Pulling my hair out!!

Hi Folks,

I'm currently evaluating Norton Save & Restore 2.0 and I've got a couple of problems. I submitted each of these problems to Symantec using their online e-mail facility on 4 Nov and 5 Nov. They claim to reply within 24 hours. I've also sent a couple of follow-ups again using the online e-mail facility. I've checked my junk mail that's been filtered out by anti-spam software. A week has gone by and I haven't had a single reply (apart from auto-replies acknowledging receipt of the original queries). I desperately need a reply as my evaluation period is running out. Do Symantec provide support prior to purchase?

I've also tried Symantec's online chat but that was a waste of time.

Is this typical of Symantec's service or have I drawn the short straw?

Any suggestions?

JPC

 

STOP trialling this stuff if you need some hair left and go for Shadow Protect if you looking for a happier future,i promise you.

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the feedback. I have often thought about trying SP Desktop. So, I just paid a visit to their site with a view to downloading the Full Evaluation when I noticed the statement in red lettering "Please note, this is an Enterprise product. This product is not intended for home computing." Is that because it's too difficult to use for your average non-IT person? I'm reasonably computer savvy but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew. That's why I was looking at Norton Save & Restore.

Any comments?

JPC

 

jaypeecee,
I have a home computer. I'm not very knowledgeable, just the basics.
I'm using ShadowProtect Desktop all the time, simple, fast and very reliable. Peanuts man.
Forget about entreprise, words are just words, don't let words get control over you, they are just a bunch of letters.

 

Thanks Guys,

Your words of encouragement are appreciated. In the SPD Edition User Manual Introduction, it says "ShadowProtect Desktop Edition is a backup and recovery solution for Windows® 2000 Server and Server 2003 computers." It then goes on to say elsewhere in the manual:

Supported Operating Systems
o Windows® Vista Home Basic/Home Premium/Business/Ultimate
o Windows® XP Home/Professional
o Windows® 2000 Professional

I'm running Win XP Pro SP2 but I was confused by the references to Windows Server. Perhaps it's a cut-and-paste error?

JPC

 

I'm also running WinXPproSP2 with an arrear of 80-90 patches.
Manuals contain also errors, sometimes out-of-date. Not everything that is printed is right.
Computer people are not Gods, they make mistakes like you and me.

 

No longer pulling my hair out!

Hi Guys,

Well, I gave up on Symantec and Norton Save & Restore. Not a single reply. Hopeless. So, I've now installed SPD Trial (not full evaluation) version. I've run my first manual backup and verified it - all seems OK. I have a couple of questions:

[1] Is it possible to include the image verification in a scheduled backup or does the verification have to be done manually after each backup?
[2] I would have expected to see an icon in the system tray to let me know that the SPD timer is ticking away in the background to ensure that scheduled backups take place. My first scheduled backup is due to happen in just over two hours but there's no indication that it will happen.

I have opted for a full backup on the last day of each month with daily incremental backups.

JPC

 

Shadow Protect & BSODs

Hi Guys,

I waited in great anticipation for 4:00 pm to arrive - the time I had set for the SPD scheduled backup. On the dot of 4 o'clock, the backup didn't start and all I got was the dreaded BSOD. Something about a DPC routine. I tried to restart my machine and got the BSOD another two times. Panic! Finally, started my machine in safe mode and did a system restore, thereby removing Shadow Protect. After that, computer back to normal at which point I breathed a big sigh of relief. Daren't go anywhere near Shadow Protect again.

So, now I've installed DriveClone 3.5 Pro. As and when I have anything to report about it, I'll start a new thread.

JPC

 

@jaypeecee

Tell us a bit more: what other tools you running ??
Real time apps in the background?

You want imaging (sorry guys ) look here http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/index.html
new versions of these tools on the starting blocks as we speak
There are these threads running here:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=182677
and
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=187031
which are rivers of information

And an older thread ( most tools changed since then) but a textbook in itself
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=139716

HAve fun

 

Hi Longboard,

Thanks for the links.

Regarding real-time apps, I have:

Network Magic v4.5.7281.1-Pure0
Secunia PSI Beta v0.1.0.1
Kaspersky Internet Security v7.0.0.125
MBM 5.3.7.0
DiskCheckup v2.1 build 1000
BOINC Manager v5.8.15
Yahoo Widget Engine v4.0.5 build 184
FreeRAM Optimizer

I know it's a pretty long list but each has its purpose and there's no conflict between them.

JPC

 

Re: Shadow Protect & BSODs

There's a well known blue screen that will occur if snapman.sys (from True Image) is installed at the same time as ShadowProtect. This is a bug in True Image's driver. Unfortunately, it's often the case that when you uninstall True Image it won't uninstall snapman.sys. Search the forums and you will find instructions for removal of snapman.sys.

 

Re: Shadow Protect & BSODs

I fully agree with this, because I experienced this myself as an ex-TrueImage-user.
After removing True Image completely, I never had any BSOD anymore, while I was using SPD under Windows.

 

Hi Guys,

Thanks for drawing my attention to snapman.sys. Sure enough, it's still on my machine despite the fact that I uninstalled ATI10 Home using 'Your Uninstaller', which is supposed to remove every trace of an application. A few minutes ago, I disabled snapman.sys using SysInternals' AutoRuns. Not a good idea - when I came to reboot my machine, it rebooted a second time. So, I selected 'Last Known Good Configuration' and it seems OK now. I re-opened AutoRuns and, not surprisingly, snapman.sys has been re-enabled. I had (mistakenly!) thought that, as ATI10 is no longer on my PC, snapman.sys would be redundant and could therefore be disabled. Why does my PC still need it? If I can't disable it without causing problems, is it safe to delete/remove the dreaded snapman?

JPC

 

Your best bet is to search the forums for removal instructions,once i had leftover driver from Perfect Disk,simply renaming or disable gave me in a instance BSOD,following their removal instructions cleared the problem.They act like a stubborn virus.You can ask yourself why are some app. coded that way.IMHO herein shows the Vendor some bad intentions,Norton and Raxco come to mind and i guess there are many more.

 

See:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1088925&postcount=16