S
SC Tom
Flightless Bird
Another thing you might consider is, if you have a Western Digital, Seagate,
or Maxtor hard drive, whether it's an internal or external, you can get the
free copy of Acronis True Image from their respective web sites. It's not
the full-blown version- it doesn't do incremental or scheduled imaging, but
works very well. I have used it on both my desktop and my notebook with my
WD external drive with great results. At least that would keep you from
having to buy another copy, if you have one of the qualifying hard drives.
--
SC Tom
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
news
702G07jKHA.4380@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Thank you, SC Tom, for that wake-up call! I have very little data on my
> netbook, but it took me days to install all the programs I wanted and
> arrange everything the way I want it. I think the only way to assure that
> I keep everything is to bite the bullet and get an optical drive and
> another Acronis--although I'll probably make a recovery DVD through
> Toshiba too.
>
> Jo-Anne
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:eNw%23mS6jKHA.1648@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Vanguard is correct on this- you need to create the Recovery DVD per
>> Toshiba's instructions, or create a disk image with Acronis. My Gateway
>> notebook had a similar setup with having the Recovery Partition on the
>> hard drive, but no CD/DVD.
>>
>> Like a dummy, I didn't make the DVD like I should have, and hadn't made
>> any kind of image. As (bad) luck would have it, about 6 months after
>> purchase, the HDD crunched once or twice and died, never to boot again.
>>
>> Luckily, I was able to download the OS and drivers disks from Gateway's
>> web site after arguing with them about the warranty (they tried to start
>> the warranty from date of manufacture, not my purchase date. That ain't
>> happening!). I put a new drive in, and restored it back to factory
>> condition using the downloads, but it certainly was a PITA to go through
>> all the setting up, reinstalling programs, etc.
>>
>> After that, I got an external drive and a copy of Acronis. I now image my
>> drives on a regular basis, and it has saved my bacon a couple of times so
>> far.
>>
>> Stupid of me not to have done all that in the first place since I was the
>> IT guy at work that always asked "Didn't you back that up?" whenever
>> anyone lost a file or something. Got my comeuppance the hard way, but I
>> learned (again!).
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:eZbPHo0jKHA.1824@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>> Thank you VERY much, Vanguard, for all your help! (Sorry about the HTML.
>>> I had read it was the only way to make sure the long link was clickable;
>>> I didn't realize it would provide one long line for each paragraph.)
>>>
>>> I guess I relied too much on Toshiba's index and its chapter titles,
>>> especially "Chapter 6: If Something Goes Wrong" (nothing was there).
>>> Having recovery information buried in the chapter on Getting Started
>>> seems strange to me. Page 47's "Hard Drive Recovery" wasn't in the index
>>> under any of the three words, and the only reference in the index to
>>> page 54 was "power button" (nothing at all for page 55). From now on,
>>> I'll check the Table of Contents more carefully. As an indexer, I've
>>> always searched indexes first, since everything there is supposed to be
>>> organized by subject--but that doesn't work when the subjects aren't in
>>> the index.
>>>
>>> I will definitely buy a DVD burner, although it would be wonderful if
>>> recovery into XP could proceed from a flash drive. (Thanks to help I
>>> received in another newsgroup, I recently was able to copy my
>>> WordPerfect installation CD to a flash drive and install the program on
>>> my netbook from it.)
>>>
>>> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis. I have four
>>> external hard drives, and I back up my two other computers to them with
>>> Acronis regularly. I also created a separate bootable CD using Acronis
>>> to do so--and I configured the BIOS on my old desktop computer to look
>>> first at the optical drive (it's so old, it has a floppy drive, and
>>> that's what it wanted to boot from first, then the hard drive).
>>>
>>> Thank you again!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne
>>>
>>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>>> news:hi3ii1$1fs$1@news.albasani.net...
>>>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>>>
>>>> NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
>>>> (The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
>>>> paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)
>>>>
>>>>> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is
>>>>> on
>>>>> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>>>>>
>>>>> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf
>>>>
>>>> Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the
>>>> OS
>>>> partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete
>>>> this
>>>> partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
>>>> partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS
>>>> is
>>>> designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
>>>> booted.
>>>>
>>>>> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in
>>>>> this
>>>>> manual.
>>>>
>>>> Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you
>>>> need to
>>>> get an external DVD burner drive.
>>>>
>>>>> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD
>>>>> or
>>>>> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and
>>>>> an
>>>>> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
>>>>> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images
>>>>> of
>>>>> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With
>>>>> Acronis,
>>>>> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want
>>>>> to
>>>>> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers.
>>>>> It
>>>>> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>>>>>
>>>>> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
>>>>> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
>>>>> Windows XP.
>>>>
>>>> I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE
>>>> (see
>>>> http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE).
>>>> I
>>>> used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it
>>>> worked.
>>>> However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that.
>>>> Since
>>>> you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
>>>> create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).
>>>>
>>>> There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB
>>>> flash
>>>> drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
>>>> drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux
>>>> distro
>>>> on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a
>>>> non-Windows
>>>> operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
>>>> partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many
>>>> versions of
>>>> Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.
>>>>
>>>> The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
>>>> manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD
>>>> can be
>>>> booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first
>>>> before
>>>> the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to
>>>> be
>>>> somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using
>>>> their
>>>> hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from
>>>> where to
>>>> read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be
>>>> able to
>>>> use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting
>>>> their
>>>> recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I
>>>> have
>>>> had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot
>>>> manager
>>>> to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
>>>> Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>
or Maxtor hard drive, whether it's an internal or external, you can get the
free copy of Acronis True Image from their respective web sites. It's not
the full-blown version- it doesn't do incremental or scheduled imaging, but
works very well. I have used it on both my desktop and my notebook with my
WD external drive with great results. At least that would keep you from
having to buy another copy, if you have one of the qualifying hard drives.
--
SC Tom
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
news
702G07jKHA.4380@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...> Thank you, SC Tom, for that wake-up call! I have very little data on my
> netbook, but it took me days to install all the programs I wanted and
> arrange everything the way I want it. I think the only way to assure that
> I keep everything is to bite the bullet and get an optical drive and
> another Acronis--although I'll probably make a recovery DVD through
> Toshiba too.
>
> Jo-Anne
>
> "SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
> news:eNw%23mS6jKHA.1648@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> Vanguard is correct on this- you need to create the Recovery DVD per
>> Toshiba's instructions, or create a disk image with Acronis. My Gateway
>> notebook had a similar setup with having the Recovery Partition on the
>> hard drive, but no CD/DVD.
>>
>> Like a dummy, I didn't make the DVD like I should have, and hadn't made
>> any kind of image. As (bad) luck would have it, about 6 months after
>> purchase, the HDD crunched once or twice and died, never to boot again.
>>
>> Luckily, I was able to download the OS and drivers disks from Gateway's
>> web site after arguing with them about the warranty (they tried to start
>> the warranty from date of manufacture, not my purchase date. That ain't
>> happening!). I put a new drive in, and restored it back to factory
>> condition using the downloads, but it certainly was a PITA to go through
>> all the setting up, reinstalling programs, etc.
>>
>> After that, I got an external drive and a copy of Acronis. I now image my
>> drives on a regular basis, and it has saved my bacon a couple of times so
>> far.
>>
>> Stupid of me not to have done all that in the first place since I was the
>> IT guy at work that always asked "Didn't you back that up?" whenever
>> anyone lost a file or something. Got my comeuppance the hard way, but I
>> learned (again!).
>> --
>> SC Tom
>>
>> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
>> news:eZbPHo0jKHA.1824@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>> Thank you VERY much, Vanguard, for all your help! (Sorry about the HTML.
>>> I had read it was the only way to make sure the long link was clickable;
>>> I didn't realize it would provide one long line for each paragraph.)
>>>
>>> I guess I relied too much on Toshiba's index and its chapter titles,
>>> especially "Chapter 6: If Something Goes Wrong" (nothing was there).
>>> Having recovery information buried in the chapter on Getting Started
>>> seems strange to me. Page 47's "Hard Drive Recovery" wasn't in the index
>>> under any of the three words, and the only reference in the index to
>>> page 54 was "power button" (nothing at all for page 55). From now on,
>>> I'll check the Table of Contents more carefully. As an indexer, I've
>>> always searched indexes first, since everything there is supposed to be
>>> organized by subject--but that doesn't work when the subjects aren't in
>>> the index.
>>>
>>> I will definitely buy a DVD burner, although it would be wonderful if
>>> recovery into XP could proceed from a flash drive. (Thanks to help I
>>> received in another newsgroup, I recently was able to copy my
>>> WordPerfect installation CD to a flash drive and install the program on
>>> my netbook from it.)
>>>
>>> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis. I have four
>>> external hard drives, and I back up my two other computers to them with
>>> Acronis regularly. I also created a separate bootable CD using Acronis
>>> to do so--and I configured the BIOS on my old desktop computer to look
>>> first at the optical drive (it's so old, it has a floppy drive, and
>>> that's what it wanted to boot from first, then the hard drive).
>>>
>>> Thank you again!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne
>>>
>>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>>> news:hi3ii1$1fs$1@news.albasani.net...
>>>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>>>
>>>> NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
>>>> (The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
>>>> paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)
>>>>
>>>>> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is
>>>>> on
>>>>> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>>>>>
>>>>> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf
>>>>
>>>> Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the
>>>> OS
>>>> partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete
>>>> this
>>>> partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
>>>> partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS
>>>> is
>>>> designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
>>>> booted.
>>>>
>>>>> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in
>>>>> this
>>>>> manual.
>>>>
>>>> Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you
>>>> need to
>>>> get an external DVD burner drive.
>>>>
>>>>> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD
>>>>> or
>>>>> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and
>>>>> an
>>>>> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
>>>>> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images
>>>>> of
>>>>> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With
>>>>> Acronis,
>>>>> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want
>>>>> to
>>>>> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers.
>>>>> It
>>>>> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>>>>>
>>>>> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
>>>>> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
>>>>> Windows XP.
>>>>
>>>> I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE
>>>> (see
>>>> http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE).
>>>> I
>>>> used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it
>>>> worked.
>>>> However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that.
>>>> Since
>>>> you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
>>>> create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).
>>>>
>>>> There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB
>>>> flash
>>>> drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
>>>> drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux
>>>> distro
>>>> on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a
>>>> non-Windows
>>>> operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
>>>> partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many
>>>> versions of
>>>> Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.
>>>>
>>>> The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
>>>> manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD
>>>> can be
>>>> booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first
>>>> before
>>>> the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to
>>>> be
>>>> somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using
>>>> their
>>>> hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from
>>>> where to
>>>> read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be
>>>> able to
>>>> use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting
>>>> their
>>>> recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I
>>>> have
>>>> had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot
>>>> manager
>>>> to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
>>>> Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.
>>>
>>>
>>
>
>