Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

XP-iso for reinstall after crash ? Dell Precision 380

<< < (4/5) > >>

steeladept:
...It seems testing images can be a bit squirrelly, trying to test without risking your system. Maybe a restore to another partition which likely won't boot but will allow a full restore might be a good test.  I'd rather test some images now when I have 3 Gigabytes (plus 2 if I keep the pagefile) than later when there is more complex stuff. My plan is to have two or three totally different software images (from different apps)....
-Steven Avery
--- End quote ---
From my perspective, the easiest way is by using some sort of virtual software such as VirtualBox or VMWare Workstation.  You can load your image on to these and test it.  It will likely complain about drivers and how it is going to use the lowest common denomintator (e.g. default drivers), but it will at least tell you if the image is good or not.  Of course I love working with VirtualBox because Sun makes it available for free.  That said, it isn't quite as easy as Workstation (though it is pretty close).

For those using the ultra-clean base image idea:  The only problem with doing this is you can't test a base image on the same computer.  If you have another one available, that is fine, but if not, your "base" image may just have to include this software if you need to rebuild it because it is a bad image.  Not a true problem, but not as clean from my mind (just one of those little annoyances to me).

EDIT:  One other thing I found really useful to do on any image - make a txt file that lists everything on it at that point and put it on the desktop just before creating the image!  That way when you wonder if you installed this or that, you can just reference that file after you restore it.  It also provides a simple list that you can add to any metafile data you have for that file.

Carol Haynes:
EDIT:  One other thing I found really useful to do on any image - make a txt file that lists everything on it at that point and put it on the desktop just before creating the image!  That way when you wonder if you installed this or that, you can just reference that file after you restore it.  It also provides a simple list that you can add to any metafile data you have for that file.
-steeladept (April 14, 2009, 05:12 PM)
--- End quote ---

I use SnagIt to take a snapshot of my Start menu which also works well.

steeladept:
I use SnagIt to take a snapshot of my Start menu which also works well.
-Carol Haynes (April 14, 2009, 08:28 PM)
--- End quote ---
That is good, but I also note system changes I make that you can't screenshot easily.  Thanks for pointing out that I wasn't very clear on that.

Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,

  Excellent idea, steeladept.  A local fella just the other day had just made the suggestion of VirtualBox -- or a similar -- instead of dual boot.  I countered with ... well virtual is never quite the same as real, driver squawks as you mention, or emulation response-time hits or possible this and that. 

  The only time I ever saw an OS actually take 100% in a mode on another puter was when the full (or almost full) object code was essentially ported without emulation, and to a faster box.  The IBM System 36 SSP mini on the OS/400.  Once emulation and the host OS is involved, there are always nuances and differences and concerns. 

  However your idea of using the virtual at least to test the image .. very excellent !  I could even try the various free image softwares one after another .. four of them at this point, DriveImageXML, Macrium, Paragon and Easeus, all were rather pleasant interfaces.  Will they allow reinstalls to a virtual box ?  Should be an interesting test, without the troubles of risking my actual OS partition.  Now if a couple of them take in the virtual, and I have two totally up-to-date real backups, I might follow the virtual up with a c:\ test.  (It is funny reading the web, how most of the  image softwares have some folks saying -- fantastic, works perfectly !  And for them it likely has.  And then a couple of others bemoaning how the restore did not take .. or their hardware is forced to be different and it is close to useless.  Or they had to fall back on file-by-file attempts, if available.)

  After the virtual test .. then take it from there, you get two tests in one .. the image restore and the virtual environment.

  Carol, yes, I think it may simply be a USB 1.0 box.  I thought it would be 2.0 because Precision 380s I noticed checking the web were advertised with 2.0 .. but the changeover may have just been taking effect in the model line. I looked at a couple of Belarcs and Auslogics System Information, and e.g. for my external disk Auslogics says it is USB 2.0 .. yet since none of the actual ports say 2.0. So very possibly not.  So it really is not molasses-slow, more like acacia honey.

  And that is my strongest box at home.  Maybe time for an upgrade and make that #2.  Although with the clean install and the full memory it runs nicely.   (With help from Process Tamer and arguably CleanMem :) .)

Shalom,
Steven Avery

Carol Haynes:
Cost very little to shove in a USB2.0 PCI card (literally a few dollars - probably under 10 if you look around) - worth doing even for a second computer.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page