I have been in the computer repair business for many years. I performed field and site support for over a thousand computers (PCs and MACs) spread over several different sites. I have learned it’s possible to maintain a large number of computers using network resources and imaging. I presently maintain a lab of over 35 computers. The students have full admin rights to these computers so I maintain them using local imaging. Otherwise the time needed for maintenance would be overwhelming. I have used Partimage, Norton Ghost, and several other imaging utlities. I favor Ghost running on a DOS partition so when Windows fails I can quickly boot to DOS and restore the computer in a few minutes.
I have several hubpages and youtube videos that explain this in detail.
The frenchge website has some additional information you might find helpful.
You might also checkout this site that focuses on Computer Repair Training.
Respected Mr.Greg French,
Hearty Congrats on your wonderful, lucid, comprehensive, exhaustive expositions on PC Repair through Youtube videos, http://www.computerrepairtrainingplus.com/, http://greg-french.com/, http://frenchge.com etc., I have developed the greatest admiration for you and downloaded most of your videos and also your photograph – rowing a boat with a kid in your lap – published in http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Greg_French.
As for me, I am a 68 years old Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon (Brain Surgeon/nick-named “Nut Cracker”) trained in UK, USA, Switzerland, Germany etc., and currently practising in Chennai – 600 102,Tamil Nadu, India.
I started using PCs assembled from Computer Kits while in Edinburgh,UK way back in 1970 – long before Apple PC’s arrival, then bought the first Apple PC to be sold in Edinburgh and then moved through LSI 1123 of DEC, IBM’s 8088 and then through 8086,386,486,486SX etc., through to Pentiums upto the Presently-used herein- Dell Alienware Aurora ALX running Windows 7 Premium 64 bit.
while I use my Windows PCs for surfing the net, Multimedia Apps etc., I remain a die-hard fan of MS DOS 6.22 tied up with QBasic, Foxpro 2.5a for DOS and Wordstar 4 for all my Clinic/Pharmacy/Personal work even today, having tried and given up VB,VFP, MS ACCESS, MS WORD etc., etc.,.
Your mentioning in one of your Videos on OSs that you also continue to use MSDOS for Systems Maintenance etc., inspired me to write this to you.
After the demise of Windows WG 3.11, 95 & 98 etc., and Microsoft ditched MS DOS, I have tried many routes to have MSDOS 6.22 with a GUI OS – trying dual boots with Linux, Windows 98 on the same HDD, swapping the Molex Power-cable between an MS DOS 6.22 HDD and a Windows XP HDD and even tried splitting the Molex Power-cable with a toggle-switch to select between the MS DOS 6.22 HDD and the Windows XP HDD. All of them worked for a while only!
Your Video – A+ Computer Repair Training Course – Multiple Operating Systems.flv – clearly showed me the best way to use MSDOS (Primary Active) and Windows XP (Extended Partition)in one hard disk in the same PC. I am sure it will succeed.
But before I try it out, I want to establish direct contact with you, get your personal e-mail ID and get your permission to communicate with you directly by e-mail.
Hope you will grant my request.
Googolplex Googolplex Thanx ib advance!
Prof.Dr.K.Loga muthu krishnan, MBBS.,MS(Gen).,MCh(Neuro).,PhD(Neuro).,FRCS(Edinburgh).,FRSM(London).,
Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon,
Old 45, New 60, First Main Road (aka First Avenue) East,
Old 64, New 25, Fourth Street,
F Block,
Near Chinthamani Supermarket & Balaji Bhavan Hotel – Next to Indian Overseas Bank(270), Opp Sakthi Xerox & Phone Booth,
Anna Nagar East,
CHENNAI – 600 102.
Tamil Nadu (TN),
India.
Tel:91-044-26209555/26225555/26289191
Email: logamuthu.krishnan@gmail.com
krishnanlogamuthu@yahoo.com
Hello Prof.Dr.K.Loga muthu krishnan,
Thanks for the kind words. I started out using YouTube to supplement my teaching for my computer students and I still have much more to do and updates. You sound like you started with computers about the same time I did. I still enjoy MSDOS and use it daily along with Norton Ghost (DOS version) to restore my lab of 30 plus computers. This gives my students a fresh start each day and removes about 99% of the software problems they create while doing their lab work. Since they have admin rights it is easy for them to cause problems with the OS. DOS and Windows XP work well together as long as there is only one primary partition on the hard drive and each reside in their own partitions. Also you have to install DOS before XP since Windows will not allow you to install an older operating system, but will allow a second operating system as long as it’s newer. When installing XP as the second OS it will automatically create the dual boot so you can select either OS during boot. I usually create one primary for DOS and two extended partitions. One for XP and the other for backups, images, files, and data. Also I install XP in a FAT32 file structure so that I can access the XP files from DOS for maintenance reasons.
Good luck and feel free to contact me anytime at frenchge@gmail.com
Regards,
Greg