Can't download from Beechbrook

[Ronniebootwest]

For some strange reason I am unable to download from Beechbrook.

Can somebody please email me the 'KeyCopy' tool so I can retrieve my PTE Registration key.

Ronnie West

My email: ronniebootwest@ntlworld.com

[davegee]

Ron,

Is this one query or two?

No problems at Beechbrook.

I'm assuming that you have been a PTE user as long as I have?

Have you searched your computer and associated drives for "reg.txt" and/or "VideoBuilder_regkey".

DG

[Gérard de Lux]

You can download it from the French DiaporamaForum, no need to be a member, from this post - or, maybe even better, directly here

[Ronniebootwest]

Hi Dave,

Yes I have been a PTE User for many years now.

I should explain that I had a complete computer failure last week that meant that I had to carry out a complete format of my main 'C' drive. Obviously I lost all information on that drive so the 'KeyCopy' utility would have been of no use on the newly formatted drive. However, I did have PTE on my laptop so the KeyCopy was able to find my reg details on that. Sadly, I lost my copy of the utility because I had saved it on my old C drive.

Before you say anything, YES I have now saved the utility on a CD.

Thanks to Ken Cox who very quickly sent me a copy.

Ronnie.

[Ronniebootwest]

Hello Gerade,

Very kind of you to provide a link to the French site. A very useful link to have.

Ronnie.

[davegee]

ron

there should be absolutely no data on your c drive.

it is for os and software.

things like reg.txt should be kept on a separate hdd with a backup available.

even a catastrophic c drive failure should not cause you to lose serial numbers etc.

dg

[davegee]

This:

http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

....will apparently list all of your hardware, software, serial numbers etc in a report.

I have not tried it - it was an answer in another forum to a similar problem.

DG

[Barry Beckham]

I second what Dave G has said.

For many years now, every time I have a PC built I always have 3 Internal hard drives fitted. (4 in the last one) One is solely for the Operating system and programs and nothing else is stored there at all.

The second Drive is only for original images, work in progress, slide shows and finished images, but all of what is on that drive is also backed up to DVD and an external too. That is done when the images are first downoaded to the PC or when they are completed. That way when you need to remove anything from your photography drive as we all need to, we don't have to start fretting about whether it is backed up or not.

The third drive acts a bit like belt and braces for various projects that I want extra protection for. My DVD tutorials in progress, PTE shows etc etc, personal documents.

Having extra drives fitted is not generally a huge cost in the scheme of a brand new computer and I can highly recommend photographers consider this approach

My fourth drive houses all my finished images going back years so I have a quick and convenient way to locate completed pictures and no fears that they are not protected eslwhere too.

It is a very reassuring way to work, but it does need a degree of good housekeeping. This method has not let me down for some 15 years now.

[davegee]

In addition to Barry's methodology another absolute essential is a separate HDD for Scratch Discs, Temporary files etc. This allows the software to access information from the programme files and the temporary data in parallel as opposed to waiting for one operation to finish before starting another operation

NOTHING - or at least the very minimum - should write to the C drive during your workflow.

For those applications that will not allow for changing the locations of temporary files MOUNTING A DRIVE should seriously be considered.

The only reason that software defaults to writing to the C drive is because the programme does not know which other drives you have available.

DG

[Barry Beckham]

What do you mean by mounting a drive. Heard the term, not sure what it is and does.

[davegee]

It's a very useful tool that allows you to MAP a location on your C drive to another drive.

Instead of writing info to the C drive it writes to the designated mapped drive.

Go to CONTROL PANEL and search for MOUNT A DRIVE for instructions.

DG

[Guest Yachtsman1]

For those of us who have neither the space or the funds to do as suggested, partitioning your hard drive into two separate drive letters, say C & D, is an alternative. I also have a 1TB separate HD which is only in circuit when adding or copying new material from. Saying all that, I haven't yet partitioned my new LT, must fathom out how to do it.

Yachtsman1.

[Ken Cox]

LESS FUSS IF YOU BUY EXTERNAL USB DRIVE

prices are a bit high for hard drives due to flooding in the islands

they cant get to work and they cant ship out if they did make them

bought a 1.5 tb usb 2 a week back $100+ taxes

year ago a 2 tb usb 2was $108 + taxes

today's flyer 1 tb usb 3 = $149 +taxes

ken

[davegee]

P.S.

Mounting (as in MOUNT A DRIVE) an External HDD is not recommended. If it is unplugged or not switched on for some reason then the link is broken and the unexpected can happen.

Multiple Internal HDDs are recommended. Partitioning a single drive is OK for Data but can fail if the HDD fails - Data, OS and Programmes are all lost. Putting Scratch Discs on a partition on the single internal drive is also not worth the effort - a processor cannot access information from two parts of the same disc at the same time.

DG

[fh1805]

Consequent upon a total crash of my desktop system last summer, I also now restrict drive C: to just Operating System and Software. I have all my RAW image files on one drive (J:) and all the rest of my data on another (L:). Those two are "mirrored" using Vice Versa software every night (onto K: and M: respectively). Each weekend, K: and M: are mirrored onto N: (under two separate folders), along with drive O: (which contains material that I don't want cluttering my main disks but which I am loathe to delete - I call this my Archives). Drives J:, K:, L: and M: are all external USB drives attached to a powered USB hub; drives N: and O: are also external USB drives attached to a second powered USB hub. So there are three copies of everything that's important and two copies of the Archives. At present rates of data growth, I have about 6 years capacity. However, having just bought a dSLR with video capability, I may need to review my capacity planning. The nightly "mirror" process takes 2-3 minutes to update the two drives with the day's changes; the weekly "mirror" process takes 5-6 minutes or so (depending upon how many different files I've worked on during the week).

When I am taking a demonstration out to a camera club, I simply unhook the two backup copies (K: and M:), take them with me, and plug them into the laptop (as F: and G:). Thus I have all my data available for the demonstration. During the demo I can save onto them if I want to: Vice Vera will reset them to their proper "mirror" state when I next run it back at base.

regards

Peter

[davegee]

What do you use to IMAGE your C drive?

DG

[fh1805]

I don't! I have the legit CDs for Win 7, Office Suite, Roxio, Lightroom and Photoshop Elements. I have copies of the download files (stored on drive J:) for all the other software that I have added (e.g. Firefox, Thunderbird, Lightning, NEF viewer, PTE, Audacity, etc., etc).

I'd accept the hit, get the PC repaired/replaced and then rebuild. That's what I did when the old failed last year! By tea-time of the day after I brought the new one home, I had all the products back up and running - with no loss of data. I also took the chance to prune the software portfolio back to the essentials. Things I no longer used were not re-installed (but I have kept their download files - in My Archives).

Peter

[davegee]

It takes around 30 mins to IMAGE the C drive and around 30 mins to reload it in case of a problem (100Gb).

Obviously if the C drive needs replacing it takes a few mins longer.

I won't recommend any particular software - that's crazy - but the one I use is MACRIUM REFLECT.

I had cause to do it last year and it was easy peasy - no lost files, serial numbers, versions to deal with - it saves all of that - a virtual clone of your C drive.

The only thing that I lost was a week or two of e-mails.

DG

[Barry Beckham]

Dave

I did have a read about mounting drives, but I didn't come away with any feeling that it would give me a major advantage over what I do now, So may as well stay with what has worked for the last 15 years.

Like Peter, I have never been tempted to run C drive clones. Having all the software and a good regime for backups I don't feel threatened by a C drive failure. In the event of a crash, which is pretty rare these days, I'll get a new drive or format the old one and re-install.

There is some new technology built into drives these days called S.M.A.R.T. About 6 months ago I got a warning that a hard drive was about to fail. It said the usual, "Backup the drive and call the administrator". It turned out to be my secondary internal drive that contained all my photos and the message was right too. Although the contents of the drive was backed up, I had time to copy what was on the drive to another internal, replace the drive and copy the files back on afterwards. The drive was a Hitachi which was still within warranty so they even replaced that too.

I thought that was pretty neat, to get a warning in advance that gives you time to prevent total failure

[Ronniebootwest]

I am watching this thread with a smile on my face. I only asked for a copy of the utility that was made by Stu! I had that sent to me within an hour, thanks to Ken Cox.

The rest of this thread seems to have taken a completely different path and we are now being treated to a workshop on computer storage management. I agree with almost all that has been said so far but I would just like to say this, I have two drives in my computer and another 6 external usb drives. I do understand the need for good housekeeping! From many years ago, I learned to keep my C drive clear of all data and it contains just the OS and the software programs.

Cheers!

Ronnie West.

[davegee]

good to see you back and in control ron.

we had to talk about something while you were away.

what was the beechbrook problem.

dg

[Ronniebootwest]

Hi Dave,

I am not quite back yet because I think that I need a new Hard Drive. Tried a low level format but it 'aint gonna work. I started it at 3 pm yesterday and it is still running at present (9.30am. Surely something is wrong with the drive?

I am working on my laptop right now and will give Beechbrook another try.

Regards,

Ronnie West

[Ronniebootwest]

Dave,

Still can't download from Beechbrool so I must be doing somethin wrong.

What is the correct sequence for getting a download for the 'KeyCopy' tool please?

Ronnie.

[davegee]

You're not doing anything wrong - that one appears not to be available.

Could I ask why you want it?

Don't you have copies of the serial numbers and keys spread out over those multiple drives? They are data - that's where they should be. Can you not connect the external drives to your laptop and search (one at a time if necessary)?

DG

P.S. I have e-mailed Bill.

[Guest Yachtsman1]

I don't use Beechbrook, but I believe items on there are only kept for a certain period, whether this applies to items like Key Copy?. I have a copy of the original Key Copy, you can have a copy if you PM me, but I thought Ken had sent a copy??? There are two different addresses for Beechbrook, one to upload & one to download, or there was?

Yachtsman1.