Jim Lawrence
accessd at shaw.ca
Mon Sep 22 13:20:36 CDT 2008
Use DriveImageXML... super product... super price. Add it to the BartsPE disk and you have an unbeatable combination. Jim -----Original Message----- From: dba-ot-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:dba-ot-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of dickford1 at aol.com Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 10:29 AM To: dba-ot at databaseadvisors.com Subject: Re: [dba-OT] Cross-posted to dba-Tech regarding MS VPC Okay, Steve...here are some questions: Does Casper work on "Beast" as it is...with it's 20gb HD intact? Is Casper capable of using DMA (Direct Memory Access)? If the answer is yes to either...you're part way there. All you need to do now is figure out how to connect "Beast" with your "Shuttle PC" (BTW, what is that?). If you have available USB -or- parallel ports, you should be home free. I used to have a number of commercial -and- freeware utils that could do this with aplomb, via DMA. IIRC, XTree Gold was one of these... Even DOS 6.xx had a basic util with which you could connect two PC's via parallel ports...in which the "master" operated the "slave". You could XCOPY an entire partition (making sure you had sufficient space available), using the appropriate "switches", of course. Here's another thought: If "Casper" works on the "Beast", why not just "clone" the whole mess to an external HD and be done with it? Dickford? -----Original Message----- From: Steve Erbach <serbach at gmail.com> To: Off Topic <dba-ot at databaseadvisors.com> Sent: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 7:23 am Subject: Re: [dba-OT] Cross-posted to dba-Tech regarding MS VPC Dickford, I'll have to look for those messages from Drew regarding the virtual drive partitions. That sounds very promising. To flesh out my question that included a reference to Casper: Casper is a superb utility that clones hard disks. I use it to backup my main drive to an external hard disk. Casper defaults to an incremental approach to backing up a drive, so my backups usually take just a few minutes...but the backup is completely bootable. Here's what I'm hoping to do: take the 20 GB Windows XP drive from my old-old workstation (named Beast because it has a 666 MHz processor) and mount it in my new Shuttle PC. I haven't tried that yet; the Shuttle has IDE controllers but Beast has the older variety I'm pretty sure and I don't know yet if I can use one of the newer IDE cables on an old (9-year-old) drive. THEN my hope is to use Casper to clone that 20 GB physical drive with all of its applications intact onto the 20 GB virtual drive I set up the other day...and VOILA! I'd have a bootable virtual drive containing all of the applications, including QuickBooks and all of my old invoices. THAT'S the nub of the matter. I'm going to check with our genius network admin regarding the possibility, too, though he's more of a fan of VMWare. I see that VMWare Workstation is NOT free, as VMWare Server is, so that's what pushed me to try MS VPC. Regarding memory-resident utilities under XP...I have already experimented using the autoexec as you mentioned with no luck. I have no frame of reference beyond those experiments; that's why I'm asking about VPC's possbilities in that arena. Steve Erbach Neenah, WI On Sun, Sep 21, 2008 at 5:32 PM, <dickford1 at aol.com> wrote: > Steve, Drew Wutka here has made all kinds of "virtual" drive partitions available for downloading...including DOS 6.22 and Win95, using VPC.?He has also included detailed instructions as to how to do what you want. > > I am currently using VPC on my "new" Vista SP1 system. There are some minor issues...and, I stress minor. On my recently deceased WinXP SP2 system...it worked without a hiccup. I cobbled together a DOS OS, which returns a "ver" of 8.01...quite "bootable"...ran every Paradox DOS 4.02 app I ever wrote. > > Once VPC creates a .VHD file...it can be copied to a partition in it's entirety...and operated there, once initiated. IOW, it's a PC unto itself. > > I have no familiarity with "Casper", so I cannot comment intelligently on that subject. > > That said, insofar as I know....and have used VPC...you would treat your new partition as you would any "fresh" PC...install the OS...and every scrap of software you think you need. Check it...test it. Once you're satisfied, that .VHD can be copied...and installed to any "fresh" partition you have available, regardless of the actual physical location of the drive itself. You may have to "jigger" certain app references to "drives" and "URL's"...but, it's really easy to use productively. > > Insofar as that TSR is concerned...it can indeed be run effectively under WinXP -or- Vista...provided it is loaded upon bootup...just edit your AUTOEXEC.xxx > > Do a li'l experimentation, guy...<g> > > Dickford _______________________________________________ dba-OT mailing list dba-OT at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-ot Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com _______________________________________________ dba-OT mailing list dba-OT at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/dba-ot Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com