| 20 JAN 2006 at 9:16pm |
RevliskciPrivate Detective
Posts : 724
Joined: 9 NOV 2002
Status : Offline | What a shame! And just when there was a scope for bringing Laura Bow into a discussion of Old School gamestoo!
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| 20 JAN 2006 at 9:57pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | I don't think people should ever leave their computers set for 'automatic update'. It is recommended by some computer magazines as if people are vulnerable to every little potential hole in WinXP, but the fact is that more people end up with these sorts of problems than from things that can come in from theoretical Windows flaws. The very nature of the way people use their computers and the many different programs & internet configurations on each person's computers now makes it impossible for MS to test the effect of all of their updates accurately so every update creates the possibility of conflicts.
I really wish more people would take me up on my backup solution (ie. keep regular image backups of your C-drive- at least one-a-month using Norton Ghost or True Image v8 to v9). You would be able to recover from virtually any crash or problem in no more than 20-30 minutes!
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 20 JAN 2006 at 10:30pm |
snowtimeJourneyman
Posts : 1014
Joined: 28 JUN 2005
Status : Online | Pay for my copy and for the storage media and I'll take you up on your suggestion SirDave
*
I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by.
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| 20 JAN 2006 at 10:52pm |
SusanGuild Master
Posts : 5485
Joined: 13 OCT 2002
Location: 0
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Revliskci (20 JAN 2006 9:16pm)
What a shame! And just when there was a scope for bringing Laura Bow into a discussion of Old School gamestoo!
NNNNNNNNNNNNnnnoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
I miss my Bubba: 1986 - 2006.
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 12:57am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By snowtime (20 JAN 2006 10:30pm)
Pay for my copy and for the storage media and I'll take you up on your suggestion SirDave
*
Well, I know you may just be yanking my chain something to which I am very susceptible being the gullible, insecure dude I am , but let's look at the cost:
Imaging Backup Program: $50
External USB HardDisk 80-100g $100 (highly variable-sometimes only $70-80)
Now, even forgetting how much people spend on anti-virus and all sorts of other stuff, look at what one goes through when their system goes down: a minimum $50 to have the Geek Squad check out the computer, days without use of the computer, hours of time spent trying to figure the thing out oneself etc. etc. Seems to me $150 is a bargain!
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 1:43am |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | RAID 1, 0+1, or 5 seem a lot more sensible for this purpose than Norton Ghost. Also there are more modern backup software packages that let you image while your OS is running, something that Norton Ghost couldn't do last time I read about it.
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 2:31am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Aj (21 JAN 2006 1:43am)
RAID 1, 0+1, or 5 seem a lot more sensible for this purpose than Norton Ghost. Also there are more modern backup software packages that let you image while your OS is running, something that Norton Ghost couldn't do last time I read about it.
Sounds to me like you're not very familiar with Ghost or TrueImage, not to mention that as with the wireless networking question, you're overcomplicating the whole thing. No matter what the system or configuration, anyone can go over to their local store and get Norton Ghost and/or download (ie. purchase online) Acronis TrueImage and purchase & plug-in an external USB drive. Both programs use wizards that are effortless. The average user likely doesn't have a RAID hard drive setup and if they don't, it's going to take more effort and know-how to get one setup for their system and for what? A RAID setup may be a lot more sensible for you.....
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 6:04am |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Sounds to me like you're not very familiar with Ghost or TrueImage
I seem not to be uptodate with the subject, as I knew True Image could create an image with the OS running, but now Ghost 9.0 can too.
Cnet says True Image will take 16mins for a 8GB backup using a PATA or SATA drive, it also says Ghost 9.0 took ~40+mins. As I will try to explain below, if you have USB 1.0/1.1, it would take ~80+mins on True Image. Now modern laptops have 60GB hard drives, if not greater, and I'm sure people are using them. All this effects the 20-30mins recovery time you estimate.
not to mention that as with the wireless networking question, you're overcomplicating the whole thing.
I like to be as truthful and factual as possible, this takes detail.
No matter what the system or configuration, anyone can go over to their local store and get Norton Ghost and/or download (ie. purchase online) Acronis TrueImage and purchase & plug-in an external USB drive.
It helps if you have USB 2.0, or Firewire. I imagine it would work with USB 1.0/1.1(the majority of PCs with USB, I'm sure have this) but I'm guessing it would be painfully slow. A lot of motherboards with USB 2.0/Firewire will have RAID controllers built into the chipset.
Compare:
USB 2.0, 480Mbps*
Firewire, 400Mbps*
USB 1.1, 12Mbps
USB 1.0, 10Mbps
*Note, the drives that are going to be sending the data are SATA, 150Mbps, or PATA, 133Mbps, and not all of the speed will be used all of the time. Yet it is quite obvious, to me that the speeds are going to be a maximum of 10 times faster, and atleast 5 times faster.
The average user likely doesn't have a RAID hard drive setup and if they don't, it's going to take more effort and know-how to get one setup for their system and for what?
Obviously RAID does not solve everyones problems, but if you assume they're using a Desktop, not laptop, they have the skills to install a hard drive, PCI card(they might not though), and some drivers, which is not asking a lot of them, then it is the best solution for the majority.
- You say it takes 20-30mins to recover with this software, it takes 0 seconds with RAID cloning.
- It takes time and system resources to back up with software, it takes none with RAID cloning.
- Instead of backing up every month, with possibly losing a month's worth of data, you wouldn't lose a second's worth of data with RAID cloning.
- In a lot of cases it's going to work out cheaper.
A RAID setup may be a lot more sensible for you.....
It's not really sensible for a person with a laptop obviously, apart from that the benefits really are quite substantial. I'd recommend Partition Magic, creating a partition to save backups to on a single hard drive instead of buying an external one(unless you're planning to anyway). For the average user, DVD-RW should be fine for any work you need to back up.
Note:
I have used older versions of Norton Ghost.
I use a RAID array now, and have used the different configuations in the past, it boosts speed for a lot of setups by a lot.
I own a USB 1.0, 1.1, 2.0, Firewire 400Mbps External hard drive.
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 6:52pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | All your information is interesting, but when one is advising people (who may not be as computer-savvy as you or me) on real-world solutions such as backing up to protect against sudden inability to boot-up to Windows, the key is simplicity and reliability.
I am surrounded by four desktop computers running all the main Windows' OSes, one has a RAID setup. I have about 10 laptops (that are always in use) all the way from mini-Librettos running Win95 to Win98 to large Vaios running WinXP. Everyone of them is 'protected' by some sort of C-drive imaging backup using older forms of Ghost that run from a floppy to the more recent imaging DriveImage (now Norton Ghost)/Norton Ghost/TrueImage programs. In over 15 years, I have never had to restore a system from a new install of Windows using the solutions I describe.
So, here's a more complete realistic backup solution for various systems:
Desktop: If used for recreation, use backup imaging to a separate D-Drive (created from a partitioned C-drive using Partition Magic or comparable) for most recent C-drive images. Use external drive 100g (or more) to archive C-drive images. Each image sucks up 2-4g (at least, if not more) so once a month backups will eat up at least 50g a year, too much to keep on the average D-drive. If desktop used for business and backups need to be more frequent and the ability to recover quickly is an issue, use a RAID backup solution in addition to imaging. Save the most important C-drive images to DVD as secondary safeguards. If business system- keep DVDs outside the house or business somewhere.
Laptops: Always partition main drive into 2 logical drives (C: & D: ) using Partition Magic or comparable. Keep a most recent backup on D-drive and keep older backups saved on Dvd. Most laptop D-drives are not going to be large enough to store a lot of C-drive images. However, an external Hard Disk is also a good idea because it is so easy to keep older backups saved to them. People are more likely to backup if it is easy and some people avoid saving images to Dvd as much as they should because it is a little time consuming.
General:
A major reason why separate Dvd & external hard-disk backups are important is that if your only backups are on the main hard-disk D-drive, if the entire hard-disk dies a violent death it will take everything, including the backups with it.
Considering time constraints should not ordinarily include USB 1.1 anymore. Practically everyone is using USB2 now. If someone still has USB1.1, then backups should be to D-Drive and Dvd.
The time it takes to backup a C-drive should not be a major consideration unless it's a business system. Most consumer C-drives take no more than 20-25 minutes to backup. Even if it takes longer, it is quite easy to do the backup at the end of the day after you're finished with the computer.
Although, backup imaging programs can now backup while one is using the OS, I don't recommend it- the backup will likely be more reliable if done without people web-surfing, downloading and whatnot. And again, if done at the end of the day, when you're done using the computer, the whole matter is moot.
Restoring the average C-drive usually takes only about 20-25 minutes.
Real-world example: My daughter uses her laptop like most 'kids'- installs & uninstalls programs willy-nilly, web-surfs to who-knows-where and downloads anything & everything. She lives 100 miles from me, but when she visited over a year ago (when her laptop was just 2 months old), I did a C-drive image backup for her. Well, a few weeks ago, her laptop was a mess- took an eternity to boot-up, crap here, there and everywhere, and running any program was ponderous & unreliable. She came out here and I restored the C-drive image in 15 minutes and it was as if she had her 'new' laptop back.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 8:28pm |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16553
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | Dear Forum Dad
I use my computer just like your daughter...... I think maybe it's a 'girl' thing? I have read all these instructions and still don't know how to do this. o I really need to buy another program? oesn't W98 have this function already, somewhere? Every time I try to do anything technical I always end up screwing up.
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| 21 JAN 2006 at 9:12pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Caroline (21 JAN 2006 8:27pm)
Dear Forum Dad
I use my computer just like your daughter...... I think maybe it's a 'girl' thing? I have read all these instructions and still don't know how to do this. Do I really need to buy another program? Doesn't W98 have this function already, somewhere? Every time I try to do anything technical I always end up screwing up.
Dear Forum Goddess:
Does W98 have this function already somewhere? No.
Goddess-level instructions:
1. Purchase Partition Magic and partition present Drive C into a Drive C: and Drive D: (it isn't hard- all you do is run the program- PM has a wizard that guides you thru; should be a breeze for all those having played Timelapse ). You can skip this entire step if your computer already has a Drive D- and many do!
2. Purchase drive-imaging program. Easiest is to buy online & download Acronis True Image v9 from their website. Takes about 15 minutes altogether.
3. Load True Image like any other program and run it. Wizard guides you to store C-drive image to your Drive D.
You're done. Assuming your C-drive was stable at the time you made your image- if you ever run into major trouble, you can restore your original C-drive (from the image stored on Drive D) in 15-20 minutes, again using a wizard.
Above works best if people do this when they first buy their computer or just after installing a new Windows OS and getting their C-drive the way they like it (favorite programs installed etc.), but still works well if your system is still running relatively lean & mean.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 2:23am |
ShadowWalkerJourneyman
Posts : 997
Joined: 27 JUL 2005
Status : Offline | Hello There!
Hello Caroline. The idea that Sir Dave put forth about having an external backup is the best: yes!
I have however some reservations about people using the Partition software packages by themselves the first time, even with the Wizard Guides.
HOWEVER! One particular thing that practically no mention of it is made by many are uninstallers!
A great uninstaller is worth its weight in gold!
The order should be
1. Do a low level format! (ONLY TO BE USED FOR SERIOUSLY SCREWED UP HARD DRIVES.
Otherwise just start from scratch with FDISK /MBR command to restore the master boot record.
2. Install Operating System from scratch.
3. INSTALL UNINSTALLER PROGRAM!
Then do everything else!
The uninstaller program will clean up your hard drive in ways that many other programs would not do, particularly by that "seriously overrated and crappy windows Add/Remove Program that Bill Gates includes with the windows operating programs.
Some will also backup as well, although I always prefer a dedicated program for those things.
That is why it always pays to get a King Kong size hard drive.
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 2:25am |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | Practically everyone is using USB2 now.
Every computer ships with USB 2.0, if you bought your computer between 1996-2001, it's likely that it has USB 1.0/1.1. So the majority of PCs running today have USB 1.0/1.1, or no USB at all.
I assume use of Windows XP/2000, I advise nearly any one with a P2 400Mhz or above, and 128MB of RAM or above, to get either one, possibly 2000 if you have low specs. If you're running Win 9x, you probably haven't got USB 2.0 or Firewire, partitioning and using True Image seems like a good idea if you have file system troubles.
- For Hardware/File System problems, your Drive is not allowing you to access it, RAID cloning, switches to other drive in no time, no difference from when you were using the computer last.
- For Software/Operating System problems, you installed something, and now your computer is giving you BSOD or some other anoying problem, System Restore. This uses a snapshot of your system, and your computer is rolled back to what it was when the restore point was made, accept that any files produced in that time are still there.*
- For Operating System/Driver problems, something happened, and now windows isn't running right, you need to boot your Windows CD and do a repair install. You'll need to reinstall software and updates, but no data is lost.
None of these systems need maintenance, or time monthly to back-up. They don't need external drives, USB 2.0, an extra plug socket. RAID is not available on laptops, so if your hard drive dies you're out of luck unless you do use an external hard drive.
If you have USB 2.0 or Firewire, on a laptop, or you don't want to use RAID, on a desktop, then an external hard drive is a solution for you in a scenario where your hard drive fails completely, and you need to replace it with a new one.
Aslong as I backed my work to DVD-RW, I think I'd be perfectly happy to reinstall windows and my software in the unlikely event I had a hardware failure, or my file system became corrupted. I find using disc cloning to restore windows to be a rather clumsy solution, using a sledgehammer, when a nail hammer will do. In business where people run a lot of machines(with the same hardware, the same partitions and software), and customers use and inevitably break these machines, I can see how this is a good solution(I've seen it done, it works well).
*this is going to need 5-10% of the space on your hard drive.
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 4:02am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Aj (22 JAN 2006 2:24am)
So the majority of PCs running today have USB 1.0/1.1, or no USB at all.
If you include laptops, I rather doubt that and even if you don't, I still have my doubts. What are you basing that assumption on?
- For Hardware/File System problems, your Drive is not allowing you to access it, RAID cloning, switches to other drive in no time, no difference from when you were using the computer last.
- For Software/Operating System problems, you installed something, and now your computer is giving you BSOD or some other anoying problem, System Restore. This uses a snapshot of your system, and your computer is rolled back to what it was when the restore point was made, accept that any files produced in that time are still there.*
- For Operating System/Driver problems, something happened, and now windows isn't running right, you need to boot your Windows CD and do a repair install. You'll need to reinstall software and updates, but no data is lost.
If your statistics about the majority of computers aren't running USB 2 are correct, then most computers certainly don't have RAID systems. And if your statistics aren't correct, then most computers still don't have RAID system. RAID is good for some business systems and certainly worth looking into for backup if one is technically inclined or the computer came with RAID.
Although it is a good idea to try using System Restore if a software installation causes problems, it can't be looked on as reliably 'rolling back your system' to before the install. System Restore's makes copies of the Registry and a few other files, but it won't fix problems that can be caused by unintended changes made to the system by the installation of software including some driver installs & conflicts. In other words, System Restore does not restore all the Windows files and directories back to exactly the way they were before the install.
For Operating System/Driver problems- it will take you a mere fraction of the time to restore an image of your Drive C to get you out of trouble vs. doing a 'repair install' of Windows & 'reinstalling software and updates.
I find using disc cloning to restore windows to be a rather clumsy solution, using a sledgehammer, when a nail hammer will do.
Interesting comment when you're suggesting people set up a RAID system as an alternative and not to mention: 'For Operating System/Driver problems, something happened, and now windows isn't running right, you need to boot your Windows CD and do a repair install. You'll need to reinstall software and updates...'
You might want to read articles in PC Magazine, PC World and Maximum PC on backups- they follow my recommendations almost to the letter. RAID is only mentioned as part of the solution in a few situations.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 5:13am |
| Deleted User | My take: the best, easiest, safest, most trouble free forumala for computing is perhaps not still not totally available to all, but it goes like this, s'far as I can see:
- A recent computer. We can't all have the most recent platforms, so let's just say "can run today's most recent OS".
- Have today's most recent OS. Running Win98? Buy a new computer.
- Plenty of HD space. It's cheap now, and it has been cheap for a long time. If you're running low on space, you're way behind. I don't mean to be elitist here, but really, large storage is cheaply available.
- Keep it updated. The only reason I do not have "auto update" turned on is for convenience. I want to update and reboot on my own time, but I am never shy about it when I have time. I totally keep updated.
- I Ghost my boot drive. I'm not a geek, and when I have had system troubles that required me to restore from my Ghosted images, I had to consult the manuals to be sure I was going it right, but damn it's nice not to have to totally rebuild a system from scratch when I have a recent image to restore from.
- I make an image once a week. I'm never more behind than that.
This ain't rocket science folks. Today's imaging--and even partitioning--software is easy to use.
Just sayin'.
Speck
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 5:23am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Not A Speck Of Cereal (22 JAN 2006 5:13am)
I'm not a geek, and when I have had system troubles that required me to restore from my Ghosted images, I had to consult the manuals to be sure I was going it right, but damn it's nice not to have to totally rebuild a system from scratch when I have a recent image to restore from.
I make an image once a week. I'm never more behind than that.
This ain't rocket science folks. Today's imaging--and even partitioning--software is easy to use.
Just sayin'.
And so well!
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 5:42am |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | On USB 2.0:
Windows 95, 98, and NT 4, the largest install base, don't have native USB support.
Although USB 2.0 was first sold in 2000, not every chipset had support for USB 2.0 even by 2002. Intel only released a chipset with support for USB 2.0 in 2002.
In October 2002, most mid-range laptops made by hp did not have USB 2.0 support. Laptops, in general, were slower to adopt USB 2.0.
It's safe to say that adoption of USB 2.0 started to grow from 2002 onwards, and by 2003 the majority of PCs shipped with USB 2.0.
On System Restore:
System Restore monitors and restores drivers and a lot more.
Repair vs Disc Image:
When System Restore doesn't work, probably file (system) corruption.
Repair:
Have to reinstall software and updates, which could take a long time.
Disc Image:
All data is lost from the time you last made a back up. Requires you back up an image at regular intervals.
Take into account that this could be achieved without an external hard drive.
RAID 1:
Would allow you to run after a drive breaks. If you have USB 2.0, an external drive with a disc image, then if a drive breaks, this will not restore that drive. You'll need to buy another drive, and then recover the image, while suffering down time throughout this.
Conclusion:
I seriously doubt the recovery time and convenience of storing disc images on external hard drives. I can see why people might see the advantages outweighing the disadvantages when using a partition on the same disc. I didn't disagree with your advice on using another partition and disc imaging software. Although I'm not sure how common the situation where file (system) corruption has affected important files that are important to the running of the system would be.
You're suggesting that an external drive and disc imaging software is an alternative to RAID 1, when really it isn't. You're going to suffer down time until you buy and install a new hard drive if your hard drive breaks. Concidering that, I think I would rather have RAID 1 than an external hard drive with a disc image given the choice. If RAID 1 is not available I probably wouldn't guard such a situation because you're going to suffer down time anyway, and aslong as you back up work files, then installing the OS and software is not that big a deal as having to back up regularly.
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 7:33am |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Aj (22 JAN 2006 5:41am)
On USB 2.0:
On System Restore:
System Restore monitors and restores drivers and a lot more [etc. etc.]
If you rely on System Restore instead of a complete backup of Windows, you will at some point regret it. If you think it can be counted on to restore the effects of all software and hardware installs reliably, you are sadly mistaken.
Feel free to preach your RAID gospel over a simple drive image program- you're about the only one I've ever heard of making that the primary backup method except in situations I've already mentioned. The concept of the average user going out, buying and setting up an entire RAID system as opposed to downloading a simple backup program and optionally attaching an external USB drive is almost laughable. And I'll let anyone who has ever had to restore their computer from scratch to the way it was after a crash judge the ridiculousness of the statement 'installing the OS and software is not that big a deal as having to back up regularly.'
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 6:22pm |
AjSorcerer Apprentice
Posts : 278
Joined: 25 JAN 2005
Status : Online | If you rely on System Restore instead of a complete backup of Windows, you will at some point regret it. If you think it can be counted on to restore the effects of all software and hardware installs reliably, you are sadly mistaken.
Yes, I know you were mistaken about the drivers. :
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 8:30pm |
SirDaveGuild Master
Posts : 4953
Joined: 17 OCT 2002
Location: US
Status : Offline | Originally Posted By Aj (22 JAN 2006 6:21pm)
If you rely on System Restore instead of a complete backup of Windows, you will at some point regret it. If you think it can be counted on to restore the effects of all software and hardware installs reliably, you are sadly mistaken.
Yes, I know you were mistaken about the drivers. :
I was? It is true that System Restore can restore a given simple driver for something like a modem or somesuch if you specifically set a Restore Point before installing a given device or new driver for a device, but System Restore will not automatically create a restore point for Signed Drivers and it can't be counted on to restore all drivers to just the way they were in some situations as indicated by the following:
'Solutions to more complicated problems can be found in the Microsoft Knowledge Base by clicking Search the Knowledge Base and entering System Restore and a few keywords that describe the problem. For example, 'System Restore Does Not Restore Printer Drivers to Original State' details what to do if System Restore fails to restore printer drivers'
Question:
Why is it desirable to backup windows driver files when I can use Windows System Restore to go back to a previous state of my computer's configuration in which everything was working fine? Is it because System Restore does not always restore all the necessary drivers? "
Answer:
'...the System Restore feature seldomly resolves deeply rooted issues and isn't at all helpful in a major disaster situation (due to a virus attack or a corrupt hard drive). Only disk imaging software is capable of offering true system protection, which is why I periodically harp on the issue.'
There were also reports a few years ago of people having problems using System Restore to recover from some video board driver installations that screwed up systems, specifically ATI, but that, as far as I know, has been fixed since then.
The point, which you seem to want to avoid, is that System Restore, though useful at times, is not, by any means, a fail-safe or totally reliable form of backup and that includes restoring all drivers reliably if you have made several driver changes since the last Restore. Yes, it may work, but it may not. A 20 minute restore of a Drive C disk-image file restores every single thing to the way it was and guarantees recovery. Get with the recovery program Aj. Do some reading on the subject- much as I'd like to say so, I didn't discover all of this myself.
The future ain't what it used to be!
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| 22 JAN 2006 at 9:05pm |
Lurker01Private Detective
Posts : 411
Joined: 23 JUN 2004
Location: US
Status : Offline | System Restore only backs up a very limited number of settings and cannot be used to safe guard important data on the machine. RAID may protect the integrity of your data against corruption, but if you delete something improtant, install something that breaks the system or you get a virus then it will be totally useless as any changes you made will be made on the RAID devices. A disk image may be slow to make and involve more down time but it will back up all data on the disk and protect it against loss or damage. Which one you use depends on what you want to use them for. In this case, I doubt that RAID would have helped.
"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former." Albert Einstein
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| 23 JAN 2006 at 7:57am |
alkis21Schattenjger
Posts : 2112
Joined: 23 OCT 2002
Location: GR
Status : Offline | Without going into details, I would like to point out that I agree with more or less everything Dave said. System Restore? Build-in Firewall? I'll be damned if I ever lay all my eggs in Microsoft's leaking basket. Acronis TrueImage Deluxe makes me sleep calm at nights. "Buy a new computer if you have Win98"? Why should anyone buy something new when what they have suits their purposes?
My idea of a perfectly running computer is the following:
-Partitioned hard disk
-Backup means (I use a second hard disk for backup purposes)
-Backup software (I use TrueImage)
-Antivirus software (I use Avast)
-Firewall (I use Kerio)
-Anti-spyware (I use Ad-Aware)
-Frequent updates of drivers and all of the above
I bought my first computer on January 1986 and I'm very proud to say that I've never lost a single byte of data I needed.
Susan, back to your initial post; in my experience, when internet suddenly stops working, most of the times it's because the firewall settings have changed.
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| 23 JAN 2006 at 11:08am |
CarolineJA+ Overseer
Posts : 16553
Joined: 28 JAN 2007
Location: AU
Status : Offline | I checked out the software in an electronics shop and found Norton Ghost and Partition Magic both for $129 each. If I've followed the conversation here correctly I don't need the Partition Magic because I already have two hard drives. But I've started putting stuff onto D drive. o I need to empty it to partition it to keep the ghost image?
And can someone please tell me exactly what a ghost image entails? It surely can't be a complete copy of the C drive and all the little programs on it because that would be too big.
I also saw an interesting toy that appeals to me. It was a pen for altering photos - does anyone have one and is it any good? Can you use the pen to draw around a shape in an image and cut that image out?
My C drive is 40Gb and my D drive is 80Gb - do I need to partition the D drive anyway? Is there a foolproof way for an idiot to do that?
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| 23 JAN 2006 at 12:02pm |
Chris.Schattenjger
Posts : 1842
Joined: 8 MAR 2005
Status : Online | Caroline, don't get anything with that smug-looking Norton bloke on the box, it's evil! It takes over your computer and uses up all of its brain power. And it's a complete ripoff.
I never use any anti-virus, spyware, firewall rubbish. It just slows the computer down and demands that you update it every 3 minutes. The only time one of my computers has ever stopped working is when I spilt coffee into it.
On the other hand, my dad reads a magazine called Computer Active, which is designed to scare middle-aged people into thinking "the hackers" are out to get them. He's got every crappy bit of software they've ever recommended and updates them religiously. His computer's been to the doctors three times since September.
Was it a graphics tablet that you saw in the shop?
[img]http://racon.net/news/IMG_1625.JPG/variant/small[/img]
It's basically a replacement for a mouse. If you're using some software like Photoshop it makes it easier to touch up photos, draw, etc. (I imagine you'd get some sort of software with it, if you haven't got any). You can do pretty much whatever you want to a picture--there's a lot of learning involved, but if you like messing around with that sort of thing then it's worth getting one. If you don't want to take the time to learn then it's not worth getting one.
The best brand to get is called Wacom. I don't have one myself, but it's on my birthday list!
...not to be confused with Keira Knightley
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