My Blah Blah Blah is messed up .. how do I get it back?

[Wolfesden]

After several years of silently perusing this forum, I feel compelled to finally speak up. Over and over again I read msgs like the title msg above, or the xxx.dll file is missing, or Topic Title: widnows could not start... windows/system32/config/system is corrput or missing. The panic'd query "What do I do?" And typically the well-meaning fellows will offer suggestions about MS article such and such, or using Ghost or TrueImage (the better of the two) or System Restore, etc. Many suggestions may or may not save the day. Well, an ounce of prevention ...

Folks, buy and load GoBack before your problems occur; and they will. I've never seen GoBack discussed here, but I will tell you that problems such as: Topic Title: widnows could not start... windows/system32/config/system is corrput or missing. are much more readily and easily handled by a simple GoBack restore point. It loads before Windows and puts your 'puter back in working order, just as it was before you or something else messed it up. I know, I've used GoBack (formerly by Roxio, now owned by Symantec) for years. Even recently I used it when I too got the bad news ... widnows could not start... windows/system32/config/system is corrput or missing. Sent ya this, didn't I?

See ya. Wolfeman in the Wolfesden
PS: yes, I know GoBack caused some to have problems, but that was because they didn't perform due diligence before buying and loading the program. W

 

[Tarrant64]

GoBack sucks.

Sucks bad.

 

[Fardringle]

Originally posted by: Tarrant64
GoBack sucks.

Sucks bad.

I'll second that notion. There is nothing good that GoBack can do that a simple XP System Restore can't do, but there are plenty of bad things that it will be happy to do to your system, even when installed and configured using Roxio/Symantec instructions.

Edit: If you feel that you need a third party system restoration utility, Norton Ghost (or a similar image/cloning app) will do it better, faster, safer, and easier.

 

[Zolty]

norton ghost rules!!

 

[Matthias99]

Originally posted by: Fardringle

Originally posted by: Tarrant64
GoBack sucks.

Sucks bad.

I'll second that notion. There is nothing good that GoBack can do that a simple XP System Restore can't do, but there are plenty of bad things that it will be happy to do to your system, even when installed and configured using Roxio/Symantec instructions.

Edit: If you feel that you need a third party system restoration utility, Norton Ghost (or a similar image/cloning app) will do it better, faster, safer, and easier.

I've seen GoBack work flawlessly. I've also seen it screw up and cause issues.

On my girlfriend's laptop it came preinstalled. I had to disable it, because it constantly thrashed the hard drive while sitting at the WinXP desktop -- on a clean install with nothing running! Not cool.

I would rather stick with Windows System Restore, and/or a standalone imaging utility.

 

[Tarrant64]

Well Wolfesden, now you have the vote. It seems unanymous. We just don't recommend it cause it's not really the best thing out there to us. When a built in utility such as Windows System Restore can do the job needed most of the time, there is no reason to look at crappy utilities that may or 'may not' work.

 

[daniel49]

aww you coulda been gentler now it will be several years more till he speaks again.

software is such a subjective thing, what one person loves another abhors.

 

[Wolfesden]

Being in sales for 30+ years means that I don't take different points of view personally as long as I'm not personally flamed .. which none of you has done, thanks. Actually daniel49 is most correct re: subjectivity.

Tarrant64 is also correct for his hardware config. As I said, GoBack can cause problems with certain hardware, thus research before buying and using. And when I build my next unit with Sata or Raid, I too may have to leave GoBack.

Fardringle is incorrect tho' when stating "There is nothing good that GoBack can do that a simple XP Restore can't do". If problem XX (say a download gone wrong, or virus atack or HDD problems) trashes one's data, say a folder full of personal irreplaceable pictures or one's Quicken checkbook or tax records from past years (all of which one should back up frequently .. but some don't) I don't believe System Restore will recover those but GoBack will. And yes, so will Ghost and TrueImage ... IF you've done an image more recent than the data endangered. But GoBack is contemporaneous and silently watching .. like me. WW

 

[forrestroche]

Originally posted by: Wolfesden
If problem XX (say a download gone wrong, or virus atack or HDD problems) trashes one's data, say a folder full of personal irreplaceable pictures or one's Quicken checkbook or tax records from past years (all of which one should back up frequently .. but some don't) I don't believe System Restore will recover those but GoBack will. And yes, so will Ghost and TrueImage ... IF you've done an image more recent than the data endangered.WW

This comment reminded me that I've been meaning to ask someone for quite a while for an opinion on my backup (ghost) strategy. Ok, here's my setup and I want y'all to critique it - (ok or dangerously mistaken?):

Disk 1
os and prog files c:
settings and docs d:
other storage e:

Disk 2
page file f:
other storage g:
ghost images h: (fat32 - I use dos version of ghost)

Spybot, Spywareblaster, Sygate PF, AVG

Referring to the above quote, I was under the impression (mistakenly?) that if a virus gets past AVG, it will MOST LIKELY attack my os, program files, registry, etc... and likewise that if I was playing where I shouldn't I would screw up registry, or some system files... so my idea was to segregate MY files from sys and prog files, ghost them seperately, and then if something happens, I just restore the c: partition, and don't lose anything that HASN'T been backed up in MY files. In other words when I restore with ghost I don't touch my pictures, music, movies, etc... Question: What are the chances of something working in c: attacking other partitions (or disk2).

The advantage I see is that not having any of my PERSONAL files on c:, I can restore to a very EARLY point without losing any of MY files. But with go back or system restore I am returning the system to a very near point in time (yesterday for example). Over time therefore, I am backing up not just the things that I want (programs and my files) but also those that I don't (registry debris and all the other stuff I believe accumulates over time and causes a system to run slower - am I correct here?).

With my system, I did a fresh install on c:, installed programs, defragged and cleaned all temp files, and ghosted it. Every few months I restore to that point to get rid of the "clutter" I then update everything (XP, antivirus, etc), reinstall any programs that had been added since last time, defrag, clean temp, mru's etc... and create a NEW restore point (in effect an hour or so since the last one). I keep only TWO points - the first one I made (a copy of which I keep on a DVD), and a current or "most recent." My current restore point has about four hours real time since hdd formatting. And yet I installed the OS in June. And if right now I restore to that point, I will not lose one iota of my own data.

Am I explaining myself well? If so, is this silly? It really is not complicated once it's set up. Once I did get infected with some crap that AVG detected, but wouldn't get rid of. I ghosted and in four minutes was like new. And my own files were untouched.

Here's why I don't use XP sys restore: space, resource usage, those slowdowns... with my system somebody or something could completely wipe my c: and I could just boot with a ghost floppy and restore c: from h: in about five minutes. Of course, as I asked above, the critical question is how likely is it that something would corrupt other partitions?

If anybody is about to jump on me about my partitions, it's also for very specific reasons: To keep os/prog files and page file at the outer edge of the hdd's to get maximum linear velocity (c: partition is only 4gb on a 120gb disk), and to place files on the disks in some relation to the frequency of usage. My source for this philosophy was: http://partition.radified.com/

Anyway, any thoughts about the ghost setup would be appreciated.

forrest

 

[FatCity]

GoBack---great idea, poor execution.

I bought a copy and used it for awhile after reading glowing reports from well-meaning people like yourself. Unfortunately, the program turned out to be such a royal PITA and was so limited in what it was able to restore that I uninstalled it and started using imaging software.

First and foremost, GoBack had my HD churning constantly. Everything that was written to the disk had to be recorded by the GoBack program. My hard drive sounded like a typewriter and drove me crazy. Secondly, the restore points only went back about four days; if you were looking to restore something beyond that narrow time period, then you were SOL. Also, those four days of data required nearly five GB of HD space. Finally, you had to disable GoBack and lose all your restore points every time you had to perform a major operation on your computer. These operations included, but were not limited to, installing service packs, installing big software programs, and de-fragmenting.

I bought GoBack with high hopes for success but was very disappointed after a week or two of using the program. The disk now resides at the bottom of one of my drawers, keeping company with my MicroSoft "Plus" disk and my Acronis TrueImage disk.

I now use TeraByte's Image for Windows to image my drive and have been quite happy with its performance and range.

 

[stash]

Wow, nice spam.

 

[micnn]

Originally posted by: STaSh
Wow, nice spam.

whata y saying... spams never nice. especially this one

 

[stash]

micnn, meet sarcasm.