From 200GB reserved sections for FD-ISR

Easter,
I hope somebody else will reply regarding PowerShadow, because I don't know this software.

I can only tell you this about a frozen snapshot.

FDISR is NOT a security software in any way, so it doesn't recognize malware.
If you have an online-snapshot you need security softwares, like firewall, scanners, ... to protect it against malware.
FDISR recognizes CHANGES in your snapshot and FDISR undoes these changes during reboot, in case you use a frozen snapshot by adding, deleting and replacing objects until the frozen snapshot is identical to the freeze storage.
Since FDISR doesn't see the difference between GOOD and BAD (= malware) CHANGES, it removes ALL changes.
Snapshots are REAL and not a virtual environment and they can be infected with malware.
Each snapshot is just another version of your system partition, nothing more than that.

The combination of FDISR and PowerShadow might be possible, but I need to TEST this.

 

Easter,
I've been reading in the thread about PowerShadow. It's not very clear to me how this software works.
The info seems to be poor and the support is lacking. It's of Chinese origin, a language I don't understand.
All the enthousiastic posts about PS remind me of the similar posts about FDISR.
IMO all these enthousiastic PowerShadow users have their first experience with a product, that restores their harddisk to a healthy state after reboot with only ONE difference, it's FREEWARE, because they don't want to pay for FDISR.
I don't care about freeware or payware, I want to know how this software works and in English.

 

Pete and Eric, please one or both of you give it a try sometimes, i been using it since the Topic began (not sure of the date opened).

I don't mean to suggest it is an alternative because obviously it cannot be because it would never allow you to warehouse a collection of snaps like FD-ISR or if it suddenly issued on a machine the only hope would be to turn to $M system restore which we already know is grossly limited by design. You won't hurt anything having FD-ISR to eliminate it if something malfunctioned, FD-ISR i'm certain would not suffer such a problem.

This is a curiosity on my side because i have launched the most notorious of malware (Rustock/Gromozon etc.) and a simple reboot restored the immediately preceding good settings, files and all so i know it works well, at least to that purpose. Most use it to keep trojans and drive-by's at bay and it does that fantastic in my local research with it in collecting "live" samples because i cut/paste them after SSM suspends their signal then activate DENY, that way i have intercepted their attempt and confiscated it to an alternative (dual) confinement drive which in my case house 98SE.

QUESTION: Do we use the EXPORT feature of FD-ISR to copy a snapshot to an alternative drive? I say yes from what i read, and with amazing ease.

QUESTION: Importing, do we simply import the exported snapshot back to one of the other snaps as in copy/update to existing snapshot or make room for it individually.

I can't believe i have totally ignored this FD-ISR with all the difficulties suffered with malware testings that have cost me time and effort to correct changes (many) they made to registry etc.

Many fine thanks for sticking tight with me and especially for sharing your experiences and satisfactions, this program is indeed a time/life saver as i see it.

QUESTION: OK, i prefer Paragon (has rescued my units) plus i have an old copy of Drive Image 2002 never before used except for tinkering. Is it a simple matter to IMAGE/CLONE a drive or a partition even if you already have FD-ISR already installed?

 

Easter,
Import/Export is for importing and exporting snapshots, stored on DVD/CD.
Since you don't like DVD/CD as a backup media for DATA, forget about import/export.

Instead of that use copy/update to archive/restore snapshots on harddisks.

 

Thx. Important to know that difference. I detest PLASTIC storage media for obvious reasons, they scratch, they wear out, they damage easy, and what happens if your DVD/CD-ROM drive bites the dust. Enough for me.

Then archive to USBflash is a more preferred and viable alternative yes?

Archives it is then, seems reasonable enough to me.

 

I don't know what USBflash means (keep in mind English isn't my first language).
I guess you mean USB 2.0 external harddisk and then you are right. Internal harddisks are also good, I think Peter uses a combination of both.

 

That's right Eric and of course you'll excuse my own use of terms within the american dialect. To me it's like taking shorthand since ENGLISH (Britain)introduced it to these states but it's long since been scrambled or modified to suit the geography so much i find sometimes confusing to even me.

Anyway thanks for the info on FD-ISR. I can't imagine that a program of this magnitude hasn't taken the PC world by storm eons ago. Leapfrog must have discovered some form of inventive code to have fashioned a rescue solution as dependable as this seems to be.

QUESTION PLEASE: Is it theoretically or actually possible to make use of the Empty Snapshot feature of FD-ISR to install say 98SE and boot to it? Then switch over at will to your normal XP primary snapshot?
Hope i don't question mark my concerns too excessively but you must admit this FD-ISR appears to offer implications/options well beyond any other program of this kind. Thx

 

FDISR is only compatible with
1. Windows 2000 Professional
2. Windows XP Home
3. Windows XP Professional
4. Windows VISTA (?), maybe in the beta version of FDISR.
Not compatible with FAT16, FAT32 or Dynamic Disks, only compatible with NTFS.

So you can install each of these OS in a separate empty snapshot without troubles, but NOT Windows SE98.
So you can use FDISR as a multi-bootable system, but I don't need it.

 

WoW. What a limitation

Am an old 98SE diehard like herbalist

Of course NTFS is the file system most compatible, i missed that entirely in the excitement but good wishful thinking anyway, then so is my long lost wish of $M re-writing 98/Me shortly after releasing XP. Could have done wonders for their image/marketing/customers IMO. But that's topic for a different discussion.

Tell me something. What can FD-ISR not do when it comes to pulling us out of a predicament of some failed boot-up for whatever reason? This is remarkable almost beyond belief but at any rate is fantastic nonetheless that it's a reality.

I spent some time going over many topics/threads and the exchanges are remarkable. One thing is definitely certain, you simply can't go wrong with this program.

QUESTION: Can we image the partition or entire drive with FD-ISR already installed? Any potential issues that might make for concern? If i go ahead with this i would be considering to IMAGE the whole gambit as a safeguard to the next to impossible.

 

FDISR works only for the partition, where it is installed and that is usually the partition [C:]. All other partitions are ignored by FDISR.
Peter mentioned all the good backup softwares that work together with FDISR. My recommendation is also ShadowProtect, although I use Acronis TI. You buy the best, if you don't have an Image Backup software yet.

Image Backup is more important than FDISR, because it will save your skin in all disaster scenarios, even when your FDISR is broke due to some malware or software.

 

I wish you hadn't mentioned that but i appreciate your honesty.

Indeed no soft is 100% immune from unwarranted tampering so far as i know and Eric you bring up another very vital point in this discussion. Keeping on hand an IMAGING program that picks up the entire gambit is a neccessity no matter how you look at it. For me PARAGON
is been that duplicator to image drives for emergency rescue from the near impossible.

My reluctance of TI stems from a terrible experience i went thru when trying to image to PLASTIC media, that may have hastened my distrust in it unfairly, i dunno. I tried Norton Ghost and equally it fell out of favor almost immediately. In these type programs i'm no guru so it's not out of the realm of possiblity it could have been user confusion in how to apply a proper procedure. Nonetheless when i turned to PARAGON it performed to satisfaction so naturally you stick with whats worked for you. A lot of time is since passed then and no doubt those programs have had to improve or else they wouldn't have a following.

I think the PERFECT balance is achievable with the combo of FD-ISR plus a very dependable image backup program, to external or other disc.

But before i go forward with FD-ISR i harbor the notion that imaging the partition(s)/drive is a TOP PRIORITY that needs exercised for that finally COMPLETE feeling of invincible as someone once put it. Too many times i have neglected this which should be listed as a #1 task to complete before anything else except food, clothing, & sleep.

 

Easter,
ALL softwares have their enemies in the software world and what is common for all software, isn't worth to be discussed.
That's why you need Image Backup. Many users have Image Backup, but they don't use it at the RIGHT moment and that's the problem.

It's quite simple you know.
Choose an ISR-software, that meets your wishes and it doesn't need to be FDISR.
Choose an Image Backup, that meets your wishes.
If the Image Backup restores all your snapshots, you have a good one.
Paragon, Acronis, Terabyte, Storagecraft are just names, it has to work on YOUR computer, not on our computers.
I made my choice (ATI and FDISR) and if I could change the past, it would be ShadowProtect and FDISR.
Peter made his choice and all other FDISR-members made their choice.

 

I read Peter2150's results of ShadowProtect. I know storagecraft specializes in those fields. I'm almost to the point of shelling for it because it seems a lot of research and testing has gone into it to make it as dependable as it's become, but the jury is still out on it for me. Don't get me wrong, i trust it functions as claimed and then some but really haven't reviewed it indepth just yet.

Right now FD-ISR is foremost in my agenda and of that i am 100% certain thanks to you EricAlbert, Peter2150, and others who have proven it thru experience. I'm just taking every imaginable precaution before settling on a decision. Thanks much for all your input, you do a great service to everyone in sharing your experiences and results.

 

Agreed, very significant.
Also that it works ONLY with the NTFS file system is enough for this user. NTFS was fashioned in the first place to be more accurate as well as secure if there is such a thing but mainly regarding this program as well as others it does have certain advantages FAT never did.

That's important to note i understand because you want to always have a fallback solution in event of some sudden malfunction of the drive or even the system structure itself. $M code as we all already have seen is not fallible by any stretch especially when it comes to some programs we're adding for the first time. That FD-ISR can recoup from such a problem in most if not all such cases is nothing short of spectacular from my observations but a good full total stockpile of everything via imaging is the ULTIMATE when you look at it from a FD-ISR standpoint. That to me completes a full circle of total satisfaction and confidence. And with these machines/systems it's what we all strive for in the end.

 

The combination of using FD-ISR and Power Shadow 2.6 has been great for me. Although I had a hiccup when I accidently hit the ESC button on bootup it was easily fixed with intenal commands from FD-ISR by disabling then re-enabling the pre-boot. These commands are built into the software already that you can select from a menu. So after doing that I just rebooted and my problem was gone. Also you can select which key to use to go into the preboot menu other than F1 that sits next to ESC on the keyboard.

The idea that I can use both FDISR and powershadow 2.6 at the same time AND in limited user mode is a nice feature. Can't imagine using FDISR without an external USB hard drive to keep my archives though.



I'm in the process of figuring out SSM and have added it to the mix and it's even now behaving once you figure out how to set it up.

My setup is comodo fw, Avast Antivirus, powershadow, FDISR , SSM, and RKU on demand.

 

Oh by the way EASTER I can tell you that the reason why I PREFER to use powershadow VS Frozen snapshot in FDISR is because even though they basically accomplish the same thing, when you look at your hard drive fragmentation after a reboot of a frozen shapshot you'll see that it gets fragmented. When you use powershadow in shadow mode you don't get the fragmentation. They are both excellent in erasing anything that happens while frozen or in shadow mode. I just noticed I had to defrag more often when using the frozen shapshot feature.

 

PowerShadow doesn't allow me to install softwares, that require a reboot during the installation and that was for me one of the reasons not to use PowerShadow.

 

Erik,

I use powershadow mainly to internet surf and test out software that doesn't require a reboot. AFter I do that I reboot my pc and all is gone WITHOUT NEEDING a defrag. It's nice for that reason. I like being able to go into shadow mode whenever I want and to use it in limited mode for added security. However it's not really a security product as you still need your normal hips and AV and FW as you could pick up a key logger and such during surfing and then you'd be in trouble if you didn't reboot and visited your banking website. I find the powershadow more convienent but not better. If you are looking for software that allows you to test software for awhile then FDISR is best as we all know. I've found plenty of software that I test out that doesn't require a reboot so for that reason I prefer powershadow.

 

Why do you need to defrag after each reboot, if you don't use PowerShadow ? I defrag only once a month, if I don't forget it.

 

I used to defrag after a reboot of a frozen snapshot because I like to run a tight ship. Now that I have powershadow I don't have to do defrags hardly at all. No big deal. If I had a bigger hard drive I wouldn't mind defragging maybe every week or so when using just frozen snapshot. I just don't like a lot of fragmentation. Just a personal preference. When I installed perfect disk I went through a bunch of folders and files and marked them so i could move them to the front of the disk as smart placement during a defrag.

 

Now I understand, it's a PERSONAL preference, almost an obsession, if you ask me. LOL.
I know defragging is necessary, but I never took it THAT serious.
I just do it, because I can't use my computer forever without defragging and my harddisks aren't big either (70gb).
I would never choose or use softwares for that purpose, but OK everybody has its strange pecularities, including me.
No problem.

 

Nothing strange when you fork over money for a seperate best in the business defragger and then wanting to use it often. Am I to believe you don't have perfect disk?

As far as powershadow and defragmentation, I didn't soley choose powershadow for the lack of needing a defrag , I perfer it for it's simplicity and convenience to go into shadow (frozen) mode on-the-fly without needing a reboot or having to be in the right snapshot also plus it's able to work in limited user mode and it's free and rock solid against viruses and trojans or anything else you can throw at it. Plus it works with FDISR. I don't think it will work INSIDE a frozen snapshot but I haven't tried it. That would be overkill. I find it strange you don't defrag but once a month or so. I test out so much software that is unthinkable. My hard drive would be so defragmented by then after a month I would surely expect a performance hit because of it.