Drive snapshot image on VMware workstation

[raakii]

I am new to vmware , i have just downloaded the vmware workstation.Is it possible to load a Drive Snapshot image in a vmware machine.?How to do it ?

[maymoons]

http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/news.htm

-{ Quote: "V1.39 - 15 Juli 2008: Drive Snapshot 1.39

* Supports Restore into Virtual Machines (VMWare/Virtual Server)
* mounted Snapshots are write able (data are buffered in RAM) - and you can make a new snapshot of this virtual disk
* Ability to exclude files and folders has been enhanced ( --exclude:\*.MP3 )
* defect Images can be - within limits - repaired
* allows in WinPE/BartPE Installation of additional (disk) drivers
* fixes/tolerates some bugs in Vista/2008 X64
" }-

[raakii]

Hello maymoons , can u pls explain how to restore Drive snapshot image on to vmware player.

[maymoons]

-{ Quote: "Hello maymoons , can u pls explain how to restore Drive snapshot image on to vmware player." }-

sory, i am using active@ disk image
i am not using Drive snapshot and vmware player.
i dont know

maybe other guys can explain

[kennyboy]

@Raakii

I also am hoping that maybe Brian or Mark can give us the answer to this, as I can not figure out how to do it either.

[mantra]

what i don't like about drive snapshot is that there is not gui to restore for example xp by dos

[kennyboy]

-{ Quote: "what i don't like about drive snapshot is that there is not gui to restore for example xp by dos" }-
you actually have a choice of Guis for DS. You can use either BartPE, UBCD, or any other bootable environment. It just takes a little time to boot and then it is fully available to image/restore/mount or do anything you want with DS.
It is quite an astonishing program considering its tiny size. Plus the fact that is has proved 100% reliable for most if not all users.

[raakii]

-{ Quote: "what i don't like about drive snapshot is that there is not gui to restore for example xp by dos" }-

Thats the strength of Drive snapshot according to me .Image for Windows (or) Shadow protect, its nearest competitors , require a reboot to complete the installation ,and can be run only from its own recovery environment.

But Drive snapshot can run almost any recovery cd , bartpe , active boot disk or ubcd ,which others cannot.
Reliabilty:
Out of 50 times i restored not even once i have had a problem with the images.

[Meriadoc]

Hi, I'm a little confused about the question (sorry) what are you exactly wanting to do?..convert an image to a vm?

[pandlouk]

-{ Quote: "I am new to vmware , i have just downloaded the vmware workstation.Is it possible to load a Drive Snapshot image in a vmware machine.?How to do it ?" }-
You must mount the partition of the virtual machine on the host (not write protected) and then restore directly with drive snapshot.

Panagiotis

[mantra]

-{ Quote: "you actually have a choice of Guis for DS. You can use either BartPE, UBCD, or any other bootable environment. It just takes a little time to boot and then it is fully available to image/restore/mount or do anything you want with DS.
It is quite an astonishing program considering its tiny size. Plus the fact that is has proved 100% reliable for most if not all users." }-

yes but i like a gui
because i don't make mistake to restore to a wrong partition
outside true image and paragon and showdow protect there is not alternative :( or there are?

or i like the old ghost 11 boot disk (floppy)

[kennyboy]

-{ Quote: "yes but i like a gui
because i don't make mistake to restore to a wrong partition
outside true image and paragon and showdow protect there is not alternative :( or there are?

or i like the old ghost 11 boot disk (floppy)" }-

Sorry, I dont understand the point. The DS Gui may not be pretty and colourful like the others, but it will only restore your image to the partition that you choose. In fact especially in the case of Paragon, I find the DS Gui much easier to navigate.

[markymoo]

Have you read this?

http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/vm.htm

you can restore an image just like normal to a virtual disk off a boot cd or floppy or mount the virtual disk.

[Peter2150]

-{ Quote: "Thats the strength of Drive snapshot according to me .Image for Windows (or) Shadow protect, its nearest competitors , require a reboot to complete the installation ,and can be run only from its own recovery environment.

But Drive snapshot can run almost any recovery cd , bartpe , active boot disk or ubcd ,which others cannot.
Reliabilty:
Out of 50 times i restored not even once i have had a problem with the images." }-

I don't see much weakness in requiring a reboot to install. True Drive Snapshot can be used with all the systems you named, but for the average user building a bartpe disk is almost insurmountable. And the reason you have to do that is Drive Snapshot has no recovery gui, that is usable by the average user. I was able to get Shadowprotect to run under Bart, but now I don't have to full with any other nonsenses. It's own recovery CD is all I need.

I think Drive Snapshot is a great little product, but by itself, it's recovery medium is borderline useless.

Pete

[mantra]

-{ Quote: "Sorry, I dont understand the point. The DS Gui may not be pretty and colourful like the others, but it will only restore your image to the partition that you choose. In fact especially in the case of Paragon, I find the DS Gui much easier to navigate." }-

but snapshot in the boot disk has not gui
you have to use the command line
there is not gui

[maymoons]

-{ Quote: "but snapshot in the boot disk has not gui
you have to use the command line
there is not gui
Reply With Quote" }-

you can use it with windows PE 2.0 boot cd

[Longboard]

-{ Quote: "yes but i like a gui
because i don't make mistake to restore to a wrong partition
outside true image and paragon and showdow protect there is not alternative or there are?" }-
try here for the tools to suit ;
http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=303

what you want to do is a steep learning curve first time round, after that piece of ...;)

be aware that trying to image a windows partition to a vm will require/create activation issues.

why not just a clean install to the vm than create as many VM snapshots/copies as you wish ?

[kennyboy]

Thanks for the link Mark. Looks a bit too involved for me. I was hoping that it would work the same as ShadowProtect where I understand you can mount/install an image directly into a new VM. That would be nice.