If I had my own distro:

[ral]

Sounds like a good idea:

 

http://www.osnews.com/story.php?news_id=3431

 

Especailly cleaning up the file systems and installation routine.

[DragonMage]

From casual user point of view.. yeah.. maybe a good idea.. But from the developer / administrator / heavy user point of view, bad bad bad idea.

 

The only good idea that comes out from this article is the symlink stuffs. Easier installation, well.. considering the numbers of computer configuration out there and the way most linux distro pretty much autodetects and autoinstall the drivers, I cannot see how it can get easier in the functional sense (not in interface sense). Have you installed windows lately (even XP?) It took me around 8 hours to install windows with updates, drivers, and the minimal amount of needed apps (such as office, antivirus, unzipper, etc) and those without tweaking them to my liking. In linux I can get everything installed and tweaked in under half of that time. I really doubt windows can do better installation than what most linux distro use.

 

Anyway, read vforge's rebuttal in pclinuxonline comment on this article which is located in

http://www.pclinuxonline.com/modules.php?n...order=0&thold=0

in short, doing all he said would take months, if not years of development, testing, and documenting. I mean.. he is welcome to try it, but don't expect people to use it. I mean, remember yoper? Huge promises that caused it to be the #1 clicked distro in distrowatch, but it fulfills very few of those promises and the developers are not even helpful.

[ral]

Well, we install Windows regulary were kind of used to it (1.5 hours with all the apps we use).

 

Install XP w/ updates (well SP1 anyway ) is insalled automatically (I think the term is slipstream)... XP than updates itself on the net.

 

Drivers...

 

Office.. Mozilla... a few other apps are insalled.

 

All settings are kept in a zip file (including Mozilla's settings, Windows settings...etc) Than were done.

 

Linux is easy too install too.

[ramfree17]

Well, we install Windows regulary were  kind of used to it (1.5 hours with all the apps we use).

 

if you have any win98 machines checkout this little tidbit about using partimage to hasten the reinstallation process. i was supposed to do something like it for ntfs-based partitions over the network but unfortunately dell machines cut corners which results on the lan cards to be unrecognized in non-Win2K platforms.

 

you might consider trying it out too. many would be interested in the results.

 

 

ciao!

[ral]

We use Norton Ghost to back up the install for our Win95/98/2K machines. Installation can be had in less than an hour. Comes bundles with theEpox boards so no additional cost :)

[ramfree17]

We use Norton Ghost to back up the install for our Win95/98/2K machines. Installation can be had in less than an hour. Comes bundles with theEpox boards so no additional cost :)

 

but does norton ghost respect the MBR section? you should really give me an epox mobo when i need a new pc. :#:

 

ciao!

[DragonMage]

Norton ghost is only good when you are multiplying the image into machines of similar configuration. A motherboard change usually requires a cleaner OS install in order to detect everything your motherboard can do. I know I have to reinstall my win2k when I changed my mb to NForce2 because it is too different from SiS735 chipset mb I have beforehand.

 

I think even ghost cannot restore an image into a different hd (well.. it can, but it's not the way you want to be, it's filling out the whole hd instead of leaving some space left over). I prefer acronis True image better. but it still has some weaknesses.

 

Newer XP already have SP1 built in, because well.. without SP1, XP just don't plain work, too buggy. I think SP1 was released a very short time after XP was released. But if you have an XP without SP1 (older copies), installing SP1 is a nightmare and a half. There are horror stories out there of people having problems with XP with NForce2 MB because they don't install SP1 and patches in the right way or what..

[ramfree17]

Norton ghost is only good when you are multiplying the image into machines of similar configuration. A motherboard change usually requires a cleaner OS install in order to detect everything your motherboard can do.

 

yup i know that, i was planning to replace nortonghost that we were using at work with partimage but was thwarted by dell. :(

 

the mobo issue was regarding a new pc that i might buy off ral next year. :#:

 

ciao!

[ral]

Dragonmage is right, you need to have one ghost per configuration, but there are ways around that. Basically, you can go to system and device manager and remove the devices not applicable to the current configuration and reboot. Actually my current 98SE install went to an SiS746 mainboard to a KT400, using this technique.

 

One other thing that you can also do is ghost after you install all the programs, but before the drivers... windows plug and play gets rid of most of the junk.

 

"Newer XP already have SP1 built in, because well.. without SP1, XP just don't plain work, too buggy."

 

Yup, we got some of those lately, it came out just before the price icnrease :( Alotugh I think its normal for them to do this. Our Wn2K's have SP2 on the installer.

 

I think SP1 was released a very short time after XP was released. But if you have an XP without SP1 (older copies), installing SP1 is a nightmare and a half. There are horror stories out there of people having problems with XP with NForce2 MB because they don't install SP1 and patches in the right way or what.."

 

I don't know install the patch is a simple double click, but I guess some people have problems with it. I did notice though that it is best to install SP1 in a new install rather than to upgrade an old one.

 

Ramfree17:

 

No problems on the MBR. EPoX boards are not the stablest platforms in the world though. Plenty of overclocking options but sometimes very hard to please.