Been there - Worn the Wet tea Shirt.
People do not actually realise how much A'Ache recovery actually requires - PS I forgot a gotya - Under Linux, you can reliably read from NTFS (windows) and write to FAT32 (like a USB stick) writing back to NTFS formatted drives can be problematic.
I do not think this is "Folk Law" - to be confirmed,but you can get big 32 Gb USB's I got a 16 GB and you can get 64 GB ones for £25.00 Quid.
CAT III
Edit: If you are felling brave ?
Install NTFS Configuration Tool and Read/Write on NTFS Drivers (Ubuntu/Linux Mint) - Noobs on Ubuntu, Mint and Debian, HD Wallpapers, Tutorials