Go Digital with Vizio HDTVs
The latest way to watch Amazon Video On Demand on your TV is also a great way to earn advertising fees. Amazon customers can now instantly access over 50,000 movies & TV shows on Vizio’s VIA line of HDTVs. Spread the word about Amazon Video On Demand on Vizio and help your customers turn their living room into a digital entertainment center.
http://www.amazon.com/b/?&node=16261631&tag=computertech0a-20
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Burn a CD or DVD in Windows Media Player
You can use Windows Media Player to copy music, pictures, and videos from your library to a blank CD or DVD. This process is known as burning.
Burning a CD in Windows Media PlayerThere are a number of reasons why you might want to use the Player to burn media files to a disc. For example, if you're planning a long road trip, you might want to select a mix of upbeat songs from your library and burn them to audio CDs that you can play in your car. The songs you choose might be old favorites that you previously ripped from your CD collection or new songs that you recently purchased from an online store.
The sections below describe the types of discs you can create in the Player, the equipment and materials you'll need, and step-by-step instructions for burning different kinds of discs.
Windows Media Player gives you the option of burning three kinds of discs: audio CDs, data CDs, and data DVDs. The type of disc to use depends on what you want to copy (for example, whether you will copy only music or a combination of music, videos, and pictures), how much material you want to copy (for example, a single album or dozens of albums), and where you want to play the disc (for example, in a computer or a car CD player).
| Disc type | Description |
|---|---|
| Audio CD | Ideal for making custom music CDs for playback in any car or home stereo.
|
| Data CD | Great option if you have a lot of music and a car CD player that can play WMA files (the type of music file that most people have in their library). Also handy for backing up your media files.
|
| Data DVD | Due to its larger capacity, use this type of disc for all the same reasons you would use a data CD if you have a larger volume of files than will fit on a single data CD.
|
to remove all items from the previous burn list.
Windows Power Shell Review
Back in the old days of DOS, we could automate a series of tasks using a “batch file”. With the advent of Windows (or, at least, since Windows 95) we’ve still had batch file processing available, but have been able to use WSH (the Windows Script Host – a widget that executes VBScript/Jscript scripts under Windows) to do much more complex tasks – even instantiating COM objects in order to do clever things like querying databases.
Now we’re in the days of the .NET Framework, however, it would be nice if we could write relatively simple scripts that can use not only COM (i.e. pre-.NET) objects but also the new stuff that .NET gives us. PowerShell is Microsoft’s answer to this technology gap, though only if you’re a user of Windows XP Service Pack 2, WS2003, or something more modern. It’ll be included in the installer for Windows Server 2008, but you can download it for XP and WS2003.
If you’re used to DOS batch files, VBScript scripts or Unix shell scripts, you’ll find this experience to useless when trying to get to grips with PowerShell. The syntax is like nothing I’ve ever come across (and I’ve used all three of the above extensively), and nor is it even anything like, say, VB.NET. This is a shame when you consider that, for instance, VBScripts under Windows were almost identical to VBScripts run under WSH (i.e. as Windows scripts) – if I’d been in Microsoft’s position I’d probably have tried to make PowerShell look at least something like one of the .NET programming languages, for the sake of usability.
This said, it’s not the hardest thing in the world to get used to. It’s just a case of learning the keywords and, most importantly, figuring out how to find your way around the help system. The reason for the latter is simple: if, like me, you’re a Visual Studio developer, you’re used to having IntelliSense – a clever little gizmo that enumerates all the possible expansions whenever you type an object name and hit the “.” key, so you don’t have to remember all the members of an object. No IntelliSense means having to type “get-help” a lot – but at least the help function is pretty comprehensive, and the 116-page user guide (which comes as an RTF and is installed when you install PowerShell). Also, as with many OS shells, you can create aliases for commands you use a lot – and in fact, most of the common ones have been done for you so they look like DOS commands. So “Get-ChildItem” has been aliased to the more familiar “DIR”, for example, and “Remove-Item” to “DEL”.
PowerShell gives you a lot of virtual concepts. For instance, as well as navigating the various storage devices connected to the system, you can navigate other “virtual” repositories in a similar way – notably the registry, the environment variable repository and the digital certificate store. There are a few restrictions on navigation, particularly in the registry, but it’s generally pretty flexible.
The bulk of what you can do in PowerShell is, of course, writing and running scripts that actually do work. You can do stuff as individual commands inside an interactive PowerShell session, but most people will want to put together whole scripts and then run them just like batch files. Of course, you can do this with PowerShell – you create a file with a “.ps1” extension (note that’s a number one, not a small L) and then invoke PowerShell with that filename. For example, let’s say we want to ping a host using a .NET System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping object. We’ll write a script and save it in c:\network.ps1:
$myaddr =”192.168.1.1”
$myping = new-object System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping
$myresult = $myping.send($ip)
write-host $myresult.status.tostring()
… and then run it from a CMD window or a Start->Run box by doing:
powershell c:\network.ps1
There’s a pile of other useful tools in PowerShell, too. We’ve talked about navigating the registry and the environment, but you also have commands for managing processes and Windows services, digging into system settings, working with the Windows installer, as well as printer and network control. And, of course, it has decent backward compatibility (so although you can now work with .NET objects, you’re not precluded from playing with traditional COM objects if you so wish).
PowerShell is a welcome evolution of Windows’ scripting facilities, and although it’s initially pretty cryptic to work with, you’ll find that you gradually build up your knowledge of commands, syntax and objects.
Reference:http://review.techworld.com/applications/529/microsoft-windows-powershell-10/
Retrieval Date:04/12/10
Now we’re in the days of the .NET Framework, however, it would be nice if we could write relatively simple scripts that can use not only COM (i.e. pre-.NET) objects but also the new stuff that .NET gives us. PowerShell is Microsoft’s answer to this technology gap, though only if you’re a user of Windows XP Service Pack 2, WS2003, or something more modern. It’ll be included in the installer for Windows Server 2008, but you can download it for XP and WS2003.
If you’re used to DOS batch files, VBScript scripts or Unix shell scripts, you’ll find this experience to useless when trying to get to grips with PowerShell. The syntax is like nothing I’ve ever come across (and I’ve used all three of the above extensively), and nor is it even anything like, say, VB.NET. This is a shame when you consider that, for instance, VBScripts under Windows were almost identical to VBScripts run under WSH (i.e. as Windows scripts) – if I’d been in Microsoft’s position I’d probably have tried to make PowerShell look at least something like one of the .NET programming languages, for the sake of usability.
This said, it’s not the hardest thing in the world to get used to. It’s just a case of learning the keywords and, most importantly, figuring out how to find your way around the help system. The reason for the latter is simple: if, like me, you’re a Visual Studio developer, you’re used to having IntelliSense – a clever little gizmo that enumerates all the possible expansions whenever you type an object name and hit the “.” key, so you don’t have to remember all the members of an object. No IntelliSense means having to type “get-help” a lot – but at least the help function is pretty comprehensive, and the 116-page user guide (which comes as an RTF and is installed when you install PowerShell). Also, as with many OS shells, you can create aliases for commands you use a lot – and in fact, most of the common ones have been done for you so they look like DOS commands. So “Get-ChildItem” has been aliased to the more familiar “DIR”, for example, and “Remove-Item” to “DEL”.
PowerShell gives you a lot of virtual concepts. For instance, as well as navigating the various storage devices connected to the system, you can navigate other “virtual” repositories in a similar way – notably the registry, the environment variable repository and the digital certificate store. There are a few restrictions on navigation, particularly in the registry, but it’s generally pretty flexible.
The bulk of what you can do in PowerShell is, of course, writing and running scripts that actually do work. You can do stuff as individual commands inside an interactive PowerShell session, but most people will want to put together whole scripts and then run them just like batch files. Of course, you can do this with PowerShell – you create a file with a “.ps1” extension (note that’s a number one, not a small L) and then invoke PowerShell with that filename. For example, let’s say we want to ping a host using a .NET System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping object. We’ll write a script and save it in c:\network.ps1:
$myaddr =”192.168.1.1”
$myping = new-object System.Net.NetworkInformation.Ping
$myresult = $myping.send($ip)
write-host $myresult.status.tostring()
… and then run it from a CMD window or a Start->Run box by doing:
powershell c:\network.ps1
There’s a pile of other useful tools in PowerShell, too. We’ve talked about navigating the registry and the environment, but you also have commands for managing processes and Windows services, digging into system settings, working with the Windows installer, as well as printer and network control. And, of course, it has decent backward compatibility (so although you can now work with .NET objects, you’re not precluded from playing with traditional COM objects if you so wish).
PowerShell is a welcome evolution of Windows’ scripting facilities, and although it’s initially pretty cryptic to work with, you’ll find that you gradually build up your knowledge of commands, syntax and objects.
Reference:http://review.techworld.com/applications/529/microsoft-windows-powershell-10/
Retrieval Date:04/12/10
Why is IT so important in a business
yes
Six reasons why information systems are so important for business today include:
1. Operational excellence
2. New products, services, and business models
3. Customer and supplier intimacy
4. Improved decision making
5. Competitive advantage
6. Survival
Here is onother answer to this questionThe emegence of a global economy, transformation of industrial economies, transformation of the business enterprise, and the emergence of digital firm make information systems essential in business today. Information system is a fondation for conducting business today. In many businesses, survival and the ability to achieve strategic business goals is difficult without extensive use of information technology. There are six reasons or objectives why businesses use information system:
1. Operational excellence. Business improve the efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher profitability. Information systems are important tools available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and productivity in business operations. A good example is Wal-Mart that uses a RetailLink system , which digitally links its suppliers to every one of Wal-Mart's stores. as soon as a a customer purchase an item , the supplier is monitoring the item , knows to ship a replacement to the shelf.
2. New products, services, and business models. Information system is a major tool for firms to create new products and services, and also an entirely new business models. A business model describe how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth.
Example: Apple inc transformed an old business model based on its iPod technology platform that included iPod, the iTunes music service, and the iPhone.
3. Customer/supplier intimacy. When a business serves its customers well, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more. this raises revenue and profits. The more a business engage its suppliers, the better the suppliers can provide vital inputs. This lower costs. Example: The Mandarin Oriental in manhattan and other high-end hotels exemplify the use of information systems and technology to achieve customer intimacy. they use computers to keep track of guests' preferences, such as their preffered room temperature, check-in time, television programs.
4. Improved decision making. Many managers operate in an information bank, never having the right information at the right time to make an informed decision. These poor outcomes raise costs and lose customers. Information system made it possible for the managers to use real time data from the marketplace when making decision. Example: Verizon Corporation uses a Web-based digital dashboard to provide managers with precise real -time information on customer complains, network performance.. Using this information managers can immediately allocate repair resources to affected areas, inform customers of repair efforts and restore service fast.
5. Competitive advantage. When firms achieve one or more of these business objectives( operational excellence, new products, services, and business models, customer/supplier intimacy, and improved decision making) chances are they have already achieved a competitive advantage. Doing things better than your competitors, charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales, and higher profits. Example: Toyota Production System focuses on organizing work to eliminate waste, making continues improvements, TPS is based on what customers have actually ordered.
6. Day to day survival. Business firms invest in information system and technology because they are necessities of doing business. This necessities are driven by industry level changes. Example: Citibank introduced the first automatic teller machine to attract customers through higher service levels, and its competitors rushed to provide ATM's to their customers to keep up with Citibank. providing ATMs services to retail banking customers is simply a requirement of being in and surviving in the retail banking business. Firm turn to information system and technology to provide the capability to respond to these.
Information systems are the foundation for conducting business today. In many
industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is
inconceivable, and IT plays a critical role in increasing productivity. Although
information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with
complementary changes in organization and management, it can provide the
foundation for new products, services, and ways of conducting business that
provide firms with a strategic advantage.
Reference:http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_information_systems_so_important_in_business_today
Retrieval Date:03/20/10
Six reasons why information systems are so important for business today include:
1. Operational excellence
2. New products, services, and business models
3. Customer and supplier intimacy
4. Improved decision making
5. Competitive advantage
6. Survival
Here is onother answer to this questionThe emegence of a global economy, transformation of industrial economies, transformation of the business enterprise, and the emergence of digital firm make information systems essential in business today. Information system is a fondation for conducting business today. In many businesses, survival and the ability to achieve strategic business goals is difficult without extensive use of information technology. There are six reasons or objectives why businesses use information system:
1. Operational excellence. Business improve the efficiency of their operations in order to achieve higher profitability. Information systems are important tools available to managers for achieving higher levels of efficiency and productivity in business operations. A good example is Wal-Mart that uses a RetailLink system , which digitally links its suppliers to every one of Wal-Mart's stores. as soon as a a customer purchase an item , the supplier is monitoring the item , knows to ship a replacement to the shelf.
2. New products, services, and business models. Information system is a major tool for firms to create new products and services, and also an entirely new business models. A business model describe how a company produces, delivers, and sells a product or service to create wealth.
Example: Apple inc transformed an old business model based on its iPod technology platform that included iPod, the iTunes music service, and the iPhone.
3. Customer/supplier intimacy. When a business serves its customers well, the customers generally respond by returning and purchasing more. this raises revenue and profits. The more a business engage its suppliers, the better the suppliers can provide vital inputs. This lower costs. Example: The Mandarin Oriental in manhattan and other high-end hotels exemplify the use of information systems and technology to achieve customer intimacy. they use computers to keep track of guests' preferences, such as their preffered room temperature, check-in time, television programs.
4. Improved decision making. Many managers operate in an information bank, never having the right information at the right time to make an informed decision. These poor outcomes raise costs and lose customers. Information system made it possible for the managers to use real time data from the marketplace when making decision. Example: Verizon Corporation uses a Web-based digital dashboard to provide managers with precise real -time information on customer complains, network performance.. Using this information managers can immediately allocate repair resources to affected areas, inform customers of repair efforts and restore service fast.
5. Competitive advantage. When firms achieve one or more of these business objectives( operational excellence, new products, services, and business models, customer/supplier intimacy, and improved decision making) chances are they have already achieved a competitive advantage. Doing things better than your competitors, charging less for superior products, and responding to customers and suppliers in real time all add up to higher sales, and higher profits. Example: Toyota Production System focuses on organizing work to eliminate waste, making continues improvements, TPS is based on what customers have actually ordered.
6. Day to day survival. Business firms invest in information system and technology because they are necessities of doing business. This necessities are driven by industry level changes. Example: Citibank introduced the first automatic teller machine to attract customers through higher service levels, and its competitors rushed to provide ATM's to their customers to keep up with Citibank. providing ATMs services to retail banking customers is simply a requirement of being in and surviving in the retail banking business. Firm turn to information system and technology to provide the capability to respond to these.
Information systems are the foundation for conducting business today. In many
industries, survival and even existence without extensive use of IT is
inconceivable, and IT plays a critical role in increasing productivity. Although
information technology has become more of a commodity, when coupled with
complementary changes in organization and management, it can provide the
foundation for new products, services, and ways of conducting business that
provide firms with a strategic advantage.
Reference:http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_are_information_systems_so_important_in_business_today
Retrieval Date:03/20/10
Intel® Virtualization Technology Review
On March 29, Advanced Micro Devices announced a 12-core processor.
The new Intel Xeon processors can be expanded to include from two to 256 chips per server and have an average performance three times that of Intel's existing Xeon 7400 series, Intel officials said.
Additionally, the processors come equipped with 20 new reliability features.
Using Xeon 7500 series processors, IT managers can consolidate up to 20 older single-core, 4-chip servers onto a single server while maintaining the same level of performance, Kirk Skaugen, vice president of the Intel architecture group and general manager of Intel's data center group, said during a webcast presentation.
"The Xeon 7500 brings mission critical capabilities to the mainstream by delivering the most significant leap in performance, scalability and reliability ever seen from Intel," Skaugen said.
For example, this is the first Xeon processor to possess Machine Check Architecture Recovery, a feature that allows the silicon to work with the operating system and virtual machine manager to recover from otherwise fatal system errors. This technology was previously available only in the company's Intel Itanium processor family and RISC processors.
Additionally, The Intel Xeon processor 7500 series offers modular building blocks enabled by Intel QuickPath Technology (QPI) interconnect. With QPI, eight-processor servers that don't require specialized third-party node controller chips to glue the system together can be built.
Intel is also working with system vendors to deliver ultra-scale systems with 16 processors for the enterprise, and up to 256 processors and support for 16 terabytes of memory for high- performance computing super nodes that run bandwidth-demanding applications such as financial analysis, numerical weather predictions and genome sequencing.
Until now, Intel has not participated in super nodes in the high performance computing space, Skaugen said.
The 7500 series is also tuned for large-scale virtualization, he noted.
With up to eight times the memory bandwidth of the Intel Xeon processor 7400 series and four times the memory capacity with 16 memory slots per processor, the Xeon 7500 series can support one terabyte of memory in a four-socket platform.
Intel Virtualization Technologies, which include new I/O virtualization capabilities and Intel Virtualization Technology FlexMigration, allow for live virtual machine migration across all Intel CoreTM microarchitecture-based platforms. This can help administrators that need to use pools of virtualized systems for failover, disaster recovery, load balancing and optimal server maintenance and downtime, Skaugen said.
The 7500 series culminates the transition to Intel's Nehalem chip design, Skaugen noted. In less than 90 days, Intel has introduced all-new 2010 PC, laptop and server processors that increase energy efficiency and computing speed and include a multitude of new, he said.
Enterprise software vendors expected to support Intel Xeon processor 7500-based platforms, include Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat, SAP AG and VMware.
Reference:http://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2010/03/30/intel-unveils-high-powered-processors.aspx
Retrieval Date:03/31/10
The new Intel Xeon processors can be expanded to include from two to 256 chips per server and have an average performance three times that of Intel's existing Xeon 7400 series, Intel officials said.
Additionally, the processors come equipped with 20 new reliability features.
Using Xeon 7500 series processors, IT managers can consolidate up to 20 older single-core, 4-chip servers onto a single server while maintaining the same level of performance, Kirk Skaugen, vice president of the Intel architecture group and general manager of Intel's data center group, said during a webcast presentation.
"The Xeon 7500 brings mission critical capabilities to the mainstream by delivering the most significant leap in performance, scalability and reliability ever seen from Intel," Skaugen said.
For example, this is the first Xeon processor to possess Machine Check Architecture Recovery, a feature that allows the silicon to work with the operating system and virtual machine manager to recover from otherwise fatal system errors. This technology was previously available only in the company's Intel Itanium processor family and RISC processors.
Additionally, The Intel Xeon processor 7500 series offers modular building blocks enabled by Intel QuickPath Technology (QPI) interconnect. With QPI, eight-processor servers that don't require specialized third-party node controller chips to glue the system together can be built.
Intel is also working with system vendors to deliver ultra-scale systems with 16 processors for the enterprise, and up to 256 processors and support for 16 terabytes of memory for high- performance computing super nodes that run bandwidth-demanding applications such as financial analysis, numerical weather predictions and genome sequencing.
Until now, Intel has not participated in super nodes in the high performance computing space, Skaugen said.
The 7500 series is also tuned for large-scale virtualization, he noted.
With up to eight times the memory bandwidth of the Intel Xeon processor 7400 series and four times the memory capacity with 16 memory slots per processor, the Xeon 7500 series can support one terabyte of memory in a four-socket platform.
Intel Virtualization Technologies, which include new I/O virtualization capabilities and Intel Virtualization Technology FlexMigration, allow for live virtual machine migration across all Intel CoreTM microarchitecture-based platforms. This can help administrators that need to use pools of virtualized systems for failover, disaster recovery, load balancing and optimal server maintenance and downtime, Skaugen said.
The 7500 series culminates the transition to Intel's Nehalem chip design, Skaugen noted. In less than 90 days, Intel has introduced all-new 2010 PC, laptop and server processors that increase energy efficiency and computing speed and include a multitude of new, he said.
Enterprise software vendors expected to support Intel Xeon processor 7500-based platforms, include Citrix, IBM, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat, SAP AG and VMware.
Reference:http://virtualizationreview.com/articles/2010/03/30/intel-unveils-high-powered-processors.aspx
Retrieval Date:03/31/10
Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2
Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2
Product Details
Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2 is a stand-alone product that provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. Since Hyper-V Server is a dedicated stand-alone product, which contains only the Windows Hypervisor, Windows Server driver model and virtualization components, it provides a small footprint and minimal overhead. It easily plugs into customers’ existing IT environments, leveraging their existing patching, provisioning, management, support tools, processes, and skills. Some of the new key new features that are available in Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 are live migration, cluster shared volume support and expanded processor and memory support for host systems.
IT Pros can easily to leverage their existing knowledge and skills with Microsoft virtualization products, as well as the collective knowledge of the community, minimizing any learning curve. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.
Overview
Reliable and Optimized
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution, enabling improved server utilization and reduced costs. Since Hyper-V Server is a dedicated standalone product, which contains only Windows Hypervisor and the virtualization components, it provides a small footprint and minimal overhead. It easily plugs into customers’ existing IT environments leveraging their existing patching, provisioning, management, and support tools, processes, and skills.
With live migration, host clustering and cluster shared volume support included in the product, customers can get increased availability with support for both planned and unplanned downtime.
IT pros can easily leverage their existing knowledge and skills with Microsoft virtualization products, as well as the collective knowledge of the community, minimizing any learning curve. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 Features and Benefits
Microsoft Hyper-V Server uses the same virtual machine model as Windows Server 2008 w/ Hyper-V enabled so there is no need to re-tool your management infrastructure.
Live migration: Customers can dynamically move virtual machines from one physical machine to another with no downtime.
Host clustering and Cluster Shared Volume Support
Processor Compatibility Mode for live migration– allows live migration across different CPU versions within the same processor family, (e.g.”Intel Core 2-to-Intel Pentium 4” or “AMD Opteron-to-AMD Athlon”) enabling migration across a broader range of Hyper-V host hardware.
Networking enhancements: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 has the following networking enhancements:
VM Chimney (TCP Offload) and VMQ support are disabled by default
Jumbo Frame Support
Improved network performance via support for TCP Chimney and VMQ (specific hardware NICs required)
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 has the following performance enhancements:
Hot Add/Remove of storage (VHDs and Pass Through Disks)
Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) processor support for both Intel (EPT) and AMD (RVI)
Core Parking
Improved VHD performance for dynamic and difference disks
VHD format: To move a virtual machine from Hyper-V Server to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment (or vice versa), simply export the virtual machine and import it on the other host using the standard management tools.
BitLocker support: Hyper-V Server can take advantage of BitLocker technology to encrypt a Hyper-V Server so that even if it is stolen and the hard disks are removed, the data is still safe because it’s encrypted. This is particularly useful for branch offices or environments where physical security is a concern.
Live Backup support: Hyper-V Server includes native support for Volume Shadow Services so that it can provide Live Backup of running virtual machines without downtime.
Flexible hardware support: Microsoft Hyper-V Server leverages the Windows Server driver model and is compatible with a wide variety of server hardware and driver support for newer peripherals such as 10 Gb/E.
Flexible Storage: Hyper-V Server offers flexible storage support, such as:
Direct Attach Storage (DAS): SATA, eSATA, PATA, SAS, SCSI, USB, Firewire
Storage Area Networks (SANs): iSCSI, Fiber Channel, SAS
Virtual Machine Snapshots: Hyper-V Server fully supports virtual machine snapshots.
VSP/VSC/VMBUS: Both products fully leverage the driver enlightened architecture (VSP/VPC/VMBus) for high performance I/O. There is no conversion when moving virtual machines between Microsoft Hyper-V and Windows Server 2008 w/ Hyper-V.
Hyper-V Server (Parent Partition) provides:
Support for systems with up to 8 physical processors
Support for up to 64 logical processors (See the Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 FAQ for more information.)
Support for systems with up to 1 TB of physical memory
Support for up to 384 virtual machines
Hyper-V Server virtual machines provide:
32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) virtual machines
Up to 4 virtual processors per virtual machine
http://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v-server/en/us/overview.aspx
Retrieval Date : 4/26/10
Symantec Ghost Review
Foreword from Gizmo
A drive imaging program is a utility that creates a backup snapshot or image of your disk drives, most commonly your system drive.
Imaging programs differ from data backup programs in that they can backup the Windows Operating system itself.
You can use that backup image to recover from system failures, spyware infections, installations gone wrong or any of the dozens of other things that can seriously mess up your PC.
Imaging programs can be used to backup data as well as your operating system but are not ideal for that task. Recent versions of imaging programs have improved in this area but many folks, myself included, prefer to use imaging programs to back up Windows and data backup programs like Genie, to backup regularly changing data.
Every PC I own has a drive imaging utility installed and I use these regularly to make image backups of the C: drives. I simply can't tell you just how many times I've been able to use these backup images to restore a non-working PC to perfect health. Restoring from an image only takes me minutes while a full Windows re-install can take many hours or even days when you take into account re-installing application programs. That's why I recommend the system drive of every PC should be imaged regularly using a reliable imaging program.
Now let me tell you the harsh truth: when it comes to the best imaging program it's a two horse race between the commercial products Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost with the freeware contenders trailing by a couple of miles. Not that there aren't some usable freeware products; it's just they aren't in the same league when it comes to function, features and reliability.
Choosing between True Image and Ghost is tough because they are both quality programs. That's why I asked regular Support Alert contributor J.W. to review the latest versions of these products.
Acronis True Image vs. Norton Ghost
When Gizmo asked me to review Acronis True Image V9, I was delighted. I had been using Norton Ghost V9 and wasn't happy with the product due to on-going problems with corrupted images. Additionally I had never used True Image so the review provided me with an opportunity to look at the how Ghost compared to its main competitor in a live system, doing real work.
Installation Woes
Symantec support for Ghost was abysmal; an odyssey of condescending replies, canned responses and the apparent inability of the Indian support staff to understand the English language. Eventually, I wrote a personal letter to the Chairman & CEO of Symantec, John W. Thompson, asking for his help and assistance.
My plea worked and I was put in contact with an “Executive Support” group. They seemed much more anxious to help and started off well by sending me the latest version of Ghost 10.
I was optimistic that with the receipt this new version that the problems I had been experiencing with corrupted Ghost image backups would disappear. Sadly, that was not to be. Even with the latest V10 release I had more invalid backup’s, completely baffling the “Executive Support” group.
After a number of emails back and forth, they adamantly pronounce that not one but BOTH of my U320 SCSI hard drives were broken and needed to be immediately replaced! After expressing my incredulity with this diagnosis, they decided to try blaming the problem on my CPU processor. Anything it seemed other than their product. Their last email to me was pure bathos:
“Do not bother responding to this email as there is nothing else I can help you with and it will not be responded to.”
So much for Symantec "executive" level support. I was clearly on my own.
The experience with Acronis support was much better. Their support team was also baffled, but at least they maintained their composure, didn’t make any nonsensical recommendations such as replacing my hard drives and were civil.
Eventually I solved the problem myself; another application, Process Guard, was interfering with the operation of the programs. Once Process Guard was uninstalled, the immediate difficulties were resolved allowing me to move forward with my comparative review.
But a vital lesson about support was learned and not to be forgotten. Furthermore some serious problems with Ghost remained.
Not all images had the problem, only some. I only discovered this when I attempted to recover from an image file only to find the image was unusable. Subsequently I started studying the image creation log files only to find that corrupt images were not uncommon. Worse still you get no warning or notification of the problem other than entries in the log files. Here's a typical entry.
EVENT # : 5108
EVENT LOG : Application
EVENT TYPE : Error
SOURCE : Norton Ghost
CATEGORY : High Priority
EVENT ID : 100
COMPUTER : MYCOMP1
TIME : 2/10/2006 7:40:33 AM
MESSAGE : Description: Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job: Recovery point of I:\. Error EA39070A: The internal structure of the image file is invalid or unsupported.
Details: 0xEA39070A
Source: Norton Ghost
This problem may be unique to my PC but I suspect not. I suggest all Ghost users start monitoring their log files and test the integrity of existing, high value backups.
And of you are experiencing problems, don't expect too much help from Symantec.
2) Both products offer the ability to do full or incremental backups. Since I have plenty of free hard drive storage, I always do a full backup for all drives. I feel more comfortable with full backups abstractly rather than having to deal with partial backups if I should need to do a restore.
3) Ghost has changed the nomenclature for their backups in Ghost 10 to “Recovery Points”. Additionally, it appears that Ghost 9 backups are not compatible with Ghost 10. At least, I was unable to find a way to access my old Ghost 9 backups using Ghost 10. Furthermore, Ghost 9 & Ghost 10 cannot exist on the same machine. If accurate, this would be a serious deficiency in Ghost. Perhaps I could access the Ghost 9 backups using Ghost 2003 from DOS but I haven’t had time to try this. Why is this important? The Ghost backups I have kept are early stage Windows backups with the basic OS build and about 50% of my regular software installed. If I have to or choose to rebuild my OS, then starting from one of these backups significantly shortens the time to get a fully configured system up and running.
4) True Image can backup individual files or folders. Ghost does not offer this level of granularity and can only backup full drives or partitions.
5) Both products offer the ability to list and restore individual files or folders from an image backup. From the user viewpoint, Ghost is a bit more straightforward on this process. You just find the image archive you want and click the Explore button. Ghost mounts the image on a spare drive letter. True Image does the same but uses separate Wizards labeled PLUG & UNPLUG (mount & unmount a virtual drive).
6) Ghost has a useful feature that allows you to run a backup when one of these events occurs:
a) Any application is installed
b) Any user logs on to the computer
c) Any user logs off from the computer
d) The data added to a drive exceeds an amount (in megabytes) you specify
e) The Maxtor OneTouch (an external hard drive) button has been pushed.
7) While True Image does not offer the ability to start a backup on the pre-configured events like Ghost does, it does offer a feature called Pre/Post Commands that allows you to do just about any task before and/or after a particular backup runs. Ghost does not offer a similar feature. I’d like to see the functionality in point #5 implemented in True Image.
8) Examining the UI’s for both applications, they are reasonably similar Windows driven interfaces both designed to show pretty “eye candy”.
9) There was a significant change in the UI from Ghost 9 to Ghost 10. Ghost 10 seems to me to have “dumbed” down the interface, which I did not appreciate. While all the functionality that was previously in Ghost 9 appears to be in Ghost 10, individual functions are spread out across multiple screens and are harder to get to. To me, True Image’s UI is clearer, more robust and I like it better.
10) This is the main UI for Norton Ghost 10:
11) True Image has extra functions such as being able to turn off Windows System Restore and preparing and adding a new hard disk to your system, which Norton Ghost 10 does not offer. 12) True Image allows you to setup a secure and private partition called the Acronis Secure Zone to store backups in. Norton Ghost does not offer similar functionality. Used in conjunction with the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, you can boot into a Linux version of True Image directly without using a boot CD. This functionality is useful where you might have totally hosed your boot partition. Note that when the Startup Recovery Manager is activated, the normal MBR record will be overwritten.
13) Norton Ghost 10’s help file is more robust and easier to locate information in than the True Image implementation:
a) Clicking on the help button in True Image always takes you to the main help window, not to the section applicable to the area that you were in and are looking for help with. So you then have to waste time wandering through help file looking for the right item. The help file is non-standard and there aren’t any functions for searching or printing.
b) Norton Ghost 10’s help file is standard Windows fare and includes index and search functionality. It is easy to use.
14) Unlike Ghost, True Image doesn’t include a menu drop down link to check for new updates (Live Update).
a) Both products require activation/registration of the product first.
b) The True Image update check is a manual process. You have to click Help-Web Support, which takes you to http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/. Then you have to click the "Get a product update" link. This takes you to a page with a list of the latest builds for ALL Acronis products. Then go back to the Help menu and check the About entry for what build you have. Return to the product update page and check your build against what is the latest build. This is a waste of clicks and user time.
15) True Image does not have the ability to limit the number of backups for a specific drive/partition as Ghost does.
a) With Ghost, you can set a limit of say two backups for whatever backup job you have defined. Ghost appends a sequential number to each backup so that the file name is different from the previous backup. When the number of backups (for a particular job) is exceeded, Ghost automatically deletes the oldest one.
b) True Image cannot do this and you would have to create a script or manually rename the backups if you want to maintain more than one version. Be aware that if you do not rename the previous backup that you want to save, True Image will overwrite it without issuing a confirmation message or warning. I have been told that duplicating this Ghost functionality to let the user set a backup job limit and adding a sequential number to the file name is near the top of the to-do list for True Image and will be implemented soon. I hope so!
16) I run a freeware program called Spy-The-Spy, which lets me monitor changes to files in certain folders on my C: drive in real time. Unlike Ghost 9, at periodic points throughout the day, Ghost 10 regularly updates a file called SYMLCRST.DLL (below). There are as many as 10 updates daily and they come at odd and varying intervals. I was unable to determine what triggers an update. Symantec Executive Support was also unable to provide an explanation as to WHY this file was bring regularly updated. Mr. Levi Smith claimed this was “proprietary” information!
17) Doing a comparison of the backups of Ghost vs. True Image, I found that on equal backups, True Image had an 8-10% smaller backup footprint size. Performance wise, both products took nearly the same amount of time to backup selected logical hard drives. 18) Looking at the image restore capabilities of both products
a) The Ghost DOS interface is driven by the original install CD. Just insert the product CD and reboot. You do not have to create a separate boot CD, as you must do with True Image if you are not using their Startup Recovery Manager. True Image’s primary restore environment is Linux but there is also a more limited DOS environment if the Linux version doesn’t work.
b) The Ghost 9 & 10 DOS interfaces are much slower to boot up than the True Image version and all Ghost operations were slower than with True Image on my system.
19) Both programs can backup to a hard disk.
a) True Image also installs their own ASPI layer, allowing them to backup an image directly to a CD (or DVD if you have packet-writing software installed).
b) Ghost can backup to a hard drive and other device types. But note that backing up to removable media is a manual operation and cannot be scheduled, as additional media may have to be inserted to contain the full backup.
20) Ghost 9 & 10 provides the user the ability to select destinations for error messages from the system event log, the Ghost internal log or SMTP email. I prefer the event log option since I run a program called Event Sentry that emails event errors to my POP3 email account. This eliminates me having to remember to look at the event log or the programs internal log to see if everything ran successfully.
21) True Image only provides a Windows log with an option to export this log to a file. Support for True Image has informed me that writing to the Windows Event Log is on their list of future enhancements for TI 9.x.
22) The Ghost log viewer for a completed backup provides only minimal information that the backup succeeded or failed. No information is provided on the start time in the viewer. You’d have to go look up the scheduled start time to determine that information, making computing the total time for a backup a manual and annoying two-step process.
23) The True Image log provides more information but gets a bit messy because of including distracting prep messages related to analyzing all drives before getting started on the backup job. TI support was not able to explain why they need to analyze other drives during a backup for a specific drive. Furthermore, in the message column of the viewer, even though the column is “stretchable”, they end those “Analyzing partition” messages with a “...” which usually means that there is too much information to fit in the space provided. However, according to support - not in this case. They could not explain WHY they use the “...” or what this was supposed to represent.
24) True Image can export status to a text log file, which Ghost can’t do. However, even though the export is in text format with a default “.log” extension, for some reason, it is littered with HTML tags (like below) making it very difficult to read. Acronis support did not know why this was occurring. Additionally, it is impossible to easily interpret the time stamps. Editor's note: This report is actually in XML and can be easily read in an XML viewer or editor. a)
i)
ii)
xx)
xxi)
b) However, True Image’s log detail is substantially better than Ghost. You see all the detail from start to finish of the operation and at least in the standard display window, it is easy to see the total amount of time consumed for the backup operation.
Finally, it has been my experience over the years that few people verify their image backups or experimentally try to boot up the image restore DOS program before they need it. This is a serious mistake!
I cannot stress strongly enough that it is CRITICAL that you VERIFY image backups. Being caught with a backup that you think is good but really isn’t, is a recipe for disaster.
Second, you MUST test that you can boot into the DOS recovery program BEFORE you actually need it.
Third, if you want to go the full mile, then you should also create a copy of your hard drive (or a logical disk) first using a process that you have confidence in and know works. Then try to do a test restore from an image backup outside of Windows, checking that everything works and becoming familiar with the process before a real error occurs (and rest assured, one eventually will occur). It’s far too easy to make serious mistakes while frustrated and under the stress of trying to restore a bad drive from DOS/Linux if you haven’t had any prior experience doing so or working with the driving program.
Furthermore, Symantec has a long & sordid history of acquiring products or complete companies and then discontinuing the products. I would not be surprised if Ghost were treated similarly in the not-distant future. Partition Magic, which they also acquired from PowerQuest a couple of years back in release 8 has yet to be updated by Symantec. The fact that Symantec tech support/development has been unable to isolate the regular random corruption problems I have been experiencing across two releases of the product does not bode well for the future of the Ghost product, in my mind.
I have removed Symantec Ghost from my system. My recommendation and personal choice going forward for a disk-imaging program is Acronis True Image.
No trial available, Windows XP Home Edition/Professional, Windows 2000 Professional ONLY
Includes Norton Ghost 2003 for Windows Me & 98 users
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/backup_recovery/ghost10/index.html
(2) Acronis True Image V11, $49.99
http://regnow.acronis.com/
14 day trial, Windows XP/Vista, 87MB
Download Trial Version True Image Home V11
Reference:http://www.techsupportalert.com/drive-imaging-reviews.htm
Retrieval Date:04/27/10
A drive imaging program is a utility that creates a backup snapshot or image of your disk drives, most commonly your system drive.
Imaging programs differ from data backup programs in that they can backup the Windows Operating system itself.
You can use that backup image to recover from system failures, spyware infections, installations gone wrong or any of the dozens of other things that can seriously mess up your PC.
Imaging programs can be used to backup data as well as your operating system but are not ideal for that task. Recent versions of imaging programs have improved in this area but many folks, myself included, prefer to use imaging programs to back up Windows and data backup programs like Genie, to backup regularly changing data.
Every PC I own has a drive imaging utility installed and I use these regularly to make image backups of the C: drives. I simply can't tell you just how many times I've been able to use these backup images to restore a non-working PC to perfect health. Restoring from an image only takes me minutes while a full Windows re-install can take many hours or even days when you take into account re-installing application programs. That's why I recommend the system drive of every PC should be imaged regularly using a reliable imaging program.
Now let me tell you the harsh truth: when it comes to the best imaging program it's a two horse race between the commercial products Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost with the freeware contenders trailing by a couple of miles. Not that there aren't some usable freeware products; it's just they aren't in the same league when it comes to function, features and reliability.
Choosing between True Image and Ghost is tough because they are both quality programs. That's why I asked regular Support Alert contributor J.W. to review the latest versions of these products.
Acronis True Image vs. Norton Ghost
When Gizmo asked me to review Acronis True Image V9, I was delighted. I had been using Norton Ghost V9 and wasn't happy with the product due to on-going problems with corrupted images. Additionally I had never used True Image so the review provided me with an opportunity to look at the how Ghost compared to its main competitor in a live system, doing real work.
Installation Woes
Life was not meant to be easy.
Right from the start I had problems with both Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image on my PC. The problems as it turned out were partly caused by Process Guard, a security application that runs on my PC. However this problem proved to be a blessing in disguise as it allowed me to test out the support provided by Symantec and Acronis.Symantec support for Ghost was abysmal; an odyssey of condescending replies, canned responses and the apparent inability of the Indian support staff to understand the English language. Eventually, I wrote a personal letter to the Chairman & CEO of Symantec, John W. Thompson, asking for his help and assistance.
My plea worked and I was put in contact with an “Executive Support” group. They seemed much more anxious to help and started off well by sending me the latest version of Ghost 10.
I was optimistic that with the receipt this new version that the problems I had been experiencing with corrupted Ghost image backups would disappear. Sadly, that was not to be. Even with the latest V10 release I had more invalid backup’s, completely baffling the “Executive Support” group.
After a number of emails back and forth, they adamantly pronounce that not one but BOTH of my U320 SCSI hard drives were broken and needed to be immediately replaced! After expressing my incredulity with this diagnosis, they decided to try blaming the problem on my CPU processor. Anything it seemed other than their product. Their last email to me was pure bathos:
“Do not bother responding to this email as there is nothing else I can help you with and it will not be responded to.”
So much for Symantec "executive" level support. I was clearly on my own.
The experience with Acronis support was much better. Their support team was also baffled, but at least they maintained their composure, didn’t make any nonsensical recommendations such as replacing my hard drives and were civil.
Eventually I solved the problem myself; another application, Process Guard, was interfering with the operation of the programs. Once Process Guard was uninstalled, the immediate difficulties were resolved allowing me to move forward with my comparative review.
But a vital lesson about support was learned and not to be forgotten. Furthermore some serious problems with Ghost remained.
Corrupted Images
Even after removing Process Guard from my PC, I continued to have on-going problems with Ghost V10 with corrupted image files.Not all images had the problem, only some. I only discovered this when I attempted to recover from an image file only to find the image was unusable. Subsequently I started studying the image creation log files only to find that corrupt images were not uncommon. Worse still you get no warning or notification of the problem other than entries in the log files. Here's a typical entry.
EVENT # : 5108
EVENT LOG : Application
EVENT TYPE : Error
SOURCE : Norton Ghost
CATEGORY : High Priority
EVENT ID : 100
COMPUTER : MYCOMP1
TIME : 2/10/2006 7:40:33 AM
MESSAGE : Description: Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job: Recovery point of I:\. Error EA39070A: The internal structure of the image file is invalid or unsupported.
Details: 0xEA39070A
Source: Norton Ghost
This problem may be unique to my PC but I suspect not. I suggest all Ghost users start monitoring their log files and test the integrity of existing, high value backups.
And of you are experiencing problems, don't expect too much help from Symantec.
Ghost and True Image Product Features
1) True Image will run on any Windows version from Windows 98 forward. Ghost 9/10 requires Win2000 SP4 minimum and Microsoft .Net Framework 1.1. True Image does not require .Net Framework.2) Both products offer the ability to do full or incremental backups. Since I have plenty of free hard drive storage, I always do a full backup for all drives. I feel more comfortable with full backups abstractly rather than having to deal with partial backups if I should need to do a restore.
3) Ghost has changed the nomenclature for their backups in Ghost 10 to “Recovery Points”. Additionally, it appears that Ghost 9 backups are not compatible with Ghost 10. At least, I was unable to find a way to access my old Ghost 9 backups using Ghost 10. Furthermore, Ghost 9 & Ghost 10 cannot exist on the same machine. If accurate, this would be a serious deficiency in Ghost. Perhaps I could access the Ghost 9 backups using Ghost 2003 from DOS but I haven’t had time to try this. Why is this important? The Ghost backups I have kept are early stage Windows backups with the basic OS build and about 50% of my regular software installed. If I have to or choose to rebuild my OS, then starting from one of these backups significantly shortens the time to get a fully configured system up and running.
4) True Image can backup individual files or folders. Ghost does not offer this level of granularity and can only backup full drives or partitions.
5) Both products offer the ability to list and restore individual files or folders from an image backup. From the user viewpoint, Ghost is a bit more straightforward on this process. You just find the image archive you want and click the Explore button. Ghost mounts the image on a spare drive letter. True Image does the same but uses separate Wizards labeled PLUG & UNPLUG (mount & unmount a virtual drive).
6) Ghost has a useful feature that allows you to run a backup when one of these events occurs:
a) Any application is installed
b) Any user logs on to the computer
c) Any user logs off from the computer
d) The data added to a drive exceeds an amount (in megabytes) you specify
e) The Maxtor OneTouch (an external hard drive) button has been pushed.
7) While True Image does not offer the ability to start a backup on the pre-configured events like Ghost does, it does offer a feature called Pre/Post Commands that allows you to do just about any task before and/or after a particular backup runs. Ghost does not offer a similar feature. I’d like to see the functionality in point #5 implemented in True Image.
8) Examining the UI’s for both applications, they are reasonably similar Windows driven interfaces both designed to show pretty “eye candy”.
9) There was a significant change in the UI from Ghost 9 to Ghost 10. Ghost 10 seems to me to have “dumbed” down the interface, which I did not appreciate. While all the functionality that was previously in Ghost 9 appears to be in Ghost 10, individual functions are spread out across multiple screens and are harder to get to. To me, True Image’s UI is clearer, more robust and I like it better.
10) This is the main UI for Norton Ghost 10:
11) True Image has extra functions such as being able to turn off Windows System Restore and preparing and adding a new hard disk to your system, which Norton Ghost 10 does not offer. 12) True Image allows you to setup a secure and private partition called the Acronis Secure Zone to store backups in. Norton Ghost does not offer similar functionality. Used in conjunction with the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, you can boot into a Linux version of True Image directly without using a boot CD. This functionality is useful where you might have totally hosed your boot partition. Note that when the Startup Recovery Manager is activated, the normal MBR record will be overwritten.
13) Norton Ghost 10’s help file is more robust and easier to locate information in than the True Image implementation:
a) Clicking on the help button in True Image always takes you to the main help window, not to the section applicable to the area that you were in and are looking for help with. So you then have to waste time wandering through help file looking for the right item. The help file is non-standard and there aren’t any functions for searching or printing.
b) Norton Ghost 10’s help file is standard Windows fare and includes index and search functionality. It is easy to use.
14) Unlike Ghost, True Image doesn’t include a menu drop down link to check for new updates (Live Update).
a) Both products require activation/registration of the product first.
b) The True Image update check is a manual process. You have to click Help-Web Support, which takes you to http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/. Then you have to click the "Get a product update" link. This takes you to a page with a list of the latest builds for ALL Acronis products. Then go back to the Help menu and check the About entry for what build you have. Return to the product update page and check your build against what is the latest build. This is a waste of clicks and user time.
15) True Image does not have the ability to limit the number of backups for a specific drive/partition as Ghost does.
a) With Ghost, you can set a limit of say two backups for whatever backup job you have defined. Ghost appends a sequential number to each backup so that the file name is different from the previous backup. When the number of backups (for a particular job) is exceeded, Ghost automatically deletes the oldest one.
b) True Image cannot do this and you would have to create a script or manually rename the backups if you want to maintain more than one version. Be aware that if you do not rename the previous backup that you want to save, True Image will overwrite it without issuing a confirmation message or warning. I have been told that duplicating this Ghost functionality to let the user set a backup job limit and adding a sequential number to the file name is near the top of the to-do list for True Image and will be implemented soon. I hope so!
16) I run a freeware program called Spy-The-Spy, which lets me monitor changes to files in certain folders on my C: drive in real time. Unlike Ghost 9, at periodic points throughout the day, Ghost 10 regularly updates a file called SYMLCRST.DLL (below). There are as many as 10 updates daily and they come at odd and varying intervals. I was unable to determine what triggers an update. Symantec Executive Support was also unable to provide an explanation as to WHY this file was bring regularly updated. Mr. Levi Smith claimed this was “proprietary” information!
17) Doing a comparison of the backups of Ghost vs. True Image, I found that on equal backups, True Image had an 8-10% smaller backup footprint size. Performance wise, both products took nearly the same amount of time to backup selected logical hard drives. 18) Looking at the image restore capabilities of both products
a) The Ghost DOS interface is driven by the original install CD. Just insert the product CD and reboot. You do not have to create a separate boot CD, as you must do with True Image if you are not using their Startup Recovery Manager. True Image’s primary restore environment is Linux but there is also a more limited DOS environment if the Linux version doesn’t work.
b) The Ghost 9 & 10 DOS interfaces are much slower to boot up than the True Image version and all Ghost operations were slower than with True Image on my system.
19) Both programs can backup to a hard disk.
a) True Image also installs their own ASPI layer, allowing them to backup an image directly to a CD (or DVD if you have packet-writing software installed).
b) Ghost can backup to a hard drive and other device types. But note that backing up to removable media is a manual operation and cannot be scheduled, as additional media may have to be inserted to contain the full backup.
20) Ghost 9 & 10 provides the user the ability to select destinations for error messages from the system event log, the Ghost internal log or SMTP email. I prefer the event log option since I run a program called Event Sentry that emails event errors to my POP3 email account. This eliminates me having to remember to look at the event log or the programs internal log to see if everything ran successfully.
21) True Image only provides a Windows log with an option to export this log to a file. Support for True Image has informed me that writing to the Windows Event Log is on their list of future enhancements for TI 9.x.
22) The Ghost log viewer for a completed backup provides only minimal information that the backup succeeded or failed. No information is provided on the start time in the viewer. You’d have to go look up the scheduled start time to determine that information, making computing the total time for a backup a manual and annoying two-step process.
23) The True Image log provides more information but gets a bit messy because of including distracting prep messages related to analyzing all drives before getting started on the backup job. TI support was not able to explain why they need to analyze other drives during a backup for a specific drive. Furthermore, in the message column of the viewer, even though the column is “stretchable”, they end those “Analyzing partition” messages with a “...” which usually means that there is too much information to fit in the space provided. However, according to support - not in this case. They could not explain WHY they use the “...” or what this was supposed to represent.
24) True Image can export status to a text log file, which Ghost can’t do. However, even though the export is in text format with a default “.log” extension, for some reason, it is littered with HTML tags (like below) making it very difficult to read. Acronis support did not know why this was occurring. Additionally, it is impossible to easily interpret the time stamps. Editor's note: This report is actually in XML and can be easily read in an XML viewer or editor. a)
i)
ii)
.
.
.
xix) xx)
xxi)
b) However, True Image’s log detail is substantially better than Ghost. You see all the detail from start to finish of the operation and at least in the standard display window, it is easy to see the total amount of time consumed for the backup operation.
Finally, it has been my experience over the years that few people verify their image backups or experimentally try to boot up the image restore DOS program before they need it. This is a serious mistake!
I cannot stress strongly enough that it is CRITICAL that you VERIFY image backups. Being caught with a backup that you think is good but really isn’t, is a recipe for disaster.
Second, you MUST test that you can boot into the DOS recovery program BEFORE you actually need it.
Third, if you want to go the full mile, then you should also create a copy of your hard drive (or a logical disk) first using a process that you have confidence in and know works. Then try to do a test restore from an image backup outside of Windows, checking that everything works and becoming familiar with the process before a real error occurs (and rest assured, one eventually will occur). It’s far too easy to make serious mistakes while frustrated and under the stress of trying to restore a bad drive from DOS/Linux if you haven’t had any prior experience doing so or working with the driving program.
Conclusion:
While each program has certain unique features, the core functionality of both programs is essentially equal. However, True Image’s overall functionality, reliability and UI are more robust and more understandable than Symantec Norton Ghost versions 9 or 10. Most importantly, in my experience, Symantec’s Ghost versions 9 & 10 have proven to be unreliable and my experience with Ghost (really, all of Symantec) technical support has consistently been dreadful. I would still choose Acronis True Image over Ghost on functionality and presentation alone; however, on quality of support alone, I cannot and will not recommend any Symantec program. Furthermore, Symantec has a long & sordid history of acquiring products or complete companies and then discontinuing the products. I would not be surprised if Ghost were treated similarly in the not-distant future. Partition Magic, which they also acquired from PowerQuest a couple of years back in release 8 has yet to be updated by Symantec. The fact that Symantec tech support/development has been unable to isolate the regular random corruption problems I have been experiencing across two releases of the product does not bode well for the future of the Ghost product, in my mind.
I have removed Symantec Ghost from my system. My recommendation and personal choice going forward for a disk-imaging program is Acronis True Image.
Product Details
(1) Norton Ghost V10, $69.99No trial available, Windows XP Home Edition/Professional, Windows 2000 Professional ONLY
Includes Norton Ghost 2003 for Windows Me & 98 users
http://www.symantec.com/home_homeoffice/products/backup_recovery/ghost10/index.html
(2) Acronis True Image V11, $49.99
http://regnow.acronis.com/
14 day trial, Windows XP/Vista, 87MB
Download Trial Version True Image Home V11
Reference:http://www.techsupportalert.com/drive-imaging-reviews.htm
Retrieval Date:04/27/10
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing (P2P)
Peer-to-Peer File Sharing
With the growth of technology, including faster Internet connections, more people are connecting every day and there are more products and services available for consumers online.
One of the fastest growing trends on the Internet is peer-to-peer file sharing. Every day, millions of beginner and advanced computer users share various types of files online. Music, games and software are just a few examples of files that users share over the Internet. File sharing is simple and generally involves downloading special software, usually free-of-charge that connects your computer to a network of other users’ computers, possibly all over the world.
While file sharing makes a multitude of products and services available to anyone on the web, there are downsides to users who either send or download shared files. In order to protect yourself and your computer make sure to consider the flip side:
File sharing opens access to a number of new and exciting products and services to everyone but it can also be an open door to your personal information and can expose families to a host of legal issues. Consider the pros and cons before you act.
For more Internet safety tips, see our Web Wise Washington pages.
References:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/InternetSafety/PeerToPeer.aspx
Retrieval Date:
04/25/10
With the growth of technology, including faster Internet connections, more people are connecting every day and there are more products and services available for consumers online.
One of the fastest growing trends on the Internet is peer-to-peer file sharing. Every day, millions of beginner and advanced computer users share various types of files online. Music, games and software are just a few examples of files that users share over the Internet. File sharing is simple and generally involves downloading special software, usually free-of-charge that connects your computer to a network of other users’ computers, possibly all over the world.
While file sharing makes a multitude of products and services available to anyone on the web, there are downsides to users who either send or download shared files. In order to protect yourself and your computer make sure to consider the flip side:
File sharing programs may expose you to lawsuits if you download materials that are protected by copyright laws;- You may inadvertently download a virus or open your machine or network to unintended security breaches;
- Others may be able to copy or view private files you never intended to share;
- You might find that you’ve unknowingly downloaded pornography labeled as something else.
- Set up the software carefully. If you do not check the settings during installation, you might open access to items you did not intend like your tax returns, financial information or other personal documents;
- Watch for spyware. Many file sharing programs install other software that monitors your browsing habits and can even relay or collect personal information from your machine;
- Close and end your connection when you are finished. Look to see if there are controls in the file sharing software so that your files are not always on or do not automatically open when you turn your machine on;
- Use and update your anti-virus software regularly. Avoid files with extensions like .exe, .scr, .lnk, .bat, .vbs, .dll, .bin, and .cmd;
File sharing opens access to a number of new and exciting products and services to everyone but it can also be an open door to your personal information and can expose families to a host of legal issues. Consider the pros and cons before you act.
For more Internet safety tips, see our Web Wise Washington pages.
References:
http://www.atg.wa.gov/InternetSafety/PeerToPeer.aspx
Retrieval Date:
04/25/10
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