OT: restoring a computer MS way

[woodchucker]

So I can't easily restore my computer.

MS in it's infinite wisdom reads that the firmware is different and won't restore. NICE!!!

So back to building from scratch. I can get the files back, it will restore that part.

The disk from the old computer is gone, it would not read it in the new computer. What I might do is stick the new disk in the old computer and see if using a monitor I can get it booted. If so, I might try restoring to that computer and move it back to the new computer.

All this will have to wait until I get back from my sons graduation Monday or Tuesday.

[G. Ross]

What kind of backup do you have? I have put a new disk in a external housing connected to a usb port and restored a complete disk to it using an Acronis backup which was on another external disk. In other words would clone a new disk from the backup files. This was a few years back and I no longer use Acronis because of other issues.

[clare]

They've thrown a new curve into the game now on new computers - EFI (not electronic fuel injection - extensible firmware Interface) which is part and parcel of the Globaly Unit IDentifier (GUID) standard and GPT (GUID Partition Table) spec that allows you to excede 2tb per partition.

I've found I can clone a complete drive with certain software (run from bootable CD or stick) but I have not been able to image partitions and restore them with any of 5 or 6 products I have tried. Will try to image the complete drive and see what happens.

The EFI and system (c:) partitions alone just will NOT restore.

[Leon]

FWIW I save and back up data only and on a different drive. I back that data up on the cloud.

I used to subscribe to the notion of having an image but stepping back and looking at that I finally decided that I would rather spend the day and a half reinstalling the software on a clean disk, minus all the broken links, lost temp files, corrupt what ever, and so on.

Keeping your data on a separate disk relieves you from having to pick and choose what to back up, no program files mixed in. Backing only the data disk up to the cloud cuts down on what gets backed up.

If you keep a copy of all your program install software on your data disk also you can quickly reinstall the programs on the new/newly cleaned primary drive that the OS resides on.

[clare]

And any Tom Dick or Harry can hack into the cloud and there goes your data - - - - -

[Leon]

Well It is encrypted and password protected and anything can happen at any time with any one anywhere.

Perhaps the best bet is to have 4 or 5 copies at different locations.

But for my money and security a site that specializes in keeping copies of your data is probably much more of a good back up plan than keeping your data in house.

[clare]

Yup - the cloud makes ANYONE a target.

Make 2 encrypted copies on external hard drives. Keep one at home and one at work, in your car, or in a bank safety deposit box.

[woodchucker]

[woodchucker]

Yea like Clare says.

I don't trust anyone. I know what these clowns do... I'm in the business. They talk the security game, but so many times they have holes that a big oil tanker could come through.

The business usually has security in mind, but it's the people below that create bypasses because they don't like jumping through hoops every time.

I could explain one of the biggest ways I have seen, but I don't wish to describe it here. It's a back door that I often see someone put in so they don't have to go through a process.. But it creates a huge hole..

Trust.. Trust no one with your data.

I keep a thumb drive in the safe deposit box.. but even that is outdated. I also keep an external in the safe deposit box.. And that IS always way out of date.

The most important backup is one that is accessible. So I keep one at home..

[krw]

The thing people forget about *any* backup scheme is that it has to be tested periodically. Just assuming that you can actually do a restore when needed is foolish.

[clare]

It will be 26 years in August that I've been heavily involved in the computer business and I've learned there is no such thing as "computer security". The only secure computer is one that is not connected to ANYTHING else. The only secure data backup is one you have FULL control over, and then it is only as secure as you make it. There is also no such thing as a bulletproof backup. Test any backup before you trust it. Then find another method of backing up and prove it works too. When you have 2 you can trust - use them both. at least one copy of your data with each method.

[Leon]

Understood, but I am not even a blip on the target. I played paranoid for many years and wasted more time than the data was worth.

[Leon]

Did any one mention bullet proof. I have already mentioned to hell with trying to keep a copy of the OS, as it becomes more corrupt with each day of use. I really do not want a copy of that.

And, My data is located in two different places, some in 3, on site and off site. I can live with that.

[Lew Hodgett]

RE: Subject

Not to swift when it comes to puters, but have found the following works for me.

Most of the programs I use provide a way to get to DOS.

Once in DOS, the following command line works for me:

dos "xcopy d:\checks\*.* F:\checks /s /v /m" end 1

where CHECKS is a directory and F: is front of puter plug in thumb drive.

SFWIW, "F" is a backup of a backup.

Simple, but it works for me and is current.

Lew

[woodchucker]

BTW, I do not do MS updates for the very reason. While I was on XP, my internet stopped working after an MS update. Could not get it working doing normal troubleshooting.

I had to do a GHOST restore.

Stopped all updates for a while.

This was the second time that something really went bad from an MS update. The first was even worse, but I can't remember what it was.

Now, I pick and chose what I need. BUT they are off.

Half the stuff MS pushes as critical are not. It's a matter of knowing what is and what is not. Not all security flaws are critical, if you don't use the components. For me I don't use IE or Outlook.

Every onces in a while I go through read the list, figure out what I need and don't and install the individual updates.

And yes your computer gets slower and slower with automatic updates. Not so much picking and chosing... A little, but much less noticeable.

[woodchucker]

I use external hard drives, so I keep multiple backups and have versioning.

Thanks.

My data is safe, my restore is not. I did not know MS tied their backup to the firmware. I had read how finally MS got there shit together on backups and tried it.. it worked on the same computer... didn't know it would not transfer to the same model w/diff firmware.

The data fortunately is still there. But I can't restore an image. I have some very important databases out there, and it means I must build from scratch and then restore them... just a big pain in the ass.

All at a time, when the town contacted me and wants to audit my volleyball records.

[Leon]

Actually if you are connected to the internet you are a target. And that goes up significantly if you use Windows.

[Swingman]

Don't believe that for a millisecond, like the key to your front door, security is relative. Nothing is, or ever has been, absolutely secure. There is no such thing security, connected or not.

There is indeed an ability to do an "air-gap hack", readily available and in use:

NSA's ANT division is capable of, and has implanted surveillance hardware and software in almost every piece of computer hardware, from USB plugs, to hard drives, to serial ports, plugs, mice, keyboards, etc, that will provide air-gap bridging from a totally unconnected computer.

DAGS "COTTONMOUTH-I" for starters:

[Dr. Deb]

Two things:

You can call MS Tech Support and get a good Key (I had to do that each time I upgraded my hardware on my copy of XP, )

You can move to Mac and be done with the hassle of playing with MS, but you r expenses go up

The third, and for me the best, option is to move to Linux, you do not have the hassle of dealing with MS and you get all the security of Mac (actuall y even more) without the expense.

The following is no indorsement, but purely personal preference

Ubuntu, and its many spin offs, is much to cumbersome and has a "Tool Set" (read Control Panel in MS) that is both difficult to use and somewhat limit ed.

Fedora (Red Hat's user version) is even worse at being user friendly than U buntu

PCLinusOS is not the largest distro out there, but I love its Tool Set.

Whatever one any of you decides to look at, they all have a "LiveCD," (whic h you can install from, so you do not need to do two downloads) which you c an download, burn to a CD/DVD, load, run, look at, evaluate and decide, wit hout ever having written anything to your HD. If you like it, install it. If not, circular file.

Just a thought

Deb

[Swingman]

I know Sketchup can be run under WINE, but would be interested in hearing anyone's experience in doing so.

Also plugins would probably have to be modified since Ruby's text format is different than Unix, IIRC?