Live CDA live CD (also live DVD, live disc, or live operating system) is a complete bootable computer installation including operating system which runs directly from a CD-ROM or similar storage device into a computer's memory, rather than loading from a hard disk drive. A live CD allows users to run an operating system for any purpose without installing it or making any changes to the computer's configuration. Live CDs can run on a computer without secondary storage, such as a hard disk drive, or with a corrupted hard disk drive or file system, allowing data recovery.
Live USBA live USB is a portable USB-attached external data storage device containing a full operating system that can be booted from. The term is reminiscent of USB flash drives but may encompass an external hard disk drive or solid-state drive, though they may be referred to as "live HDD" and "live SSD" respectively. They are the evolutionary next step after live CDs, but with the added benefit of writable storage, allowing customizations to the booted operating system.
Data recoveryIn computing, data recovery is a process of retrieving deleted, inaccessible, lost, corrupted, damaged, or formatted data from secondary storage, removable media or , when the data stored in them cannot be accessed in a usual way. The data is most often salvaged from storage media such as internal or external hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), USB flash drives, magnetic tapes, CDs, DVDs, RAID subsystems, and other electronic devices.
SYSLINUXThe Syslinux Project is a suite of five different boot loaders for starting up Linux distros on computers. It was primarily developed by H. Peter Anvin. The Syslinux Project consists of five different boot loaders: The eponymous SYSLINUX, used for booting from the filesystem ISOLINUX, used for booting from the ISO 9660 filesystem PXELINUX, used for booting from a network server using the Preboot Execution Environment (PXE) system EXTLINUX, used for booting from Btrfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, , NTFS, , and XFS filesystems MEMDISK, emulates a RAM disk for older operating systems like MS-DOS The project also includes two separate menu systems and a development environment for additional modules.
Self-booting diskA self-booting disk is a floppy disk for home computers or personal computers that loads—or boots—directly into a standalone application when the system is turned on, bypassing the operating system. This was common, even standard, on some computers in the late 1970s to early 1990s. Video games were the type of application most commonly distributed using this technique. The term "PC booter" is sometimes used in reference to self-booting software for IBM PC compatibles.
USB flash driveA USB flash drive (also called a thumb drive in the US, or a memory stick in the UK & Pen Drive in many countries) is a data storage device that includes flash memory with an integrated USB interface. It is typically removable, rewritable and much smaller than an optical disc. Most weigh less than . Since first appearing on the market in late 2000, as with virtually all other computer memory devices, storage capacities have risen while prices have dropped.
ComputerA computer is a machine that can be programmed to carry out sequences of arithmetic or logical operations (computation) automatically. Modern digital electronic computers can perform generic sets of operations known as programs. These programs enable computers to perform a wide range of tasks. A computer system is a nominally complete computer that includes the hardware, operating system (main software), and peripheral equipment needed and used for full operation.
BootingIn computing, booting is the process of starting a computer as initiated via hardware such as a button or by a software command. After it is switched on, a computer's central processing unit (CPU) has no software in its main memory, so some process must load software into memory before it can be executed. This may be done by hardware or firmware in the CPU, or by a separate processor in the computer system. Restarting a computer also is called rebooting, which can be "hard", e.g.
MS-DOSMS-DOS (ˌɛmˌɛsˈdɒs ; acronym for Microsoft Disk Operating System, also known as Microsoft DOS) is an operating system for x86-based personal computers mostly developed by Microsoft. Collectively, MS-DOS, its rebranding as IBM PC DOS, and a few operating systems attempting to be compatible with MS-DOS, are sometimes referred to as "DOS" (which is also the generic acronym for disk operating system).
