dbminter

I don't know what build mine was beyond what they called it: Windows 8 Developers' Preview. As I said, it worked once and then it didn't work; typical Microsoft software behavior. I have to install it over my primary partition and then restore the daily backup in order to try it out. I've done it like 3 times thus far, and that's enough as far as I'm concerned!

The funny thing is, when I tested the Developers' Build the first time, there WAS a button on the start menu for the Desktop. My other 2 installs of it did NOT have said button. So, go figure. Typical Microsoft behavior.

Actually, believe it or not, Windows 7 is actually a version of Windows I'd recommend. It's the first time I've ever actively endorsed a flavor of Windows. In a stunning turn of events, Microsoft combined the good parts of Vista, which were few and mostly cosmetic in nature, and fixed the parts that were wrongly implemented or just plain wrong for Windows 7. Of course, there IS that Blu-Ray size issue in Windows 7, but...

Downloaded and installed the free Windows 8 Developer Preview to get some first impressions of what the upcoming OS might be look. From what I've seen, be afraid. Be VERY afraid! It seems like Microsoft purposefully designed Windows 8 so that once basic tasks take more clicks or are totally eliminated from the OS. For instance, to access the log on screen, you HAVE to click off on a screen saver page. I could only access the Desktop by first selecting Control Panel from the obviously designed to be a smartphone start page. Then, I had to select More options from Control Panel in order to get the Desktop to appear. Once I got to the Desktop, imagine my surprise when the Start Menu is totally gone! How are we expected to get applications to work? Now, granted, this is a preliminary release of the OS and some things may be fixed. For instance, I hope for Windows to support/ZoneAlarm to support Windows 8, which neither currently do. But, I don't like what I've seen, which just backs up some things I had read. Like the likelihood that the Start button would be removed from the interface. You know, I didn't test to see if the Windows key on the keyboard opens the Start menu. I'm not about to reinstall it just to test that!

For half a year, I've been a fan of Lightscribe discs. Now, though, I have to issue a new opinion on them and not recommend them. I have had discs that weren't even burned 6 months ago at the latest, and the labels are already starting to fade on some of them. So, the premium attached to the price for Lightscribe discs is not worth it.

I have discovered one drawback to this Seagate USB 3 3 TB drive. DVDShrink cannot write to any of the partitions I created on the drive. For whatever reason, it returns the error: DVDShrink encountered an error and cannot continue. Failed to write file FILENAMEHERE The parameter is incorrect. If I write to the SATA HD inside the PC, it writes, so, it must be the drive as none of the partitions will allow write in DVDShrink. The C: is NTFS as are all the USB partitions. There is plenty of free space for the targeted output. Go figure.

Does anyone know of a good alternative to the DVD reauthoring software DVDReMake? I have DVDReMake Pro 3.6.3, but, it hasn't been updated in 4 years and they weren't too keen about implementing a fix to one DVD I had that epically failed with the software. Had a 2nd DVD that epically failed. Even with no edits, the output from DVDReMake for this DVD wouldn't even properly play the FBI and copyright warnings. Pressing Play on the main menu played NO part of the movie at all! I posted on the DVDReMake forum, but, since the software is all but officially dead, I don't expect much of an answer. So, I'm looking for an alternative. Anyone got any? Thanks!

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It's not the burning that smells. It smells even out of the package, unburnt.

I would guess what you'd see is the same sort of "temporary" "residue" you'd see if you used some kind of 90% isopropyl alcohol that you'd get if you used it to clean off the data side. As far as I'd know, there would be no particles because the actual label that is being burned is contained underneath that top clear layer on a Lightscribe disc.

Another thing that concerns me about those scent particles. Would they eventually start collecting within the container holding the disc? If so, if they start to get to the bottom of the disc, could they corrupt the data surface?

I am NO longer the Lightscribe convert I once was! It's not even 6 months and the labels are already starting to fade on my Lightscribe discs! What use are the labels if they fade away?

I use the Sony/Optiarc AD-7260S. Have used it for a few months now. The last external drive I had, well, still have it, was a Sony DRX drive.

Discovered another reason why I would have needed to switch away from Acronis Disk Director. DD Version 11 Build 2121's boot disc does not recognize the 3 TB USB 3.0 Seagate GoFlex HDD; Partition Master does recognize it.

Yes, but if you installed the software on Vista and then upgraded to Windows 7, the only way to update your boot disc would be to restore down Vista first and then install the new version of Disk Director to create the updated disc. I know this by heart as I used to do it.

I had to migrate away from Disk Director 10 because updates wouldn't install on Windows 7. (Maybe even Vista, too, I forget.) So, first, I tried the trial of DD 11 then couldn't migrate to that because it broke TrueImage 11. Then, I discovered Partition Master. PM does one thing slightly differently than the way DD does. DD has a Hide partition option. To do the same thing in PM, you must use the Change Drive Letter and select No Drive Letter. I also do NOT recommend moving over to DD 11 because the trial I tested out had several features that "run" but don't do anything. The trial version is supposedly not crippled in any way except for the time trial limitation. I remember that the Convert Partition Type from FAT to NTFS "ran" but the partition was still FAT once it was completed.

Sometimes, they don't make it easy in terms of deciding to upgrade. I couldn't update Disk Director to Version 11 and still use Version 11 of TrueImage. Both programs cannot be installed together. TI stops working if you reboot after installing DD 11 and attempting to uninstall DD 11 after installing it on a TI 11 installed system will cause a BSOD and can only be fixed by booting into the recovery environment and letting it attempt a fix. Of which, I think it just does a System Restore of the latest backed up data. I tried EaseUs's imaging software, but didn't decide to use it because if I remember correctly, there was no way to monitor a backup that was actually running. You'd have to wait until it finished and then check the log. I did, though, migrate from Disk Director to Partition Master. It's free and the only thing the paid versions do that the free doesn't that I would want is provide a bootable recovery disc.

My only problem with ATI 11 was that it would periodically return that backups had not been run when they had in fact been run. The only way to fix it was to completely reinstall the software. A big deal when you have to recreate the jobs and the schedules. Well, it is possible to copy over the jobs from a certain directory, which one I forget, but, you do have to manually reset each job's scheduled time. My problem with TI 2009 and 2010 was their restore CD's were useless. They were fine right up until you start the restore. Then, the discs would suddenly lose their ability to detect USB drives. BUT ONLY after the software has already deleted the target partition if it exists, of course. I tested my 3 TB USB 3 GoFlex last night with a restore in Reflect. The only issue I came across was one I would expect. Images made by Version 5 would not restore under Version 4's PE environment. I had asked their tech support if V 4's disc would restore V 5's images, and they told me it would. But, it doesn't. Logically, I wouldn't expect it to, anyway. The Next button that would start a restore never became selectable. I had no problems with Macrium 4's Linux disc. V 5's, though, I could not get to work on either my last PC or this Dell one. When a restore is started, it shells out to Linux to do something, but, gets stuck at what I'm guessing is an attempt to find a network connection. At least, unlike TI 2009 and 2010, it doesn't do the actual deletion of an existing partition until it actually starts. I use the PE version because, like you say, you can create partitions in it outside of full Windows. I like to make factory default partition backups before I start a new computer for the first time. In case I ever need to restore to a virgin partition to test something. Or if I end up returning the PC for whatever reason, I can return to factory default condition.

I stopped using Acronis TrueImage. The last version that worked right was TI 11, NOT 2011. Absolutely NOT 2011! 2011 is so full of bugs, bad programming choices, and a user interface that no one on the forums seems to like, and I agree with them. I've not tested trying to restore a Macrium Reflect backup made to the USB yet. I used to get IOMega drives because they had worked right. I only ever had to replace 1 drive because it stopped working, and that was the last IOMega one I got. The drive itself was all right, but, apparently, the USB bridge was the fault. Every other time, I only had to replace USB HD's because my space needs required more space. I shouldn't have a space problem now. Hence why I got the 3 TB version. I shouldn't run into a 2 TB partition problem because I've already partitioned it off into multiple partitions. The largest one is the 1 TB one where Macrium Reflect system backups go. All the other remaining partitions are 100 GB each, and only 1 of those is almost full at around 96 GB. I've got like 1.4 TB of unallocated space sitting there waiting to be redistributed someday.

Actually, with apparently unlimited continues, it is somewhat easy. I am from the old school where there were no such things as continues or respawning where you died. For my generation, something like the ending stages of Xevious was a challenge because of the sheer amount of exploding bullets that appeared near the end.

I needed to get a larger size USB HD to store my daily backups of Windows and my partition that basically serves as my My Documents. I had a 1 TB drive, and the only larger sizes I could find in Office Depot here in town (Staples had roughly the same choices.) that were larger than 1 TB were a 1.5 TB USB 2, 2 TB USB 3, and 3 TB USB 3 drives. I went with the largest one because it was on sale for the largest margin, off $70 from its $199 regular price tag and I knew that 3 times the size would probably hold me as however long the drive lasts before it goes tits up. I don't think I've ever had a Seagate drive before. My USB HD's have consisted of IOMega drives and the 1 TB Lacie I needed to replace. So, I wanted other people's opinion, even though I've already bought it and mitigated the Lacie contents over to the Seagate. Does Seagate make a good product? Thanks!

I'm glad you mentioned the F12 option. I'd probably have never thought about trying it. I tried it and there is a booting option for my USB flash drive when connected to the front left USB port. So, that one is probably not a USB 3 or it's not on a third party controller. So, there is the boot option in the BIOS; there just isn't an option for automatically booting from a USB flash drive.