How do "You" use FD-ISR

I don't think it's necessarily safer, but it may be more efficient as far as backing up and restoring images, etc. I have my data on a separate partition, and I back it up regularly to an external drive. I don't have to worry about backing anything up on my main OS partition unless I install a major application or do significant updates. When that happens, I make an Acronis image of my C partition. If something were to happen to that drive, I could restore the most recent image, and immediately have access to my data.

It just seems more convenient

C

 

I do exactly the same thing :
- no anchoring needed and you have access to your data in each snapshot
- you can backup system and data partition separately
- you can keep your data files up-to-date, including "today", even when your system partition needs to be restored completely
- total freedom on your system partition without being worried about your data anymore, which is very reassuring.
- you can use the same backup software for each partition

 

Not sure if I made myself clear here. I was wondering if a virus/spyware bad things can jump from one partition to another. The point was made about vuruses being stored in my docs. well if my docs are stored on another partition can a virus get there ? and then what id my docs are stored on a completely separate drive - would that make it more difficult ?

This is all academic. I haven't seen anything more dangerous that a tracking cookie in years but it would be nice to think that if something bad did get in it could only damage a partition or drive that FD-ISR and or Acronis could simply replace.

 

In theory everything is possible, nothing surprises me anymore.
You can also ask yourself, if a malware can jump from one snapshot to another snapshot. If my off-line snapshot ever gets infected, I have the proof that a malware can jump from my on-line snapshot to my off-line snapshot.

In practice I'm not really worried about malware, because my RECOVERY is much stronger than all these malwares together and it will be even stronger after my re-installation from scratch.
I paid alot of attention to recovery, more than to anti-malware, because that's my only reliable weapon against malware.
I just use anti-malware softwares to save the period between two reboots, but I don't trust them, although some of them are pretty good and understandable for me, they are never complete.
The bad guys can't do much, if I replace my "infected" system with a healthy system during EACH reboot.
Besides, I don't like the way how the good guys fight against the bad guys, they fight like sissies IMO. They are more interested in earning money, than anything else.

 

Successfully buiding on 4 snapshots here. 2 are heavily loaded and i update them back & forth accordingly, the other 2 are somewhat minimal in capacity to keep things simple but for the most part i make the Primary snapshot the most used.

Now i also exported a complete snapshot off-drive to another as well as created archives and have them somewhat orderly ATM.

I did not pay attention to exporting over an export and instead done a Windows Copy/Paste to one of them, is that a problem? I mean is it a function that will yield the same results?

I will never use another lousy floppy again like i did tonight. I don't care where you get them from you have to be very wary of them anymore. All i did was use Morgud's wipe disk to clear another drive and ended up with more aggravation then it was worth. That'll teach me next time to just let PARAGON handle it from the GUI. Now even though my BIOS recognizes the drive it prevents any snapshots from loading. I thought for a moment i committed a cardinal sin in that lame brain move of mine. Lucky for me though, it just required unplugging the other drive and replacing it with one that is normal. Any snapshot boots up fine after that. What a ticked off puppy i was when i learned that after using HIREN'S boot CD that the floppy somehow PASSWORD PROTECTED the stupid drive from access, how ignorant can you be to want to do that? Took 20 programs on the CD to finally get to just one that give me the truth about what the heck was happening. All other Hiren's programs (lot of them really good) only would return an INVALID FILE SYSTEM error or Hard Drive I/O error

Here we are well along into the 21st century and you still have to jump thru twenty hoops of programs before you find out what the heck is making a problem. I dunno care now if i throw the drive into the Ohio River and watch it sink, because at least i pulled off all the most important programs and lodged them safely to an alternate partition before trying to wipe with that lousy floppy. Lesson learned, temper burned.

 

Easter,
Do you use "export" to create archived snapshots or do you use "copy/update" to create archived snapshots ?

If you don't work with DVD/CD, you don't use "export", you use "copy/update" from snapshot to (new) archive.

 

I did just as i mentioned, blindly maybe and on a whim it would work too, but i see the point that archives are snapshots in compressed form, readily available for use and easily if not quickly updated.

This program is the bomb. A real trooper when things look their worse.

I never use plastic anymore, too fragile and corruptable. Only METAL!

 

That doesn't answer my question, I repeat : "Do you use export or copy/update to create archived snapshots ?"

 

NO, i use Copy/Update to create .arx. I see the export feature as a way to transfer the whole snapshot as it already resides in the $ISR folder and a means to and end, which is moving it out of reach from any possible tampering should anything make it's way to it.

 

OK. But it is confusing to use the word "export", because that word is also used in FDISR. You better use "archive" (= copy/update), otherwise everybody will think you are using the feature "Export Snapshot" to archive snapshots.

"Export Snapshot" also produces an .ARX-file, just like copy/update.

Although I never tested this, it could be possible that there is a difference between "Export Snapshot" and "Copy/Update". The result is the same, but is everything after that the same ? I have doubts about that.
"Copy/Update" updates an existing archive also and that works very fast. Does that happen with "Export Snapshot" also ? I'm not sure about that.

 

To be honest i dunno yet, maybe Peter2150 could enlighten us to that since he turns this every which way but up and reports astounding results in most his experiments.

I know one thing, FD-ISR pulled my tail out of a sling tonight. I don't know how i get tangled up in some of these messes when all i want to do is CLONE/IMAGE to another drive than wipe that drive. Guess my choice of programs are not always up to snuff, at least this one wasn't, thats for sure.

I ran into something almost as similar by innocently trusting a "free" Avira download once not long ago that claimed to make it possible for you to read NTFS file system from DOS. The screen looked really pro-like but the function fudged my hard drive and render it unbootable. Another glowing floppy experience, i'm staying away from them too for now on.

 

I don't think Peter ever tested this. Import/Export are only interesting if you archive snapshots on DVD/CD.
I didn't test it, because I hate DVD/CD for data storage, just like you and I would be surprised if Peter would entrust his business to a DVD or CD.
But it would be interesting to know how "Export Snapshot" really works in comparision with "Copy/Update" (Archive).

 

Just going slightly off topic

For data storage - I am happy to say that CD and DVD have had their day. I use a series of externals - which are so cheap now that I was able to pick up a 500 gig e-sata last week for even more back up.

BUT

I still have data for my business on CD from 1996 ( recorded with an HP 1x machine) and DVDs from 2002 on and almost without exception data can be restored. with good media ( taiyo yuden) and a BenQ I would argue that properly stored DVDs will last for decades ----- and they fit very nicely into a fire proof safe.... so when the bad guys have taken my externals the DVDs will still be there.

 

OK. I can live with that. Approved by Belgium.

PS. :I also have Benq DW1640 DVD/CD-writer, but without taiyo yuden.
I will first learn how to pronounce it and then try to get them in Antwerp.

 

Erik,
These links may be useful:
Taiyo Yuden media
How To Choose CD/DVD Archival Media

 

Thanks for the links. I will read them first and then translate them word by word in Dutch.