Old DOS programs and Workstation 9.1

Can I hot image an XP pro system while it's running an old DOS program?

The key is to make good backups OF the stupid Old DOS program. (It's an auto shop database called Garagekeeper from the early Pleistocene era)

Has anyone done this? Is anyone afraid?

 

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Hi Bemis,

If you backup while your old DOS program is running, you run the risk of NOT backing up changes to the system that you are making while you are running your program - and if you attempt to restore from that backup, there is a distinct possibility that your old DOS program may not work properly - all depends on the files being created, databases altered, etc.

Take the time, shut down ALL programs - then do your backups... it's A LOT safer that way.

 

Hmm. These are contradictory responses. Who is more certain? Who has direct experience?

SatTracker, have you been burned in this situation?

 

Yes, I have been 'burned' doing a backup while DOS... and windows programs are running. The problem is that the backup can exclude the data you are working on, and it does not get written to the drive during the backup. You ~could~ wind up having all your business data corrupted.

It's not necessarily a bad thing to run some programs during a backup - if that program isn't creating data that must have. Go play solitaire - it won't matter when it comes to backup restore, solitaire will run ok. But, in your case, you're dealing with a program that helps run your business... and I sure wouldn't want to bet on it being in good shape after restore, if it was running, and you were updating data in the program during backup.

Best of luck to you...

 

thanks so much. It's pretty tough to get definitive answers on these htings and I appreciate your help. I have one last question that maybe only you would be able to answer:

do you think that if the DOS program is open but not being used (everyone went home but left it open on their computers) and the 'server' did a backup, there would be a problem? Is it data entry during backuip or open DOS programs that threatens to burn?

 

I'm detecting some contradictions here, unless I'm terribly misunderstood.

You mention an old DOS program - while running XP Pro ?

To my knowledge this is not possible....unless you mean you are running something that runs in a CMD window, in XP Pro ?

 

The biggest risk is that TI doesn't capture any activity made while the backup is running because the DOS program does not update the disk in the same manner as Windows apps. Just how likely that is, I don't know but I would certainly be testing before I trusted it.

You can avoid all this nonsense by booting your "server" machine that has the database on it with the TI rescue CD and making an image without Windows running. The HD is totally static in this configuration.