Windows SteadyState - How Good Is It?

[DasFox]

I just found out today about Windows SteadyState:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...s/default.mspx

Sounds like Deep Freeze...

Any thoughts here? Wonder if all Windows users should have this installed since it's free...

THANKS

P.S. I also just found out about Clean Slate:

http://www.fortresgrand.com/products/cls/cls.htm

[ambient_88]

Windows SteadyState is similar to Deep Freeze and/or Returnil. The good thing about SteadyState is that it allows you to temporarily store the changes made to the system even after rebooting, something that Returnil nor Deep Freeze can do. If I had known about it before I purchased Rollback Rx, I would probably be using it now.

Clean Slate seems to be a similar application, however, I have no experience with it. Why don't you try it? It seems to be the most feature packed virtualization software out there.

[raakii]

Steady state is good for nothing, since it slows down the computer too much.Clean slate is error prone for me.
Returnil is great and shadowuser is best stable one.use Ayrecovery bcos it free now.

[Meriadoc]

I wouldn't go as far too say WSS was good for nothing as the only real slow down I've encounterd is when booting.

- May I direct anyone interested to the WSS forum(Microsoft TechNet) which contains a lot of information.

[ambient_88]

Originally Posted by raakii

Steady state is good for nothing, since it slows down the computer too much.Clean slate is error prone for me.
Returnil is great and shadowuser is best stable one.use Ayrecovery bcos it free now.

Even though it might slow down the boot up a bit, it still is a good at what it does.

[DasFox]

I've read on the web others complaining about the slower boot times, so it does seem to be an issue bothering people...

Anything that degrades performance I'm not into...

P.S. Computers are suppose to be getting faster not slower...

[raakii]

@dasfox

U have made the right choice.

It takes much lesser time to restore an image than use extremely low boot softwares like WSS.

[ambient_88]

IMHO, the slow down is not significant enough. But maybe because I'm a very patient person. I don't mind waiting a minute or more for the boot up to finish. After booting up, WSS' impact on system resources is negligible.

[DasFox]

Originally Posted by ambient_88

IMHO, the slow down is not significant enough. But maybe because I'm a very patient person. I don't mind waiting a minute or more for the boot up to finish. After booting up, WSS' impact on system resources is negligible.

Patience is not the issue. The manners your mother taught you as a kid are not suppose to be coming into play with technolgy. Granted to a point they should, especially when something isn't going right, we need to be patient with our machines because nothing is perfect, BUT to then say this is ok for all of technology, or the way modern technology is, or is going to be, continue to be, or any other idea you can think of is not excusable. The truth of the matter is modern is suppose to be faster not slower...

Don't confuse your childhood manners with using technology, and the standard to which IT SHOULD PERFORM!

When software comes along that affects the normal everyday performance of a computer and brings it below that standard, then we as consumers should say NO and toss it out the door, because if you don't, then the developers won't improve it.

SO having your patience really is doing technology a disservice. What people like you need to do, and I do it all the time, is take a few moments, write to the developers, let them know you like the product, but the find that the slow downs in boot up inexcusable, and would like the company to know this, that you don't accept it, and guess what? Hopefully in time they will improve it!

Because if people like you don't tell them, then nothing will possibly get done to improve things.

ANY software, and I mean ANY I use and like, when I run into a problem, or see one, I jump on an email to the company and let them know!

We all need to email developers from time to time to help them, and give them our input...

[crofttk]

What is significant boot time slowdown? If we're talking 2 minutes 40 seconds versus 2 minutes 30 seconds, then big deal. If we're talking 5 minutes versus 2 minutes, then that's significant to me - we're talking a value judgment here and apparently the slowdown, regardless of its significance to others, is just fine with ambient.

Don't confuse one individual's specific value judgments with the manners they learned or how vociferously they do or don't squawk at software vendors and developers.

[DasFox]

Originally Posted by crofttk

What is significant boot time slowdown? If we're talking 2 minutes 40 seconds versus 2 minutes 30 seconds, then big deal. If we're talking 5 minutes versus 2 minutes, then that's significant to me - we're talking a value judgment here and apparently the slowdown, regardless of its significance to others, is just fine with ambient.

Don't confuse one individual's specific value judgments with the manners they learned or how vociferously they do or don't squawk at software vendors and developers.

Of course, I just meant to say, WHICH I hoped you would of perceived is that if it's a problem....

I would of thought you would of seen the point to my reply in that, I guess not...

[crofttk]

Originally Posted by DasFox

Of course, I just meant to say, WHICH I hoped you would of perceived is that if it's a problem....

I would of thought you would of seen the point to my reply in that, I guess not...

Na, you're right, I didn't take your point exactly in that manner - so credit to you for that. What caught my attention was that no one gave the slowdown effect in specifics of seconds or minutes delay and it rubbed me a little the wrong way... peace.

[Trespasser]

All these virtualization applications slow down boot times to some degree (even Shadow Defender) but the over all time period is not worth mentioning. The only problem I had with Windows SteadyState is if you are coming out of "shadow" mode it will reboot twice before it gets you back to Desktop. Also, another slight annoyance, SteadyState, by default, allocates half your hard drive for its purposes unless you adjust it downward yourself before turning on protection.

I did not notice any slowdown while in shadow mode under SteadyState.

Later....

[Osaban]

Originally Posted by DasFox

I just found out today about Windows SteadyState:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/pro...s/default.mspx

Sounds like Deep Freeze...

Any thoughts here? Wonder if all Windows users should have this installed since it's free...

Hi there,

This is an old Thread: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showt...ws+SteadyState

Originally Posted by Osaban

Start up time (to see the desktop) is 50 seconds without SteadyState and 55 seconds with SteadyState. It is interesting to learn that it can carry sessions over a reboot. This feature alone could make it quite competitive if it's not too buggy.

A bit of an update: There are no delays starting up, shutting down, or rebooting from one protected session to another. It takes quite a while to reboot from a protected session to a normal one, I haven't timed it yet but I can see this could be annoying if it is done frequently.

I find SteadyState very interesting as a concept, and it is a pity that MS doesn't make a version that works as a pure sandbox.

It creates a virtual drive (cache), the size can be decided by the user up to half of the maximum capacity of C:\. The problem is that to switch from protected to unprotected mode is time consuming (depending on the size of the cache) the operation can last between 3 to 6 minutes rebooting, too long for a single user, but acceptable for many users (the program is designed for many users).

This was my experience in April, and it was a beta version. I didn't think it slowed down the computer, rebooting from different modes was time consuming (6 minutes it is really too long if it hasn't changed). Let's not forget the program was originally designed for several users.

[ambient_88]

Originally Posted by DasFox

Patience is not the issue. The manners your mother taught you as a kid are not suppose to be coming into play with technolgy. Granted to a point they should, especially when something isn't going right, we need to be patient with our machines because nothing is perfect, BUT to then say this is ok for all of technology, or the way modern technology is, or is going to be, continue to be, or any other idea you can think of is not excusable. The truth of the matter is modern is suppose to be faster not slower...

Don't confuse your childhood manners with using technology, and the standard to which IT SHOULD PERFORM!

When software comes along that affects the normal everyday performance of a computer and brings it below that standard, then we as consumers should say NO and toss it out the door, because if you don't, then the developers won't improve it.

SO having your patience really is doing technology a disservice. What people like you need to do, and I do it all the time, is take a few moments, write to the developers, let them know you like the product, but the find that the slow downs in boot up inexcusable, and would like the company to know this, that you don't accept it, and guess what? Hopefully in time they will improve it!

Because if people like you don't tell them, then nothing will possibly get done to improve things.

ANY software, and I mean ANY I use and like, when I run into a problem, or see one, I jump on an email to the company and let them know!

We all need to email developers from time to time to help them, and give them our input...

Wow, I never expected you to respond in this manner. You don't know me, so don't go on and say things related to my "childhood." Being patient is not related to childhood manners. In fact, I wasn't a very patient child as I always demanded that things be done as quickly as possible. But I'm not going to delve in any further, since this thread is not about that.

From your response, you are basically saying that Windows SteadyState is a substandard piece of software. How do you determine that exactly? If you can prove this to me, besides the fact that "it slows down the boot up," then you might sound more convincing. Just because booting up takes a bit longer than usual, that doesn't mean it is a crappy piece of software. Also, I've got better things to do than email the developers about how to improve their product. If it doesn't perform as expected I dump the software without hesitation and move on. There is a reason why quality controls are put in place--to make sure that a product performs as expected.

If only I had known about Windows SteadyState before purchasing Rollback Rx, I would be using it right now.

[PROROOTECT]

Windows SteadySteate: http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showt...ws+steadystate

[rice4lunch]

Originally Posted by ambient_88

The good thing about SteadyState is that it allows you to temporarily store the changes made to the system even after rebooting, something that Returnil nor Deep Freeze can do.

returnil does support updating changes, but only in the paid version.
(i'm refering to version 2.0 premium ed)

[ambient_88]

Originally Posted by rice4lunch

returnil does support updating changes, but only in the paid version.
(i'm refering to version 2.0 premium ed)

You mean, it is persistent across reboots? So, if I install a software that requires a reboot, Returnil would be able to keep it without committing the changes permanently?

[BlueZannetti]

Originally Posted by ambient_88

You mean, it is persistent across reboots? So, if I install a software that requires a reboot, Returnil would be able to keep it without committing the changes permanently?

No. The changes made are permanent, although they can be selectively chosen.

Blue

[crofttk]

From vendor's website, among premium (paid) versus personal (free) edition features: " Total Session Commit - Save an entire boot session without loosing any changes" - I take this to mean you decide whether to commit (i.e., save) changes BEFORE you reboot, apparently consistent with what Blue says. http://www.returnilvirtualsystem.com/comparison.htm

LOL, I swear there is a plague of "loositis" on the "loose" in cyberspace - I must see this misspelling of the word lose/losing 3 times a week in various places. Oh well, thank goodness for the flexibility of the human mind in interpreting grammatical and syntactical fuzziness.

[EASTER]

Has anyone every enjoyed a flawless issue-free experience with anything Microsoft rolled out?

I think the track record is very clear in spite of some who will choose to argue to the contrary.

That being said, so-called third party commercial vendors have added much more stability in their products to Windows then Microsoft ever has for their own O/S in my honest opinion but especially speaking from experience over the years, and nothing is changed in years from that trend that i can see except maybe patchguard in vista.

[dw426]

Originally Posted by EASTER

Has anyone every enjoyed a flawless issue-free experience with anything Microsoft rolled out?

I think the track record is very clear in spite of some who will choose to argue to the contrary.

That being said, so-called third party commercial vendors have added much more stability in their products to Windows then Microsoft ever has for their own O/S in my honest opinion but especially speaking from experience over the years, and nothing is changed in years from that trend that i can see except maybe patchguard in vista.

Easter, I hate starting up a pros and cons of Microsoft thing, it never goes anywhere, and I like you, you have a lot to offer in knowledge and wisdom, but this Microsoft rant has to go. We all know you hate them, it's all fine and dandy. Let me put this question out: How many products from any vendor have you or anyone else used that have been COMPLETELY flawless and issue-free? If we're all going to stay honest with each other here, then the answer is very few. We can argue about certain Microsoft ways, and good points will be brought up, but just beating them up over the same old tired things over and over has been done to death.

I sometimes would just like to scream at people that if they think they can do better, then make their own OS. I'm not really attacking you, I've got nothing against you to be honest, but man, enough with the Microsoft hate, from you and whoever else does it. There's always Linux if you want to deal with the problems that come with proprietary tech/plugins and an internet made for IE and Windows, but at least there IS a choice.

[rice4lunch]

Originally Posted by ambient_88

You mean, it is persistent across reboots? So, if I install a software that requires a reboot, Returnil would be able to keep it without committing the changes permanently?

if you mean in (rollback rx's terms), wheather you can continue a session without updating the baseline. then no. i've misunderstood your first statement. but you could as blue said, choose what files/folders to commit before shutdown.

i have recorded/documented myself testing returnil pro for later reviews. i uploaded it to youtube here: -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZXQi5EJOKY- (and i'm sorry for the offensive icon, please don't troll me on youtube.)

this is really offtopic...

[MrBrian]

There are some testimonials that v2.5 helped with the slow bootup issue - see http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=208207 and http://forums.microsoft.com/WindowsT...4350&SiteID=69.