Best Linux version for user friendliness and data recovery?

[TheBigCheese]

Hi guys

I'm thinking of setting up a dual boot system on one of my PCs so I can boot straight to Linux.

So far I've had a dabble with Ubuntu booting from a pen drive but I'd like something a little more permanent.

I do have a reason for it as well, a couple of big NTFS drives have gone wonky and aren't working properly in Windows so I'd like to copy all the data from them in Linux onto new drives (neither of them are boot drives).

Does that sound like a simple enough thing to do?

As I say, I've used Ubuntu before now but I would like some opinions on the best easy to use Linux version for a newbie at it (heck I may be on the right path with Ubuntu...no idea!).


Finally...how best should I setup the drives so I can dual boot W7 64 or Linux on one machine? I'd like it to dafault to Windows but give me the option of going to Linux as well...any suggestions?


Many thanks!

 

[masterluke]

I'm a tad confused. You've got 2 drives that are dodgy in windows and you want to restore the data from these onto 2 new drives that are not boot drives? What do you want to boot from? Do you think the 2 original drives are physically faulty?

 

[TheBigCheese]

Thanks for the reply, I've probably put too many questions in one post.


I have two drives that are a bit knackered, drive E and drive L.

Drive E has stopped responding properly in Windows, whether it's corruption or a physical fault I don't know.

Drive L went weird a while ago on a previous Windows install and has left security permissions on there which means I can't delete data or move it elsewhere (I've tried changing the security permissions, it can't do it).


I long while I was sure I had a similar thing and managed to fix it in Ubuntu but I can't remember what it was I did.


I just wanted a recommended Linux version, whether Ubuntu or something else to help me salvage the data from both drives.



On an unrelated note, I'd like to experiment with Linux more so I was wondering how I could dual boot between Linux and Windows easily.

 

[masterluke]

No worries - Ubuntu would be as good a choice as any for this sort of thing. It has good hardware support and tends to "just work".

If you boot from a Ubuntu live cd or usb stick your hard disks should be there straight away. That will allow you to copy any files you need over to another disk.

The symptoms you are describing could easily just be filesystem errors and the physical disks are fine. After copying over the files I would install Gparted and remove the partitions that you are having problems with. Gparted also has a nice gui for checking the disks for errors. Then you can use the same livecd\usb to install linux onto one of the empty drives you have and see if it works. This should install a grub2 bootloader. On a reboot you should have a menu which will allow you to boot into either linux or the previous operating system. If you want to boot to windows by default you can do this..

http://askubuntu.com/questions/148095/how-do-i-set-the-grub-timeout-and-the-grub-default-boot-entry

You should be fine with this but make sure to backup anything important somewhere else first.

 

[TheBigCheese]

Thanks very much for the reply.

Ubuntu it is, I like it just works!

I'm hoping it could just be filesystem errors...I certainly think drive L is that as I can still use it successfully, I just can't move or delete some stuff...these are the errors I get with it (two messages blended into one):





Drive E I can't really remember what the problem is with that, I'm hoping it won't have a hissy fit in Ubuntu like it does in Windows!

Thanks for that brilliant info on dual booting, I'm definitely going to give that a go!

 

[slinxy]

have you tried fixing file permissions on the drive? taking ownership of the file?
This issue is likely caused since your username on you old windows install is different from your new one.

On the subject of linux distribution, my fav is mint, its based on Ubuntu, so all their stuff will work, but I just prefer the interface and prettiness of it. From what I seen of Ubuntu at the moment, I can't stand the side bar.

 

[biron_w]

I've tried loads of linux distro's and my 2 favourites are Pear OS and Pinguy. Both based on Ubuntu.