|
Post by 5teve on Feb 20, 2009 23:42:22 GMT
Hi all, I was a member of the old forum but I'm buggered if I can remember the name I used. Still, not to worry. Here's my problem for all you experts to mull over and I have faith that you will find a solution. I have loads of computers. Here's a list. As you can see, all my computers together hardly match a single decent PC but it's how things grow, I suppose. My main PC is an old Compaq 1.7 Ghz linked to a 42" LCD TV in the living room. I get to use that if the boss isn't watching telly. There is a similar Compaq in the dining room which is hers. Then I have another Compaq but this is a laptop and then an eMac next to my bed. I also have a Pismo laptop which is what I am using to type this. I am on my hols in Darkest Dorset right now and this laptop is all I brought with me. Apart from those mentioned above, there is also a Nokia Tablet and a Jornada 720. They all work quite well on my home network and I have no worries at all as to how they run. So what's the problem, Steve?
The problem is this. All my computers that run on windows use Win XP. I also have SP3 installed on all of them. They all also have an office suite and many progs such as AVG, Spybot etc. Not to mention all the other stuff that I have installed over the years. Last but not least is the long list of Favourites in Maxthon's Fav's drop down list. What i want to be able to do is create a DVD (a CD is probably too small) for each computer that will allow me to get everything back to how it is tonight if it goes belly up in the morning. I realise that each PC will need it's own disk and that's no problem because they all have DVD writers. The only snag is that although I use computers quite a lot, I have next to zero idea of how they work so what I really need is a step by step set of instructions on what to put on this DVD and where to get the data from. Any takers? Ta muchly 5teve.
ps .... I don't really want to do anything that isn't kosher. I have the genuine XP disks for all the computers along with the key codes.
|
|
|
Post by Roz on Feb 21, 2009 0:03:28 GMT
I'll leave an expert to answer your question Steve. But guessing from what you're saying and your writing style, were you Shedchap by any chance?
|
|
giraff36
Full Member
Venice Beach LA
Posts: 104
|
Post by giraff36 on Feb 21, 2009 1:17:03 GMT
acronis true image or norton ghost will do what you want, but these cost money . I'm sure there are free versions of similar software about, but sorry cant remember them, or does each of the computers have Nero or similar, think they have back up facilities
|
|
|
Post by 5teve on Feb 21, 2009 1:27:13 GMT
Shedchap rings a distant bell. I'm a chap with a shed, lol. So that's one mystery solved at least. If I were to buy this "Ghost" software, would I need to buy one disk and use it on all my computers or is it one of those things where you need one disk for each PC?
|
|
giraff36
Full Member
Venice Beach LA
Posts: 104
|
Post by giraff36 on Feb 21, 2009 1:45:38 GMT
probably one disk with a licence to use on a specific number of computers, but i would wait until another member offers some free alternatives.
|
|
|
Post by mikkh on Feb 21, 2009 8:53:18 GMT
There is a Linux live CD called 'Clonezilla' but it assumes some knowledge of how Linux names hard drives and partitions, so it's value is a bit limited. Saving to DVD's is very slow and even good branded ones aren't reliable over a period of time and are liable to let you down if stored for more than a year or two. Norton Ghost in the older floppy version is probably your best bet. It's not tied down to one machine and doesn't require it running on the system like the more modern versions do, so one floppy can do as many Windows based machines (with a floppy) as you like. You need to be planning a worst case scenario now before anything goes wrong, by saving favourites and irreplacable photos etc onto a pendrive or external hard drive or by using a NAS (Network Attached Storage) device like this news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10165950-1.htmlOlder machines would benefit highly from a fresh install of Windows anyway, and while most people seem to avoid it like the plague - it's not that difficult a task and you could save time in the future by partitioning the hard drive so you have somewhere to put backups and/or Ghost images
|
|
|
Post by Lynnrose on Feb 21, 2009 10:14:58 GMT
I'll leave an expert to answer your question Steve. But guessing from what you're saying and your writing style, were you Shedchap by any chance?
Good guess....
Shed_Chap's last message on CIT was this one...
From: Shed_Chap (Original Message) Sent: 15/10/2008 13:16
Weird kind of problem here that I hope some kind soul can help with. A long time ago, I bought an ADE-WD1 wireless keyboard/mouse combination. It came with no driver CD even though it was brand new. I followed the setup instructions and it has worked perfectly ever since. It has worked on several computers over the months including an Ideq "Shuttle", 3 Compaq desktops and a home grown one (not grown by me) These computers have all been either Win 2000 Pro, XP Home or XP Pro and there has never been a problem re the drivers for it. The "Found new hardware" balloon appears, the PC does its thing and then, before long you get the "Your hardware is installed and ready to use" Last night, I tried to install it on a Compaq D510 running XP Pro. The "New hardware found" balloon appeared and just sat there. At the same time an Add new hardware Wizzard opened up. I clicked the "Install software automatically" button but got the message that no software was found and that the device had not been installed. I tried the manufacturer's website but there are no drivers. I tried Driverguide but there are no drivers I tried Google and other search engines but still no sign of a driver. So, Is it possible that when XP was first loaded onto this PC, certain drivers were left out of the install? Could I use the original XP disk that came with the PC to upload more drivers? Any help appreciated. Steve
[/size][/font]
|
|
|
Post by ken on Feb 21, 2009 17:24:25 GMT
You really need to do a fresh install Steve and then put on all the programs you use and make an image. Then when you restore its a clean system. To make an image of a system thats been working for a couple of years, is really defeating the object. An image of my XP 64 bit SP2 and all my programs, works out to about 9. something gig. A DVD is too small, so you need to have it on a partition. I keep images on an external eSATA drive, I have never been able to restore from an image on a USB external. You can save an image on a USB drive and copy it to a spare internal partition if you need to restore the C: Then you actually restore from the internal drive. The computer treats an eSATA drive as an internal drive and a direct restore works OK. You have to have at least 2 partitions, you cant restore from an image on the C: drive.
I use Paragon Partition Manager and I have it installed on the computer. I also have 2 Rescue CDs in case a system wont boot. One CD is exactly the same as the installed program and the other does a few extra tasks as well. I use it to defrag my system as well, it does a lot more than just make ISO images. I use the disks to sort out any computer, its not limited to just one computer.
I got lucky as I had the 2005 version and it wont work on 64 bit. The latest version does and I got it when the dollar was at its lowest point, so it didn't cost very much. Its a German outfit, but there prices are in US dollars.
KC
|
|
|
Post by 5teve on Feb 22, 2009 9:49:47 GMT
Hi again, Thanks for the replies. I have done complete formats and re-installed all my stuff on one of my PCs in the last couple of weeks and all the hassle of finding disks, installing etc is what prompted my post here. Doing it bit by bit isn't really difficult, it's just time consuming. None of my PCs are what you would call "Cluttered". and I run Ccleaner every week and all the personal stuff such as movies, docs and photos are copied to a pen drive or CD for safe keeping. I must admit that one thing I am having a problem getting my head round is the idea of a partition on the hard drive holding an image of the working progs of the PC. What I mean is, how do you access that partition to re-install the OS and other software if your PC is goosed enough to have to re-install the OS? My head hurts just thinking about it, lol. I guess that my next step is to go away and have a read of the progs mentioned ^^^^^ up there. Many thanks, Steve
|
|
|
Post by mikkh on Feb 22, 2009 10:46:24 GMT
If you have another partition, the image file(s) can be stored there. With Ghost it is stored as a complete clone of the Windows partition including all installed programs
Basically you capture the exact state of the C partition at that time - including the free space, so when you restore the image, you are back to exactly the same state of when you 'ghosted' it - and it is exactly, which is why it's not a good idea to 'ghost' it with existing virus checkers, multimedia drivers etc already loaded, because they will be out of date when you come to restore in the future.
It's not a big problem, but you spend just as much time updating them as you would if you installed them from scratch.
And it works by booting from alternative means, therefore bypassing the corrupt version of Windows. In my case that's a Ghost floppy disk, but with them getting rarer it is mostly done from a bootable CD/DVD in more modern versions of Ghost, True Image etc
|
|
|
Post by ken on Feb 22, 2009 10:49:06 GMT
The Program you use to make the image will search the computer and find its own images Steve. I have images of both XP 64 bit and Windows 7 on my computer. The program will find them and ask me which one I want to install and which partition I want to restore. The programs only use images they have made themselves, if you have an ISO made by a different program it wont use it. The only exception being a OEM copy of Windows, which Partition Manager will install for you. This is good if you want to install an earlier version of Windows on a different partition to make a multi-boot. Windows will only install later versions of itself, and you have to install the oldest first.
KC
|
|