is there any way to store a valid install?

[Daniele del Bosco]

It seems that I succeeded to install my EWS64XL the way I wanted it to (no codec, midi 2 enabled). But (there always is a "but") - you know how it is: nowadays, one reinstalls windows once a month, or such. Right now, I?m switching between win98SE and winMe, coz I?m still not convinced. Every time I install an OS, I have to reinstall the EWS64XL too - and it installs with the standard config (no midi 2 etc). Is there a way to store somehow the valid install, once you succeeded to do it - so that by the next install you don?t have to go through all the pain? (freeing interrupts on the mobo, reenabling codec, ewscfg.exe, 25 restarts till you succeed to enable midi2, disabling codec again etc, etc) ??????

Regards
Daniele del Bosco

[philippz]

It?s not possible to save a standard installation for win98se and winme. the only thing i can think of right now is to use Norton Ghost or something similar to make a backup of a complete HDD with a working and fresh installation of either OS on it. This way you would just have to copy the backup of your HDD back on it to "reinstall" the OS. But you would have to invest a large amount of space on your hdd for this(~1-2GB?).

CU, philipp

[philippz]

btw,

why don?t you create two partitions on your HDD and build yourself a dual boot system with both OSes? That way you could try out both the same time without reinstalling.

[Arnoud de Jong]

Hi,
I don't see why the 'ghost-option' and the dual-boot are no good solutions for you. I myself have a dual-boot system: one to work on and one to 'experiment' on (all that shareware stuff etc). Both partitions are ghosted so when they got polluted I just restore the ghost. Clean system again. Sure, you have to make a very clean install first, do some defragmenting and then make a ghost image. With the ghost command line option -split=640 (or a bit lower) you even can split the image in several files that can be burned on cd (preferrably a bootable cd). This procudure saved me a lot of time and frustration. I guess you know that a ghost image is not a backup, but really an exact copy of your partition. Combined with Partition Magic you have a perfect tool to keep your system healthy. No more Windows reinstalls. So I completely agree with the earlier writers here :-)
Good luck, Arnoud.

[KKu]

Well, personally I prefer GHOST... it reinstalls windows back to it's previous stage, so what I did was that I built a (nearly) perfectly working system, installed progs that I need and them made image about it and burned it into CD. No need to worry about "not working any more", just 15 minutes of restoring image and all is well, EWS works as it should work (codec disabled etc etc), no need to uninstall/boot/install/boot-routine.
If you want to use 2 operating system, I suggest that you deal the fact that EWS doesn't work fully in ME, you agree that your system isn't going to be in ideal condition ever AND agree that (from time to time) you have to install windows/windowses again and start cursing with your EWS. OR you can always start learning C++ and start coding a program that does everything you want for you.

Not very helpful, I know but I was in same position as you are now and some sacrifices had to made. Now I'm happy (as happy as I can be) with my EWS.

.KKu

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[philippz]

Daniele,

I don?t understand why you want to reinstall Windows so often. My dual boot system helps me keep win98SE clean for audio. I just looked it up: it?s about one year old now and everything is fine:-))

I think it?s most important and time-saving in the long run to have a seperate OS for audio purposes that you don?t have to mess up with office software, browsers etc.
It may cost you some time and money(maybe for a seperate HDD?) to do an installation like this, but since I set up my PC this way, most of the trouble with OS itself, non-audio software and all the usual stuff is gone.

[Daniele del Bosco]

Thank both of you for trying to help, but I have something else in mind. No Ghost would help, and no dual boot would help. Yes, I?d be able to restore the data, the way it sits on the HD - but to start the EWS64, one needs to upload the operating system to it, and this can happen only when you really install it. No, what I had in mind was: maybe, if I succeed a good install (and the "whatsitsname.bin" file was uploaded into the card and at the same time it was copied in Windows...maybe saving that "good" file would bring something - and at the reinstall just re-copy it into the EWS64 folder, into the Windows folder and uploading it to the card, by means of "ewsinit.exe".....or something like that, I hope you get what I wanted to say. A trick in this cathegory is what I?m looking for:-(((
Or: there is a prog called "ewsneu.exe", which uploads the factory config into the card. Now, the factory config is useless for me cause it has the Codec enabled and the midi 2 disabled, and I want it exactly the other way around; but there?s a lot of bright dudes around, who programmed lots of things for this card... couldn?t one of them write a version of it which uploads another version to the card, closer to what we need?

Regards
Daniele del Bosco

[Daniele del Bosco]

And, Phillipps...
(quoting)
>why don?t you create two partitions on your HDD and build yourself a dual boot system with both OSes? That way you could try out both the same time without reinstalling.

It?s not a matter of trying out. As you know, one should reinstall windows from time to time, to keap it healty. Most of us do it montly or once in two months. Well, it?s one thing spending 15 minutes doind a re-ghost, and another thing loosing one damned day in the fight to install the f?cking soundcard. :-(((((
Regards
Daniele

[Daniele del Bosco]

I prefer to reinstall for the following reason:
I have Ghost. I used it. I have lots of bootable CDs with a ghost image of my former partition hanging around and not beeing usable. They never proved to be usable, cause between the last ghosting and the moment I was needing it so many things have changed: once it was the new graphic card, once it was the new mouse driver, once it was a new mobo updating. You know as well as I do: almost once a month you usually update something. New drivers for this, new drivers for that. So in the end, always your ghost proves itself as useless. Now I?m daring to try the step from win98se to winMe...another source of trouble.
But maybe you guys have right. I?ll consider ghosting the C partition once more.
Thanks,
Daniele del Bosco

[Daniele del Bosco]

What was I speaking of? Unusable usage of Ghost?
New drivers for your cards available at Terratec?s site.
Good luck with your ghosting, gentlemen :-))))
Regards
del Bosco