This is absolute freaking BS

Is it possible to use a later version of the BESR? I believe with 8.5 you can perform a backup in the SRD.
PS: Stop everything and backup *all* data now!!!

Hi AJT;

Thanks for replying; 

No I don't have 8.5,
The highest I have installed it 6.5 and the highest SRD I have is 8.0x (which is still an ISO on the HDD as I haven't burned it yet)
I do have a physical copy of the 7.0x SRD,
- I'm not completely satisfied that the newer version(s) will be able to read my older backups, I keep all backup images, with the exception of: test backups, corrupted / failed backups, or possible infected backups(which I am glad to say I don't have any or haven't had any),

This "was" a data drive I copied, so it was a lot of work down the drain,
- no way to change the permissions not even one at a time
(I don't believe that it was a solo copy though because I usually run paired disks not RAID just "Manual Duplicates"  only I don't know where the other one is or if I'll be able to access the data, because I don't know which one was a copy of the other)

The last time I had problems with permissions was attempting to attach an XPPro "C:\" disk to an XPHome as a USB disk to get some of my user files from it,
-I couldn't do anything because the permissions of the $MFT couldn't be broke so it would just sit there pegged @ 100% and click once in a while, (there's nothing wrong with that disk because it's back in the machine and working)
- this is one Major reason I hate NTFS and why FAT32 will never be completely dead, (especially in my house)

I've always had good luck with the new versions reading my older images.  I have a couple of version 6.0 images that the version 8.5 SRD has accessed successfully.

For immediate help and access to the data, I would use one of the BartPE distributions or a Linux live CD to rescue your data.  You could also try the trial version of BESR version 8.53.  You'd have to contact Symantec Licensing to get a temporary license key that will unlock the advanced features of the SRD --cold imaging being one.  It would also give you a chance to test this SRD on your older images.  I think you would like the newest version after trying it and be less apprehensive about upgrading.

Hi marcogsp;

Thanks for replying;

I'm going to try and hunt down the other drive(s) and fire it up and check the files and file permissions on it,
- it's just a pain to have to go through this, all because of NTFS,

<ANTI-MS RANT>
all I did was convert the drive from a USB setup into an e-SATA setup for my other machine and Pop, no access permissions,
I'm switching all my USB disks to e-SATA, I guess I'll be labeling what drive goes with what PC when it's an NTFS drive and doing a lot more converting to FAT32 when I can do it I rarely need to store files larger than 1-2GB so FAT32 is fine by me

they (MS) really need to make a way to turn that security crap off, I use my machines in such a way that I don't need my files secured by some disk / OS level security crap,
I always have at least one FAT32 disk or partition in every PC I build for that exact reason, "removing the securty attributes of files & folders."
-My customers files if or when needed go into password protected .zip files using 256bit encription and a "full length" & "full character range" passphrase of at least the minimum number of characters required to use the full 256bit encryption capabilities.

- I already had trouble with EFS once, only once! my encryption key was corrupted or lost or deleted or something, but thanks to BESR I was able to install another C: temporarily restore to the previous backup where the key was still valid, and I decrypted the data on the D: drive that was encrypted popped the old C: back in and never used EFS again especially after doing the research to find out that if I had to move the D: to another PC there's no way in Hades I'd be able to decrypt the data with another PC.

I really shoud be working rather than taking up more than ½ a day with NTFS permission problems
</ANTI-MS RANT>

I'm currently researching the exFAT on the M$ site etc. , [which is really FAT64 by definition]
...
 The exFAT file system driver incorporates advanced structures for future scalability. The exFAT file system uses 64 bits to describe file size. This allows for applications that depend on very large files. The exFAT file system also allows for clusters as large as 32 MB, effectively enabling very large storage devices. Specifically, exFAT adds the following features:

• Support for volumes that are larger than 32 GB, the theoretical maximum volume size for FAT32 in Windows XP
  • The theoretical maximum volume size is 64 ZB.
  • The recommended maximum volume size is 512 TB.
• Support for files that are larger than 4 GB, the theoretical maximum file size for FAT32 in Windows XP
  • The theoretical maximum file size is 64 ZB.
  • The recommended maximum file size is 512 TB.

the remainder of the info is here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955704

-hopefully it doesn't include security crap.

As far as upgrading the BESR Program,

I need to do a lot more research as to the particular differences to see if it's justified in risking my current XP installation(s) & win2K installation(s) to possibly having to restore from a backup due to the install failing for any reason or SW incompatibilities etc.
does it even run on win2k  and what's the mimimum processor & RAM Req.

Ghost was a good system but ever since Backupexec then livestate and the "customization done" with powerquest any of these systems is a total crock.

In my 20 years of IT engineering i have never encountered software of such monumental incompetence and with a myriad of errors that would require a helpdesk of phd boffins to get you fixed its just not worth it.

I would use acronis every time.

In fact when Symantec is mentioned at any meeting i generally have to take some anger management pills!!!

Omendata's comment was a real shocker. The Acronis True Image product is much more unreliable in so many areas. From creating and restoring images, to using the bootable media, Acronis' product is by far inferior to Backup Exec 2010 in so many ways. Compounding this is the fact that Acronis Support takes from 4-6 weeks to get back to customers to aid them with issues, just look here for this info....
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/8375

While I do admit I wasn't to much of a fan of Powerquest's Drive Image product back then, Symantec has managed to integrate it's strong points into BESR. I also admit that Ghost 9.0 was not so perfect as I liked the Ghost 2003 interface better but through it all, Symantec has grown Ghost's functionality into Backup Exec System Recovery quite well.

To address Mr. FDISK's problem, you probably should use a newer version. Looking around, Backup Exec 6.5 was released sometime in 1996-1997 and should be abandoned and uninstalled, unless you still have Windows 95-98 machines running. If you have newer hardware, sadly, the writing is on the wall.

On a bright note, you may be able to pick up a copy of BESR 8.5 at a discount as I've seen others selling sealed boxes in small quantities for cheaper then a newer BESR 2010 license.