Re: [tlug] Suse 10 file access without root?

[Alexei Anisimov <alexei.anisimov@example.com>]

Hello Lyle,
> I accessed a few files (via Kubuntu 9.0 in run-from-CD-ROM mode) that
> seem to have been saved on the desktop, but everything else I'm unable
> to access.
>
> I It looks like I could do something *if* he had remembered (I'm
> embarrassed for him just to write this) the root password.
>
> When attempting to boot, there are a long string of error messages.
> What I can see now is:
>
> ide: failed opcode was: unknown
> Buffer I/O error on device hda3, logical block 198764
>
> Another part says:
>
> fsck failed.  Please repair manually and reboot....   etc.
>
> Is there some way to back up his user files without knowing the root
> password?  I have physical access to the machine.
>
> Is the hard drive defective?  W-ME still boots.
>
> Lyle
Let me try to help. Btw, taking an occasion to introduce myself - my
name is Alexei Anisimov, I am from Novosibirsk, Russia. I just joined
the mailing list this weekend.

Lyle, what happens when you boot Kubuntu live-cd and try to mount the
Linux partition? It might also help to try to run fsck being booted to
Kubuntu and see if it can fix something.

I guess that the hard drive itself is OK since you can boot Windows, so
it's probably Linux partition problem, like unclean shutdown. And you
can also try to access the Linux partition from Windows, if it is ext2
or ext3:

    http://www.fs-driver.org/ - I know this one works, but I'm not sure
how it can handle ext3 that was not cleanly dismounted
    http://www.diskinternals.com/linux-reader/ - this one looks very
promising, but I did not use it

- 
Best regards,
Alexei A. Anisimov