Question about ShadowProtect

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by bgoodman4, Oct 17, 2009.

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  1. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    Interesting, when I use your link to d/load, it does not decrement my remaining available downloads on the customer sign-in page I normally log in to. I downloaded again and I still have 1 available for the ISO. your link takes me to a different page in storagecraft.com. Anyway, that's good news. Thanks! :)
     

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  2. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    Last edited: Oct 31, 2009
  3. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    Sounds good, thanks I will take a closer look at them both.
     
    Last edited: Oct 31, 2009
  4. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    I have three small questions about SP.

    1- Is their a way to convert the recovery CD to be used from a USB flash drive? or to get the recovery environment on a USB flash drive instead of a CD?

    2- Does SP install any services on the computer that run in the background all the time?

    3- Does SP have its own snapshot engine or does it use VSS? If it does, which is preferable, VSS or SP's own snapshot engine?

    Thanks....
     
  5. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    I didn't see anywhere in the user guide where this was a possibility, but that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't, especially your latter mentioned possibility. Maybe someone else can clarify?

    Yes, shadowprotectsvc.exe. It uses very little resources.

    From the user guide, please see the attached screenshot. IOW, it uses VSS in both cases but its own volume snapshot manager by default.

    bTW, the user guide is a great read for anyone wanting to obtain a better understanding of this software's capabilities. One particularly "seamingly cool" feature is:

     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 1, 2009
  6. STC EU

    STC EU Registered Member

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    If you're referring to "Set Partition Active", this should only be selected for the primary boot partion.


    Cheers,
    Mark
     
  7. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    Thats what I thought but I figured it couldn't hurt to ask. Many thanks.
     
  8. STC EU

    STC EU Registered Member

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    Thanks Wat0114 :)

    I've also added a few comments:

    The IT Edition will be available on a USB key (http://www.storagecraft.com/kb/questions.php?questionid=191). I personally am not aware of any plans to offer the other versions on a USB key. Obviously, I can only say that converting any software from it's intended use to something it wasn't intended to do or that it doesn't support might not be a good idea.

    Yes, but it uses so little system resources that odds are you won't even notice it.


    I'm not sure if this article will be any help to you, but it explains in detail what ShadowProtect does in relation to VSS: http://www.storagecraft.com/kb/questions.php?questionid=102

    ShadowProtect is a VSS writer which means it can call on VSS to freeze the system at anytime, rather than some backup solutions which wait until VSS freezes the system and the "piggy-back" onto that freeze.


    The StorageCraft Knowledge Base is a great source of information : http://www.storagecraft.com/kb/


    Best Regards,
    Mark
     
    Last edited: Nov 2, 2009
  9. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    ^ Thanks for the quick reply wat0114.

    1- About using SP recovery environment from a USB flash drive: I also did not find any information from SP website or from a quick scan of SP features and SP's user guide. I am assuming that SP currently does not provide this facility. It is disappointing as I prefer bootable USB flash drive over bootable CD's.

    2- About the services: I installed the full version of SP inside a VM and without installing the Image Manager, SP installed 2 services on my system, and after installing image manager the total number of services become 3.

    Also without image manager installed, 3 processes were running in the background
    -ShadowProtectSvc.exe
    -ShadowProtectSvc.exe
    -vsnapvss.exe

    With image manager installed, 4 processes were running
    -ShadowProtectSvc.exe
    -ShadowProtectSvc.exe
    -vsnapvss.exe
    -ImageManager.exe

    3-About VSS: So, SP uses VSS in both cases with a difference of the volume manager. Recommended is the STC vol manager with VSS. Understood.

    Thanks again for the answer. Just check if the above services and processes are running on your system as well or has SP got a special place in its heart only for me?
     
  10. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Thanks for the response Mark (STC EU),

    1- I can not burn an ISO intended for a CD/DVD for use with a bootable USB, as it will not work. I was hoping that such a facility was provided by STC. For comparison, Paragon allows the recovery ISO image to be burned either as a USB flash or a bootable CD/DVD and they provide a tool inside the program that handles it. I find it convenient if the recovery environment is on a USB flash.

    The IT edition is not for me as it is meant to be used with multiple systems and the license price reflects this. I only intend to use SP on just one personal computer.


    2- As for services and processes, have a look at the processes I mentioned in my earlier reply to wat0114. Are these standard for SP?


    3- I read that incremental backups are only available when you use STC volume snapshot manager with VSS, so this settles the argument. Also, I was more interested in whether SP uses VSS or not and it appears that it uses VSS.
    For comparison, Paragon has its own "Paragon hot processing" as an alternative to VSS and I have discovered that there are a few pro and cons with such an approach. I prefer VSS which appears to be the SP default.
     
  11. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I have all 4 services as I let Continous Incrementals run all day at 15 minute intervals. I never notice any of it's running.

    Sp has a special place for me likewise.

    Pete
     
  12. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Thanks, I only asked as wat0114 mentioned only one service running in the background with SP. So, I was mentally prepared to only find one, instead, I found four processes running in the background. Since I did a complete install instead of a custom one, so I thought perhaps some services were optional.
     
  13. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    I also have two shadowprotectsvc.exe's running, didn't know what that was about(why two of the same??), so I just mentioned it as one. Regardless, very little in resource usage so it's a non-factor for me.

    *Edit*

    Sorry, my oversight, also running -vsnapvss.exe. But as with others, resource usage is very low.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 2, 2009
  14. DeathScreen

    DeathScreen Registered Member

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    Hi everybody,

    I just register (Lost my very old Nickname..)... ;)

    Just to give you some personal feedback.
    I bought ShdowProtect last year when version 3.3 came out, and I must say I never had to complain about the program.
    Well, I don't like to play with CD and start to use the Recovery Iso on an thumb Usb key months ago. From my experience, there is no issue to use it from an usb key. I have done full backups / restore without a glitch.
    (I use Vista SP2)
    I have made the Bootable usb key with UltraIso, but some others programs can do that too.
    The loading time is slower than the Recovery CD, that's all. I you can got a faster Thumb drive than my 1go Kingston Traveller II you are done. :)

    Please excuse my poor English. ;)
     
  15. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Hello, Deathscreen. Yes, I used UltraIso too. I looked inside the SP ISO and saw the EZBOOT folder which meant the bootable cd was created using EazyBoot by EZB systems. They also make Ultraiso to make bootable usb flash drives. So, I made a bootable flash drive with SP recovery environment in 3 easy steps. On my system the flash drive loads way faster than a bootable CD.
     
  16. Raza0007

    Raza0007 Registered Member

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    Just a quick question about ShadowProtect. How do you exclude certain files or folders from being backed up during a full partition backup? For example, I want to exclude temporary internet files folder from backup, how will I do that in SP? Is it even possible?
     
  17. Birdman

    Birdman Registered Member

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    Hope I'm not hijacking this thread but is SP similar to FD-ISR?

    I've been using FD-ISR on my XP and Vista machines the past few years and I recently upgraded to Win 7 X64 and unfortunately FD-ISR is not compatible with Win 7.

    Does SP create and restore system IMAGES?

    Also how does it compare to Win 7's backup and system image features?
     
  18. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Not an option. Disk image is just that, a full complete image.
     
  19. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    raza you could also use something like imgburn and extract the iso use it to make it bootable and then create the iso on the isb drive
     
  20. Creer

    Creer Registered Member

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    Maybe it will be helpful for you:
    http://www.raymond.cc/blog/archives...-features-and-backuprestore-speed-comparison/
     
  21. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    I doubt many here will agree with the conclusion that Acronis is the best buy of the bunch. You want a reliable backup program, not one that is chosen as best because it is reasonably priced and feature rich.

    Mind you the review did say that SP is the best program tested even though its the most expensive.

    Sometimes you do get what you pay for I guess.
     
  22. Creer

    Creer Registered Member

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    Yes you are right, that's why I use SP - it's very reliable software, I love how it works. It's one of the several programs available on the market these days that are worth any penny. And I agree - in this case - you do get what you pay for.
     
  23. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    The review actually looks to say SP had the best backup and restore speed. At least that's how I interpret it.
     
  24. bgoodman4

    bgoodman4 Registered Member

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    Yes, but it said that TI was the best buy and thus number 1 for the money. Sometimes a best for the money is OK, when it comes to imaging/backup I would say this is not the case. The best program for the money in this case is the one that's the most reliable, not the one that has a good feature set and is not too expensive. The program is worthless if it cannot be counted on to do what its supposed to do.
     
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