Strategy for doing a Restore-able OS install ??

[InOverMyHead]

What's the best strategy for doing a restore-able OS install? I want to
'renew' it to newly installed configuration every 60 days or so. And I
don't want to have to update the OS after the new install each time.

So - how about a partition of 10-20gb for the OS (drive C) and the remainder
as drive D, which would contain the restore program and all program files
(at least all that I can direct to D) and all data files.

But - what recovery program would work for me? and how does it work since it
essentially wipes out the OS that runs it??

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Bob

 

[DL]

Acronis True Image

A clean install every 60 days seems a bit extream, looked at VM or similar
incarnations?
A seperate partition on the hd doesnt help if the hd fails

 

[philo]

Acronis True Image

A clean install every 60 days seems a bit extream, looked at VM or similar
incarnations?
A seperate partition on the hd doesnt help if the hd fails

<snip>


I use Acronis and it works very well...
but I agree that restorations every 60 days are a bit over-cautious.
A Win2k installation normally lasts for years with no problems

 

[InOverMyHead]

A bit extreme - - maybe. But I'm trying to place these (old, donated) units
with newly arrived refugee families who have the uncanny ability to scramble
things up good. A restore disk would sure make life easier for me! Okay,
forget the 60 day thing, but "occasionally" . . .

I checked out Acronis. I presume it works like Norton Ghost, right? But I
still don't see how I can get an entire restore fileset onto one CD. (Or can
I dump it to a DVD and boot from there??

Bob

 

[philo]

A bit extreme - - maybe. But I'm trying to place these (old, donated) units
with newly arrived refugee families who have the uncanny ability to scramble
things up good. A restore disk would sure make life easier for me! Okay,
forget the 60 day thing, but "occasionally" . . .

I checked out Acronis. I presume it works like Norton Ghost, right? But I
still don't see how I can get an entire restore fileset onto one CD. (Or can
I dump it to a DVD and boot from there??

Bob

Though I use Acronis...
I've only used it to backup to another HD...so I don't know about the
bootable DVD
but I did find this link


http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/company/inpress/2006/06-17-ati.html



At any rate...a fresh install of Win2k should easily fit one one DVD

You can get Acronis as a free trial...so at least you can test the thing .

Now that you mention it...
I do have some friends who probably do have to use their factory restore
cd's every couple of months!

 

[DL]

I too have only used Acronis to backup to HD, but I believe I read, on its
latest version, that it supports writing to multiple cd/dvds of the image