Blue screen of death

Al killian

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Floydada, Tx
Well after I made my way to the compter this after noon to surf the net I had a huge problem with my computer. I turned it on and up poped a blue screen telling me there was a error in bootstrap or something like that.:bang: So after LOML re formated the hard drive I now have the fun job aof reinstalling all the programs and trying to find all my favorite sites again. I cant ask much of this PC as it is 6 years old and is always in use.
 
I hope you had everything backed up. I have been using one of those Internet backup services - Carbonite - that backs up everything over the Internet to their servers. I don't remember the cost but it was fairly cheap.

Mike
 
Another great backup is the new USB drives. These are like $100 and you just plug them into the USB port. You can back up everything to them... so when you hard drive crashes, you at least have the data.

You still have to go thru the process of actually installing everything.. This is certainly a painful experience...
 
Hi Al,
I built and used PC's for over 25 years and finally got fed up with all that hair pulling hassle. I switched to Mac about three years ago and have not had one single problem since. They simply work.
The Mac mini is around $500 depending on how you order it. You can use your existing monitor and a Mac keyboard can be had for under $20.

I've been convinced

DT
 
Another great backup is the new USB drives. These are like $100 and you just plug them into the USB port. You can back up everything to them... so when you hard drive crashes, you at least have the data.

You still have to go thru the process of actually installing everything.. This is certainly a painful experience...
I used to use an external USB drive and some software that ran every night to back up my data to that external drive. Works well. The only problem is that if I have a disaster (like a fire), the backup drive will be destroyed along with the computer. With the Internet backup, the data is off site.

I guess it's all in your (and my) tolerance for risk. I now have most of the pictures of my family's life in digital form on the computer and don't want to risk losing them. While the USB drive works fine, I eventually switched to the off-site backup for greater security.

Mike
 
Ouch! As a Windows user I back up about every week. I probably format and rebuild my machine as SOP a couple times a year. I've got it down to a couple hours which is way faster than I can chase down what has happened. Windows leaves a trail behind. Always has. There are ways to tidy up as you go but I find it easier to just purge and rebuild now and then.

My other operating systems fare better over long periods but are not used the same way or exposed to the same 'stuff' as front office machines. I just try to stay away from the whole Ford vs. Chevy-like arguments over operating systems.

Something that might help; after a machine is up for the first time (again), I build a "folder" named after me. All my data files and folders are part of a tree under this folder. When backing up, I simply back up this folder and all sub-folders and I get everything. When restoring its the reverse. Works for me.
 
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Back up question

When you back up your data, can or should you back up the entire hard drive including the programs you have loaded and Windows? Is this even possible? Why or why not should this be done? It seems to make sense to me, so it's probably a bad idea!:huh:
 
When you back up your data, can or should you back up the entire hard drive including the programs you have loaded and Windows? Is this even possible? Why or why not should this be done? It seems to make sense to me, so it's probably a bad idea!:huh:

Hi Ron,
It's best to just back up your data.

Installing with a windows operating system, bits and pieces are loaded all over the place for the program to use, especially in the Registry.
When you delete programs, even using windows program remover it is highly improbable that you will get them all.

And then you run across the problem with "Common files" that more than one program use. To delete one of these as part of one program will cause damage in another. Not to mention that over half of the programs you back up that way simply will not be able to find enough of what they need to work properly.

The Registry, and all this crud is exactly what you are trying to get away from when you re-format and start with a clean slate. You are looking for a fresh install of all programs.

Maybe not such a technical explanation but this is part of what you run into with a backup.

ALWAYS back up! Think of your back up system as your computer dust collection system. :thumb:

DT
 
When you back up your data, can or should you back up the entire hard drive including the programs you have loaded and Windows? Is this even possible? Why or why not should this be done? It seems to make sense to me, so it's probably a bad idea!:huh:

Being a die-hard Mac user since 1992, I have to say it is my prefered platform. However I have had crashes and lost data, more so under OS 9 than 10. I recomend backing up your data files (pictues, video files, word docs, mp3's, pdf, etc...) on a regular basis no matter what OS you use. No matter how trouble free a particular OS seems to be for you, your data can still be lost. As the saying goes, "Its not a matter of if, its a matter of when."

Even though I am "one of those Mac people", I know a good deal about Windows and trouble shooting it. I worked for several years doing tech support for a major electronics manufacture's out sourced (within the US at the time) tech support call center. I continue to work in a computer related field, but now in tech support for a broadband ISP.

I can tell you with Windows, no matter what version, backing up, is best done of just your data files. As far as programs (applications) keep your install CDs/DVDs within reach along with any registration key information you might need to install them. The reason that you would not want to backup applications, is because of the way that they are installed on to your PC. When you install a program on to your PC the installer scatters files through out various directories (folders) on your computer. The placement of these files is important in allowing the application to run correctly or run at all. If you go to the my programs folder and copy application X to your external hard drive, when you go to put it back on after a reformat it probably won't work. :eek: This is because you didn't back up all the little pieces that the installer scattered all over your operating system. The time and effort it would take to find all of these pieces, back them up, and be able to restore them to the right locations when necessary, makes this process 100 times more tedious and complicated than necessary. :(

So in short, back up the your data files to a 2nd hard drive or a DVD/CD. As for your programs, just reinstall them from the original discs.


As a matter of fact I just finished backing up just under 8GB of my digital pictures on to my 2nd drive while I was typing this. ;)
 
Hi Ron,
It's best to just back up your data.

Installing with a windows operating system, bits and pieces are loaded all over the place for the program to use, especially in the Registry.
When you delete programs, even using windows program remover it is highly improbable that you will get them all.

And then you run across the problem with "Common files" that more than one program use. To delete one of these as part of one program will cause damage in another. Not to mention that over half of the programs you back up that way simply will not be able to find enough of what they need to work properly.

The Registry, and all this crud is exactly what you are trying to get away from when you re-format and start with a clean slate. You are looking for a fresh install of all programs.

Maybe not such a technical explanation but this is part of what you run into with a backup.

ALWAYS back up! Think of your back up system as your computer dust collection system. :thumb:

DT

Don,

I was posting almost the samething you did just about at the same time.:wave:

What are the chances of that? :rofl:
 
Windows only appears free when you get it pre-installed on your computer at purchase time. Even though you pay for it, most people feel like it comes with the computer...it does, after the ms tariff.

Here's where it really cost you...

I have everyone except one computer off windows at my home, actually 2 if you count my son's gaming machine. I got my wife a Mac mini last holiday season, and she's really happy we did that.

I use UNIX and Linux, and haven't run a Windows computer for 10 years. That ain't no accident either.:D
 
Al - I feel your pain.

I use multiple layers of backup. I use SmartSync Pro every night to make direct copies of important data files from my main internal hard disk to an external USB disk. Easy automatic low level protection. I use Norton Ghost to maintain a complete copy of my c: drive on another internal drive. This gives me a relatively straightforward way to reconstruct my system - applications and data - in the event that something unpleasant happens. It also creates a recovery point automatically when any application is installed so I can unwind if I need to.

Ultra critical data is backed up to a remote location. Monthly, I do a clone of the c: drive to another external usb which lives in a fireproof safe.

Paranoid? Only a bit
 
I respectfully disagree with the folks saying don't back up the operating system and installed applications. You are all correct about the fact that the OS and apps are scattered among hundreds of folders, but they can be backed up as a disk image (not just copying the files to another disk). I use Drive Image (which has now been bought out by Norton, so likely to disappear as it competes with Ghost). I have my OS and apps installed on one disk, and all my data files on another. I have redundant backups of both disks in multiple locations. (Unfortunately, my external USB drive is not talking right now with my main system, so one of my spare backup locations is temporarily unavailable. No worries, because I've got the same images available elsewhere.)

It's still worthwhile (to me) to be able to restore my complete system, OS, apps, and all, in just a couple of steps instead of a couple days worth of installing applications. I typically make a new image of the apps and OS before any significant software installation. I can roll back to earlier images if the installation causes a problem. Same idea as Ian's system, but not as refined or sophisticated.

I'm by no means a Windows cheerleader, but I am required to use it (and a number of MS applications) for work, so it makes sense for my home systems to follow suit...especially since I do a lot of my work from home.
 
I'm on the road to Mac, I'll never buy another windoze machine, I've had it with their stuff, besides with the new Macs, I can run all of my windoze software :thumb:

Cheers!
 
My philosophy is that 96% of the PCs in the world use Windows, the other 4% use Mac or some wannabees. I go with the 96%, there have to be reasons beyond marketing. Since going to XP, I have never had a blue screen, it 'seems', to this non-geek, to be sorta self-healing. Works and works well. Why fight success? It was pre-installed on my Dell who bought it at quantity discount prices from MS.
BTW, the 2 gig thumb drives are on sale now at Wal-Mart for $19.96.
 
I respectfully disagree with the folks saying don't back up the operating system and installed applications. You are all correct about the fact that the OS and apps are scattered among hundreds of folders, but they can be backed up as a disk image (not just copying the files to another disk). I use Drive Image (which has now been bought out by Norton, so likely to disappear as it competes with Ghost). I have my OS and apps installed on one disk, and all my data files on another. I have redundant backups of both disks in multiple locations. (Unfortunately, my external USB drive is not talking right now with my main system, so one of my spare backup locations is temporarily unavailable. No worries, because I've got the same images available elsewhere.)

It's still worthwhile (to me) to be able to restore my complete system, OS, apps, and all, in just a couple of steps instead of a couple days worth of installing applications. I typically make a new image of the apps and OS before any significant software installation. I can roll back to earlier images if the installation causes a problem. Same idea as Ian's system, but not as refined or sophisticated.

I'm by no means a Windows cheerleader, but I am required to use it (and a number of MS applications) for work, so it makes sense for my home systems to follow suit...especially since I do a lot of my work from home.

Vaughn,

I see where you are coming from in making an image of the entire drive OS and all. For the sake of being convenient this is a good idea. However over time petty much all Windows machines have some files which are in some state of corruption. If your system is not 100% when you make your back up image, when you restore it after a crash, your restored system will be less than 100%. The reality is that many people don't know how to properly maintain a Windows based PC. Restoring to a less than optimal OS will only lead to a crash again and more frustration. This is why I recomend a new fresh copy of the OS, with all the updates done from MS. The same thing goes with applications, I have seen them become corrupted too.

Just my thoughts coming from years of being yelled at by people on the phone who lost data due to Windows kicking the bucket.;)
 
I'm with Vaughn. I want to be able to restore to state as quickly as possible. If I need to do a fresh install I will do it when I have time but on the basis that my business is seasonal, if a PC dies in mid summer a less optimal restore available in 2 hours is worth about 20 times as much as a perfect fresh install that takes a day or two to get everything installed. Pick your horse, pick your course.
 
I wasn't trying to cause a stir on this one. Really, I wasnt'.:dunno:

I guess my perspective comes from, trying for a long(er) term fix (to keep the customer from calling back next week with the same problem:eek:).

If you have the software and drive space to make an entire image of your drive, it will certainly be much faster.

The definate down side of what I orginally suggested is the time it takes. I forgot to mention how long this process can take. My apologies here.
 
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