Windows SteadyState for XP

One slight drawback i find with steadystate is the space taken up by the cache file. It seems to be using around 4gigs on my system which seems a tad excessive imo.

 

Well, actually I think if the cache can reside in a different drive/partition, then that shouldn't be a problem gievn the low price of disk space now.. However, if it were to reside on the system partition itself, then thats bad..

 

I think by default SteadyState takes half the available space left, 30Gb in my case and took around 20mins to do it. You can then alter it but need to reboot.

 

Question on the cache space. Can it be set to take a different drive? I have a 40G HD and a secondary drive that's 127 + G that I store stuff in. I know, ought to be the other way round, but that's how this thing was built. If I can make the cache on the second drive, great. I'll never fill that thing up any other way.

Haven't downloaded Steadstate yet, but am planning to eventually.

 

Where Windows resides I believe.

 

Will imaging programs still work with this app? With SteadyState installed and working within it, can you reliably image and restore your C drive and still have all function correctly without problems? Thanks. This might be a good free way for me to test programs.

Gary

 

Tried Steadystate and it's gone for now. My Lord, after loading it a couple of days ago and setting the disc protection thing, when I started the computer the last couple of mornings, I could drink a cup of coffee and smoke a cigarette in the time XP took to boot. I thought something was messing up in the computer.

I have a backup image made with Paragon. Used that to totally remove Steadystate, took my pc back to June 8, and XP loads normally again. I'll pass on Windows Steadystate.

 

Crap

Thanks for the warning. I was about to install it today, now i won't bother.

 

Steadystate has some good ideas, and I guess you can always go do something else with the time. Cup of coffee and cig is an exaggeration but it took a LONG time to boot, enough that I thought something was wrong with the pc. I uninstalled it, rolled back with Paragon, and problem disappeared.

For absolute protection, I'll surf with VirtualBox or VMware and Slax linux inside Powershadow. I think that's about as safe as you can get without unplugging from the Internet.

 

Just to play devil's advocate here, but were there any further slow down issues after the initial boot up? I think the name may give a partial insight into the design goal and the target audience that Microsoft was looking to attract...

 

Look at it this way Chuck57. We have another great virtual app in RETURNIL

It's much safer PLUS we have a representative for it to help with any concerns. No it may not do some of the things as SteadyState, but depending on what you're looking to accomplish, it's infinitely more dependable and stable IMHO.

Plus you have to try it if you haven't already. You can use SessionLock to enter virtual mode and while in it SAVE anything to it's virtual drive. Also mount/dismount it as often as you please.

Reboot and whatever else, your data in it is contained/retained.

 

The initial bootup went fine. No problem noted. AFTER that, though, whenever I booted it dragged on for quite some time, like the welcome screen just sat there for a long time, then starting windows sat and sat, and when the desktop finally appeared, no icons, mouse control or anything for a full half minute or more. The only thing in SteadyState I had enabled was disk protection, so can't blame any other part of it.

EASTER, will look at Returnil and see what it has to offer. I haven't read any of the threads on it yet. One plus over powershadow is that at least someone is here to discuss things with. Being a very safe surfer, the only thing I'm looking for is that extra margin of safety. Linux in a virtual machine might be it, if you don't mind the hassle of starting the machine, booting into linux, etc - and no printing capability.

 

I just want to add. If it's security from intrusion you're after, Linux while popular is NOT NECCESSARY for 100% security from Windows.

I have started & run nearly every variant of Rustock, Rootkits, Hiders and the like in XP with only SSM & Kerio 2.15 for example. On bad sites, SSM is captured every single IE exploit that uses it to slip a downloader in C:\ or where ever else. Now if i hunt "new" Rootkits or Destroyers on known exploit sites i can use RETURNIL or PS just to stay conservative and confident.

RETURNIL affords you a great option for those who simply have a single drive and need to save a download/installer to a good program with it's Virtual Drive feature. SessionLock, yes, enters Protection-Mode at your convenience and disposes that session at reboot.

Theres nothing to fear from Windows being overtaken with ALL the available choices for security recently that have surfaced. Virtualization adds that extra layer of protection for anyone.

Like herbalist, i've not used an AV in a very long time nor will ever again now that HIPS + Virtual apps like RETURNIL are on the scene. Although in my case i also use FD-ISR, not so much for security but restoring/creating complete snapshots/systems totally intact with no loss of data or settings.

$M is just not up to speed as a software developer simply put. Only as a O/S maker and then just a basic framework for developers/users/vendors to build on, and nothing more.

 

Linux is interesting, though. Vastly improved over the stuff I tried a decade or so ago. I've got 4 types saved to CD's so far.

As for Windows SteadyState, I should have known better. Fortunately, I have that backup I saved with Paragon a couple of weeks ago and, after uninstalling steadystate just put my computer back to June 8 and got rid of every trace of it. Paragon disk manager is a great software.

 

Hi Chuck57,

Not exactly the track I was taking here. What I meant is if there were any slow down issues after it has fully loaded and the system left running for an extended period of time. The name "SteadyState" to me seems to imply that it is designed to be used in an Internet cafe or public access client system rather than for general consumer use...

Mike

 

PARAGON "IS" a great imaging program and so much more. I actually stumbled on it from i don't remember where, but after Norton Ghost & Acronis both took me to the cleaners i cancelled them forever.

PARAGON immediately dispelled my fears of imaging and not only that but filled the gap nicely as a bootloader in addition.

I use Drive BackUp Pro 8.51 now and it's a dream!

 

Yep i experienced a similar situation, after installation of steadystate there is a substantial delay on boot up. However after its all loaded theres no noticeable slowdown.

 

Ok, gotcha. In my case, no, not while running. After I installed it, did the disk protection thing and let it run all day. It ran without a problem or any slowdown. I shut down as i always do for the night. Next day, it took the extended time to load that I mentioned. Same thing today, after which I removed it and restored my C drive with Paragon to get rid of all of it. It's possible that steadystate is made for machines running 24/7 and, realistically, the slow boot isn't a big deal, just annoying.

I'm in the process as we speak of downloading Returnil, and will see what it has to offer. Like what I've read so far.

 

I'm just curious if anybody has tried SteadyState over multiple reboots. I want to know if it is slow booting all the time. As for running the program 24/7, I thought that at a library on a shared computer, when you were done, you rebooted to a 'clean' machine for the next user. This would be a pain if it was slow. I guess the trade off isn't so bad though.

I just downloaded and installed Returnil finally. I turned on protection via the Session Lock, so far, so good . I wish it would allow me to test programs that require a reboot (hint hint).

 

Steadystate seems cause slow boots for me everytime, even after multiple reboots. Another strange thing i have noticed is that when i uninstalled steadystate upon reboot windows decides to tell me that my hardware has changed substantially and i have 3 days to activate my copy of windows! Very weird.

 

NOT GOOD! And i thank you guys for voicing your own results. I always harbor reservations about microsoft apps due to that very thing, they have always been so unstable in one way or another.

They need to stick to what they do best and that is release skeleton O/S's and let vendors/developers build on them for release to us, the end users and business.

It continuosly boggles my mind with the global roster of all the intelligent and talented software engineers around the world how come microsoft always misses the target when it comes to recruiting solid inventors & engineers.

 

Well here on choosing an account/entering password the system would then hang up to 30-40 seconds then the background only would appear with another wait of 2-3 mins before desktop would show icons and taskbar appeared.

 

Thanks farmerlee and Meriadoc It sounds like something is amiss. I was really hoping to find a simple program to test software. I don't think I would like the long bootups though. Thanks again.

 

Yeah i'll definitely be sticking with powershadow and returnil for now.

 

Oh come on guys! We're nerds, this stuff is easy. With the SteadyState running on my laptop, from power on to windows fully loaded is 29sec. Here's the deal... someone at MS is a jackass and included some user management crude that takes FOREVER to boot and is a unrequired component of the service. So, right click on "my computer", and left click "Manage" go to the "Services and Applications", and then on the "Services" option. Scroll down to the bottem and you will see "Windows SteadyState Service". Set it's startup type to "Disabled" and stop the service. Don't worry, this is just in charge of user sessions... I,e. shell hooks stop writes to the c: drive, etc. (or atleast that's my understanding) The actuall service incharge of the cache file is VCFService.exe and there is no real easy way of turning that off (you don't want to anyways, kinda ruins the point). Make sure that afterwords the software is configured correctly and the cache file is created. I've tested this many times and I can trash my system, and it works perfectly on reboot... though I would test it first if I were you... like renaming a file or something, and seeing if the change is perment.

Oh, one more thing... if you do something stupid to screw up your box, don't blame me! I take no responsiblity for any advise I give.

-Chaney