W10

[Tetge]

I had an old Kawi running, but then ran into an issue getting it started, and it went back on the back burner. I'll get sorted sooner or later.

I'm sure I'll figure this Clonezilla thing out. Their webpage is a bit of a labyrinth, with links upon links upon links, but it shouldn't be that hard to figure out. If I can manage to install all the programs I have on here, and the dubious ways they need to be installed, I should be able to handle some freeware.

To tell the truth, I have not used CloneZilla for awhile since I use Ghost with W7. I did successfully back up W8 prior to upgrading it to W8.1. And, I restored my last backup of W8.1 and patched it up to date since the time that I initially made images of it. I also backed up and restored some Linux builds so I know that CloneZilla works. But, I did not even bother to back up the W10 evaluation that I recently installed and was not fond of, since it was still a lot like W8.1. So, CloneZilla is just a tool that I have on a couple of USB sticks, since I need both the 32 and 64 bit versions due to my little 32 bit Notebook (which has 32 bit Linux Mint on it and works great).

The CloneZilla site is sort of a mess, I agree. But there are lots of resources scattered about the site, including discussions about error codes. There is also an early option to use a slower method to create a backup image so, as I said, you might have to experiment. And, of course, there is always the full system backup utility hidden in W8.1 if you can't get CloneZilla to work. A full systems backup that puts everything back is the goal, however you manage that.

As for restoring old motorcycles, most of us have experienced how tricky that can be. Sitting around unused does bad things to most vehicles.

[SonicVenum]

I managed to successfully use the Windows utility to create a backup image, but boy is it a big file! It's ~60GB. Considering it's an image of a 93GB drive, I'd say it didn't really compress things efficiently. I guess I'll keep messing with Clonezilla to get it working properly for me. I read something about it not working well when connected to USB 3.0 ports, but working fine when connected to USB 2.0 ports. I know you said it worked on a 3.0 port for you, so I'll do more research on the topic. It would be nice to have a working ~6GB image instead of one ten times that size.

[Tetge]

I managed to successfully use the Windows utility to create a backup image, but boy is it a big file! It's ~60GB. Considering it's an image of a 93GB drive, I'd say it didn't really compress things efficiently. I guess I'll keep messing with Clonezilla to get it working properly for me. I read something about it not working well when connected to USB 3.0 ports, but working fine when connected to USB 2.0 ports. I know you said it worked on a 3.0 port for you, so I'll do more research on the topic. It would be nice to have a working ~6GB image instead of one ten times that size.

One of my computers doesn't automatically wish to boot from USB 3.0. So, I press the F8 key repeatedly while it starts up and this brings up the boot menu (I have never figured out exactly when to hit F8 during the boot up process, so I just tap it until the boot menu appears). I then select the 3.0 USB stick from the list and the computer boots just fine. Sometimes there are two versions of the USB stick shown with one describing the stick and the other adding the new kind of BIOS into the description. Depending on what, I am confused, it might take two tries to figure out which version to select. I also use F8 to select the SSD's in my computer that have Linux on them as I do not let them put a boot manager into my Windows so I have to switch to their drive to boot them up. Of course, if you added a 3.0 card, that is not bootable, you could never boot from USB 3.0, but, if the USB is native to your MB, you should be able to using the boot menu.

I read somewhere that you can tell CloneZilla to load completely into memory from a USB stick, and then you can save your backup image onto the same USB stick. There are lots of options when using CloneZilla. A 60GB system image is something that you could live with, I suppose, since HD's have become so huge in capacity, but, it is too large for my tastes. Hopefully it would work if you have to completely restore your system.

[Tetge]

I awoke screaming with a nightmare and realized that it was because I may have not been correct about the F8 key calling up a boot menu when pressed during the initial boot. It does this on my ASUS MB's, but, I suppose that different MB's might have different ways of calling up a boot menu. But, they all should have that ability. When you set the boot order in the BIOS, it sometimes still will not recognize some media, such as your USB 3.0 on the front of your case. But the boot menu should work, although you may have to research your MB.

Now, I can relax as the pressure of having furnished bad info was killing me.

[jhwalker]

I awoke screaming with a nightmare and realized that it was because I may have not been correct about the F8 key calling up a boot menu when pressed during the initial boot. It does this on my ASUS MB's, but, I suppose that different MB's might have different ways of calling up a boot menu. But, they all should have that ability. When you set the boot order in the BIOS, it sometimes still will not recognize some media, such as your USB 3.0 on the front of your case. But the boot menu should work, although you may have to research your MB.

Now, I can relax as the pressure of having furnished bad info was killing me.

puleeze

[SonicVenum]

Don't worry, Pat. I already knew that my MB requires pressing F12 to bring up the boot menu. I also figured out that I can boot from a USB 3.0 port, but it has to be one of the two directly on the MB. The ones on the case, and on the add-on card I installed will not boot. Luckily, I have USB extensions plugged into all four USB 3.0 ports on the back of the box, and I have the female ends velcro'd to the side of the case all neat and orderly-like.

[jhwalker]

I love this thread. It is ALMOST as much fun as the Foxcatcher dialog...

[SonicVenum]

No matter the topic, nerds will be nerds.

[Tetge]

I have found over the years that almost all people who use computers as business tools generally dislike all the techie stuff and configuration that I have always tried to get a handle on. They buy Dell's with extended warranty and in office service, and they hire IT's to do the dirty work. These people, some of whom are power users with high level programing skills, can never understand why anyone would take valuable time and actually touch a computer to fool with hardware. And the only use for configuration is to get all their software to work well. And, once things are working, they do not like to mess with a setup that is doing the job, at all.

Such people would never understand the need for the discussion, above.

[jhwalker]

I have found over the years that almost all people who use computers as business tools generally dislike all the techie stuff and configuration that I have always tried to get a handle on. They buy Dell's with extended warranty and in office service, and they hire IT's to do the dirty work. These people, some of whom are power users with high level programing skills, can never understand why anyone would take valuable time and actually touch a computer to fool with hardware. And the only use for configuration is to get all their software to work well. And, once things are working, they do not like to mess with a setup that is doing the job, at all.

Such people would never understand the need for the discussion, above.

Of course we can understand the "need (actually the desire)" for that type of discussion. It is just another form of fun. Since I made my living with computers from 1967 on, and as a techie was forced for years to resolve a variety of issues from primitive operating systems, and primitive "not-really-databases", the computer for me at this stage of my life is ONLY a labor-saving device. If I find either a computer or operating system actually causing me labor, I give it the heave-ho and get one that saves me labor. (I have found 8.1 on my Surface Pro 2 with the stylus to be very productive for the stuff I do ) But I understand the fun that can be had, and I enjoyed following the thread from about a 10,000 ft (or maybe 50,000 ft) level. We all get to choose our fun.
If I had done really horrible things in my life, then actually doing all that stuff you and Juan were discussing, as opposed to just reading about it, would be a suitable punishment.