Drive Snap: Drive Snapshot Frontend

Previous download link is removed because for one it expired and second the next update is a notable improvement with fixes, it be the one to use. It will also be possible to create a system restore USB solution the same as the CD.

Drive Snapshot graphics will be on by default. Normally if you abort/cancel or an error occurs in Drive Snapshot in graphics mode during backup the incomplete image is auto deleted. If using console mode and abort/cancel/error occurred the incomplete image would not be deleted and still get listed in Drive Snap and then you had to delete manually. This is now corrected so incomplete,faulty images won't get listed in Drive Snap at all and removed from the drive.

 

Hi markymoo,

congrats for this tool, although I have not tested it yet (since I discovered this thread only yesterday) it seems really amazing.
I wanted to ask how the boot cd is created? Do you think it will be possible to add the cd files on the hard disk and boot from there (by adding the appropriate information in windows boot loader)? This will make the restore even easier.
For the moment I use a BartPE on hard disk, for all the recovering.
Instructions on booting BartPE from your hard disk

Panagiotis

 

You can restore from the HDD boot loader if the system partition is still intact and/or at least the MBR and boot files were. I have already done a solution that sits in root of the drive and loads the recovery restore or Windows as a seperate program but i could make it work for Drive Snap. There are times when the system is still working, slight fault and you want to restore to a previous time, restoring from the HDD is handy. 2 options, restoring from HDD it could load needed files sat on the HDD or the CD.

I have also done a feature that generates CRC32 and MD5 hashes for all images. You can then check 1 or entire folder of image backups to see if they have gone faulty or still 100% integrity. I know some of you are thinking overkill! but still it is there.

Cheers All

 

W00T!!

Now this is the ticket to excitement. And to think DS was already IMHO a great little imaging app but this will dramatically ramp up it's usefulness and maybe even draw more interest in it then before.

I don't mind that big players in this field hold sway over this field, but when a user can take a small seemingly featureless image solution and have additional choices beyond the norm of DS, in my estimation that's something useful and exciting.

I been using DS as my cross partition imager, because it images and restores stupidly easy without a single problem in no time flat. It proved enough that i mothballed PARAGON which i have depended on for years!

I know IFW/IFDos is tauted also as a very dependable solution and i don't doubt that one minute, but DS is sorely needed something like this to make the best & simplest DOS command-line features more interesting for DS users everywhere.

Especially those like myself who get goddy when dealing with commandline syntax.

EASTER

 

@markymoo

Have you set any tentative date as to your next release?

EASTER

 

Thanks much for all your effort markymoo, will be looking for the new download link. I wonder if its possible to create a batch file using this software, that a computer user could use to run manual backups?

Thanks,
Kircho

 

please give me the username and password for this site
http://artco.adsl24.co.uk/markymoo/Drive Snap.exe

(or )please tell me some other source wherein i can download this customized and updated drive snap software.

i have been trying to use this wonderful app created by markymoo.

plz help me

 

Patience raakii

markymoo is no doubt fine tuning this next release, so expect some excitement when he gets it completed for posting. He's done a marvelous deed for all us DS users and it takes a little time to perfect it up to his own expectations.

EASTER

 

take ur time mate..........................

 

Hi, I don't have a fixed date yet. I can't give you an old Drive Snap or one now as i broke it down and rebuild. The password link belongs to something else now so ignore that. I use this myself day to day so like it to be right.

 

thanks for rebuilding ,waiting eagerly for ur softwware

 

I got a new idea

we can use drive snap shot without a existing windows installation on our hard drive using this boot disk creator

active@ boot disk

It is used to create a bootable usb drive and it takes up 125 mb of space in the usb drive.
It loads a copy and compressed version of windows xp i think. And programs like drive snapshot can used from the usb, and it is very helpful in bare metal restore.

Hoping for ur new software update also...........

 

I got it into my head that it was alot more than 39 Euros to buy and agreed with you at the time but now that i realise it 39 Euros by email then the price seems reasonable.

 

Re: I got a new idea

I used Active@ in the past and rate Active Disk Image as a very good solid backup software and one of the few image software that backs up all sectors. All there products are worth a look.

If you restoring a differential image with Drive Snapshot in DOS you first have to restore the full image then the differential image. Now with Drive Snap iif you choose to restore a differential image, the Automatic Restore Disk will restore the full image with the same filename and straight after restore the differential image .

 

I have a couple questions about Drive Snapshot. I understand this is a thread about the frontend, but I figure this would be the best place to ask because the knowledgeable DSSers are here.

Can I have the restore media and an image file on one disc? As I underatand it the frontend has the option to create the recover media, right? It is a shsme that I cannot test it out for myself, but I'll just have to live with it. Also, as I understand it the price for Drive Snapshot is $66 USD. Is that correct? That seems extremely steep.

 

No, the correct price is 57,47 USD.
Currency Calculator

Panagiotis

 

It can and a image file can fit on a DVD disk if it small enough partition size and compresses good. It could be possible to fit a partition of 10-15Gig onto a DVD. for bigger images you can split the image in DVD size chunks to split it over more.

 

I understand that. My images are roughly 1gb. But what I really wanted to know is if it was possible to have an image, assuming it fits on the media, and the recovery software together on the same disc, as Image for Windows does. If it were then that would be one less disc to (potentially) lose.

 

that why i want drive snap................

 

DS does not require installation in order to run its (very small) executable, snapshot.exe, and therefore it can be run from just about any location. I keep a copy of snapshot.exe on the same drive and in the same folder as the backup images it creates.

I paid about $48 for DS, but now that the dollar is much 'weaker' (compared to the euro), I expect it now costs quite a bit more. It's a great (very reliable) program - worth every penny to me! However, I would venture to guess that it's lack of popularity is due in part to its relatively high cost (compared to some of its competitors) as well as not providing a Windows-based recovery (boot) CD.

Btw, a trial download of DS is definitely available!

 

You just listed everything on my 'con' list against purchasing Drive Snapshot; the cost and the lack of easy-to-build backup software.

 

Well, I wanted to reply as honestly as possible and those 2 factors are the 'negatives' when considering DS. But DS ranks among the most reliable and fastest (backup and restore) of disk-imaging programs!

I are getting OT (in the spirit of suggesting an alternative), but I also happen to own Acronis True Image Home v11, which can be found for $30 (even less on ebay!). While quite a few people report issues with ATI, I have not had any problems using it other than finding it to be appreciably slower in backing up and restoring than DS. ATI is user-friendly and does provide an excellent (and fast-booting) recovery CD.

 

I found the price of DS worth every single penny. I do manual imaging over my existing images and restores are picture perfect with no problems whatsoever. I even penetrate .sna images and add occasionally programs to it i might have missed without having to do an entire image duplication again, and again i repeat, i have still yet to experience ANY type of issues either imaging or restoring with DS, and it's IMHO a very unique program i can always depend on now i see.

EASTER

 

Here's where I think I'm SOL, I haven't been able to successfully create the BartPE disc and I have no floppy drive. So, how do I create hte restore software? If I can't then there would obviously be no point in buying DS.

Any ideas.? Is there a better way?

I think IFW's approach where the dos restore software is automatically burned to CD/DVD when the image is directly burned.

 

Solution has been told above

either use active@ boot disk

or download a free windows live usb version from bartPE (it works on cd too......... search someware plz)some such os have drive snapshot installed already

DS does not require any recovery cd for itself any other windows based recovery cd will work cos it is portable