Guide

Deleted something important, or the computer won’t start and your files are trapped on it? Get them off safely before you try anything else.

1. Boot the FATALnet stick and open File Recovery.
2. Pick the drive that held the lost files.
3. Let it scan, it lists recoverable photos, documents, and more.
4. Save what it finds to a different drive, never the one you’re recovering from.
5. If the drive is physically failing, image it first with Data Rescue, then recover from the copy.

Locked out of Windows? Clear the password and get back in, no reinstall, and your files stay put.

1. Boot the stick and open Windows Account Recovery.
2. Choose the Windows installation on the drive.
3. Select the user account that’s locked out.
4. Clear the password, then restart back into Windows.

Random freezes, slow performance, or odd noises? Find out whether the drive is on its way out before it takes your data with it.

1. Boot the stick and open Drive Health to read the drive’s own SMART report, temperature, wear, and early warnings.
2. Run a Surface Scan to check for unreadable spots.
3. Run a quick speed test to confirm it’s performing normally.
4. If anything looks bad, recover your files first (see guide 1), then replace the drive.

Make sure your personal data is truly gone before a computer leaves your hands, a normal “delete” or format does not do this.

1. Boot the stick and open Secure Wipe.
2. Carefully pick the drive you want to erase.
3. Choose a wipe method and confirm, this permanently destroys the data.
4. Let it finish, then keep the completion record for your files.

About to repair, upgrade, or reinstall? Capture a full image first, so nothing is lost if it goes sideways.

1. Boot the stick and open PBS Backup.
2. Point it at your own Proxmox Backup Server (one-time setup).
3. Choose the disk to back up and start the backup.
4. Confirm it finished, now you can repair with a safety net.

Catch malware that hides while Windows is running, scanning with the system switched off finds what an in-Windows scan can miss.

1. Boot the stick and open Virus Scan.
2. Select the Windows drive to scan.
3. Review what it finds, then quarantine or remove it.
4. Run the rootkit scanners for a second opinion on hidden malware.

New to starting a PC from a USB stick? Here’s how to get any computer to boot the toolkit, including the Secure Boot setting that trips people up.

1. Plug into a USB port directly on the computer, not a hub or dock.
2. Restart and tap the boot-menu key (often F12, Esc, or F9) as it powers on.
3. Pick the FATALnet drive from the list.
4. If the PC skips past it, turn off Secure Boot and Fast Boot in BIOS, a quick, reversible setting.

A dead or won’t-start machine has a handful of likely causes. Work through them in order to find the culprit fast.

1. No power or no display at all? Check the power supply, cable, and that RAM and the GPU are seated.
2. Powers on but won’t boot? Boot the stick and run a memory test, bad RAM is the usual cause of random crashes.
3. Check the drive’s health, a failing boot drive stops Windows from starting.
4. Read the hardware summary to spot anything missing or failing, like a drive that doesn’t show up.