Drive Snap: Drive Snapshot Frontend

Sooner rather than later though would be appreciated, as I'n now turning blue.

 

Thanks Panagiotis, Easter. I will be able to PM you each later with more details.

As i don't have a certain definite date yet for the new one, it only right that i put out a previous version in the meantime as it was meant to be, and experience it if not. This version happens to have overwrite warning for previous images. Thanks.

Welcome back. Restoring differentials from BartPe is different because it 32 bit. You only need to select the differential to restore the full as well within BartPe or Windows(non system differential). I was referring to system restore which will be from DOS which you need to restore the full then the differential which Drive Snap does both auto. Thanks.

Cheers. I don't know about a flood as we Drive Snapshot users are on the small side. I don't see many new users, it mainly the select few of discerning users on this site. A good compliment would be 'it made it so easy i forgot how to use DOS' lol

Edit. Although, the now more powerful restore options of Drive Snap makes it a very complete strong recovery solution! and is a good reason to switch .

Thank you all for your patience while there wasnt any update. I will sort it out soon as i can.

No, As there been no previous update due to circumstance until recently and i don't know exact date of release of the new one. I make it possible in the meantime for the previous version of Drive Snap to be available which will be this week and it also possible to get the registered version of it. This previous version is now a later release than released before and has several fixes and overwrite warning. I am not making it possible to register the software in Drive Snap. The registered version will be a seperate version which will come without protection which is better. I never said anything about DS(Drive Snapshot). Also i am providing the restore only in the registered version.

 

As i was saying before. The recovery solution tracks down the location of the images on anyone of the drives. Despite the drive letters of Windows and DOS being mixed up different it still finds the images to restore immediately.

This meant the Drive Snap location had to be burnt on the recovery solution along with extra details. You could move the images, but decide to move Drive Snap the rare time and it would fail. Are you probably likely to move the Drive Snap folder? Probably not! and would be ideal anyway and was going to be 'the method' and still can be used as a second choice. Despite spending long time perfecting this method to the nth degree i have come semi-circle to a superior variation, so the Drive Snap folder itself can be moved anywhere as well as the images.

It now means the Drive Snap location doesn't have to be stored on the recovery solution . This brings several benefits. The smarter ISO can come ready made and it can be packaged separately beforehand. No code, tools or time are needed to create the ISO and doesnt have to be created by you but just burnt. This will also cut down the size of Drive Snap. It now maybe possible to drop it down from the original 900K down to 300K which is near to the size of Drive Snapshot 250-300K. It doesnt need installing and ideal to be moved around like Drive Snapshot.

What is also unique apart from the automatic recovery of Drive Snap, is that it can control the destiny of how the automatic recovery works each time from within Drive Snap.

If the automatic recovery isn't enough the recovery can pop up a quick menu that knows the location of all the images and with a few key clicks restore another image in it's place. A rare occasion you suddenly want to restore a different image to the one set in Drive Snap. Why would you, if you set the image you wanted to restore in the first place? Well you never know. You could call it a semi-automactic solution. It there for whatif or unforseen.

Also just in case, as a secondary measure for the rare occasion you need to change the type of restore, you can at the last second, just before the restore starts. If the type of restore is set for standard image restore and the operating drive has gone down and you want to decide to restore the MBR or image partition eg. a new drive. You can't get back into the broken Windows to change Drive Snap to change the type of restore, but holding down a certain key from the restore lets you change the type of restore so you can. Similar to recovery solutions where the options to recover are on the restore. It still auto restores after this choice. Although for a broken windows, a standard restore 99% of the time be usually fine anyway. It for other possibles also.

It be possible to set in Drive Snap for the restore to verify the image before it restores which can be a popular vital option. The downside is it can double the restore time as it does any backup restore. The extra time sometimes can be no big deal as the automation imediately lets you get on with something else and come back when it's done.

It be possible to set in Drive Snap to restore only the MBR from the image. Useful for boot managers, damaged MBR, virus or other technical reason. It can be useful for restoring a boot manager on a new drive or drive without a MBR but the restore partition structure option is better as it restores the MBR as well.

 

Thank You for your continued interest in Drive Snap.

A trial version of Drive Snap 0.99 will be available this week.

It will be possible to download the registered version of Drive Snap v.99 by secure login and future updates. I willl be able take secure payment shortly.

The new version of Drive Snap will be v1.0. No official date yet.

 

Ok, i'll see how it works when the new version is out.
Could you please pm me when you have the paypal info ?
Lin

 

Pls do.

Alerts us the very day you become comfortable on releasing this power users extra for DS.

EASTER

 

As i recently mentioned i have managed to find source from an update i was working on shortly before August which is now in this 0.99 version.

This version is a slight step on from the last version that expired in August. It has overwrite warning and several fixes but the exact details are scattered. It will be a farcry from the version 1.0 which i have been working quietly away on, which all being well will be out before Christmas.

The last available Drive Snap expired August 2008 and it was BETA and was evolving. Wanting to make the next available version much better. I had bitten off alot more than i can chew, thrown in alot features at once, and had modified alot of the code.

Regrettably i couldnt complete the update or put out the original again before the available expired. I had put expire code in the first place as i had planned to put out little BETA updates and so the newest BETA is used. Due to Drive Snap being a early creation i had to go back and change and improve the formula so to speak, improving existing features, and so the BETA's didn't happen. I was guilty of trying to cram more features into one version than instead spreading them over several updates. This created a massive workload, which is the reason i removed the error checking feature. Now that Drive Snap is more evolved this won't happen again. Lesson learnt. See last paragraph.

Why have i made it a trial?

This project interest started off originally as a idea that i was very happy to share with you for free. Once started i had to see it through. For quite awhile initially, i didn't quite know which direction i was going as the BETA was a collection of ideas and experimentation.

To improve and grow it further towards a progressive straighter path from the past to the present to the future, with new features and also be reliable for backup and restore purposes, it has had needed much deeper professional involvement. I have made recent sane decision due to the past several months work and ongrowing nature of the project, that it can be no longer be free.

I am sorry if you was hoping to get it ultimately for free, even though it's original frontend aim was. However, i have kept the price down and priced it at the soft introductory price of £8 or $14 which i sure you agree is excellent and will pay for itself.

Certain features are removed such as the restore and schedule. In all honesty i don't want you to get comfortable with this version when i have concentrated on the new version. I would like to promote the new version and give the full benefits, to the registered users, and this will give me even further incentive to improve it. I am putting this version out now that i can, and so there is a version to use, plus can't say when v1.0 will be out exactly. If you experience any bugs please report them still, even though they may of already been fixed on the next version.

Registered version

If you like the registered version of this 0.99 version or like to start contributing, it be the same price and entitle you to the restore, automatic restore, and schedule features, the new version, BETA's and full versions, updates after, technical support. Basically for now you be getting a full registered version of 0.99 and the new full version when available and some decent help. This trial version file size is much higher and cannot be registered. The registered is a seperate smaller version. Don't like the colour? then you can have a custom one.

Once i get the site up and running and following on from version 1.0. I will create a members area and put out the latest workable BETA. This means you can use new features and not have a big wait gap before the next full version becomes available. You be able to download existing and current releases anytime and this process will work smoothly.

Update details v1.0

If another image backup location folder is specified and there isn't a different hash location, it is rightfully assumed any hash files are in same location as the images and moved to the new location also.

 

thanks

 

Ditto. Thanks for this. I should also mention that Prevx Edge sees this .exe as infected.

 

are the heuristics in Edge set very high? it either that or the compressor in the trial part. i will change it as i finding out it dont work on Vista and Drive Snap works in Vista.

 

AntiVir/Win32-Console Version 7.6.0.59, (Jan 29 2008, 18:11:09)
Copyright(c) 2007 Avira GmbH

AVPack-Version: 7.6.1.9
VDF version: 7.1.0.116 - FUP(0), created 11/20/2008

X:\DRIVE SNAP.RAR
Date: 20.11.2008 Time: 14:11:38 Size: 1034703
ALERT: [PCK/ExeCryptor] X:\DRIVE SNAP.RAR --> Drive Snap.exe <<< File has been compressed with an unusual runtime compression tool (PCK/ExeCryptor). Please verify the origin of the file

--------------------

Why the exe encryption at all

 

jotti.org shows it as infected as well....from 4 or 5 different scanners.

 

It was only to be used in the trial version and for protecting and also has license managment. ExeCryptor is professional software used by software developers. Certain exe compressors get flagged bad when they are totally harmless because they can also be used for malicious purposes. Sensitive av now pickup the latest versions it seems. What i will do is remove it. I hope that clears that up. Apologies for the false alarm.

What i will do as a gesture is release this version for free so it can be used as nature intended and won't be bloaty.

Sorry marketing isnt my strong point as you guessed.

 

Alright, where did it go? It was here just long enough to tease us.

 

Apologies didn't mean to be this long away but couldn't be helped.

Round 1 It wasn't a good start but a good test for your anti-virus. That will be the first and last mistake.

Round 2 is 200% better. I am providing a much better trial near to the size of the original with no wrapper protection this time just internal code. It will act just like the full version and the code is removed for non registered features.

I have a better revised strategy now that it passed the BETA stages.

The 0.99 trial that was going to be, has been updated slightly and tested and is now going to be called v1.0 as it good enough. It is just 312K.

Drive Snap Trial v1.0 Rar

Drive Snap Trail v1.0 Installer

Why am i doing that?

It for several reasons. The latest simply needs more time on it. As i have been developing it further onwards, I haven't released a proper non BETA release until now and so i can put one out the door with some order to the versions. I am now armed with updates and can keep a step ahead and roll out releases and that will give me breathing space for development work a few releases on and make for better progress which means you can use a earlier release and get updates i finished and i can work on another, that way i always be ahead to bug test as well, lets hope the cat and mouse don't meet haha. I can spread the updates and a earlier release could suit just fine. Also it might be preferable to use a certain version and that will give you more of a choice. It will prevent delay between updates.

Of course it understandable if a certain feature(s) i posted before are not in this one which will follow on and in the meantime you not denied and can test if Drive Snap suits your needs with a 5 month trial or use the freeware. As you can see in the help the main improvements have been on the Automatic System Recovery which is not provided with the trial for obvious reasons. I can provide videos of the Automatic System Recovery working for different configurations and the help file should explain it further.

The help file has been updated quite abit and is included with Drive Snap.

Thanks for your interest.

Because i was gladly sharing and a 1 man band BETA stageshow during that time.

Now this should help. Despite saying there will be no freeware version i have revised the situation and so honor some of the aim of it being free. There is no overwrite warning or differential in it, but there is in the trial.

I post Freeware next time.

I took it down soon after it appeared. if you haven't bitten your hand off by now. Here is some painkillers

 

how can i buy it?

 

Hello guest. It is not possible yet, due to details that still need to be finalised. I will let you know when it is possible. Thank you for the interest.

 

Hi all,
Been reading all this and I don't know if it's ready for use or not.
Running Vista and from what I can tell there are problems with it with Vista.

How do we continue following this thread when it goes off the end of "software & services"? The other thread in "software & services" about DS doesn't mention the "Drive Snapshot Frontend".

Maybe Markymoo needs a site where we can go to keep tabs on this project.
I certainly want to keep tabs on this project.
Haven't tried it yet and am kind of waiting for the finished project.
Also don't like hearing about all the problems with a recovery CD.
A recovery CD should be very simple thing to make.
Thanks Markymoo for your efforts.

 

It's ready and it's a work in progress to make it better. I am spreading updates. I laid out a roadmap but not as far as the eye could see. The first phase Automatic System Recovery in v1.0 could really be more than enough for all your needs, thats why i not delay a proper release anymore. It not necessary to wait for a future version if you want Automatic System Recovery from CD thats why you can get it now or rather in awhile when i sort out other details.

Problems with Vista? You did say in the same breath you not used it so which is it? If there's any bugs with Vista let me know thanks. DS uses VSS as default in Vista taking an image. I have built HTPC using Vista recently and i was taking backup of it just today using DS+Drive Snap and it worked fine but the bug testing hasn't been as much on Vista i will admit.

You've been reading all this? then you missed when i said there will be a website and support coming for it, and sooner rather than later that why sorting that out now. If the mods archive this thread then you can visit the website.

 

I have been up on "artco" and have registered.
When I try one of the links from this thread to download Drive Snap frontend it
asks for a username & password. I enter them and the site rejects
them.
If the Frontend is a privileged program at this time just tell me.
Thanks,

 

I am getting "Invalid Username and Password" when trying to do a backup.

 

Personally for one i like the upcoming feature of useage of a DVD, but that aside for now, i have to compliment again on DriveSnap's scheduler. I been content for a long time to either do occasional differentials or i just overwrite/image an existing image right smack dab over the one taken before. Of course all that takes manually jockeying things around too. So DriveSnap is a welcome addition indeed.

EASTER

 

Most of my PCs have a C partition and a hidden "system restore" partition without a drive letter assigned. Drive Snap doesn't give me the opportunity to backup the partition that doesn't have a letter assigned??

Also, I have a lot of DS image files created prior to Drive Snap, but I'm having a hard time getting Drive Snap to see them. Does Drive Snap only restore images that it created? Certainly I've missed something??

Since I'm using the "trial" version I can't see any scheduling features. Will Drive Snap provide email notifications?

 

Mark,

do we have any news about when we can purchase it?

ps. I hope that you will provide us the restore from the boot menu even as a beta.

Panagiotis

 

You can backup your hidden (system restore) partition (along with everything else on your C-drive/partition) by selecting Drive Snapshot's Maintenance Mode (with or without Drive Snap).