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#1 2017-03-13 07:10:29

Joe Wong
Member
Registered: 2017-03-09
Posts: 8

How to recover system using USB?

I have a major problem now.
Something's wrong with my system and it cannot boot. It says 'unable to find root device'.
Then I thought I could recover the current system from a USB drive.
So I downloaded an iso file `archlinux-2017.03.01-dual.iso` to another Windows machine, and I used a Rufus to write it into a USB drive. Then I don't exactly know how to move on from that. Can I just enter BIOS and install now? Or I have to copy the iso file into the USB drive?

ALSO: am I gonna lose all data from the system I intend to recover if I boot a new system from a USB drive?

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#2 2017-03-13 08:07:56

jasonwryan
Anarchist
From: .nz
Registered: 2009-05-09
Posts: 30,424
Website

Re: How to recover system using USB?


Arch + dwm   •   Mercurial repos  •   Surfraw

Registered Linux User #482438

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#3 2017-03-13 11:15:05

Trilby
Inspector Parrot
Registered: 2011-11-29
Posts: 29,441
Website

Re: How to recover system using USB?

Joe Wong wrote:

Can I just enter BIOS and install now?

You should be able to enter BIOS without the USB, and entering BIOS settings has nothing to do with installing.  I suspect you don't actually mean to refer to BIOS, but as you are using terms wrongly I'm really not sure what you could be referring to here.

Joe Wong wrote:

Or I have to copy the iso file into the USB drive?

What?  You said you already wrote the iso to the USB drive using Rufus.  So what are you asking here?

Joe Wong wrote:

am I gonna lose all data from the system I intend to recover if I boot a new system from a USB drive?

No.  You are just booting from a usb.  All your data and your installed system is on your harddrive.

Bigger Picture: you aren't actually using archlinux are you?  If these steps are so foreign to you, there is no way you could have installed arch.  Perhaps you are using some offshoot "arch-based" distro.  Which one?

EDIT: From your previous thread I see you didn't install arch linux.  Someone else installed archlinux on a machine and left it to you when they resigned.  If this system is important to your business, then this person who left you with an arch linux system with no guidance on maintaining it has done something horribly inappropriate.

While I empathize with the crap situation they have left you in, I doubt we will be able to help you.  While you might be able to get back on your feet in the short term, you will just postpone the inevitable and you'll have more and more problems as time goes on.  Bite the bullet now and deal with the root of the problem: archlinux is the wrong os/distro for your use.

I'd recommend backing up any data/documents you want to keep then installing a system you know how to use.  If the person who resigned really left without providing any instructions or offering any support of a business-critical system, then I strongly encourage that this fact be reflected in any references or recommendations your company is asked to provide for them in the future.

Last edited by Trilby (2017-03-13 11:21:21)


"UNIX is simple and coherent..." - Dennis Ritchie, "GNU's Not UNIX" -  Richard Stallman

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