Drive Snap: Drive Snapshot Frontend

BongoKongo,

I guess you are trying to gain infamy with your first post but reading this thread in its entirety would correct your misunderstanding.

 

BongoKongo.

I understand your frustration. It give that impression if server down and has been down for several hours. Apologies. The server is currently weak and beyond my control except moving to a better server. That aside the program and help has been updated more than ever and the development is stronger in the last several months.

Edit: A new created Drive Snap thread here.

 

Brian K wrote:

Not at all Brian K,, you have taken my comment totally the wrong way.
I just wanted to buy the program, but nothing worked & the thread tends to go around in circles.
I think your comment is a little presumptuous because there was no underlying alternative reasons for my comment.

markymoo wrote:

OK thanks, will downloading the trial version enable me to purchase the full version?

 

There are a very select few here at Wilder that actually know not only what the hell they're talking about regarding any subject but that are able to really help users with virtually any issue. Brian K and markymoo are two such users. So step lightly here because you'll never know when you'll need their help

No, the full version is not available for purchase yet. Soon.

 

Thanks for the information n8chavez.
Is the freeware version time limited and is it fully functional. The reason I ask is because I am in the middle of building a VistaPE rescue disk for my business and I don't want to add the freeware Drive snap-in if it doesn't make the restore process of a Drive Snapshot any easier or if it is time limited.

The reason for my eagerness is that I only have limited spare time to work on this project. After this week there is a high likelihood that I will be too busy to redo the rescue disk again until the end of 09.
It is no big deal really because I can still make it without incorporating DriveSnap but I figured it would make it easier for some of my employees if it was on the disk.
cheers

 

Just so that will are clear, the front-end being discussed here is not in and of itself able to backup anything. It requires Drive Snapshot, which is not freeeware. The is however a free version of the front-end which is, I believe, free forever. There is another version tht is not free that offers scheduling and automatic restore disc creation.

That being said I have made many backup discs of my drive(s) using a bootable PE, like you are attempting to do. This can be done without the frontend, as DS itself is one one 250k file that needs to be placed somewher (logical) on you bootable recovery disc.

Everything works quite well. However, and correct me if I'm wrong on this, it is not possible to restore the MBR without using DOS unless you use the frontend.

 

Actually, DS doesn't even have to be on your Windows bootable recovery disk. You can place snapshot.exe just about anywhere you can access it and run it. I keep a copy on my external USB drive where I store my backups.

You can also restore the MBR after booting up with any Windows bootable disk. Just run DS, right-click on the C-drive and you will see the option to do that.

JA

 

As far as I know this is correct. I do not think it can be done any other way because it loads before the OS.
Also I do have a paid for version of the latest DriveSnapshot.

So what your saying is that by just incorporating the DriveSnapshot program on the VistaPE rescue disk (which I already have done) is all I need to be able to restore from a DOS environment.
I apologize because I have read the description of DriveSnap incorrectly. For some reason I thought that it would simplify the DriveSnapshot restore process if it was on the rescue disk.

So Drive Snap is designed to be used from within a windows environment in which case I do not need it at all.( I guess I should have realized this fact when it was described as a Front-end).

 

You need to uuser either DOS or a PE disc.

Drive Snap, just like Drive Snapshot can create images within Windows. However, to restore partitions, especially active ones, you need to use either DOS or a bootable PE disc. Active partitions cannot be restores without doing the above

 

I keep trying to download this gui and I am not able to. I am registered. Everytime I try to download I am prompted for userid and password. I enter the id and password but does not accept it. How get this GUI frontend downloaded?

MG

 

Let me clarify to be clear. It is more than just a frontend now.

Drive Snap provides a complete automatic recovery solution to restore a system image which is an image backed up of C drive usually common structure NTFS or FAT32 either of Windows XP,Vista etc. Drive Snapshot is the engine. Drive Snap runs Drive Snapshot.

Typical scenario.

Take a backup of C to another drive with Drive Snapshot using Drive Snap.
Create a recovery CD with Drive Snap.
Windows breaksdown, crashes.
Insert the Drive Snap recovery CD and once it boots it restores C

The difference to BartPe is it's totally automatic restoration of a Drive Snapshot image and it is it's own self contained recovery without needing any BartPe. It is a restore from DOS which is slower than BartPe but is fine as long as the system partition isnt huge with data and an advantage it restoring in seconds whereas BartPe you waiting for it to bootup and have to select the image all manually and be sure you set the right options. Drive Snapshot is a very reliable image backup software. Drive Snap automates most of the commands of Drive Snapshot which saves alot of time.

That is just 1 advantage. To do all the things you can do with Drive Snap would be tricky and time consuming using Drive Snapshot especially if you want to change the configuration.

It is not required to signup to download Drive Snap at all. The links i posted in this thread all download except the times the server was down due to maintenance. If you still have problems it can be sent by email. It is only necessary to signup for technical support.

 

Updated FREE version again. Drive and partition numbers are now available and a number of fixes for the MBR and volume commands. The download has been updated.

Drive Snap drive numbers now conform's to DS's but still compatible drive,partition match with MBRWiz and with Volumes window. eg. 0:0 is now 1:1. The reason for change is selecting eg. 2:0 would show in DS's interface as 3:1 so that is confusing enough even though it the same drive and would give panic thinking you selected the wrong partition. Everything is compatible with each other like before and drives display correctly throughout. It naturally easier to read from 1 anyways. Due to being able to use drive numbers it is possible to backup removable disks such as USB sticks.

Due to recently working with volumes i finally fixed this bug! Selecting Cancel in MBR save,load browse dialogs resulted in MBRWiz crash box as it still ran without no parameters.

Drive Snap now uses much better detection of DS closing by its process instead of by it's window.

Boot Check added. Checks if a hard drive is bootable.

Alert if no filename or backup location selected creating a schedule.

delete image without hash
delete hash without image and removes it from backup hash list
creating new hash updates the backup hash list.

Due to it being continually updated there is still a few glaring errors in the help.

These updates are not delaying Drive Snap. It is being updated in the meantime until it is possible for it to become available.

 

yes it is slicker. i will review the freeware in future again but i am concentrating on making the full version especially as it is not available.

apologies even though 1.1 is finished. it isn't available to be distributed yet.

 

To be fair i dont see how Brian could of taken you the wrong way. You did say development had finished but if you observed all the recent posts and the list of updates. what you said there contradicted that fact.

Thank you for your interest. There has been good correspondence on its development but there has been unavoidable delays. The delay is in distributing it. I have been updating it in the meantime and bugtesting. I am moving to a whole new better server as the one currently was free and has been going down too many times than i like.

 

Can Drive Snapshot make a proportional Image like MigrateEasy?

 

@Markymoo

The freeware version is working spectacturly!

Thanks. The full version is going to cap imaging off for DS like nthing else i will believe.

Nice Coding!

EASTER

 

That's a good question. Yes. It pops up a question asking. When you restore the image to a bigger partition it will or it resizes the partition to the size of the image.

@Easter Yes and thank you. Now that i have finished off the automatic recovery i can spend more time improving and bugtesting the rest of it.

 

Do you or rather can you offer any tentative schedule when you yourself will feel it's completed to your satisfaction for release of the FULL PROGRAM w/ ASR added in.

We're kind of anxious around here but not so much to insist hastening what must be some perfection going on at the table.

EASTER

 

On the restore tab, there was an S and R button. I thought it was save and restore settling and clicked on it. My computer shutdown while I was downloading some files. You should really add some tooltips.

(and dam, this thread is long...)

 

When will the full version be available, and no this is not intended to rush anything, because stable good apps take surgical patience and close review plus testings, but nonetheless some of us carry a curiosity for your DriveSnap and i can't wait personally to try out the Automatic System Restore.

EASTER

 

Hello sorry to hear of that unfortunate event. Yes although the S and R buttons are mentioned in the included help. They are forced Shutdown and Reboot.

 

Hello again. Thanks for the interest. I moved to a much better server for future projects.

Drive Snap has a home. http://drivesnap.com/ . I hope to put out demos. It is available to buy from there via PayPal shortly. It is for software download only and the process isn't automated yet.

 

Good enough. Thank you markymoo

We better get this is out in full distribution soon because looks like $M is preparing to roll out that silly Windows 7 name sooner than expected and everyone is going to jump ship soon and your sales might dwindle to nothing more than a choice few who still admire XP. Dunno about Longhorn or what they call vista boo da many seem ga ga over.

 

@Easter - are you still on dial up?

I will have it out soon enough. Apologies for delay. Although it is possible to get it now sent by email. Of course that would be without seeing it in action first. I have been as MS put it 'working around the clock'. No excuse but what s/w has ever been on time? None. The delay has 99% all been on distribuition. I think you and me are it's biggest fans.

Regarding Windows 7 it possible it be compatible as it still using the NT, FAT32 filing systems. It is only if the MBR code changes then imaging software can bring out a minor update. I suspect that likely it will still use the Vista MBR or compatible. I don't see any need to update the MBR again from early W7 previews and is not for me to say.

I will also shortly bring out a BartPe plugin for Drive Snap that will be able to automatically restore the selected image in BartPe as soon as it boots up. Incidentally being able to use drive numbers in Drive Snap it makes it possible to run Drive Snap from BartPe and restore image to drive,partition with no drive letter which would be a unallocated partition or broken one. edit - i meant to say specfically to restore system image.

i will take your good advice and put some Tooltips on now Drive Snap has a home i post the updates there and will lessen the size of the thread.

 

Greets markymoo

Small question. I ran the freeware version before you last updated it, made a nice SINGLE .sna image. After the update i repeated another imaging with DriveSnap (free) only this time it distributed several other supporting image files.

Would this be the result of a setting i might have changed or was this by design. I don't ATM use differentials although i will in the future, but prefer to make a SINGLE .sna backup file, but i don't think these have anything to to with .hsh files, but you should be better at answering to this instance then i am trying to determine the why those other supporting files appeared after imaging because it was my belief they have to do with the differential feature.

Thanka again and looking forward to the CD/DVD ASR upcoming feature in the full release.

EASTER