Comments on: Stupid Microsoft, Stupid Me http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/ Info About and Musings of Keith M Ellis Fri, 21 Nov 2008 03:28:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.2 By: Wayne Chickenan ext http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-30 Wayne Chickenan ext Tue, 26 Aug 2008 22:15:55 +0000 http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-30 Hi Keith. I have fallen foul of this ridiculous trap! I have been backing up to an external hard disk for over a year (using Windows backup). Decided it was time to clean install Vista, configured everything back the way I liked it (i.e. computer name, user name, etc) and made a new back up the way I always had done. Ofcourse, how was I to know that (without warning!) a small, irrelevant file would be overwritten, consequently destroying my original backup. Unbelievable!! And now, MS want me to pay £46 to have a go at sorting it out! Rant over. I was just wondering how far you managed to get with this? Nice site btw! Wayne Hi Keith. I have fallen foul of this ridiculous trap! I have been backing up to an external hard disk for over a year (using Windows backup). Decided it was time to clean install Vista, configured everything back the way I liked it (i.e. computer name, user name, etc) and made a new back up the way I always had done. Ofcourse, how was I to know that (without warning!) a small, irrelevant file would be overwritten, consequently destroying my original backup. Unbelievable!! And now, MS want me to pay £46 to have a go at sorting it out!
Rant over. I was just wondering how far you managed to get with this? Nice site btw!
Wayne

]]> By: Keith M Ellis http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-31 Keith M Ellis Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:52:54 +0000 http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-31 Wayne, The best I can do for helping you is the comment that appears above this one which describes my kludge. I was able to recreate the mediaid.bin, by figuring out what the correct value should be. -Keith Wayne,

The best I can do for helping you is the comment that appears above this one which describes my kludge. I was able to recreate the mediaid.bin, by figuring out what the correct value should be.

-Keith

]]> By: Keith M Ellis http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-32 Keith M Ellis Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:53:25 +0000 http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-32 Um, I mean "post", not "comment". There's a later post on this blog where I explain what I did. -Keith Um, I mean “post”, not “comment”. There’s a later post on this blog where I explain what I did.

-Keith

]]> By: Keith M Ellis http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-33 Keith M Ellis Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:56:06 +0000 http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-33 By the way, I posted to a few online sites about this, as well. On one of them, I believe I followed up with how I fixed the problem. Anyway, I get an email about every other month or so from someone asking if I solved the problem. I think I'm about the only person (who's written about it on the web) who's solved it. Stupid Microsoft. This is an amazingly un-robust implementation of a back-up. They were clearly thinking almost exclusively in terms of cd-roms, where the mediaid.bin couldn't be erased, and then didn't think about the consequences of allowing backups to a hard drive. Which makes much more sense in this day and age. -Keith By the way, I posted to a few online sites about this, as well. On one of them, I believe I followed up with how I fixed the problem.

Anyway, I get an email about every other month or so from someone asking if I solved the problem. I think I’m about the only person (who’s written about it on the web) who’s solved it.

Stupid Microsoft. This is an amazingly un-robust implementation of a back-up. They were clearly thinking almost exclusively in terms of cd-roms, where the mediaid.bin couldn’t be erased, and then didn’t think about the consequences of allowing backups to a hard drive. Which makes much more sense in this day and age.

-Keith

]]> By: Wayne Chickenan ext http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-34 Wayne Chickenan ext Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:13:51 +0000 http://www.kmellis.com/2007/07/06/stupid-microsoft-stupid-me/#comment-34 Thanks Keith. I'll see if I can find the solution. Just knowing that there is one is enough! I spent a good couple of hours, and saw your name everywhere I went, so I figured if anyone knew it must be you! It does seem ridiculous that something so incredibly critical could be so flimsy. - Wayne Thanks Keith. I’ll see if I can find the solution. Just knowing that there is one is enough! I spent a good couple of hours, and saw your name everywhere I went, so I figured if anyone knew it must be you!

It does seem ridiculous that something so incredibly critical could be so flimsy.

- Wayne

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