_g (imported) wrote: Sat Feb 12, 2005 9:02 am
Now shortie, How long do you think a drive image would be valid? I'm useally upgrade the programs I use and the windows updates, and I have about 70 gig of data.
I have made it easy. I have two partitions: OS and programs, then data. The reason it takes me that long is the time it takes to wipe the OS drive, and reinstall the OS then going to windows update. Just overwriting the drive with a image will not get all the affending virii. I done that before and ended up have to do a low level format, with the manufactors maintaince program before the virus was gone (kids computer).
Be sides each time my choices of programs being loaded changes. And it only comes to that once a year maybe and has not come up since to went to WIN2000 and XP pro and locked out the kids.
_g
Sorry it's taken so long for me to respond to this post. The combination of Sharon and I taking advantage of some late season snowfall on the ski slopes, plus increasing demand for technical support in my business, has limited my free time.
Your post has several levels that invite a response. The first is related to how long an image would remain "valid." I can only say that any drive image is valid for as long as the media upon which it is stored remains in good condition. If you're careful to store the media away from magnetic fields (such as audio equipment), then CDs will last several years. If your question relates to how long the image would be a close mirror of the hard drive, then that is a function to how often you perform the backups.
This computer is used for general surfing of the Web, plus sending and receiving e-mail. Since there's nothing on it that is particularly essential, I do the drive backups on a monthly basis. My business computer, which is not connected to the Internet for security reasons, is backed up at least weekly, and more frequently if I've added lots of customer information. My third computer, which is used mainly for gaming, is backed up maybe twice a year. It's simple enough to re-install games if necessary, so I really don't worry much about it.
As for your comment about having 70 GB of data on your hard drive, I have to admit to astonishment. I do technical support for a local library, and even those machines do not have nearly that much in the data files. Since data is the truly irreplaceable part of the information on a computer, you are in dire need of some sort of backup solution. The operating system can be re-installed, and programs can be re-installed. Data cannot. Once it's lost, you're out of luck.
That amount of data limits your choice of backup media. It would require so many CD-Rs as to make that a poor choice. Better options would be a separate hard drive disk (preferably external) or a tape backup. The first choice is much the less expensive. You can buy external drives (USB 2.0) of adequate size for $100-$150. The best imaging program to use with one of them is probably Acronis TrueImage 8.0. It's available now (by download) for $33.50 from NewEgg Computers. I used that program yesterday to image this machine, and it took less than seven minutes to do 7.68 GB. Your 70 GB should, by extrapolation, take about an hour.
Your reference to an infection still being present after installing a drive image leads me to think you're referring to a boot-sector virus. That particular type of nasty was once the main type of infection, but has been replaced as of late. However, it's still roaming the Internet, and can bring down an unprotected computer. Any competent antivirus program, if configured to run full time in the background, will detect and prevent BSVs. I use AVG Pro on this machine, and can truthfully say that I've never had even the slightest type of infection. I'm sure other AV programs would do the same, but can't say.
I know this is repeating other posts I've made in the past, but here goes anyway. Folks, you're going to lose everything on your computer sooner or later. The cause may be a virus infection, an operator error, or a HDD failure. It's going to happen. The only thing that will allow you to get back up and running in a short amount of time is a drive image, preferably one that is not outdated. The choice is yours.
