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Q4Rescue

Q4Rescue is a live Linux system rescue toolkit/emergency OS, based on the rock stable Q4OS Trinity, available as a bootable ISO. It is designed for system administration, repair, cloning, and restoration of your system and data. With a user interface styled after Windows 10, Q4Rescue aims to provide an intuitive experience for a wide range of users.
Whether you're recovering lost data,managing complex disk or network operations, or need an emergency os, Q4Rescue offers a comprehensive suite of tools to get the job done efficiently.

Particular attention has been given to the selection of installed software, whether for backup/recovery use, file/partition recovery, hardware testing, or as an emergency system. The ability to connect to the internet and install applications easily using the Q4OS application center or the Synaptic package manager ensures that you can quickly and simply access everything you need.
The entire system is optimized as much as possible to provide a fully functional, stable Debian 12-based system, working flawlessly even on low end computers, while keeping the ISO size under 1GB. Additionally, the system can be entirely loaded into RAM if you have sufficient memory (2GB of RAM minimum for this feature; 3GB recommended), allowing for increased fluidity and responsiveness.

Main Features

• Disk/Partition Cloning & Imaging: Easily clone or image disks and partitions for backup or migration purposes.
• Full System Backup & Restore: Backup your entire system or restore it to a previous state.
• Data/Partition Recovery: Recover lost or deleted files and partitions.
• System Repair & Boot Repair: Troubleshoot and repair common system and boot issues, including both BIOS and UEFI systems.
• Live USB Creator: Create live USBs for Linux distributions, Windows install disks, and Q4OS install disks.
• Remote Desktop & Network Tools: Includes clients for remote desktop connections, FTP/SFTP, SSH, and network scanning.
• Disk Tools: Perform disk speed benchmarks, disk health & usage analysis, secure disk erase, and more.
• Cloud Storage & File Management: Access and manage cloud storage, download files, and handle FTP/SFTP connections.
• System Information & Diagnostics: Gather detailed information about your system and perform hardware diagnostics
• Security Tools: Reset Windows passwords, change linux passwords, securely erase data, and utilize forensic tools.
• User-Friendly Interface: Windows 10-style interface for easier handling by a large number of users.
• Multimedia tools: Audio/video players & encoders, images viewer & converter, webcam app.
• HDD Installer: Installable on your computer, like a real installed debian system.
• Persistence: keep configuration & installed apps between reboots. [Persistence - How To]

Included Tools

System Rescue & Cloning/Imaging

• Foxclone: Image backup/restore/clone tool.
• Rescuezilla: GUI-based disaster recovery tool.
• Clonezilla: Command-line cloning and imaging tool.
• DDrescue-GUI: Data recovery tool with a user-friendly interface.
• QtfSarchiver: Backup and restore tool (gui for fsarchiver)
• dialog_fsarchiver: Backup and restore tool (tui)
• G4L (Ghost for linux): Backup and restore tool.
• Apart: Partition clone backup & restore tool.
• Guymager: Disk imager tool
• Rawimaging: Disk imager tool
• Timeshift restore Gui: Tool to restore timeshift backups (restore only).
• Restic restore Gui: Tool to restore restic snapshots (restore only).
• Borg restore Gui: Simple gui to restore borg snapshots (restore only).

Repair & Recovery

• Testdisk & Photorec: Partition recovery and file recovery tools.
• RecoverPy: recover deleted or overwritten files
• Foremost gui: Forensic tool to recover lost files with a dedicated gui.
• Boot Repair: Easily repair GRUB and other boot issues.
• Os uninstaller: Uninstall any os from your computer.
• chroot rescue scan: Easily chroot in linux systems.

USB Tools

• WoeUSB: Create Windows USB install drives.
• Q4OS Imager: Create Q4OS installation media.
• UNetbootin: Create bootable USB drives for various Linux distributions.
• USBImager: Simple and fast USB imaging tool.
• Pardus USB formater: Simple and efficient USB formater.

Network Tools

• Chromium: Web browser (google sync account enabled)
• Filezilla: FTP/SFTP client.
• Rclone & Rclone Browser: Access and manage cloud storage.
• Remmina: Remote desktop client.
• Qbittorrent: BitTorrent client.
• Hexchat: Good irc client.
• Dufs+dedicated gui for settings: Lightweight HTTP file server.
• uGET: Download manager
• Putty: SSH/Telnet client.
• Gnome nettool: various networking tools.
• Zenmap: GUI for Nmap network scanning.
• NFSgui: GUI for easy configuring nfs client/server
• SMB share connect helper: simple gui to browse & connect windows shares

File management

• Konqueror: default q4os trinity file manager
• Dolphin: easy and efficient file manager
• Krusader: two panels file manager with lots of features
• Krename: Batch file renamer.
• Grsync: rsync gui to synchronize files.
• Isomaster: open/create/modify iso files.

Disk & System Utilities

• HDSentinel gui: Perform a full disks diagnostic report.
• GsmartControl: Disks health inspection tool
• Nwipe: Securely erase disks.
• Kdirstats & Kdiskmark: Disk usage analyzer and disk benchmarking tools.
• Cpu-x: cpu/motherboard infos/benchs
• Hardinfo2: system profiler and benchmark
• Stress-ng gui: simple gui for stress-ng (computer stress tests)
• Fred: windows registry editor
• Ntpw-GUI: Windows password reset tool.
• LinuxPw-GUI: Linux password changer tool.
• LinuxWifi Pw: Linux wifi password retrieving tool.
• Psensor: Hardware temperatures display
• Lxtask-mod: Process manager based on lxtask
• Checkfs gui: Tool to check/repair almost any filesystems.
• Mate system monitor: Process manager & system monitoring
• Efibootmgr: Manage EFI boot entries.
• EFI shell: Perform EFI tasks from a shell (from boot menu)

Archives management

• Peazip: Archive manager who support the majority of compression formats.
• Xarchiver: Simple archive manager with lots of formats availables.

Text editors

• Kwrite: Simple text editor with syntax highlighting
• Kate: Tabbed text editor with syntax highlighting

Additional Tools

• Abiword: Lightweight word processor.
• Gnumeric: Lightweight spreadsheet editor.
• MPV/SMP: Media players
• Ffmpeg: Well known multimedia framework
• wxHexEditor: Hexadecimal editor.
• Kolourpaint: small graphic editor program.
• Gwenview: Image viewer.
• ToMp3: Very simple & fast lossless audio to mp3 converter.
• Videomass: complete audio/video tools set: encoding, cutting, create gif from images etc...
• Guvcview: Webcam app with video & audio recording feature.
• Stopwatch: Simple Stopwatch app.
• MhWaveEdit: Simple but very complete wave editor.
• SuperGrub2: Boot any os (from boot menu)
• Memtest86+: Check system memory (from boot menu)
• converseen: Batch image converter
• esee: Simple exif editor
• Kdiff3: Utility for comparing and merging files and directories.
• adb & adbgui: Android bridge interface + convenient graphic interface
• q4rescue-installer: Install Q4rescue on your computer hard disk
• Q4OS-specific tools: Usefull tools included in q4os trinity.
• Terminal Tools: Includes duf, ncdu, flashfetch, dc3dd, scrounge-ntfs, nmap, netcat, cryptcat, ncftp, rsync, safecopy, inxi, scalpel, ddrescue & dd_rescue, parted, foremost, gdisk, mc (midnight commander), nbtscan, winregfs, myrescue, safecopy, stress-ng, jdupes, DAR archiver, lrzip, 7z, lame encoder, tmux, restic, borg, ... and lots more.

Installing packages from internet

You've got synaptic (and of course apt) tool to install anything you want from the debian repositories if needed. (If persistence is enabled, everything you install will of course survive reboot like for a "real" installed system). Don't forget to check the Q4OS App Center too, there are essentials applications that can be easily installed from it.

Console Mode

Q4Rescue can be booted in pure console mode. This can be usefull when graphic mode doesn't work for any reason, or if you just need to perform tasks from a terminal and don't need a graphical environnment. This mode boots faster too. You will have access to a menu (type 'qmenu' in the terminal or press function key F10) to help you to set your keyboard layout & font size if needed; and launch for example clonezilla or photorec directly, as well as a page with informations about the main cli tools availables and their usage.

Installation & Usage

• Password: When needed, the default password for both the user and root is "live" (without quotes).

• How to boot: Boot the system via the provided ISO file, (compatible with both BIOS and UEFI systems), to do so, you can use Ventoy for example or the tool included (q4rescue_usbcreator_linux64) if you're running a 64bits linux OS to create a bootable usb key with q4rescue. (you will have the option to create a persistence partition as well as a data partition in the format of your choice).
  Another option to create a bootable usb key if you're using windows is Rufus. (instructions coming soon)

Planned Features (work in progress / coming soon)

• Help center: Helpers & shortcuts to essential apps
• console mode menus: improving/re-organizing and adding new functions.
• Firefox ESR version: The same system, but with firefox instead of chromium (this will be a separate iso file)

versions history

_version 0.35: cleaner boot menu & graphical boot splash; smaller iso; persistence support; console boot mode.
_version 0.36: chntpw added+gui (Ntpw-gui); smaller iso
_version 0.38 : more apps added, improved pure console mode, zstd updated to 1.56, smaller iso.
_version 0.39 : removed some chromium useless files, smaller iso.
_version 0.40 : more apps added, better icons for boot menu, improved console mode menus, safecopy added
_version 0.41 : midnight commander added, enabled google account sync in chromium, smaller iso
_version 0.42 : gnome nettool, cpux, dc3dd, cryptcat added, smaller iso
_version 0.43 : FoxClone53 added (thanks Andy!), hardinfo2, GsmartControl,nbtscan, winregfs, smaller iso.
_version 0.5 : Added: Fred (windows registry editor), DAR archiver, myrescue, dd_rescue (Garloff's enhanced dd version), rawimaging, smb share connection helper ; re-organized start menu, smaller iso.
_version 0.51 : Added Supergrub2 in boot menu; jdupes; psensors; mate system monitor; Improved: stress-ng gui (with psensors and system monitor); tde automount stopped when running bootrepair, foxclone or os-uninstaller to avoid annoying media manager windows; smaller iso.
_version 0.52 : Boot menu improved & little help about entries added; fixed a bug who prevented gnome nettools interface to display properly, added zram; smaller iso.
_version 0.55 : timeshift restore Gui, HDD installer; smaller iso.
_version 0.56 : Added nfsgui (tool to quickly configure nfs client or server); fstabgui (gui tool to edit fstab file(s) in a convenient way); scalpel (files recovery cli tool) ; trimfs gui (tool to trim your ssd disks); checkFs (gui tool to check & repair almost any filesystems: exfat, fat, ntfs, ext2, ext3, ext4, btrfs, hfs, hfs+ filesystems); hfsutils & hfsprogs (hfs/hfs+ support), lame encoder, mhwaveedit, openssh server, cmospwd gui (kill cmos password), chkufsd; Improved 'welcome notification'; Fixed wrong dpi settings; iso (slightly) smaller.
_version 0.57 : Added : linux wifiPw (tool to Retrieve linux wifi passwords), gnumeric (simple but complete spreadsheet editor), some bugs fixed (including some graphical bugs), tmux (terminal multiplexer), improved battery indicator (umbatts) with Brightness control & warning if level is too low; iso a bit smaller ;)
_version 0.6 : Added: esee (simple exif editor), adb, adbGui, isomaster, converseen (batch image converter), chroot rescue scan, multiple optimisations & fixes, smaller iso size.
_version 0.8: Added: Restic + Restic restore gui, borgbackup, Kdiff3, Hexchat (good irc client), recoverpy (string recognition based data Recovery tool), "qmount" servicemenu for Konqueror & dolphin (mount disk images .img .dat .squashfs .sfs from file manager with right click option);
fixed a bug that was causing rescuezilla failed to start if clonezilla was launched before and "dirty" closed, fixed a bug in smartmontools db causing drive recognition to fail, smaller font in bootmenu (Best for low resolution displays), fixed a small display bug in grub command line mode, much better fonts rendering, smaller iso :)
_version 0.9: Added: Borg restore Gui (simple gui to restore borg snapshots), dialog_fsarchiver (ncurse interface for fsarchiver in console mode), Ffmpeg, Guvcview (webcam app with video & audio recording feature), ToMp3 (very simple & fast lossless audio to mp3 converter), Videomass (complete audio/video tools set: encoding, cutting, create gif from images etc...), Stopwatch (simple Stopwatch app :p), Various selected WebApps you can launch from the start menu (virus scanning, maps, formats conversion tools etc...); Improved console mode menus & tools info page, now using custom binaries for dialogs (better display and responsivness); zstd upgraded to 1.57 (better performance for Backup operations using this compression algorithm); Fixed bug in apt list (bug introduced in 0.8 version) preventing apps installing; Yad version upgraded to 14.1; smaller iso ^^
_version 0.97: New customized kernel and lot of optimizations, boot time improved, bug fixes, theme fixes (gtk2), better start menu organization, sidebar "ala windows 10" added (notifications center+quick actions+easy project mode switching for dual displays configurations), main windows 10 keyboard shortcuts added, 'tiler' from theasmitkid integrated (winkey+{arrow keys} ; winkey+space, winkey+enter). ** Sorry for the delay since the last release, but I made a LOT of changes & optimizations, especially with the new kernel which took a lot of time :p (and remember: it's a "one man" project...)

How to Contribute

If you would like to contribute to Q4Rescue, please report bugs, or suggest features :-) Thanks by advance as I really need users feedback to improve the project & correct bugs !

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Project Members:

• Seb FAV (admin)

[Aqua Fyre]

Hi Seb,

Just downloaded your updated OS. Excellent work. I prefer your desktop layout.
May I make a suggestion or two please.

Please consider adding FeatherPad to your plain txt programs

I have used many of the others - but this doubles up as a perfect text writer for ordinary writing.
Not just program writing - but research writing and other general text work. It is Qt-based. Take a look at the wiki page. It is an unassuming but surprisingly good program.

Secondly, there is no Firewall.

Unless it was hidden somewhere, I could not see it. I tried to install gufw but without luck. Could you add it to Q4Rescue ?

Cheers

Aqua Fyre