Nope, no need to re-register anything. I took a single partitioned 80gb disk, using ghost created a bootable copy on a 40gb partition of a 160gb disk. Even copied the DELL utilities partition to the new disk. Was up and running in a few hours. Problem was i was copying an active XP system and on shutdown it writes boot info on disk. So when I tried to boot from the new system it wanted info from the original disk. However if you switch off the system after the copy, it cant write it. Unfortunately I cant remember the next bit but think it was reboot from original, allow it to run scandisk/checkdisk on new disk then switch it off again. It took a few goes to work that out. The new image is a mirror of the original one (except for master boot record) and hence no software requires reinstallation or reregistration.
We do but some clients need win-dos for employment reasons - same with Office, never liked it myself, still dont, but we have to provide support for it. Lotus Smart Suite was always a better product but I am not sure that is still available following the recent changes at IBM. Whinge whinge
For backing up any windows system including XP, why not just download the 'iso' CD image of KNOPPIX LINUX from
formatting link
, burn the image to a CD and run that. It runs direct from the CD creating a RAM disc from part of your memory so that it does not need to write to the hard disc. Since windows is not running and nothing is written to the hard disc, you can then copy your windows disc or partition to another disk or partition, it will be an exact copy of your windows system and next time when you need to reinstal it you can just copy it back.
Another problem that has not been mentioned which can lead to crashes and errors in ANY computer system is the build up of dust as the cooling fan draws in air. After a couple of years the layer of dust particularly along edge connects (eg for the memory) lead to stray capacitance which can alter the timing (the faster the bus speed the more critical timing becomes). This can result in the odd misreading of the occasional bit leading to errors that may go unnoticed eg if it just results in the slight change in the shade of a colour or one letter being changed to another in a word document. However if it is a memory address that is misread it could cause an error, computer 'lockup' or crash which is usually not repeatable.
Another cause of errors over a period of time is electrolytic corrosion on connectors again often associated with a thin layer of dust which attracts moisture.
The cure is a 'spring clean' of the inside of the computer. Use a soft brush to dislodge the dust and a vacuum cleaner held close to it to collect the dust. Obviously you should take care and you do it at your own risk. Remove each connector in turn and reseat to dislodge any corrosion (on older systems I clean and coat each connector with a very small amount of electrolube from eg Maplins).
Have you tried using Ghost with the System Recovery version of Windows which ships with almost every PC these days? I once used something similar and the end result was so poor I was forced to reformat almost immediately. Also it doesn't matter what kind of backup you use if your PC accidentally reformats the drive where it is stored.
Fascinating. How can the computer [assuming we are talking about the PC version] possibly reformat the drive, either intentionally or by accident?
In the unlikely event however that this is indeed possible and we have PC's that can act in such an arbitrary fashion, who knows what can be achieved with training and discipline. I definitely want one :o)
Load system completely into memory (kernel, disk drivers etc.), avoid use of virtual memory (disk access), issue appropriate format command, watch data on disk disappear.
The thing that finally caused me to jump ship from MS Windows 95 was when I was one day just copying a file from a floppy disk back to the hard drive and the system decided to cold reboot the machine.
"Repairing" Windows can do that. It's not supposed to do that. You know careful MS is to make their OS idiot proof and bug-free, right? So they tell you to back up everything before repairing the system. So that if repair doesn't work, you can reinstall the kablooey system from your backup. An example Very Clear thinking, eh?
BTW, the latest nasties are rootkits. Find out about them, and notch up your paranoia.
Ms and clear thinking don't seem to go together very well somehow.
Great fun [not].
Thought for today!! Now that there are so many cheap boxes knocking about I suppose that it's time to replace the old P2 server with something a little more modern.
Yeah - I'm one of the few who recognise a good OS when I see one.
Jane wrote:
Ahem - I'm only 46.
sim> Old ? BT was still running it at Bletchley in late eighties
There are tens of thousands of companies still running VM for their work and enjoying it. There are others who are happily replacing MS Windows & SUN server farms by doing server consolidation using Linux running under VM. Indeed, more companies are getting VM licenses every day in order to do this and reap the benefits.
There are all sorts of papers out there telling people of the benefits if anyone is bothered enough to go look for them.
PolyTech Forum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.