OT: Follow up to computer problem

Swingman wrote:

> On 8/24/2010 8:48 PM, Maxwell Lol wrote:
>> "Morgans"<[email protected]> writes:
>>
>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a
>>> different partion than your data.
>>
>> And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>
> Absolutely ...
>
> No ONE backup solution is perfect, or will cover all bases of a
> desirable data backup plan, but for the average computer user who
> learned how to spell "computer" in the last twenty years, a remote
> "cloud" backup solution is absolutely one of the best methods of "data
> insurance" available today, and at an excellent price.
>
> It also fulfills two of the most important elements of data security,
> real time backup, and offsite data storage.
>
> At most upload speeds, it may take a while to effect, and data recovery
> may take much longer than more traditional media, but it should be
> there, safely offsite, to retrieve, despite the time element.
>
> Just consider it as cheap "insurance", used in combination with other
> back up methods, and its value should be obvious.
>

We've been using Carbonite on Juanita's Mac now for about a year
(unfortunately, they don't have a linux client, so I'm stuck using a USB
drive for backup on my computer). It really is cheap insurance for off-site
backup. It took about 2 weeks for the first upload to complete. Now, it's
simply doing incrementals and those go fast.

--

There is never a situation where having more rounds is a disadvantage

Rob Leatham

"Swingman" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On 8/26/2010 12:21 AM, Mark & Juanita wrote:
>> Swingman wrote:
Snip

>
> An extra bit of back up peace-of-mind for less than $60 a year is hard to
> beat, and has other benefits.
>
> There have been a number of times recently when I needed to email someone
> a file that was on my laptop, and being out of the office, was able to do
> so from my Blackberry using Carbonite's app, and with the same ease as if
> I'd been sitting at my laptop.
>
> That ability alone has been worth the $5/month.
>
> Biggest gripe from the instant gratification bunch seems to be the time it
> takes to totally restore data from the "cloud" ... that is something that
> does not concern me in the least as long as I can immediately access those
> few important files that would, in most catastrophic data losses, be gone
> forever.


I discovered Dropbox. It is a manual program in that you must copy files
into a "My Dropbox" folder but it only copies what is in that folder. All
encripted and automatic once the files hit that folder. Limit of 2GB so you
only want to put important files in there. Price is right, free, integrates
well with Directory Opus, iPhone application, access fron any other computer
etc, and no blue screed of death so far. ;~)

On Aug 24, 11:35=A0pm, [email protected] wrote:
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:43:20 -0500, "[email protected]"
>
>
>
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> >On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>
> >>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
> >>wrote:
>
> >>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>
> >>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a diff=
erent
> >>>> partion than your data.
>
> >>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>
> >>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
> >>remote hard drive for backup.
> >>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
> >>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
> >>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>
> >If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives? =A0Remove =
one and
> >put it away. =A0The removed disk is a fully operating backup. =A0Use two=
, if you
> >want your backup hot.
>
> No, Raid 0 is striped. Raid 1 is mirrored.

I've over-thought that so many times I *always* get it backwards. :-/

> At the office we have raid1, plus Ultrium tape backup, plus important
> files copied to a second computer daily, and archived to DVD weekly.

I know several people who keep multiple mirrors on removable drives
and swap them periodically.

> >>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
> >>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
> >>any internet backup service.
>
> >A single CD should be enough for that much.
>
> Not when the data excedes 650MB - or 4 GB for DVD, or 8gb for dual
> layer DVD.
> Not out of the ordinary to have half a terrabyte on a virtual
> drive/virtual machine.

You misunderstand. Enough of the system can be put on a single CD to
bootstrap the system from a cloud backup. I don't feature backing up
a Terabyte over my DSL connection, though.

> >Windows sucks for all of these solutions. =A0The programs and OS are too=
closely
> >intertwined thought the registry. =A0Programs have to be installed. =A0O=
S/2 was
> >great in this respect. =A0Programs could live on a separate partition as=
the OS.
> >Replace the OS and everything is back to working. =A0A third partition o=
r drive
> >for data and everything was unlinked. =A0Backup was trivial.
>
> OS2 was good for some things - but it just couldn't cut it in the
> marketplace.

It couldn't get over M$' contracts with system assemblers. As long as
people had to buy a Win license, OS/2 was an additional expense.

> Windows works just fine if you remember it's shortfalls and plan
> around them.

It sucks. I had to reinstall XP, recently, on my ThinkPad. I'm still
not back to where I was.

> The VM gets you around a whole lot of them.

It doesn't help any of the ones I'm talking about. The registry is
the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.

Zz Yzx wrote:
> First off, thanks for the replies and interest. I also posted to a
> couple WinXP-specific groups, and got 3-4 revelant replies (and
> several OT replies re: cross- vs. multiple posts).
>
> After many re-boots using different boot disks, &tc., I was still
> unable to get the WinXP repair module or re-install to work. After a
> few attmepts, I finally got Norton's emergency disk to boot; it
> recognized a fault in the WindXP registry and repaired it (at least it
> saod so). But still no progress otherwise (re-boot cycle continued).
>
> Then, after several boots from the WinXP disk, it finally cited a
> "missing or corrupt C://win32...... " file, and allowed me re-format
> and re-load WinXP. That was Friday night.
>
> Since then, it's been pretty stable, I've had it on since, and re-boot
> often to test; it's done the re-boot cycle once, and I got 3-beeps
> once, but otherwise it's OK.
>
> I'm able to read all the partitions and recover her files, and even
> load the WinXP SP2 and SP3 updates.
>
> I'm still suspicious about it though. I've found some compatible MBs
> on E-bay for cheap, so I'll probalby swap it out ASAP.
>
> Thanks again for all your input.
>
> -Zz

My guess is that the occasional beep code you're getting is a keyboard
error as I believe Swingman indicated. This will happen if the BIOS
thinks a key is stuck and will occur if a key is being held down at the
exact time the BIOS checks for the keyboard.

--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
[email protected]

"Zz Yzx" wrote:

> After many re-boots using different boot disks, &tc., I was still
> unable to get the WinXP repair module or re-install to work. After a
> few attmepts, I finally got Norton's emergency disk to boot; it
> recognized a fault in the WindXP registry and repaired it (at least
> it
> saod so). But still no progress otherwise (re-boot cycle
> continued).
>
> Then, after several boots from the WinXP disk, it finally cited a
> "missing or corrupt C://win32...... " file, and allowed me re-format
> and re-load WinXP. That was Friday night.
>
> Since then, it's been pretty stable, I've had it on since, and
> re-boot
> often to test; it's done the re-boot cycle once, and I got 3-beeps
> once, but otherwise it's OK.
>
> I'm able to read all the partitions and recover her files, and even
> load the WinXP SP2 and SP3 updates.
-------------------------------------
Bottom line is that except for the fact you have been able to save the
data files, you are still setting on "GO".

You don't have a clue whether it is a software or a hardware problem.

To me a puter is a tool not a toy I fiddle with when it screws up.

That colors the response below.

If it were me I'd FDISK the hard drive, then grab the box and head
down to the computer repair store and swab existing box for a rebuilt
box or buy a new one.

You already have all the accessories so out of pocket cost should not
be too bad.


Lew

notbob <[email protected]> wrote in news:uxkco.26354$EF1.20293
@newsfe14.iad:

> On 2010-08-21, DanG <[email protected]> wrote:
>> I am not pushing Linux. I do keep a current Ubuntu disc to check
>> computers people bring to me. When it starts, don't load it on
>> you machine unless you want to, just work from the CD. It will
>> ask you if you want to test the computer memory and hard drive(s).
>> If they are in good shape, and Ubuntu starts, you know the
>> computer hardware is fine and you know you have a corrupted
>> Windows installation. While in Ubuntu you can see all files and
>> it would be possible to copy to a flash drive or whatever anything
>> you don't want to lose.
>
> It's too bad most ppl are so terrified of linux. In reality it's
> become almost braindead easy to use, anymore. I've been using it so
> long I'm actually more intimidated by Windows due to the fact I no
> longer know what Windows is really doing. I know exactly what linux
> is doing and 100 times out of a hundred, whatever it is, it's not
> trying to screw me over like Windows, but I digress.
>
> You might want to try knoppix, as it's a liveCD tweaked for the sole
> purpose of operating as a liveCD and runs faster in that mode rather
> than being just a nice "by the way" feature to try before a perm
> install. It also has more apps included specifically to deal with
> Windows OS issues. There's also an O'Reilly book detailing these
> great knoppix Windows hacks.
>
> http://www.knoppix.net/books/knoppix-hacks.html
>
> nb

I've got a couple different versions of Linux installed and running. I
stick with Windows on my primary PC because I'm comfortable with it, the
UI is usually very, very good, and almost everything's exposed through
the UI so it can be discovered.

Linux still has a long way to go before it's ready for mainstream
acceptance. The versions I've used have had some really uncool things
going on, for example I spent as much time outside of the UI in LinHES
trying to configure the machine properly as I spent inside it. On a
Debian PowerPC box, the clock reset to 1900 (Mac epoch). Rather than
asking me to confirm the time, the system booted into GNOME and started
asking me if I wanted to delete files.

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

notbob <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> On 2010-08-23, Puckdropper <puckdropper> wrote:
>
>> UI is usually very, very good, and almost everything's exposed
>> through the UI so it can be discovered.
>
> I'll agree to the first part. Windows had pretty much standardized
> the desktop and UI. No complaint there. In fact, I can set up my
> Slackware Linux box so it looks identical to an older M$ Windows box.
> Even native Linux desktops look pretty much like Windows.
>
> As for "everything's exposed", that's just not true. What exposed is
> what M$ allows you to see. Nothing more, nothing less. I've got a
> cranky XP box that occasionally jes drops the NIC connection. No
> options, choices, reconfigures, or anything else will re-establish it.
> Only reboot! That golden M$ fix-all that's been Windows' solution for
> everthing for the last 25 yrs. REBOOT!!

I'll partially retract my "everything's exposed" statement. As I think
more about it, there's some really advanced stuff that's not exposed in
the UI. But most of the stuff I've wanted to do is doable through the
UI.

It could be flaky hardware or driver. In that case, it's not Windows'
fault. OTOH, it could be Windows' fault. That's actually one of the
reasons Microsoft started the whole certification of drivers thing.
(I'm not going to say whether or not there's significant financial gain
here... I don't know for sure.)

Rebooting works in Linux, too.

>> Linux still has a long way to go before it's ready for mainstream
>> acceptance.
>
> It will never happen till M$ stop extorting computer mfr's to install
> their software.

I won't deny those contracts prevent change, or that they may be
anti-competitive. The last time I heard anything about them was several
years ago.

>> The versions I've used have had some really uncool things
>> going on, for example I spent as much time outside of the UI in
>> LinHES
>
> Well, duh! What is LinHES? A variation of a distro based on a
> variation of another distro. IOW, someone has hacked their own
> version of linux. Can't even do that with Windows. Is that good or
> bad? Depends on how you look at it. Not as good a solid basic distro
> of linux, but hey!, someone is making their own operation system the
> way they want it. It's called choice.

It depends on how you look at it. LinHES is simply Linux set up to
support and run MythTV. If you distribute an image, it's the same idea.

>> Debian PowerPC box, the clock reset to 1900 (Mac epoch). Rather than
>> asking me to confirm the time, the system booted into GNOME and
>> started asking me if I wanted to delete files.
>
> ....and in Windows I get a hundred lil' infuriating pop-ups asking or
> informing me of a hundered things I don't need or want to know. How
> do I stop this infuriation time-wasting nonsense? By going into the
> registry and making some changes. OHMIGOD!! I have to use a registry
> text editor to go into the registry to change some very touchy
> registry files using a keyboard and ...and.... holy crap!!... altering
> text!! Gee, sounds exactly like using the command line in linux.
> Whodda thunk it.
>
> nb
>

I hate the popup notifying me that the touchpad has disabled itself
because I plugged in an external mouse. What a waste! Fortunately,
Windows 7 has a simplistic interface to not display those messages.

The difference between editing text files and the registry is a messed
up text file only messes up the application. A screwed up registry can
keep the computer from booting! (I hate the registry. It needs to be
dropped and redesigned from scratch. .ini files aren't always a good
solution, as sometimes you need to store some sort of binary data.)

Puckdropper
--
Never teach your apprentice everything you know.

RE: Subject

I'm smiling at how complex things have gotten.

Other than an Images directory that gets copied to a CD every time an
update is made, all my important stuff are basically text files that
get copied to a 2 gig flash drive using "Xcopy" everytime a file is
closed.

Love that DOS 2.0.

Be a cold day if that flash drive gets full, but just in case, have a
2nd one fired up and ready to go.

Can still give youi a list of cancelled checks from the mid '80s.

Lew

"Leon" wrote:


> I can only go back to early 87. ;~) did you ever of Dollars &
> Sence? Great DOS financial program. IMHO it took Quicken about 15
> years to catch up to that program.
-------------------------------
Started with T/Maker which was written in CP/M and 64K limitations
which was updated to T/Masster and DOS 2.0.

They knew how to write code back then.

Can create database files that 20 years can't be duplicated.

Almost every thing I do are database type files.

Spread sheets suck IMHO.

Can do hex edit as well as desktop publishing.

Never found a need for another program.


Lew

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:00:46 -0400, [email protected] wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:31:04 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
><[email protected]> wrote:
>
>>On Aug 24, 11:35 pm, [email protected] wrote:
>>> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:43:20 -0500, "[email protected]"
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>> >On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>>>
>>> >>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>>> >>wrote:
>>>
>>> >>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>>
>>> >>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>>> >>>> partion than your data.
>>>
>>> >>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>>>
>>> >>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>>> >>remote hard drive for backup.
>>> >>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>>> >>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>>> >>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>>>
>>> >If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives?  Remove one and
>>> >put it away.  The removed disk is a fully operating backup.  Use two, if you
>>> >want your backup hot.
>>>
>>> No, Raid 0 is striped. Raid 1 is mirrored.
>>
>>I've over-thought that so many times I *always* get it backwards. :-/
>>
>>> At the office we have raid1, plus Ultrium tape backup, plus important
>>> files copied to a second computer daily, and archived to DVD weekly.
>>
>>I know several people who keep multiple mirrors on removable drives
>>and swap them periodically.
>>
>>> >>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>>> >>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>>> >>any internet backup service.
>>>
>>> >A single CD should be enough for that much.
>>>
>>> Not when the data excedes 650MB - or 4 GB for DVD, or 8gb for dual
>>> layer DVD.
>>> Not out of the ordinary to have half a terrabyte on a virtual
>>> drive/virtual machine.
>>
>>You misunderstand. Enough of the system can be put on a single CD to
>>bootstrap the system from a cloud backup. I don't feature backing up
>>a Terabyte over my DSL connection, though.
>>
>>> >Windows sucks for all of these solutions.  The programs and OS are too closely
>>> >intertwined thought the registry.  Programs have to be installed.  OS/2 was
>>> >great in this respect.  Programs could live on a separate partition as the OS.
>>> >Replace the OS and everything is back to working.  A third partition or drive
>>> >for data and everything was unlinked.  Backup was trivial.
>>>
>>> OS2 was good for some things - but it just couldn't cut it in the
>>> marketplace.
>>
>>It couldn't get over M$' contracts with system assemblers. As long as
>>people had to buy a Win license, OS/2 was an additional expense.
>>
>>> Windows works just fine if you remember it's shortfalls and plan
>>> around them.
>>
>>It sucks. I had to reinstall XP, recently, on my ThinkPad. I'm still
>>not back to where I was.
>>
>>> The VM gets you around a whole lot of them.
>>
>>It doesn't help any of the ones I'm talking about. The registry is
>>the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.
>>
>A well maintained registry very seldom causes problems.

The whole *concept* of the registry is evil.

>The one office I spend a fair amount of time in has about 28 windows
>XP boxes and 2 windows servers - In the last 5 years I've reistalled
>windows only ONCE except for when a motherboard was changed and the
>new board wouldn't boot off the old drive because of a video driver
>issue. ( and this happend 2 or 3 times)

I've had to reinstall Win on every machine I've owned, well, that had Win on
it. After some time they just grind to a halt, if not crash a horrible death.

>If software developers follow Microsoft's well published rules about
>drivers and DLL files, everything works just fine. When they don't, a
>utility like CleanMyPC from registry-cleaner.net sorts things out
>pretty well in a very short time.

If the world was perfect we could all be good little communists.

On 8/22/2010 9:17 AM, Zz Yzx wrote:

> Then, after several boots from the WinXP disk, it finally cited a
> "missing or corrupt C://win32...... " file, and allowed me re-format
> and re-load WinXP. That was Friday night.
>
> Since then, it's been pretty stable, I've had it on since, and re-boot
> often to test; it's done the re-boot cycle once, and I got 3-beeps
> once, but otherwise it's OK.

Did you ever determine which BIOS your system is using?

> I'm able to read all the partitions and recover her files, and even
> load the WinXP SP2 and SP3 updates.
>
> I'm still suspicious about it though. I've found some compatible MBs
> on E-bay for cheap, so I'll probalby swap it out ASAP.
>
> Thanks again for all your input.

While it sounded more like a corrupted OS installation instead of a
hardware problem, one can also easily suspect a motherboard issue from
the symptoms.

Recently replaced the mb on my four year old Dell XPS 1210 laptop, which
had a vaguely similar rebooting issue that all indications pointed to
bad RAM, which turned out not to be the case.

Good to hear it appears to be resolved for the moment and, more
importantly, that you able to access the data.

... and also thanks for the follow up, which is rare in itself. :)

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:

> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
> partion than your data.

And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.

"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote

> You might want to consider saving all your data and doing a complete
> reinstall of the OS and programs. It really helps other things to start
> clean every once in a while. And while you are at it a upgrade to an
> inexpensive larger HD to can rule out possible disk problems. This
> really is a pretty straight forward and easy to do.
Agree to the reformat, big time. Some "experts" recommend this once a
year.

Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
partion than your data. That could be done now, and then your data could
remain undisturbed while your reformatting of the OS takes place.

Or perhaps the most smart option, in the current era of terabyte external
hard drives for les than 100 bucks, is a total backup on an external drive,
done weekly, or so.
--
Jim in NC

"Zz Yzx" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> First off, thanks for the replies and interest. I also posted to a
> couple WinXP-specific groups, and got 3-4 revelant replies (and
> several OT replies re: cross- vs. multiple posts).
>
> After many re-boots using different boot disks, &tc., I was still
> unable to get the WinXP repair module or re-install to work. After a
> few attmepts, I finally got Norton's emergency disk to boot; it
> recognized a fault in the WindXP registry and repaired it (at least it
> saod so). But still no progress otherwise (re-boot cycle continued).
>
> Then, after several boots from the WinXP disk, it finally cited a
> "missing or corrupt C://win32...... " file, and allowed me re-format
> and re-load WinXP. That was Friday night.
>
> Since then, it's been pretty stable, I've had it on since, and re-boot
> often to test; it's done the re-boot cycle once, and I got 3-beeps
> once, but otherwise it's OK.
>
> I'm able to read all the partitions and recover her files, and even
> load the WinXP SP2 and SP3 updates.
>
> I'm still suspicious about it though. I've found some compatible MBs
> on E-bay for cheap, so I'll probalby swap it out ASAP.
>
> Thanks again for all your input.
>
> -Zz

You might want to consider saving all your data and doing a complete
reinstall of the OS and programs. It really helps other things to start
clean every once in a while. And while you are at it a upgrade to an
inexpensive larger HD to can rule out possible disk problems. This really
is a pretty straight forward and easy to do.

"Lew Hodgett" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> RE: Subject
>
> I'm smiling at how complex things have gotten.
>
> Other than an Images directory that gets copied to a CD every time an
> update is made, all my important stuff are basically text files that get
> copied to a 2 gig flash drive using "Xcopy" everytime a file is closed.

I did images too but those don't always play well when changing brands and
sizes of HD's depending on which imaging software you use. And seriousely
It was less trouble to reinstall everything, and I have probably 50-60
programs, than to do images periodically. Now I simply back up my data.




> Love that DOS 2.0.
>
> Be a cold day if that flash drive gets full, but just in case, have a 2nd
> one fired up and ready to go.
>
> Can still give youi a list of cancelled checks from the mid '80s.

I can only go back to early 87. ;~) did you ever of Dollars & Sence?
Great DOS financial program. IMHO it took Quicken about 15 years to catch
up to that program.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a
>>> different
>>> partion than your data.
>>
>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>
> Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
> remote hard drive for backup.
> To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
> backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
> can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>
> Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
> computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
> any internet backup service.


With XP and later Windows OS getting back up on the internet is a quick and
easy task.

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:28:43 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>>
>><[email protected]> wrote in message
>>news:[email protected]...
>>> On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:02:33 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
>>> wrote:
>> on the internet is a quick and
>>>>easy task.
>>>>
>>> ASSuming you have not lost the driver disk for the motherboard, and
>>> the network interface. If you need to get on the internet to get the
>>> chipset drivers and network drivers you are pretty much screwed.
>>>
>>> Catch 22 anyone???
>>
>>I think you are making this harder than necessary. If you have the OS or
>>OEM reinstall disk, that is all you need. That is all I used with a new
>>HD.
>>Typically the generic drivers on those disks work good enough to start.
>>
> That's what I mean by the "motherboard disk" Not all machines are like
> "the dell from hell" that comes with a restore disk. Some still come
> with driver disks and a more or less generic Windows install disk.
> They are MUCH better, because you can do several different types of
> repair installs without loosing any data, or having to reinstall
> software. With a "restore disk" all you can do is return the machine
> to "as shipped"

Yeah, I did not have a restore disk to restore to shipped condition. I did
not get all the crap that was originally shipped when I installed a new HD
and reinstalled the OS. I did have all the driver disks also but those were
not necessary, I simply went straight to the internet and down loaded and
installed the latest drivers.
And I could have simply reinstalled over the current old HD data and
programs had I not put in a new larger HD.

On 8/26/2010 12:21 AM, Mark & Juanita wrote:
> Swingman wrote:

>> a remote
>> "cloud" backup solution is absolutely one of the best methods of "data
>> insurance" available today, and at an excellent price.

>> Just consider it as cheap "insurance", used in combination with other
>> back up methods, and its value should be obvious.

> We've been using Carbonite on Juanita's Mac now for about a year
> (unfortunately, they don't have a linux client, so I'm stuck using a USB
> drive for backup on my computer). It really is cheap insurance for off-site
> backup. It took about 2 weeks for the first upload to complete. Now, it's
> simply doing incrementals and those go fast.

Besides Carbonite, I still back up to a local hard drive using xcopy and
Window's Scheduler every night.

An extra bit of back up peace-of-mind for less than $60 a year is hard
to beat, and has other benefits.

There have been a number of times recently when I needed to email
someone a file that was on my laptop, and being out of the office, was
able to do so from my Blackberry using Carbonite's app, and with the
same ease as if I'd been sitting at my laptop.

That ability alone has been worth the $5/month.

Biggest gripe from the instant gratification bunch seems to be the time
it takes to totally restore data from the "cloud" ... that is something
that does not concern me in the least as long as I can immediately
access those few important files that would, in most catastrophic data
losses, be gone forever.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Yeah, I did not have a restore disk to restore to shipped condition. I
> did not get all the crap that was originally shipped when I installed
> a new HD and reinstalled the OS. I did have all the driver disks also
> but those were not necessary, I simply went straight to the internet
> and down loaded and installed the latest drivers.
> And I could have simply reinstalled over the current old HD data and
> programs had I not put in a new larger HD.
>

There are fairly cheap utilities that copy a hard disk's contents to a new
larger hard drive, so reinstalling everything isn't necessary. Of course
you lose the catharsis of reinstalling, but if the old drive worked and is
just too small, or if you want a real good image, then this is the way to
go, IMO.

--
Best regards
Han
email address is invalid

<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:02:33 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
> wrote:
on the internet is a quick and
>>easy task.
>>
> ASSuming you have not lost the driver disk for the motherboard, and
> the network interface. If you need to get on the internet to get the
> chipset drivers and network drivers you are pretty much screwed.
>
> Catch 22 anyone???

I think you are making this harder than necessary. If you have the OS or
OEM reinstall disk, that is all you need. That is all I used with a new HD.
Typically the generic drivers on those disks work good enough to start.

On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:43:20 -0500, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>>wrote:
>>
>>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>>
>>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>>>> partion than your data.
>>>
>>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>>
>>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>>remote hard drive for backup.
>>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>
>If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives? Remove one and
>put it away. The removed disk is a fully operating backup. Use two, if you
>want your backup hot.

No, Raid 0 is striped. Raid 1 is mirrored.
At the office we have raid1, plus Ultrium tape backup, plus important
files copied to a second computer daily, and archived to DVD weekly.
>
>>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>>any internet backup service.
>
>A single CD should be enough for that much.
Not when the data excedes 650MB - or 4 GB for DVD, or 8gb for dual
layer DVD.
Not out of the ordinary to have half a terrabyte on a virtual
drive/virtual machine.
>
>
>Windows sucks for all of these solutions. The programs and OS are too closely
>intertwined thought the registry. Programs have to be installed. OS/2 was
>great in this respect. Programs could live on a separate partition as the OS.
>Replace the OS and everything is back to working. A third partition or drive
>for data and everything was unlinked. Backup was trivial.


OS2 was good for some things - but it just couldn't cut it in the
marketplace.

Windows works just fine if you remember it's shortfalls and plan
around them.

The VM gets you around a whole lot of them.

On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:

>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>wrote:
>
>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>>> partion than your data.
>>
>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>
>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>remote hard drive for backup.
>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.

If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives? Remove one and
put it away. The removed disk is a fully operating backup. Use two, if you
want your backup hot.

>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>any internet backup service.

A single CD should be enough for that much.


Windows sucks for all of these solutions. The programs and OS are too closely
intertwined thought the registry. Programs have to be installed. OS/2 was
great in this respect. Programs could live on a separate partition as the OS.
Replace the OS and everything is back to working. A third partition or drive
for data and everything was unlinked. Backup was trivial.

On 2010-08-23, Puckdropper <puckdropper> wrote:

> UI is usually very, very good, and almost everything's exposed through
> the UI so it can be discovered.

I'll agree to the first part. Windows had pretty much standardized
the desktop and UI. No complaint there. In fact, I can set up my
Slackware Linux box so it looks identical to an older M$ Windows box.
Even native Linux desktops look pretty much like Windows.

As for "everything's exposed", that's just not true. What exposed is
what M$ allows you to see. Nothing more, nothing less. I've got a
cranky XP box that occasionally jes drops the NIC connection. No
options, choices, reconfigures, or anything else will re-establish it.
Only reboot! That golden M$ fix-all that's been Windows' solution for
everthing for the last 25 yrs. REBOOT!!

> Linux still has a long way to go before it's ready for mainstream
> acceptance.

It will never happen till M$ stop extorting computer mfr's to install
their software.

> The versions I've used have had some really uncool things
> going on, for example I spent as much time outside of the UI in LinHES

Well, duh! What is LinHES? A variation of a distro based on a
variation of another distro. IOW, someone has hacked their own
version of linux. Can't even do that with Windows. Is that good or
bad? Depends on how you look at it. Not as good a solid basic distro
of linux, but hey!, someone is making their own operation system the
way they want it. It's called choice.

> Debian PowerPC box, the clock reset to 1900 (Mac epoch). Rather than
> asking me to confirm the time, the system booted into GNOME and started
> asking me if I wanted to delete files.

....and in Windows I get a hundred lil' infuriating pop-ups asking or
informing me of a hundered things I don't need or want to know. How
do I stop this infuriation time-wasting nonsense? By going into the
registry and making some changes. OHMIGOD!! I have to use a registry
text editor to go into the registry to change some very touchy
registry files using a keyboard and ...and.... holy crap!!... altering
text!! Gee, sounds exactly like using the command line in linux.
Whodda thunk it.

nb

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:12:38 -0500, "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:00:46 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>
>>On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:31:04 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
>><[email protected]> wrote:
>>
>>>On Aug 24, 11:35 pm, [email protected] wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:43:20 -0500, "[email protected]"
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>>>> >On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>>>>
>>>> >>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>>>> >>wrote:
>>>>
>>>> >>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>>>
>>>> >>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>>>> >>>> partion than your data.
>>>>
>>>> >>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>>>>
>>>> >>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>>>> >>remote hard drive for backup.
>>>> >>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>>>> >>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>>>> >>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>>>>
>>>> >If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives?  Remove one and
>>>> >put it away.  The removed disk is a fully operating backup.  Use two, if you
>>>> >want your backup hot.
>>>>
>>>> No, Raid 0 is striped. Raid 1 is mirrored.
>>>
>>>I've over-thought that so many times I *always* get it backwards. :-/
>>>
>>>> At the office we have raid1, plus Ultrium tape backup, plus important
>>>> files copied to a second computer daily, and archived to DVD weekly.
>>>
>>>I know several people who keep multiple mirrors on removable drives
>>>and swap them periodically.
>>>
>>>> >>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>>>> >>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>>>> >>any internet backup service.
>>>>
>>>> >A single CD should be enough for that much.
>>>>
>>>> Not when the data excedes 650MB - or 4 GB for DVD, or 8gb for dual
>>>> layer DVD.
>>>> Not out of the ordinary to have half a terrabyte on a virtual
>>>> drive/virtual machine.
>>>
>>>You misunderstand. Enough of the system can be put on a single CD to
>>>bootstrap the system from a cloud backup. I don't feature backing up
>>>a Terabyte over my DSL connection, though.
>>>
>>>> >Windows sucks for all of these solutions.  The programs and OS are too closely
>>>> >intertwined thought the registry.  Programs have to be installed.  OS/2 was
>>>> >great in this respect.  Programs could live on a separate partition as the OS.
>>>> >Replace the OS and everything is back to working.  A third partition or drive
>>>> >for data and everything was unlinked.  Backup was trivial.
>>>>
>>>> OS2 was good for some things - but it just couldn't cut it in the
>>>> marketplace.
>>>
>>>It couldn't get over M$' contracts with system assemblers. As long as
>>>people had to buy a Win license, OS/2 was an additional expense.
>>>
>>>> Windows works just fine if you remember it's shortfalls and plan
>>>> around them.
>>>
>>>It sucks. I had to reinstall XP, recently, on my ThinkPad. I'm still
>>>not back to where I was.
>>>
>>>> The VM gets you around a whole lot of them.
>>>
>>>It doesn't help any of the ones I'm talking about. The registry is
>>>the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.
>>>
>>A well maintained registry very seldom causes problems.
>
>The whole *concept* of the registry is evil.
>
>>The one office I spend a fair amount of time in has about 28 windows
>>XP boxes and 2 windows servers - In the last 5 years I've reistalled
>>windows only ONCE except for when a motherboard was changed and the
>>new board wouldn't boot off the old drive because of a video driver
>>issue. ( and this happend 2 or 3 times)
>
>I've had to reinstall Win on every machine I've owned, well, that had Win on
>it. After some time they just grind to a halt, if not crash a horrible death.

It's obvious you don't know how to maintain your system. The system
I'm on right now has not been re-installed in almost 6 years, and it
is still working just fine - and it gets pretty heavy use.
>
>>If software developers follow Microsoft's well published rules about
>>drivers and DLL files, everything works just fine. When they don't, a
>>utility like CleanMyPC from registry-cleaner.net sorts things out
>>pretty well in a very short time.
>
>If the world was perfect we could all be good little communists.

The world doesn't have to be perfect, and what's politics got to do
with it???
Simple fact. Nothing is perfect, but the computing industry would be
far worse off without Microsoft (or any other company with the
critical mass to establish and , to a degree, enforce standards.

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 22:28:43 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:02:33 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
> on the internet is a quick and
>>>easy task.
>>>
>> ASSuming you have not lost the driver disk for the motherboard, and
>> the network interface. If you need to get on the internet to get the
>> chipset drivers and network drivers you are pretty much screwed.
>>
>> Catch 22 anyone???
>
>I think you are making this harder than necessary. If you have the OS or
>OEM reinstall disk, that is all you need. That is all I used with a new HD.
>Typically the generic drivers on those disks work good enough to start.
>
That's what I mean by the "motherboard disk" Not all machines are like
"the dell from hell" that comes with a restore disk. Some still come
with driver disks and a more or less generic Windows install disk.
They are MUCH better, because you can do several different types of
repair installs without loosing any data, or having to reinstall
software. With a "restore disk" all you can do is return the machine
to "as shipped"

On 8/24/2010 8:48 PM, Maxwell Lol wrote:
> "Morgans"<[email protected]> writes:
>
>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>> partion than your data.
>
> And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.

Absolutely ...

No ONE backup solution is perfect, or will cover all bases of a
desirable data backup plan, but for the average computer user who
learned how to spell "computer" in the last twenty years, a remote
"cloud" backup solution is absolutely one of the best methods of "data
insurance" available today, and at an excellent price.

It also fulfills two of the most important elements of data security,
real time backup, and offsite data storage.

At most upload speeds, it may take a while to effect, and data recovery
may take much longer than more traditional media, but it should be
there, safely offsite, to retrieve, despite the time element.

Just consider it as cheap "insurance", used in combination with other
back up methods, and its value should be obvious.

--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

I am not pushing Linux. I do keep a current Ubuntu disc to check
computers people bring to me. When it starts, don't load it on
you machine unless you want to, just work from the CD. It will
ask you if you want to test the computer memory and hard drive(s).
If they are in good shape, and Ubuntu starts, you know the
computer hardware is fine and you know you have a corrupted
Windows installation. While in Ubuntu you can see all files and
it would be possible to copy to a flash drive or whatever anything
you don't want to lose.

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
DanG
Keep the whole world singing . . .


"Leon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Zz Yzx" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>> First off, thanks for the replies and interest. I also posted
>> to a
>> couple WinXP-specific groups, and got 3-4 revelant replies (and
>> several OT replies re: cross- vs. multiple posts).
>>
>> After many re-boots using different boot disks, &tc., I was
>> still
>> unable to get the WinXP repair module or re-install to work.
>> After a
>> few attmepts, I finally got Norton's emergency disk to boot; it
>> recognized a fault in the WindXP registry and repaired it (at
>> least it
>> saod so). But still no progress otherwise (re-boot cycle
>> continued).
>>
>> Then, after several boots from the WinXP disk, it finally cited
>> a
>> "missing or corrupt C://win32...... " file, and allowed me
>> re-format
>> and re-load WinXP. That was Friday night.
>>
>> Since then, it's been pretty stable, I've had it on since, and
>> re-boot
>> often to test; it's done the re-boot cycle once, and I got
>> 3-beeps
>> once, but otherwise it's OK.
>>
>> I'm able to read all the partitions and recover her files, and
>> even
>> load the WinXP SP2 and SP3 updates.
>>
>> I'm still suspicious about it though. I've found some
>> compatible MBs
>> on E-bay for cheap, so I'll probalby swap it out ASAP.
>>
>> Thanks again for all your input.
>>
>> -Zz
>
> You might want to consider saving all your data and doing a
> complete reinstall of the OS and programs. It really helps
> other things to start clean every once in a while. And while
> you are at it a upgrade to an inexpensive larger HD to can rule
> out possible disk problems. This really is a pretty straight
> forward and easy to do.
>
>
>
>
>

On 08/25/2010 07:31 AM, [email protected] wrote:
> The registry is the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.

How they ever thought it was a better idea than the Unix approach of separate config files
in text format (making them easily installable, removable, readable, modifiable, parsed, and
searched) is beyond me...

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

On 8/25/2010 10:06 AM, Steve Turner wrote:
> On 08/25/2010 07:31 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>> The registry is the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.
>
> How they ever thought it was a better idea than the Unix approach of
> separate config files in text format (making them easily installable,
> removable, readable, modifiable, parsed, and searched) is beyond me...

Because you can move a specified part of the configuration by moving one
file. Each has a dedicated purpose.

On 08/25/2010 09:52 AM, J. Clarke wrote:
> On 8/25/2010 10:06 AM, Steve Turner wrote:
>> On 08/25/2010 07:31 AM, [email protected] wrote:
>>> The registry is the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.
>>
>> How they ever thought it was a better idea than the Unix approach of
>> separate config files in text format (making them easily installable,
>> removable, readable, modifiable, parsed, and searched) is beyond me...
>
> Because you can move a specified part of the configuration by moving one file. Each has a
> dedicated purpose.

Surely you're not saying this is a bad thing?

--
Free bad advice available here.
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
wrote:

>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>
>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>> partion than your data.
>
>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.

Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
remote hard drive for backup.
To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.

Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
any internet backup service.

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 11:02:33 -0500, "Leon" <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
><[email protected]> wrote in message
>news:[email protected]...
>> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>>
>>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a
>>>> different
>>>> partion than your data.
>>>
>>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>>
>> Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>> remote hard drive for backup.
>> To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>> backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>> can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>>
>> Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>> computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>> any internet backup service.
>
>
>With XP and later Windows OS getting back up on the internet is a quick and
>easy task.
>
ASSuming you have not lost the driver disk for the motherboard, and
the network interface. If you need to get on the internet to get the
chipset drivers and network drivers you are pretty much screwed.

Catch 22 anyone???

On Wed, 25 Aug 2010 05:31:04 -0700 (PDT), "[email protected]"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>On Aug 24, 11:35 pm, [email protected] wrote:
>> On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 22:43:20 -0500, "[email protected]"
>>
>>
>>
>> <[email protected]> wrote:
>> >On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 23:29:28 -0400, [email protected] wrote:
>>
>> >>On Tue, 24 Aug 2010 21:48:33 -0400, Maxwell Lol <[email protected]>
>> >>wrote:
>>
>> >>>"Morgans" <[email protected]> writes:
>>
>> >>>> Also, consider partitioning your hard drive, so your OS is on a different
>> >>>> partion than your data.
>>
>> >>>And also consider remote (cloud) backup of your data.
>>
>> >>Better yet - 2 hard drives in the computer - system and data - and a
>> >>remote hard drive for backup.
>> >>To make it really simple, run a virtual machine on your computer - the
>> >>backup is a single file and can be installed on ANY computer that you
>> >>can run a virtual PC on - including most Macs.
>>
>> >If you're going to do that, why not RAID-0 on the two drives?  Remove one and
>> >put it away.  The removed disk is a fully operating backup.  Use two, if you
>> >want your backup hot.
>>
>> No, Raid 0 is striped. Raid 1 is mirrored.
>
>I've over-thought that so many times I *always* get it backwards. :-/
>
>> At the office we have raid1, plus Ultrium tape backup, plus important
>> files copied to a second computer daily, and archived to DVD weekly.
>
>I know several people who keep multiple mirrors on removable drives
>and swap them periodically.
>
>> >>Personally I wouldn't trust a cloud backup - and you need to get the
>> >>computer back up on the internet before you can recover ANYTHING from
>> >>any internet backup service.
>>
>> >A single CD should be enough for that much.
>>
>> Not when the data excedes 650MB - or 4 GB for DVD, or 8gb for dual
>> layer DVD.
>> Not out of the ordinary to have half a terrabyte on a virtual
>> drive/virtual machine.
>
>You misunderstand. Enough of the system can be put on a single CD to
>bootstrap the system from a cloud backup. I don't feature backing up
>a Terabyte over my DSL connection, though.
>
>> >Windows sucks for all of these solutions.  The programs and OS are too closely
>> >intertwined thought the registry.  Programs have to be installed.  OS/2 was
>> >great in this respect.  Programs could live on a separate partition as the OS.
>> >Replace the OS and everything is back to working.  A third partition or drive
>> >for data and everything was unlinked.  Backup was trivial.
>>
>> OS2 was good for some things - but it just couldn't cut it in the
>> marketplace.
>
>It couldn't get over M$' contracts with system assemblers. As long as
>people had to buy a Win license, OS/2 was an additional expense.
>
>> Windows works just fine if you remember it's shortfalls and plan
>> around them.
>
>It sucks. I had to reinstall XP, recently, on my ThinkPad. I'm still
>not back to where I was.
>
>> The VM gets you around a whole lot of them.
>
>It doesn't help any of the ones I'm talking about. The registry is
>the root of all evil. What a *dumb* idea.
>
A well maintained registry very seldom causes problems.
The one office I spend a fair amount of time in has about 28 windows
XP boxes and 2 windows servers - In the last 5 years I've reistalled
windows only ONCE except for when a motherboard was changed and the
new board wouldn't boot off the old drive because of a video driver
issue. ( and this happend 2 or 3 times)

If software developers follow Microsoft's well published rules about
drivers and DLL files, everything works just fine. When they don't, a
utility like CleanMyPC from registry-cleaner.net sorts things out
pretty well in a very short time.

On 2010-08-21, DanG <[email protected]> wrote:
> I am not pushing Linux. I do keep a current Ubuntu disc to check
> computers people bring to me. When it starts, don't load it on
> you machine unless you want to, just work from the CD. It will
> ask you if you want to test the computer memory and hard drive(s).
> If they are in good shape, and Ubuntu starts, you know the
> computer hardware is fine and you know you have a corrupted
> Windows installation. While in Ubuntu you can see all files and
> it would be possible to copy to a flash drive or whatever anything
> you don't want to lose.

It's too bad most ppl are so terrified of linux. In reality it's
become almost braindead easy to use, anymore. I've been using it so
long I'm actually more intimidated by Windows due to the fact I no
longer know what Windows is really doing. I know exactly what linux
is doing and 100 times out of a hundred, whatever it is, it's not
trying to screw me over like Windows, but I digress.

You might want to try knoppix, as it's a liveCD tweaked for the sole
purpose of operating as a liveCD and runs faster in that mode rather
than being just a nice "by the way" feature to try before a perm
install. It also has more apps included specifically to deal with
Windows OS issues. There's also an O'Reilly book detailing these
great knoppix Windows hacks.

http://www.knoppix.net/books/knoppix-hacks.html

nb