Tech guys miracle

[cdcq12]

Is there any kind of software that you could have installed your own laptop and then you can take your laptop to a client's house and plug your machine into their machine and download information and run scans of there machine from yours? I know it's a long shot, but I thought that if it existed it might be a pretty cool piece of software to have.

[PrntRhd]

There are many items that can be run from a USB thumbdrive to disinfect or repair someone's PC.
Also a Knoppix disk can help diagnose if the problem is hardware or software related.
Automated fix software would be nice but by the time it becomes available it is already obsolete due to the constant changes in the malware the repair tech confronts.

The USB drive can be write protected against the infection spreading, a laptop might be infected when dealing with some of the nasties being confronted.

[Paul Komski]

and plug your machine into their machineWhat interface were you thinking about? Generally speaking the only ways to connect two PCs safely are by network or specialist USB devices (http://www.maplin.co.uk/Free_UK_Delivery/USB_Link_Cable_-_PC_to_PC_25600_v2.htm) though the latter will only allow file transfers.

You can access PC to PC using a variety of remote Desktop software over a network if both PCs are functional and can communicate via a LAN or the Internet. Once connected it is as if you were sitting at the client's computer. TeamViewer, for example, can also allow direct file transfers if that is what is required.

You can also use a USB to Hard drive converter cable (http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-USB-DSC5-3-5-Inch-Converter-Adapter/dp/B000HJ99DI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1253345279&sr=8-1) and use it to connect to just the hard drive inside the computer you want to examine.

Utility CDs such as indicated already are another very good way to troubleshoot client PCs.

[Sylvander]

No need to work from another PC.

1. Any one of a number of Puppy Linux operating systems [all FREE], each on a live optical disk [or multiple Puppies on one (DVD?) disk] could be taken to any PC and booted on it [even if the HDD is infected].
A Puppy can function on most hardware.
You might take a number of different Puppies [older or newer versions] in case the one you try doesn't work on the [old or new] hardware.
e.g. The later Puppies [but not the earlier] work with multi-processors.

2. You can then customize the Puppy for that machine, by rebooting, and at shut-down making a "pupsave" file.
This is used to save the changes made during a session [new/changed configurations and new packages installed].
The pupsave [amongst other things] matches the Puppy to the hardware.
The pupsave file can be saved to any storage medium [fixed/internal, or removable/external], and can be encrypted to protect it from being infected.
All of this only takes a few minutes to do.

3. A "live" Puppy runs totally in RAM, and is totally gone when you shut down.
[when you make no pupsave file, or issue a command not to use it]
Once booted, the optical disk can be removed and the drive used for other purposes.
You can make a Puppy run without using the pupsave file by:
(a) Storing it on a removable device and booting the optical disk with the device not connected.
(b) During the boot of Puppy, input the command...
puppy pfix=ram
This makes the Puppy ignore the pupsave file during boot to run totally in RAM.

4. If you had portable Windows programs on some [external?] storage media that you connected to the PC...
You could run those under WINE within the Puppy.

5. There are all kinds of programs natively included; they differ according to the Puppy/puplet.
Some are dedicated to specific purposes.
Some are minimalist; others include LOTS. [e.g. ISO files: BoxPup is 100MB, Muppy is 750MB]
And you can install MANY more.
See lots of Puppy Linux goodies here; begin at the end and work back to the beginning. (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=66929&page=7)

6. It's easy to "Menu->Setup->Remaster Puppy live CD" to include the packages you've added.
I haven't yet figured out how to exclude [from the remaster] the configurations [type of mouse, keyboard, etc] that match it to the hardware. :(
When booting a "live" session you are asked to specify/choose/confirm these each time during the early stages.
You are not asked to do this if a pupsave file is being used, because these configurations are in the pupsave.