Does anyone know of a way to create your own System Restore CDs?
Here are some of the first thing that came up on google. I havent read all of it, but it looks promising......
http://www.sysbotz.com/articles/restorecd.htm
And if you don't want to just copy all the files back over, you might want to take a look at
this.......
ProxRocks;
Quote:Shea said:
take a look at this.......
I'll second that link. I used that site to build an unattended CD for my Win98 some years ago, and it has been a real security blanket for me.
Oddysey
I use WinXP, so I may give that site a whirl just out of curiosity...
But I'm trying to help dad out - and he's on Win2000...
Actually, he "was" on Win98SE, but I'm giving him my old Win2000...
I'm trying to set up a restore CD for him on Win2000...
Although that site is entitled for WinXP, will the same process work for Win2000?
ProxRocks;
Quote:Although that site is entitled for WinXP, will the same process work for Win2000?
Yep, sure will. Just change the names to protect the guilty, and you're home free! :o [lol] You might not see some files that XP requires, but the principle is the same. Like I said, I've modified Win98 so often that it's no longer funny, but I was able to dope out the needed files - tried it, and it worked the first time!
There is another site devoted to this operation, and they also give it up for NT and W2K, as well as XP. Try
Sourceforge's version of Unattended Installs.
Good luck!
Oddysey
Starting to sound like it's too much of a hassle...
If dad bumps into problems, it's easier for me just to get in the car and drive 435 miles to get him up and going...
ProxRocks;
Quote:Starting to sound like it's too much of a hassle...
If dad bumps into problems, it's easier for me just to get in the car and drive 435 miles to get him up and going...
Nah, ya just gotta stick with it the first time. After that, they're all a piece o' cake.
Case in point: I first heard about unattended installs a few years ago at
Shell Extension City. Shortly thereafter, a client with a 7 machine network, and two different versions of Windows (NT/98) needed a backup/restore system. Seems they were running the 'puters in a lab at, of all places, an elementary school. They needed to be able to recover from whatever the little shi... er, make that the little tykes were able to destroy in one afternoon. The unattended disk came to the rescue. It has been used so many times that they've lost count. Last summer I updated them with WinXP, and while they didn't have near as many problems with their client machines (better security model), they did suffer a server crash right after Xmas. Luckily for them, my XP unattended CD did the trick.
So no, I don't see it as a hassle, not so much as an insurance policy. It's not only for people who are anal retentive, its for those who suffer an irrecoverable system crash. Putting everything back on your machine for you, settings and all.... that's a godsend, in my book anyway.
Oddysey
Oddysey Wrote:They needed to be able to recover from whatever the little shi... er, make that the little tykes were able to destroy in one afternoon.
LOL!
Oh my gosh, you're too much for me
This won't be nearly exciting enough,but how about creating a compressed image of the O.S? I use Acronis True Image.
http://www.acronis.com/ (Linux file systems supported)
If you have a massive partition to ghost,use a DVD.Any space left on the DVD can be used for incremental back ups.
Works for me everytime,I can get the system back in two minutes.
Acronis is extremely simple to use,too.No booting into restrictive DOS environments.
Dads would get on fine with it.
Jaded_Goth;
I've heard mixed reviews of Acronis' stuff. How long you been using it? And tell the truth now - 2 minutes to restore, from a DVD? Kinda hard to believe.
Oh, and for "Dad", it would have to be so automatic that even a dead man could use it successfully. [rolleyes] (Not to say that ProxRocks' Dad is not capable, but the unattended disk truly is that simple - "no stems, no seeds, no stuff you don't need....." [smoke] You get the picture. <_<)
Oddysey
I'll second Oddysey on how simple the unattended CD is. I wanted to try to make one just for fun (it was a rainy day) and I filled a whole CD (700MB) with apps and stuff and wrote the batch file in a couple hours. It's really easy to make and really easy to use. It's worth it.
Any special app that you used, Shea?
I've been downloading Win/Office 2000 updates for the last three days (I'm on dial-up until college is paid for)...
I'm aiming for something that a "dead man" can use - not to downplay dad's computer literacy, but his generation didn't grow up with these things like we did...
I actually get tired of him asking "I'm lost when it comes to file management, any suggestions?"... He refuses to live with "it's a matter of personal preference, pick a directory and slap the sh*t into it"... Or "it's like managing the top drawer of your dresser, which side is socks and which side is underwear makes absolutely no difference, it's that YOU know where to find them when you need them"...
What do you mean by special app? I just followed the instructions
here and it worked fine!
Oddysey Wrote:Jaded_Goth;
I've heard mixed reviews of Acronis' stuff. How long you been using it? And tell the truth now - 2 minutes to restore, from a DVD? Kinda hard to believe.
Oh, and for "Dad", it would have to be so automatic that even a dead man could use it successfully. [rolleyes] (Not to say that ProxRocks' Dad is not capable, but the unattended disk truly is that simple - "no stems, no seeds, no stuff you don't need....." [smoke] You get the picture. <_<)
Oddysey
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=65
FYI,the location of the Official Acronis Support Forums.
Some users are reporting problems with imaging in Win 2000 if the task scheduler is not running.
I have been using True Image for around four months now-without the $29.99 update.
However,I use XP.I can honestly say I have never had a problem (I reinstall regularly,because this is a test machine).I mentioned the possibility of using a DVD simply because I wasn't certain of what Dad wanted to clone.
It would be the best way to go if an exact copy of everything is required.All programmes,documents,photos and whatever else is on the partition.In the case of a fatal crash,Dad would literally need to insert the recovery disk and select the location of the restore image (in this case a DVD/CD).
There's a larger-than-life wizard which makes the process almost impervious to human error.
I cannot certify just how long a restoration from a DVD would take.Being on XP,my primary concern was creating a 700mb compressed image with all the service packs/critical patches on it in order to avoid the excruciating download chicken-run on a 56k dial up with two-hour I.S.P. cut-offs!
Shea's plan is probably best,but FWIW,you could sound out Vladimir and co on the Acronis support forum.
I'll post some screenshots if you'd like to see the cartoon-type interface.It might not be to DOS Purist's liking. (wink)
When you first install Acronis,you will be prompted to create a bootable rescue disk.Be sure to do that,because it's the key to the restoration.
After you have installed/created the rescue disk,you can then set about cloning the drive.
There are prompts every step of the way.
Here's a glimpse of the simplistic interface.Not overly intellectualised and intimidating,I'm sure you'll agree.
(Crikey..am I beginning to sound like I work for Acronis?..I promise,I do not.Just talking about what I know!)