I maintain a second HDD (drive 1) which is a clone of C: (disk 0). I use Casper XP to perform the cloning. After cloning I get the following warnings about files that were in use and could not be copied, despite having closed PG down prior. C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\procguard.sys C:\WINDOWS\system32\pghash.dat C:\WINDOWS\system32\pguard.dat If I then switch boot drives in BIOS, XP and all applications and utilities start up OK on drive 1 - all except for PG. PG comes up with all tick boxes greyed and a message that the driver is not installed. Is there anyway to get over this short of uninstalling then reinstalling? If I have to do this which files should I put back in order to preserve my settings? Alex
You cannoy copy the ProcessGuard files that you listed when PG is running as they are protected. You need to disable PG protection before performing your clone. HTH Pilli
I clone my Hard Disk in Windows XP Pro all of the time while Process Guard is running with fully enabled protection with no problems. The only difference is that I use this program instead and it clones approximately 1GB per min. They have a fully functional 30 day demo http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/ I do however have to set it to allow the drivers installation in the Process Guard settings.
This maybe because different cloning / image tools use different methods. Those that do their image from within Windows GUI could be more problematic than those that close windows and work before windows starts. I guess giving the program the correct allows could be the answer in some situations but probably not all. Pilli
I'd second the recommendation for Drive Snapshot - it only needs to load a driver (SNAPSHOD) to do its work and can run in the background within Windows. However to get back to the original post, you will need to disable protection in PG to access those files, not just close its window (see these upgrade instructions for details).
I tried Drive Snapshot and was very impressed, but I finally chose "Image for Windows" (IFW) from Terabyte Unlimited. My decision was partly based on price ($27 US) and partly because I wanted their companion product, BootitNG ($50 for both products). After installing IFW and a free driver utility they call "PhyLock", I can image my boot partition even with ProcessGuard fully enabled. They say you can keep using the computer while it creates the image, but I generally leave it at idle. When I restore the image and boot it, PG is fully enabled at login with all my settings and programs configured correctly. Don't ask me how this works, but it's great. Since you mentioned "cloning C:", that is the main reason I wanted BootitNG. If you're just cloning for backup purposes, then this doesn't apply. If, however, you want to have multiple boot partitions that derive from a common image, then BootitNG is a wonder. You can have more than four primary partitions and it swaps them around in inside the MBR so that each boot configuration sees the drives you want it to see in the order you want it to see them. For me that means each primary partition boots as a C: drive (which can be tricky to achieve otherwise). It also does the same kind of jobs for which you'd use a program like Partiton Magic.. IFW is a pretty simple and straightforward program. I would choose it again based solely on its own merits. Be warned, though, BootitNG seems to be aimed at folks who are comfortable with a pretty high geek factor. Also IFD (Image for DOS) that comes free with IFW is rather geek-inspired as well.
Hi Earth1, I have one question for you. When you use this IFW, do you leave all your programs running and enabled or just PG? You are happy with this software? Sorry I strayed off topic a bit, but I had to ask. Thank you,
Hi Rilla927, Yes, I leave all my security programs (except ShadowUser v2.5) enabled when I back up my C: drive. I've had numerous occasions to restore/clone from a backup image and have had no problem doing so. YMMV, but I am very happy and comfortable with IFW. One major caveat, though: my backup images are not bootable. In order to restore them, I need to boot Windows and start IFW from a partition other than the one I want to restore. For me, that usually just means telling BootitNG that I want to boot with a different C: drive. It may be possible to create bootable media with IFW (I'm not sure) or you can use IFD (yuck ) For me, it's simpler to handle an emergency restore by first, booting a BartPE CD (http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/), then, installing IFW onto the BartPE RAM drive and restoring my image from there. I'd advise testing this before relying on it. You can try IFW for free by downloading the trial version (identical to the licensed software) from http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/imagew.html. To back up your C: drive (or any drive that's in use), you will also need to download and install their free PHYLock utility as well. You should probably look carefully at the IFW docs first. IFW is a bit out of the mainstream, but not quite as geeked-out as their other products (IFD & BootitNG). Good luck if you try. BTW, my inbox gets opened infrequently these days, so if I don't respond right away, it's not because I'm ignoring you. Regards, Earth1
Yes, as earth1 says, image for windows is a great program, try it, I like it very much and works very well as image for dos. I like both of them to make an image.
If you try installing Windows Shared Computer Toolkit and don't have enough unallocated space, MIcrosoft will direct you to Terabyte's home page where you are able to download the required software to repartition your drive of choice that already has Windows installed. You are guided how to make a bootable CD, which you resize the partition with. This is a very powerful CD which allows to to image your drives also. Once you know you need like 1.2 gig unallocated space for the shared toolkit, The next time you reformat your drive for a Windows install, you will do the sizing right off the WIndows install CD. I could be wrong but doesn't any Imaging software that uses A CD to load something like IBM DOS not have to worry about PG's files? It should copy everything. controler
You should try Acronis TrueImage software. I used the Enterprised Server, and it's worth the 1,025 dollars I brought for my company and save my company many times, also it don't have problem doing a whole HDD image with ProcessGuard running.
Thanks for all your in put guy's, it helps to get comments from others. Re: To Earth1 reply; correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't BootIt NG also image with out booting to windows, because BootIt NG is not installed? I will have to take a closer look at restoring the image. I have no choice but to learn, because I'm tired of reinstalling windows and my programs. You can create a bootable CD/DVD with IFW, and you don't need the plugin to do it. If you use BootIt NG to create bootable, you need the BingBurn plugin, two steps. Thanks guy's, all info is appreciated. Rilla927
One question for anyone, How does XP like a cloned drive? I currently have Ghost 10 installed and yes it worked but I had to bother with the activation process, every time I restore or cloan the backup image.
