Linux OS Crashed NEED SERIOUS HELP

[tel84]

So basically im not so linux friendly i dont know anyone who is but my girlfriends computer crashed and all she can tell me is she thinks it had ubuntu on it. First thing i wanna do is wipe it clean and do it all over again but she will murder me if i dont at least try to salvage all her pictures. Is there anyone out there that can at least point me in the right direction to at minimum being able to salvage the files. Thanks.

[tel84]

Also i should add where im at in this awesome predicament ive gotten myself into its sitting at start up and its saying boot failure insert boot disc or diskette press any key when ready ive tried burning ubuntu iso's and its not working so please anyone give me some ideas. thanks

[ashitpro]

If possible, Could you post all content on screen before crash...
At this stage, I think you've lost your boot loader..
I would rather give you the steps to restore it,,,but lets confirm the problem..

[ShaneA]

You might be able to connect her HD to another Linux computer and try to salvage the data off of it and then do an OS re-load.

[Nepomuk]

OK, what you have to do is this:

1. Get into BIOS. To get there, start up the computer and right at the beginning (before any OS is loaded) press a certain button. Depending on your mainboard that could be DEL, F1, F8, ESC or in some exotic cases other buttons. It should say, which button to press (something like "To start setup press F8" or "To enter BIOS press DEL").
2. Once in BIOS, look for somewhere to set the boot-sequence. Again, depending on the mainboard this will vary.
3. Make sure that the CD- or DVD-drive is chosen before any harddrive. That way, it will search for bootable CDs or DVDs before trying to boot from the harddrive (where the broken Ubuntu lies)
4. Insert one of those Ubuntu CDs you've burnt. (The normal CD, not the Alternate one.)
5. Quit BIOS, saving the changes.
6. The computer should boot to a screen where you can choose to try Ubuntu without installing it. That's what you want.
7. When the system has loaded, search for the photos. Normally there should be at least two hard drives (or more accurately: partitions) on the desktop. The photos should normally be on the second one. (If there aren't at least two, don't worry and just search for them on both.)
8. You may be looking for a directory called "home" and in that a further directory with the girlfriends username. The photos will probably be in there.
9. You should be able to load a USB Stick or floppy disc easily and save the photos onto that, if you have one. Otherwise you can use a webservice like rapidshare or some email-Addresses to save them.

For more information on how to load the various devices, you can check this article. If you have any further questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Greetings,
Nepomuk