Once you have a functioning system, especially one close to a clean
install, do a full system backup. If you have multiple partitions, I
guess a backup is a bit more complex. It depends upon the ties between
the Registry & the other partitions, as to whether they must be backed
up concurrently. Also, if you've changed the hardware since the backup,
you may need to change it back before a restore.
http://home.satx.rr.com/badour/index.html Backup & partitioning strategy
http://home.wanadoo.nl/geurt/home.html Extended Operating System Loader
http://powerquest.com/driveimage/ Drive Image
http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/ TrueImage
http://www.arjsoftware.com ARJ Archiver
http://www.betterbackup.com/ Retrospect CD Backup
http://www.bootitng.com/ 's BootIt NG, has a variety of backup
capabilities: Copy to HDD, or Image to HDD or to CD. (TBIView, freely
downloadable, can retrieve individual files from an Image.)
Shrink/expand your partitions without data loss. Multi-boot, if you
dare. Free, run from floppy, but pay up as I did if satisfied. To
install & use beyond 30 days, $34.95.
http://www.cdrfaq.org/ CD R/W Backup
http://www.cyberiapc.com/backup.htm MyOwnBackup (MOB) (Free)
http://www.han-soft.com/habt.php Auto Backup (30-day free trial)
http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport...&p=hpcdwriter2
Simple Backup
http://www.karenware.com/ PtReplicator (Free)
http://www.lifesaverbackup.com/
http://www.mvps.org/links.html Should have good info
http://www.pcmag.com/ Lots & lots of sturdy downloads. There is a $20
yearly charge now.
http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic Partition Magic
http://www.ranish.com/part/ Ranish Partition Manager
http://www.rescue-me.net/gold.html
http://www.simtel.net/pub/dl/58307.shtml Backups
http://www.stompinc.com/bump/bump_details.phtml?stp Backup MyPC
http://www.thirdstar.net/thirdstar_datarecovery.htm Data recovery
http://www.tomsterdam.com/ BU process, performance, etc.
http://www.v-com.com/product/pc_ind.html Partition Commander
http://www.veritas.com Backup apps
http://www.xxcopy.com/ Detailed Procedure Copy (Free)
http://www.zeleps.com/ Partition re-sizer (Free)
All gathered at this site. Whichever you choose, approach it carefully
and verify all is well. After making a copy, run Scandisk/Defrag on it.
If it's an Image, use it's verify option; perhaps, restore it and do a
Scandisk/Defrag.
http://www.pchelpandconsulting.com/links/windows.html WinDrvExpert
http://www.jermar.com/wdrvbck.htm WinDrvBckup free version
Those last two supposedly back up all currently installed drivers, such
that they can be reinstalled. I never tried it but have seen a favorable
report.
--
Thanks or Good Luck,
There may be humor in this post, and,
Naturally, you will not sue,
should things get worse after this,
PCR
"Walter Dnes (delete the 'z' to get my real address)"
wrote in message
...
| I run linux at home for most stuff, but there are some sites that
| require Windows-specific stuff. I'll be getting back on ADSL soon,
| hopefully in the next couple of weeks. The last 6 months on dialup
was
| P_A_I_N_F_U_L_L after a couple of years on ADSL. On broadband,
there's
| quite a bit of Windows-only multimedia available.
|
| Being the packrat that I am, I still have the original Win98SE
install
| CD, the manual with the key, and a second-hand 400mhz Dell with 128
megs
| of RAM. After a few false starts, I solved the "CD not found" problem
| and got 98SE installed. Sound and network card were found
| automagically, and the 98SE box can talk to the linux box via a
router.
|
|
| Chicken and Egg Problem
| =======================
|
| The fresh out-of-the-box Win98SE is probably not safe to connect
| directly to the net without getting several security patches first.
| Microsoft's method of getting security patches requires connecting the
| machine to the net... what's wrong with this picture?
|
| My original intention was to...
| - download Win98 security patches to my linux machine
| - drop the dialup internet connection
| - use the Windows ftp client to download the patches from the linux
box
|
| Let's just say that Microsoft seems to be extremely hostile to
letting
| non-MS browsers download security patches. I managed to find a few of
| the patches, but I don't think it was anywhere near everything.
|
|
| My Plan B
| =========
|
| The Netgear router has a telnet interface for firewall rules. I got
| it blocking ports 0..1023 inbound (TCP and UDP), as well as inbound
| syn-packets. I think that I can beef up security even more so that
the
| initial update can be done safely. I need some additional info
first...
|
| Questions, questions, questions
| ===============================
| 1) What is the domain name MS uses for running the Windows Update
| program? I'll put that domain in the "trusted zone" and all other
zones
| will be locked down. I'll use Firefox for browsing.
|
| 2) Any recommendations for free spyware-defense and anti-virus? I
do
| *NOT* intend to run *ANY* form of email client on this box, so that's
| one less item to worry about. I've already uninstalled Outlook
Express.
|
| --
| Walter Dnes; my email address is *ALMOST* like
| Delete the "z" to get my real address. If that gets blocked, follow
| the instructions at the end of the 550 message.