GaryGB
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Posts posted by GaryGB
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Hi Pups:
You've made an impressive comback after the challenges your computer gave you. Perhaps you can share in greater detail some of your insights with the EFFC forum members on preventing crashes with various named FS apps and add-ins when you get a chance to catch your breath. :D
I believe that in addition to the hard drive Norton Ghost backup image, it would still be prudent to write out a backup DVD of your FS installation and also any other related folders your FS apps created outside of the FS folder tree, as well as backup ".reg" file exports of the registry entries created by those apps. But I'll bet it gets pretty boring sitting there feeding DVDs to Ghost after a while! Its almost enough of a motivator to get yet another hard drive for an extra (2nd) copy of the original Ghost backup image file! :wink:
I can sympathize though, after having lost my own FS9 installation recently in a misadventure while trying to upgrade my FSD Porter. I too planned to use Ghost to make a backup image file on an extra hard drive, which I then intended to burn onto multiple DVDs. Unfortunately my Norton SystemWorks 2006 Premier installation (which was to also install Ghost) failed while writing a GUID after a SpySweeper alert about inserting a Symantec Browser Helper Object into Microsoft Internet Explorer (which I gave permission to do), and it left me with NO accessible drive letters on the computer except the floppy drive! :shock:
Apparently Norton GoBack had already loaded its translation code into the MBR and partition tables of my 400GB RAID 0 hard drive running off of a PCI add-in controller card, and it had a previously undisclosed incompatibility with RAID drives (I already have a 6 month older version running properly on a 2 drive RAID 0 via an embedded controller on one of my office computers). However GoBack was unable to find its 'GOBACKIO.BIN' history and configuration file, so it could not be 'unhooked' from the MBR and partition table with it's own uninstall feature. :?
After 1-1/2 hours of researching solutions with 2 different Symantec tech support reps each of whom initially gave profoundly flawed suggestions (which I necessarily refused since I happened to know by virtue of my prior I.T. experience such actions could have permanently and irretrievably 'hosed' my system), I finally got through to a supervisor who suggested something called an "Ngbboot.iso" which seemed likely to allow recovery, but it reportedly would only run on a bootable CD-ROM (I had no CD-ROM drive letter accessible!), and he insisted that the "previous" floppy version was no longer available, that I could only use the ISO file from the website, and it was too big to fit on a floppy anyway. :(
Thankfully I had another one of my office machines accessible for web access, so I spent 1 hour more researching nitty-gritty on the internet about the Ngbboot.iso program and found that it was in a folder on the Norton SystemWorks 2006 Premier installation CD, that it merely contained "gb_prog.exe" which would indeed fit onto a floppy, and it actually would work as a floppy-based solution (so much for paid/unpaid tech support!). Gb_prog.exe ran from a floppy for 27-1/2 hours, announced that it could not find GOBACKIO.BIN, exited, rebooted, and then I got my drive letters and data back as if nothing had happened! :P
What a week! My drives recovered, I then had a chance to escape for a long weekend of recuperation in scenic Wisconsin. 8)
Now I will probably have to use R-Studio from RT-Tools to do my drive imaging since it can read, write, and recover RAID drives in nearly all operating systems (R-tools Technology: r-tt.com ...highly recommended!). :idea:
I will also have to take more of my time now to 'educate' the Symantec marketing people about their responsibilities for upfront printed disclosure of incompatibilites on their product web pages, packaging, and included documentation, in addition to educating the Symantec tech support people as to the facts about their product and the recovery options for those caught in the mess caused by a failed installation (seems like I have to do this more each year; maybe they should be paying me!). :twisted:
Hopefully I will get around to re-installing FS9 soon so I can enjoy some flying before I start delving into ways to tweak FSX after it is released and installed (successfully... I hope!). :lol:
But first I have to do those backups, so I can clear my existing 2-drive 400 GB, RAID 0 stripe and then set up my 4-drive RAID 0, 800 GB drive on my new 4-channel RAID controller card for screamin' fast disk I/O! :mrgreen:
GaryGB
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Hilarious Pups!
You're becoming a journalist documenting the experience of modern Man's travails! :P
PS: So... ya gonna' tell us what computer "stuff" ya' bought? :roll:
GaryGB
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Sorry to have to show my ignorance, but which aircraft is it Chris... and where can one get it as well as your repaint(s) for it? :roll:
GaryGB
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Hi Don:
To some of us, Elmer is as real as Emma is too! :lol: :lol: :lol:
(Ya' got me thinkin' about some more cartoons now, man!) :twisted:
GaryGB
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Looks like the real deal! :D
Great work, Chris! :lol:
GaryGB
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:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Gawd, Madaz... I'm pickin' myself up off of the floor after that one! :P
GaryGB
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Hi Pups:
Any truth to the rumor that you started stocking "Agent Orange" Multi-purpose Cleaner in the Emma Emporium so that you could use it instead of those 'slippery' bars of soap in the Emma bush cargo pilots showers? :lol: :lol: :lol:
PS: No wonder... I thought I once saw the name "Benjamin Dover" on the roster for a freight flight based out of Skagway, Alaska! :shock:
GaryGB
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Chris, you hold the winning hand on this deck! :lol:
GaryGB
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Pups Continues:
THIS JUST IN at the Emma Emporium:
The much awaited Australian import: "Agent Orange" multi-purpose cleaner and Mole eradicator! :mrgreen:
GaryGB
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Hi All:
Pups, as designated marketing consultant to the Emma Emporium, is once again pleased to announce the availability of new items in the onsite store to complement those in Francois' online store. :!:
Bearing the new alternate EFFC logo we have the EFFC Uncle Elmers' 1 liter dispenser pump for getting "tanked up" in the privacy of your own Lilliwaup "No-Tell Motel" room (includes 1 glass). Use your 'Bush Cargo Pilot' discount to buy an extra refill from the package goods division (CAUTION: avoid shaking to prevent formation of Quantum Foam). :shock:
Those who prefer beer can better enjoy their favorite beverage with a set of souvenir glasses from the Emma Emporium. :)
The monogrammed "Cook's Hat" may convey a smart and stylish flair while on duty at barbeques during impromptu overhead stunts as CBris practices for the "Emma Field for FSX" dedication ceremony. 8)
For those lucky enough to be invited along as passenger on one of CBris's flights, if one has previously eaten Chez Fritz's 'hot wings' appetizers without a prophylactic dose of Emma bar cheese, there is the tastefully emblazoned "Airsickness Bag". :?
If you feel that you are being 'kept in the dark' by Microsoft even during the night when you 'get up to go', there is the "EFFC Luminescent Sanitary Pedestal" with free installation by Fritz's cousin "Cletus", the septic systems installer from Springfield, MO who capped off the old latrine pit and replaced it with the new high tech commode in the Emma Field clubhouse. :idea:
Those with a more limited budget may wish to consider the EFFC Toilet Seat Assembly kit. :wink:
Free delivery by Air Freight is available on most orders.
< Not responsible for condition of goods at delivery due to failed parachute deployment; beware of falling bottles! > :mrgreen:
Coming Soon: "Agent Orange" multi-purpose cleaner and Mole eradicator!
GaryGB
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Holy Crap! :shock:
And I thought Fritz had a lot of "Alter Egos"... that's some mighty fun aerobatic multiplicity! :lol: :lol: :lol:
Spectacular Display, Chris! :D
It won't be long until we see a WWII re-enactment flown entirely by CBris in one session as a special feature for the "Emma Field for FSX" dedication ceremony! :idea:
GaryGB
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Hey Chris:
Speaking of "Emma-kosh", your flying is so good that it really does remind me of the airshows at Oshkosh! :D
Its amazing to see these things achieved in FS! :shock:
Keep up the great work! :!:
GaryGB
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Awesome flying Chris! :shock:
So... gone from "Eagle Skinning" to "Stork Stalking"? :?: :lol: :lol: :lol:
Your aerobatics get more spectacular with each post; thanks for showing us all how well it can be done in FS! :P
GaryGB
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Hi Don:
Glad to hear you got your Emma Field installation up and running again! :D
Thanks to you and Mike for your posts here, as well as others in the Flight1 UTUSA forum, we now have even more valuable insights and solutions to use in resolving these conflicts which might otherwise keep us from enjoying our beloved FS sceneries! :mrgreen:
I hope your transition goes well for you, and look forward to seeing more of your posts here again soon. 8)
GaryGB
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Hi Chris:
Looks Great! :D
GaryGB
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Hi Mike:
Just had a quick moment to reply:
I can't claim to be an experienced programmer, but I believe most .DLL files by their very nature tend to contain resources at specific locations which a particular .exe version will be looking for, so the glider.dll may or may not work for the build of emma you have downloaded and installed by virtue of having a valid user ID and serial number.
I will try to send you a PM with an attachment after I have had a chance to clear out my PM boxes in the next day or so. :wink:
GaryGB
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Hi François:
Excellent! :shock:
I like the new logo, and the store looks like a great idea! :D
Now I've got to put together my Christmas shopping list for friends and family! 8)
A certain party (who shall remain nameless) has inquired if you will be introducing an additional line of ladies undergarments available through your store, imprinted with "Emma Feel"? :lol:
Just for clarification, were you by any chance referring to the EFFC logo that I believe had been put together by Simon (A37gnome)? If so, and there were any objections to us using his old logo files I'd certainly like to respect his wishes if he doesn't want us to use his artwork for our mischievous posts and repaints here in the forum. :roll:
I'm very glad to see you've made this breakthrough, and I wish you good luck with your new venture. :wink:
Kind regards,
GaryGB
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:shock::shock:
:twisted:
What a tease you are! :lol:
Ain't it the truth? :lol: :lol: :lol:
C'mon Francois, you can tell us more! :wink:
GaryGB
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Hi Mike:
Francois got me thinking on this again when he mentioned the "ViMaCore" modules by Mauricio Gavioli of Vista Mare Software ("ViMa") whose IntelliScene technology for interfacing with FS2002 (FS8) and Fs2004 (FS9) was the basis of the scenery animation and sound enhancements in Lago and other noteworthy FS add-ins such as those of the Georender series, Orcas Island, FS Cargo etc.. :idea:
The fact that your scenery loading phase hang occurred with the accompanying error message "ModName: unknown, ModVer: 0.0.0.0 and Offset: 00000000" might reasonably infer a simple ViMa "Module" conflict. :!:
I seem to remember having seen a similar such error previously in my own Emma Field installation either after an upgrade of the ViMa scenery modules themselves as a separate download directly from VistaMare's website in FS2002 or FS 2004, or perhaps after the FS9.1 patch was installed over Emma Field.
Regardless, I have listed below what I still have in my untouched Lago subfolders after I inadvertently uninstalled FS9 (horrors!) during a severe case of system lag and a delayed screen write combined with impatience on my part in the Add/Remove Programs Applet in Control Panel after un-installing my FSD Pilatus PC-6 Porter during an unsuccessful upgrade process recently (I feel your pain!).
After having re-installed Emma recently (prior to my FSD Porter mishap) I posted some screenshots of my folders related to reinstalling Emma Field here: http://forums.simflight.com/viewtopic.php?t=54549
Of particular note is that after installing and upgrading Emma Field for FS2004 as well as FSE and several Georender sceneries, one can find in the [FS2004 folder name and path]\Lago\Common, [FS2004 folder name and path]\Lago\Emma Field, and [FS2004 folder name and path]\Modules certain versions of Vista Mare's Software which were working properly on my system prior to my subsequent disastrous and unintended FS2004 uninstall. However, when FS 2004 uninstalls, it does leave many folders intact, including those illustrated in the following screenshots which I hope may be of some help to you in comparing with your own installation. 8)
GaryGB
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Hi Mike:
I wish I was able to help you on that one, but I'll have to finally get around to restoring my own FS9 installation first to get more information to go on. :D
When I do, I will be logging the file and registry changes carefully with special software so I have a master record of what is done when Emma Field installs, and also what version number each file has internally after all upgrades/patches have been applied. :idea:
That way I can share the info as an EFFC Knowledge Base sticky (OK Francois?) to start an Emma reference database for folks having various types of (install/load) problems, and what might fix it for them.
Generally speaking, although that is an error message I've never seen before, the fact that you are hanging in the same general terrain scenery load phase raises questions about whether a texture file is damaged, misplaced, or was properly 'registered' with FS9.x and/or the windows registry during installation in the version of FS9 you are trying to run.
I know that many FS9.0 files are replaced by the FS9.1 patch when it installs, and if instead of doing a "from the ground floor" fresh install of FS9 into a drive with no recognizeable prior FS9 folder name, one instead tries installing or "restoring" backed up files to a previous FS9 folder chain that has not been renamed, it may contain various versions of old files which might not be compatible with one another.
I also know certain types of missing FS9 file errors will result in a background search which eats framerates or even causes a crash to desktop (CTD) or hard system crash, but I don't have that information immediately accessible.
Don Smith had a somewhat comparable load phase error (although few percent farther along; 63 or 66% I believe), and I don't know if he was able to figure it out further since he has been busy with a move to Montana ("Movin to Montana soon... gonna' be a dental floss tycoon!" ---Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention). :lol:
Anybody else know what might help out here? :roll:
GaryGB
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It's not every day that you can get a stiff drink out of Limp! :lol: :lol: :lol:
GaryGB
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Gentlemen, you are more than kind. :shock:
But really, "I ain't pretendin' to be deservin'. No, I'm undeservin'. And I mean to go on bein' undeservin'. I like it, and that's the truth." :oops:
(And I mean to go on bein' a mystery, too; but I Thank You all just the same!) :wink:
CBris, amused that GaryGB is a "philosophical genius," writes to an American philanthropist/millionaire (Mr. Ezra D. Wallingford), a wealthy man who founds moral reform societies, that GaryGB is a prospective lecturer - "one of the most original moralists in the EFFC." :D
Pups has been put in the dog house by his wife Bonnie for spending too much time and money on computer upgrades, so he slips off to Emma Field, where he sits at the bar in the clubhouse. Forlorn and with nowhere to go, he encounters a tuxedo-dressed, yet "miserable" GaryGB - who has also 'ruined' his own opportunistic lot as a result of CBris' intercession - "that Wimpole Street devil." He explains scornfully how he has inherited millions when Wallingford died and provided for him in his will:
"Ruined me, that's all. Tied me up and delivered me in the hands of middle-class morality. And don't you defend him. Was it him or was it not him, who wrote to an old American blighter, named Wallingford, who was giving five millions to found Moral Reform societies, to tell him the most original moralist at EFFC was Mr. GaryGB, a common dustman?...You may call it a joke. It's put the lid on me, proper. The old bloke died and left me four thousand pounds a year in his blommin' will. Who asked him to make a gentleman out of me? I was happy. I was free. I touched pretty nigh everyone for money when I wanted it, same as I touched him. Now, I'm tied neck and heels, and everybody touches me. A year ago, I hadn't a relation in the world except one or two who wouldn't speak to me. Now, I've fifty, and not a decent week's wages amongst the lot of 'em. Oh, I have to live for others now, not for myself. Middle-class morality."
Entrapped by the middle class, GaryGB must become "respectable" by marrying his girlfriend. It's "the deepest cut of all" that he must make an honest woman out of his 'partner.' And he cannot give back the money because he doesn't have the "nerve" or courage to do so, admitting: "We're all intimidated, that's what we are. Intimidated. Bought up." :roll:
In only a few hours, he will lose his freedom at the church: "There's drinks and girls all over Lilliwaup and I gotta track 'em down in just a few more hours." In the waning hours of his last free morning, he drunkenly sings in the clubhouse:
"Get Me To The Church on Time"
"I'm getting married in the morning,
Ding-Dong the bells are gonna chime;
Kick up a rumpus, but don't lose the compass!
And get me to the church..."
"For Gawd's sake get me to the church on time!" :lol:
Then a shot glass falls off the clubhouse bar landing on the floor next to GaryGB's head, waking him up. :?
He is relieved to find that he was only dreaming...! :mrgreen:
GaryGB
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Hi Pups:
Perhaps "The Giant Rat of Sumatra" will make an appearance as a new pest here at Emma! :lol:
(another "Firesign Theater" reference, to explain for the rest of the world)
GaryGB
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I would welcome having an additional place like Emma Field to frequent with comparable features and comeraderie such as we have here.:D
However, I would not do without having an installed (and at least partially functioning "scenery only" version) of the original Emma Field in any future version of Flight Simulator, and would absolutely not want to see the concept of Emma Field being shut down in the virtual world promoted in order to "kill" it in the minds of happy users, just so that its enthusiasts can be enticed to buy a replacement (since there would be in that scenario, conceptually at least, "no longer an Emma to go home to anymore"). Nor would I want to see such a scenario fostered in the minds of the EFFC members so that they are transplanted elsewhere into another (or a renamed) forum so they can be 'cultivated' in an environment conducive to sales of add-ons wherever the latest feeding frenzy appears to be taking place. That would bring to mind a situation somewhat akin to that in the "Matrix" movie trilogy, where humans are cultivated as a resource and kept in a suspended dreamlike state experiencing life via a virtual world. (Hmmm... might be a storyline for some more EFFC cartoons there!) :evil:
I love the idea of an "Elmer Field", and believe it could catch on in popularity quite well as a natural progression of our improvisational storytelling and comeraderie here in the EFFC forum! I think it would be especially great to have it available as an additional airfield near our beloved Emma so we can enjoy both. If it were necessary, I would even consider having it as a direct replacement for Emma Field at the exact physical location, which I also greatly enjoy, particularly due to its accessibility to so many great Georender and other scenic airstrip locations (all of which I plan to keep in the future too!), and because of the happy memories I and others have shared for this area in the EFFC forum. :)
But I would then have to do either some scripting or programming work to create a "configurator" to swap out AFCADs (or whatever the FSX SDK equivalent will be) so that I can load either the Elmer Field or the Emma Field versions of the Lilliwaup based airfields. :wink:
If it came to it, I would do the "twin FS installation" (like that which Bill Lyons et al. devised for the "Golden Wings" retro FS theme to simulate the environment of the Golden Age of Flying) in order to have access to both Emma and Elmer in FS9/FSX. :idea:
I suspect ultimately, though, most Emma enthusiasts would want to have both Fields available in their main working copy of FS for both convenience and enjoyment. :P
And I would enjoy seeing at least one other Elmer Field, perhaps logically next in the "North" in the Misty/Tongass area since there has been such a resurgence of interest in Alaskan flying recently. Although I am still rather partial to the Seattle/BC area, I do greatly appreciate the wondrous scenery and the adventurous challenges of flying in Alaska.
[EDIT]: Since the storytelling in EFFC has rumored that Fritz was a bush pilot in and out of Alaska, BC and Washington state during his younger years (see... we can make up new themes and storylines just as easily as Lago can!) we could "re-create" some of his "prior" home and airfield locations just about anywhere along with a lot of new "old" characters from his "Past"!
I'd also love to see an Elmer Field somewhere in a tropical area where there are a number of islands one could fly around and to allow us the opportunity to indulge our fantasies of "retiring" there (part time) on our own private islands like Virgin's Richard Bransen. Making his acquaintance by flying over to his island in our amphibian and accidentally-on-purpose developing engine trouble nearby, we might ultimately get an invitation to ride in the Space-ShipOne due to his connection to that project with Burt Rutan.
The "Virgin Galactic fleet" ( see: http://www.mojaveweblog.com/pages/2004/040929-2.html ) might ultimately then be accessible to us in the future as the personal and commercial space travel craft are developed which allow us to to visit a high altitude Cassie Field or even a "Georendered" FS-Addon space station! ("Open the pod bay doors, Fritz"; "I'm sorry Pups, I'm afraid I can't do that... HOLD SHORT!") :lol:
Along the same lines of having an Elmer Field (or other entirely new theme) in a warm climate, having a location near (or an actual recreation of) amphibian pilot & owner/singer/writer/restaurant entrepreneur Jimmy Buffet's Florida USA "Margaritaville", "Parrothead" or "Cheesburger In Paradise" establishments in that area would be great fun, with Jimmy doing his AI amphibian showboat landings and slow taxiing around the harbors to lead enthusiatic admirers in their boats and other amphibian aircraft over to his emporium docking area. ( see: http://www.margaritaville.com/ )
There's lots of possibilities to keep add-on creators busy, and FS consumers happy "flying and buying" without losing Emma Field in the process! 8)
GaryGB
Kudo's for Tongass Fjord
in Emma Field Flying Club
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Hi Francois:
Thanks for sharing your insights with us here! :D
I'll bet with as much FS stuff you have dealt with over the years your computers are the ultimate "torture test" for system stability and backup organization in such a challenging high demand FS and related application work environment! :shock:
I agree with the wisdom of first doing an initial backup of a freshly installed Windows with all current service packs and updates before installing other applications.
I now recommend using Windows System Restore setpoints at each point that one is going to install anything onto one's computer. I had not been using System Restore to further tweak FS performance, and when Norton SystemWorks crapped out during installation of GoBack, I might not have had to go through the hell I did had I been running after a fresh restore setpoint! Bear in mind, however, that Windows System Restore setpoints (like a Norton GoBack history partition/file itself!) are all lost if one ever turns it off, or if it ever turns itself off (called 'inactivation'' by Microsoft) when we fill up our drive partitions too full and do not leave enough free space. Hmmm... I wonder if it warns us if we are at risk for System Restore 'inactivation' early enough to allow us to safely get our huge drive partitions freed up in advance by either deleting unused crap, or installing another drive on which to keep all our precious "STUFF" as Pups so aptly refers to it ? Us computer geeks probably collect as much or more digital 'stuff' as the ladies do physical belongings! :oops:
I have also recommended to people (re)building machines that they then do a backup image after installing internet security and anti-viral/anti-malware applications, system maintenance apps etc.
Next I recommend a backup after installing and setting up critical daily working applications (office suites, financial/taxes etc.) with all current service packs and updates before installing any other applications.
Then I recommend a backup of a freshly installed FS with the 9.1 update and registry string exports, but without having yet installed add-ins of any kind.
Last, I recommend a backup of FS with one's add-ins and related applications, folders and registry string exports.
Something which I had forgotten about for some years after getting into multiple hard drives, 32 bit Windows etc. which I used to do routinely back in the days of single hard drives, DOS and early Windows was making an external floppy backup of my Master Boot Record (MBR), Partition Table and File Allocation Table (FAT) with a special DOS booted utility program.
Now in the NT-based 32 bit OS of Windows XP most of us use NTFS on at least some of our drives and the FAT has been replaced by the Master File Table (MFT). But these system critical tables and boot sector data can still be backed up by utility programs separate from those drive imaging and system maintenance programs which occasionally fail due to application software/OS glitches, or which can fail entirely if one has a damaged/missing drive image sequence component of external DVD media.
This all sounds good in theory, but when it comes to implementing this onto (an)other hard drive(s) much less onto countless CDs/DVDs, that's where we may all fall short of our ideals. It is such a time consuming pain to figure out, configure and actually carry out with all due diligence and in spite of the multiple software packages available out there which over the years have attempted to simplify doing backups! :?
Now it is even worse perhaps, because we have such huge amounts of data to deal with; who wants to sit there all day feeding costly DVD media (rewriteable or otherwise) through our burners? Even when mass volume (40 GB to 100 GB capacity) DVD burners and media become available in the next 1 or 2 years, it will still be a pain due to their slower speed and occasional media failure of an image file volume component. :roll:
With hard drive prices dropping every few months, I'm really considering putting a separate highly redundant (fully recoverable) RAID drive array in another computer which is streamed backup info into a cue (like a 'remote' RAID 1 mirror would be) whenever the main computer is not in actual use by me at the console. That 'cued' mirror drive could then be the base for incremental backup image files "eventually" written onto external media as supplements to a single baseline backup drive image on DVDs. :idea:
Wow! This could take some planning and expense; hmmm... maybe I could just gamble that my system will never crash... :?: <NOT!> :lol: :lol: :lol:
GaryGB