complete system backup

[CaptJR]

I have 500 gig of games installed on my computer. After a crash, the backup seemed to put back on but a lot of games would not run saying they were not installed. Took 4 days to reinstall all the games. What computer backup program backs up ever little sliver of info on hard drive so if needed to use backup, the games are installed?

 

[Ijack]

I'm guessing that your backup didn't include the registry.

Probably the easiest way to do a complete backup is with a disk imaging program. Have a look at http://disk-imaging-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

 

[CaptJR]

I'm guessing that your backup didn't include the registry.

Probably the easiest way to do a complete backup is with a disk imaging program. Have a look at http://disk-imaging-software-review.toptenreviews.com/

Thank you for the reply. In reading the reviews on the two top rated ones on that link made me have more question.

You see the backup I had used did backup the registry. So the games must have been using something else to determine if the game was install on that computer. When reading the reviews I saw that the one program allows you to change 'volume labels' 'id's etc. I guess I am showing my ignorance here. Do these backups save the 'volume label' etc so that if the game is looking at some file that says what volume it was installed on is the same or something like that.

 

[Ijack]

The only place I have found where volume labels and ids can be important is in some Linux distributions (determining where a filesystem should be mounted). I've never heard of it being used as a copy-protection mechanism for games (but that's a technology that I am not particularly familiar with).
All the games on my computer use a serial number, sometimes in conjunction with Internet verification, that is stored in the registry. But that doesn't mean that other techniques don't exist.

Perhaps if you say what games you had problems with someone more knowledgeable may have the answer. I've never come across a case where a disk image didn't restore everything to how it had been.

 

[CaptJR]

The only place I have found where volume labels and ids can be important is in some Linux distributions (determining where a filesystem should be mounted). I've never heard of it being used as a copy-protection mechanism for games (but that's a technology that I am not particularly familiar with).
All the games on my computer use a serial number, sometimes in conjunction with Internet verification, that is stored in the registry. But that doesn't mean that other techniques don't exist.

Perhaps if you say what games you had problems with someone more knowledgeable may have the answer. I've never come across a case where a disk image didn't restore everything to how it had been.

I am going to pick your answer as a solution and thank you again.

The backup that I was using did backup the registry but I don't think it was a "disk image" so I am going to purchase one of the top two on that link you shared. Hopefully that will do the job. HOPEFULLY I will never need it again!

Thanks a lot.
JR