Even though we were able to get FLAC files to play in WMP and WMC at this point, there’s another utility from SoftPointer to add. It enables FLAC (and other file formats) to be picked up in the library much easier. It has a long name but is effective –M4a/FLAC/Ogg/Ape/Mpc Tag Support Plugin for Media Player and Media Center (link below). Just install it by accepting the defaults, and you’ll be glad you did.

After installing it, and re-launching Media Player, give it some time to collect all of the data from your FLAC directory…it can take a while. In fact, if your collection is huge, just walk away and let it do its thing.

If you try to use it right away, WMP slows down considerably while updating the library.

Once the library is setup you’ll be able to play your FLAC tunes in Windows 7 Media Center as well and Windows Media Player 12.

Album Art

One caveat is that some of our albums didn’t show any cover art. But we were usually able to get it by right-clicking the album and selecting Find album info.

Then confirming the album information is correct…

Conclusion

Although this seems like several steps to go through to play FLAC files in Windows 7 Media Center and Player, it seems to work really well after it’s set up.

We haven’t tried this with a 64-bit machine, but the process should be similar, but you might want to make sure the codecs you use are 64-bit. We’re sure there are other methods out there that some of you use, and if so leave us a comment and tell us about it.

Update: Thanks to reader Pavel Chikulaev for pointing out that using this method won’t let you forward /rewind tracks or show track length. Hopefully someone out there has a fix for this?

Download madFlac V1.8

Go to Source Article at How to Geek