Question about ShadowProtect

No doubt this is a dumb question but I have no idea how to create the recovery boot disk (StorageCraft Recovery Environment). The on-line help refers to the ShadowProtect CD but since I downloaded the program there isn't one. I did download a number of files from the website, they are,

ShadowProtect_Desktop_3_5_install.zip

ShadowProtect_3.5.zip

ShadowProtect download manager_3.5dl.exe

I have done the install and activation as well as 2 backups of the entire system (2 drives) and have found the program generally fairly easy to grasp but there seems to be no mention of how to create the Recovery Environment CD,,,which I find very odd.

Any guidance will be much appreciated.

 

I have never used Shadowprotect, too pricey unfortunately for me.

But i believe you have to request a full evaluation for the recovery cd.
I think

 

You need to download the larger iso file if you need to get the recovery environment.

See here http://forum.storagecraft.com/Community/faq/

Under "Sales & Ordering" see "If I purchase StorageCraft software, do I download it, or will you send me official product CDs in the mail?"

 

I am lost here, I have downloaded the attached (these are the unzipped files) I can see that 2 of the files are ISO but I don't have any idea what to do with them (thats why I said it was probably a stupid question). How do you burn an ISO file and which one do I want to burn? Seems to me there should be some documentation for folks like me who have never dealt with ISO files before.

 

You'll need to burn the ISO Image to a CD. This will create a Recovery Disk as well as an installation disk for the software if needed in the future. I use a freeware tool from www.imgburn.com to burn the CD with the ISO Image. Sounds harder then it is. Down load the CD Burner Software. Launch it, insert a blank CD, Select Create Image File From Folders / Files, navigate to the ISO file (Ext - .iso) and select it and continue. Good Luck!

 

You only have one iso file. The other is an md5 file containing hashtotal of the iso file.

Burn the iso file to cd. If you boot from it, it is your recovery disk. You can also use it to install/reinstall the program if necessary.

It's a fabulous program!

 

I agree Storagecraft hasn't really developed a good marketing strategy for the home user (they are really into corporate environments). The recovery CD is an absolute must as it is the only way to perform a full restoration. From within Windows it is only possible to mount images and restore files and folders.

 

Thank you for this, I feel better already.

I also agree (well I am pretty sure I will) that the program is fabulous. It certainly is so far. I have used other imaging programs and I find SP to be very user friendly. I spent no time at all with any help docs before doing my first backups and it was a breeze. Also the full backups were quite fast. I have mounted an archive and it also done quickly. Due to one of the links above I found the full users manual,,,,should be linked-to with the download program links IMO (if it was I did not see it). The above is why I was surprised to find little to no guidance on creating the rescue media. I guess with the quality of the program and its price most users would be on the tech savvy side so it was/is felt to be unnecessary (mind you this may be covered in the full users guide, I have not had a chance to look at it yet).

 

Thanks for letting me know this, I did get a sense from the limited reading that I did in the Help files that this was needed if you wanted to do a bare bones restore but to simply roll back to an earlier state the recovery media was not essential.

I will be reading through the full users manual over the next day or so and will no doubt have questions. Its really good to know that I have easy access to help/clarification when I need it on this forum.

A great forum,,,,,,and a forum is only as good as the folks on it. Thanks to all.

 

First of all I want to again thank you folks for your help in this matter. I have burned the media and did a reboot and all seems to be as it should. I did however notice that during boot there was an option to select a Vista based option (which appears to be the one I would want as it has the most support - at least according to the info on the screen) but I am running XP. Probably this makes no diff but I would prefer knowing for sure rather than simply assuming this would/should be my choice.

Also another quick question. I have not actually done a restore using the media. Is this something I should do or is the fact that the recovery media opened an indication that all is well (I did verify the images when they were created). Also, is the recovery process straight forward or will I have to actually "know what I am doing" in order to get the job done. I have found SP very user friendly and the wizards are top notch,,,,is this the case with the recovery media as well (again better to know in advance rather than just making assumptions).

 

I have two standard-configured windows xp computers and, yes, I use the vista boot option. I was confused on that point also, but spoke with someone at StorageCraft. (If you call, they'll actually talk to you and help you!) The other options are for special situations. (I can't be more specific because I am not at my computer and can't bring up the boot screen.).

 

Thanks, much appreciated,,,,and its really good to know that StorageCraft does in fact provide support.

 

I'm paying for it - $16 per year, which I don't mind doing for 2 reasons:

- I can talk to someone who can help me from time to time

- Free upgrades on major releases

You get what you pay for. Unlike many others on this forum, I lack the technical expertise to go it alone.

 

Understood, thanks

 

Perhaps it would be a good idea if someone experienced would explain the whole process of backing up and restoring the system partition with ShadowProtect here. It would be useful to SP noobs like me.

 

Well, I am a noob too but here is my take on it.

Since I have 2 drives, I can image each separately and restore each separately. This way if the OS gets messed up I can simply restore it rather than the entire PC. The images for the data drive are for the possibility that I need (want) to go back to an earlier date to retrieve a particular file or folder or in case there is a hard drive melt down.

Since the OS portion of the PC changes much less frequently than the data portion it is not nec to image this portion as often. Thus saving time and back-up disk space.

The process for each/both is essentially the same as with any imaging program, its just that there are 2 drives and 2 distinct images.

Of course if you have a 2 (or more) drive set-up you could do the same thing as described with most any imaging program.

 

In my experience FDISR works 90 pct of the time or so. Acronis works occassionally, Paragon works most of the time & Shadow Protect ALWAYS works, A backup with Shadow Protect has always wprked 100 pct for me. Thats why I use it.

 

Thats what I have heard and is one of the reasons I bought SP,,,,mind you I have used ATI for many years and never had a problem. I was rather shocked to join Wilders and see how many folks on the TI forum were having ongoing problems as well as the comments reflecting the same thing on this board. Quite frankly it made me nervous......so now I back up using SP, TI (since I have a copy) and Paragon. BTW I am not at all impressed with Paragon. The interface is confusing and it seems to be slow. Also, the first time I backed up with it it worked normally (or at least what was normal for me with TI) then the next time it wanted to do a reboot so it could do its thing. And it seemed to take forever to do the job. I lost confidence in the program and may not bother with it again. Fortunately I paid very little for it as it was one of the mega sale deals (I think I paid about $10 for it so not a biggie).

 

bgoodman4,

I guess you have seen the SP forum. It is interesting with problems and successes.

http://forum.storagecraft.com/Community/forums/8.aspx

 

Actually I have not looked at it before, thanks for the link.

 

StorageCraft doesn't provide email support any more.

I sent an email asking foe help and this is what i got:

"In order to better service our customers, we would like to redirect your support inquiries to our online web submission form. Please understand that the reposit of emails will most likely be checked throughout the day but receive a low priority. We are no long providing support through support@storagecraft.com. Please visit http://forum.storagecraft.com/Community/web2case/ to create a new support case. If you have a continuing support case that has been working through support@storagecraft.com, we will continue to support this issue through this email address. This message applies to "new" support cases only.

Regards,

StorageCraft Support"

When I go to the forum I get this:

http://support.storagecraft.eu/error.aspx

Disappointing.