On 17/04/2012 8:40 AM, dani wrote:
I'm just at a loss. I'd really like to get my files off. My plan was that
apparently the update did something, so I'd use Ubuntu to get my files off and
then reformat it to factory settings. Now I can't even get as far as logging
in/installing Ubuntu!

Help, please?

As Alias said, don't install Ubuntu to the hard disk until you get all
of your important files off. If you have an external hard disk that's
large enough to hold the contents of your internal hard disk, then plug
it in. Put the Ubuntu disk into the DVD drive, and boot off of the
Ubuntu disk. Ubuntu may or may not be able to see your wireless internet
connection on that laptop, so it would be useful to have an Ethernet
cable available to plug into the router or modem so you can get Internet
connectivity while fixing stuff. You can look up useful info through
Ubuntu's default Firefox web browser, as necessary.

After you've copied all of your important files off. Then reinstall the
OS from the reinstall partition. You can then copy the saved files off
of the external hard drive. After that if you have enough space left,
I'd suggest installing Ubuntu to hard drive to act as a dual-boot option
to your Windows. So if Windows fries itself again, you can always go to
Ubuntu and fix it without requiring the Ubuntu DVD next time.

Yousuf Khan