>> I still don't get why you can't just mount the file itself...
> 
> Because the file is not a block device.

I thought the whole idea of the "device file" abstraction is that 
accessing an entire device is no different from accessing a regular 
file. And, if that's the case, you'd expect storing a filesystem inside 
a file to be no different than storing a filesystem on a device.

And yet, it *is* different - one automatically works, the other requires 
you to jump through hoops. Or, loops, in this case...

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Invisible wrote:
> The device files still have to exist in the filesystem though. (That's a 
> fairly bizare concept in itself...)

It's legacy.


-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!

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Darren New wrote:
> If you really want to know why someone would pay money for the product,
> look at the page on wikipedia to see the list of features it would be a
> PITA to put together under Linux. For *some* people, time is money. :-)

I guess I currently have more time than money :D

That's a reason why teenagers pirate too. They have more time to try
multiple super-complicated DRM-cracking programs till they get it to work
than they have money to buy a genuine copy.

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Invisible wrote:
> 2. before you can mount anything loopback, you have to determine which
> device numbers (if any) are free.

Uh, no.

mount -o loop file.iso mountpoint

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Nicolas Alvarez wrote:

> That's a reason why teenagers pirate too. They have more time to try
> multiple super-complicated DRM-cracking programs till they get it to work
> than they have money to buy a genuine copy.

Oh... really? I thought it was because teenagers think they have a 
*right* to get whatever they want. (Or possibly becuase they have no 
money.) Guess I was wrong... again.

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Darren New wrote:
> Invisible wrote:
>> The device files still have to exist in the filesystem though. (That's 
>> a fairly bizare concept in itself...)
> 
> It's legacy.

I'll say...

-- 
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*

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Darren New wrote:
> None of this lets you restore to a partition of a different size or 
> backup only the used sectors, or browse the files in the backup over the 
> network without decompressing them.
> 
> It also doesn't let you clone a new Windows machine from an old one.

Hmmm... Do many companies put themselves in situations that demands such 
features ?

-- 
Tor Olav
http://subcube.com

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Darren New wrote:
> Tor Olav Kristensen wrote:
>> When you are finished, it would be wise to boot from a Knoppix CD
>> and connect an external USB HD (sdb) and do this in order to
>> backup your whole Win NT disk:
> 
> Or you could use the free DriveXML that walks you thru the process, 
> saving only the space occupied by files, compressing and/or splitting 
> the result, and restores just as easily. :-)

Ok, but what is the procedure then for using DriveXML to restore a 
system that will not boot ?

-- 
Tor Olav
http://subcube.com

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Tor Olav Kristensen wrote:
> Darren New wrote:
>> None of this lets you restore to a partition of a different size or 
>> backup only the used sectors, or browse the files in the backup over 
>> the network without decompressing them.
>>
>> It also doesn't let you clone a new Windows machine from an old one.
> 
> Hmmm... Do many companies put themselves in situations that demands such 
> features ?

Sure. When you have 5,000 Windows machines to deploy to your employees, or 
if you want to restore the backup to a bigger drive because the old one 
failed...

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!

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Tor Olav Kristensen wrote:
> Ok, but what is the procedure then for using DriveXML to restore a 
> system that will not boot ?

BartPE.  Boot into a Windows LiveCD, partition and format the disk, and 
start up DriveXML and click "restore". Pretty much like Linux.

-- 
   Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   There's no CD like OCD, there's no CD I knoooow!

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