Right, the time well and truly has come for me to figure out how to synch my iPod with Ubuntu (and yeah, I have links and stuff, I know, I know) because (a) I am not really up for installing a dual boot of Windows and Ubuntu on my netbook, and (b) Windows just had one of those regular little spectacular implosions on my “desktop” machine, which is a dual boot. (The desktop machine is in fact a laptop, but it lives on and stays on my desk.)
The recovery process? Ain’t workin’ for me. No at all, at all. Stinker. Not sure why, it just keeps crashing suddenly, and when I try to boot from my Windows partition, it says it wants me to recopy hal.dll from the startup disk. Except that of course the disk is some kind of special multi-disk Windows XP system so it isn’t doing the recovery properly.
I don’t think I had much data on the Windows installation, so I suppose I could recopy it, but there are probably a few files I’d prefer not to lose and which I didn’t back up.
I’m just blown away by the difficulty involved in fixing this little problem. Considering how bloated XP is, you’d think it would be a little more, you know, able to handle this sort of thing. Redundancies, or something. But it’s screwy. The only way I can see this getting sorted is by me going making a bootable Windows installation on a USB drive and then copying whatever data I can, or else by taking it in to a techie at the HP repair shop in Yongsan. And I don’t really want to waste my time on either.
Maybe I can get the damned drive to mount vfrom inside Ubuntu, but it’s refusing. (Though I did set it up to mount NTFS drives, and it’s weird that it’s refusing.) Anyway, it’s at times like these that I’m grateful for the fact that I primarily rely on Linux, not Windows, to get stuff done.
Update: Please oh please tell me it wasn’t because I left a friggin’ memory card from my camera in the slot. Please, tell me it’s not that. Because that would be retarded. SO retarded!
Gonna try get a backup from inside Ubuntu before rebooting in Windows. Gah, I didn’t need this today…
You could try using a Linux live cd/dvd/usb image like Knoppix, which has a pretty good track record for helping to fix these kinds of problems. Of course, you’d have to download it first.
basic links:
http://www.knoppix.net/
http://www.enterpriseitplanet.com/networking/features/article.php/3465141
It might be the memory card, although that shouldn’t cause permanent damage. I know that my Windows XP installation flipped out when I left a USB drive in. It looked for all the world like the system was completely trashed, and then I realized that the USB drive was still plugged in. Took it out, rebooted, and everything was fine.
Honestly, though, that was the only real problem I ever had with XP. It’s a dream compared to Vista.
Guys,
Ah, used the Ubuntu partition to backup all of the data on the different partitions. Then I made a partition image of the Ubuntu partition (which is set up as I like it).
I was all set to reinstall Windows, but it looks like there’s a problem with… well, hardware, someplace. Maybe memory card or maybe video driver. I’ll be hitting the HP “After Service” center in Yongsan bright and early on Monday morning. Gah. So did not need this.
Ah well… there are worse problems to have. At least I backed up all my data. And I guess this week I’ll figure out how to synch up the iPod with Ubuntu. Whee.
Gtkpod is almost certainly in the Ubuntu repositories (assuming you haven’t already installed it).
Nothing like another link:
http://www.gtkpod.org/about.html