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Raising the Dead – PC Recovery Tools and Procedures

By Lasa Information Systems Team

Circuit Riders use a variety of tools and applications when attempting to revive tired or dying systems. This article looks at what Riders have at their disposal in their kitbags and at best practice procedures when approaching the task.

A query on the UKRiders list in early 2010 started an interesting thread on how Circuit Riders approach situations where their client’s systems have “more or less ground to a standstill.” It was suggested that Riders must have a kitbag of apps and procedures they bring to that kind of clean-up/'MOT' situation, but also whether there was any kind of consensus amongst circuit riders on the order in which to do things and the best tools for the various tasks. 

Riders responded with a wide range of hardware, software and physical tools and their tips for best practice. This article is a summary of the responses from Orlando Brown, Paula Graham, Jae Campbell, Marcus Pennell and others. 

Firstly...

The hardware and tools:

• Netbook and 3G dongle(s)
• Compact USB external hard disk drive
• Portable DVD rewriter
• USB hub
• Portable mouse and mini keyboard
• Screw driver and assorted bits
• Eyebrow tweezers
• SATA and IDE to USB Converter (to connect hard drives to USB port)
• Air cylinder and/or mini vacuum cleaner for dust removal
• Disposable rubber gloves
• Network and USB cables
• Mobile phone that can also get the netbook online (and calling for help!)
• PC and monitor for loaning whilst repairing
• Spare switch and router 

Next up...

The Software

A wide range of software was suggested to help with rescuing, cleaning and generally bringing systems back into working order: 

• Boot disc - Bart PE bootable live Windows CD/DVD  or Hiren’s BootCD which includes various cleaning and restoration tools
• Memory tester - Memtest
• Data recovery and disc maintenance – Spinrite or Norton Ghost
• Application platform - Portableapps
• All current Windows Client and Server Operating Systems
• Windows SQL 2000-2008, Office 2003 and 2007 applications
• Various Linux operating system discs including Puppy (which can also be used for rescuing data from a Windows PC) and bootable USB stick
• Scripts and sample Linux configuration files
• System rescue (Linux) – SystemRescue
• Diagnostic software - Micro-Scope
• PassMark performance testing and burn-in software
• System information - SIW
• Password Changer - Ophcrack
• Latest Service Packs and Autopatcher
• Anti-virus - free AVG and AVIRA or ClamWin open source 
• Anti-malware -  Malwarebytes or Spybot Search and Destroy or AdAware
• Backing up - Syncback - backup and synchronise files to: the same drive; a different drive or medium (CDRW, CompactFlash, etc); an FTP server; a Network; or a Zip archive 
• Monitoring – Process Monitor - an advanced monitoring tool for Windows that shows real-time file system, Registry and process/thread activity. 
• Process Explorer - shows information about which handles and DLLs processes have opened or loaded 
• Network analysis and auditing – Spiceworks
• Web browsers - FireFox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari

And finally...

The Procedures 

For procedures, the following apply mainly to Windows PCs but the general “good practice” points apply to computers of any variety of operating system:

• First thing is to get as much information about the problem from the client as possible (preferably before the visit so can be better prepared and know what tools to bring). It may also be possible to solve the problem over the phone or using remote access if available.
• Keep the user informed of what is being done at all times using non-patronising plain English
• Before doing anything which could have an adverse effect on data advise on risks and obtain permission at critical points where data might be lost or affected
• If the PC is booting, for Windows PCs check "msconfig" and disabling or uninstalling background applications if not needed or should not have been installed at all
• If the computer doesn't boot (and assuming there’s power getting through) could use a POST (power on self test) probe which plugs into a PCI slot and obtain a diagnostic.  Also use Micro-Scope for problem analysis and PassMark's burn-in/performance test as part of our healthcheck routine.
• Update their antivirus and anti-malware (if installed) or install a free packages and scan
• Restart machine and see how it performs
• If there is still an issue then more investigative work is required, perhaps using (for example) BartPE and Memtest
• If anything looks like it's going to take a while then it may be better to take it offsite especially if it requires a rebuild 
• Provide an estimate of the time it is likely to take and, if you charge for your services, the potential cost would be helpful (if the PC is ancient then the client may decide to replace it rather than spend time restoring)
• If the issue is preventable, advise the client on how to avoid it in the future and what they can do themselves if it happens again
• Give the client a written list of steps undertaken to resolve (or not!) the problem

 

Thanks to Ray Summer for raising the initial query and Orlando, Paula, Jae, Marcus and others who contributed to the original UK Riders thread. To take part in future discussions and share your knowledge, join the UKRiders mailing list.