[ale] If you must restore a windows computer, how do you make it better?

[Anthony Atkinson]

Hey, i run into this situation alot.

I get someone whose windows is damaged and they adamantly say they  
want windows only and nothing else.

So, I setup a windows partition, and a linux partition with swap and  
when i am done i go into kgrubeditor and flip flop the boot entries so  
that windows has to be chosen. This at least gives them the option of  
trying linux on there on time when they feel comfortable.

i then at least show them two things on linux before i give them there  
computer back, i show them how to get online and i show them how to  
save documents with open office that will at least open in windows word.

About a week later, they will eventually call me and say "I want linux  
only" on my computer because they found out that it is easier using  
linux for there daily computer usage.

This process always works for the people that are leery of anything  
outside of windows.

My next customer here in dallas stated to me that they would also like  
to do linux, but they need to be able to use internet explorer (IE)   
because they run software that only works with IE. This person is a  
real estate agent and i am familiar with what they are talking about.  
The MLS software.

Just my 2 cents,

SuperGeeK

On Oct 14, 2009, at 8:14 PM, Michael B. Trausch wrote:

> On Wed, 2009-10-14 at 14:36 -0400, Richard Bronosky wrote:
>> My MiL had a hard drive failure in her Dell windows media center
>> machine. (which does not have a tuner card and serves not media  
>> center
>> purpose, but the Dell sales person up-sold her) I have recovered the
>> data using my Linux desktop and a drive dock. I now must consider  
>> what
>> to do with the bones.
>>
>> She will not use anything other than windows. End of story. Moving
>> on.
>
> What I tell *everyone* is this:  I'll set them up with a Windows
> instance, if that is what they want and they have all the materials  
> for
> it (license/certificate/etc.) and once it's all said and done, I'll  
> take
> an image with it, make two copies, and give them both copies.
>
> I use ntfsclone to do the images, because it has an efficient file
> format that is portable (e.g., it does not depend on sparse files,
> though you can safe an NTFS image as a sparse file if you want).
> Typically, a fully setup Windows XP Professional installation with the
> software that users tend to have installed (Firefox, OpenOffice,
> whatever they may have and want installed, Flash, etc.) fits on two  
> 4.7
> GB DVDs if you do not compress the NTFS image file, and of course you
> can restore with ntfsclone itself.
>
>> From thereonin, I tell people, "If you think you cannot lose it, make
> sure you back it up, or assume it's gone already."  If that doesn't do
> it, the "I told you so," after I use the images to restore and their
> data isn't present, generally (though not always!) does.
>
> 	--- Mike
>
> -- 
> Blog:  http://mike.trausch.us/blog/
> Misc. Software:  http://mike.trausch.us/software/
>
> “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too
> high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving
> our mark.” —Michelangelo
>
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