When a Linux system starts up, the system is started with LiLo (LInux LOader), which is a system file. After that the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) section, after doing some tests, transfers the control to the MBR (Master Boot Record) where the LILO is stored. One big plus of using it is that the booting process becomes real fast especially when stored in the MBR.

At times, the operating system gets corrupt as it also involves modification in the MBR while booting, which may lead to inaccessible system. There are various workarounds to recover and restore your valuable data. If none of them is successful, then the best alternative is to use a third-party Linux data recovery software.

Let us take an example in which you start your Linux system but it fails to boot properly. The boot process displays 'LIL' on the screen.

Cause: The reason behind this booting problem is that the descriptor table is damaged.

In a Linux system, the hard disk is parted into blocks and then into block groups. The information of these block groups is stored in a group block descriptor, which also acts as an index table for these tables.

Resolution:

In such situations, you can perform the following methods:

1) Check the BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) and verify whether the disk parameters in the disk are correct or not.

2) Try to format the partition again and install the LILO. However, that would mean that the data may get lost.

3) Run the 'fsck' tool to mount the file system and to check and repair any corruption issues on the file system.

4) If the 'fsck' command fails, then perform a complete format of the hard disk.

Now, if the Linux system is still showing corruption systems and you do not have updated backup of the data, then the best solution to recover inaccessible data is to use a professional Linux data recovery software. These Linux recovery tools perform non-destructive scanning algorithms to recover data in few easy steps.