Fresh system install

Discussion in 'FirstDefense-ISR Forum' started by Acadia, Aug 29, 2006.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    I know that at least a couple of you have done the "Fresh System" install that is given on the Raxco website:
    http://www.raxco.com/support/windows/fdisr/fdisr_faqs.cfm#14

    Does it really go as easy as they appear to make it? Any words of advice to someone who might want to have some fun? Thanks.

    Acadia
     
  2. starfish_001

    starfish_001 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2005
    Posts:
    1,046
    Yes it is very easy to do - remember not to format or you will loose everything.


    You will not be able to see old snapshots until you reinstall FD - from memory xp will also grab the MBR so the preboot will also disappear.

    I have done it a few times now - first time was a bit scary but painless enough
     
  3. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    WOW. I did not know that, thank you Starfish. In my opinion Raxco should mention that on their website.

    Acadia
     
  4. wilbertnl

    wilbertnl Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2004
    Posts:
    1,850
    Location:
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    Starfish is correct.
    The anchored data is available right away, though.
    So if you like to 'share anything' from your current snapshot, anchor it first.

    It looks scarry when you are in the setup, since you don't see anything, but the data is safe as long as you leave the filesystem alone.

    And seeing the error 'NTLDR not found' is required.
     
  5. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    But once I install FD into the new Snapshot, all of my other Snapshots, and former data are once again available, correct? o_O

    Acadia
     
  6. RobZee

    RobZee Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2004
    Posts:
    290
    Location:
    Texas
    I have done it several times - went smoothly. Just remember notto format the drive as cautioned above. Essentially removing the program files and leaving the data on the disk. To add another degree of comfort you could also export your snapshots, preferably to another HDD.
     
  7. starfish_001

    starfish_001 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jan 31, 2005
    Posts:
    1,046

    Yep everything should reappear - archive snapshots might need re-pointing to your chosen location
     
  8. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2005
    Posts:
    9,455
    Very exciting stuff, looks like my very first restorations with ATI. :D
     
  9. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    Starting to look a little bit TOO exciting for me! :blink:

    Acadia
     
  10. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2005
    Posts:
    9,455
    Don't you have an image backup and external harddisk or something like that ?
     
  11. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    Yes, but because of FD, and formerly GoBack, I've never needed to use any of them; I've done plenty of backing up, but never any restoring. For all I know, my Acronis and Powerquest do not work, even though I have had them installed for years!

    Acadia
     
  12. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2003
    Posts:
    20,590
    Time to get your feet wet. I was like that on my old system. Imaged, imaged, but never once restored. Now I take an image almost every day, and last test of each image is a restore.


    Pete
     
  13. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    I don't know, if it ain't broke ... :shifty:

    Acadia
     
  14. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

    Joined:
    Sep 20, 2003
    Posts:
    20,590
    Yeah, but I've learned until you have the confidence in restoring your images, it is broke.
     
  15. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2005
    Posts:
    9,455
    Acadia,

    With FDISR on your computer, it can't be that bad or risky.

    1. Undo any anchoring in all your snapshots to make sure that everything is included in the archived snapshot.
    2. Archive all your snapshots to your external harddisk.
    3. Reformat your harddisk.
    4. Install Windows
    5. Install FDISR and create a secondary snapshot.

    6. This is the right moment to try an image backup software, like Terabyte, which you never used.
    If you don't want to do this, skip it.

    7. Restore all your snapshots.
    8. Redo the anchoring in each snapshot.
    9. You are back in business.

    Did I forget something ?
     
  16. AJohn

    AJohn Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2004
    Posts:
    935
    Wow, this fresh install is a great feature! Thanks for posting the link :D
     
  17. wilbertnl

    wilbertnl Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 29, 2004
    Posts:
    1,850
    Location:
    Tulsa, Oklahoma
    My experience is that current FD-ISR settings retain, even registration info.
     
  18. Acadia

    Acadia Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 8, 2002
    Posts:
    4,325
    Location:
    US
    Erik, thanks for all that info, but I wasn't thinking about reformatting my drive, simply doing the install fresh OS that Raxco talks about, thats all; no reformat required. But again, thanks for those steps.

    Acadia
     
  19. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jun 16, 2005
    Posts:
    9,455
    I forgot to mention, that my suggestion might be usefull in case the "install fresh OS" was a disaster LOL.
     
  20. Dina

    Dina Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 28, 2006
    Posts:
    107
    Ive done this already a lot of times.to check nlited cds. i dont like doing it in vm. maybe more than 20 times already.and it works all the time.

    its really nice what you can do with fdisr. with good imaging program im no longer afraid to do anything. good luck Acadia
     
  21. TonyW

    TonyW Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2005
    Posts:
    2,741
    Location:
    UK
    It should be pointed out this will only work if you have access to a Windows CD. Some machines come with a restore disk, which is effectively an image of everything at factory set level. I guess you could create a clean system using that then install FD-ISR, take a snapshot at that point, and you have your clean OS install to fall back on.
     
  22. AJohn

    AJohn Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2004
    Posts:
    935
    I have a Toshiba laptop that comes with one of those horrible Recovery Discs. It's only option is to format or not use the CD. It does store the Windows installation at C:\Windows\I386, but gives me an error after rebooting to the installation. My Toshiba only allows to boot from a CD usingn 1.44 floppy emulation, but I have been having tons of trouble getting anything to boot and when I do get a CD to boot I get weird errors after loading winnt.exe. To top it off I don't have a real floppy drive and my computer won't allow booting to flash drives (USB). I was able to fine a floppy emulation program which allows me to extract floppy boot and convert to a boot image, but haven't been able to burn it correctly. My Recovery Disc comes with pre-installed AOL that doesn't come with working uninstaller so you can see why I am hesitant to use the RD again.

    Any ideas or can anyone help me in creating the 1.44 floppy emulated boot CD?
     
  23. XandroZ

    XandroZ Registered Member

    Joined:
    Aug 4, 2006
    Posts:
    14
  24. AJohn

    AJohn Registered Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2004
    Posts:
    935
    Just a follow up to my previous post. I never could get a fresh install of Windows to work on my Toshiba due to the restrictions they implemented, but the best method for cleaning a freshly installed copy of the recovery disk is:

    Uninstall all software unwanted through add/remove. Find the vendor's release of AOL (I used Toshiba's), install over existing and then uninstall both. Keep a log of all software uninstalled such as Symantec, Norton, America Online, AOL.

    Search for files and folders with the logged names. Search for registry entries with the logged names. Run registry cleaner.

    This got me 99.9% clean, good enough for me over the trouble it takes to crack the Recovery Disk Ghost password.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.