I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard drives
and then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking for missing
drivers. And I often think if only they saved their drivers before
formatting everything would have been a lot easier.

One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this one
is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is one I
would recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format their
hard drives someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu

"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard drives and
>then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking for missing
>drivers. And I often think if only they saved their drivers before
>formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>
> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this one
> is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is one I would
> recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format their hard drives
> someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
>
> http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>
> --
> Bill
> 2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
> 3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> 2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu
>

thanks for the heads up

"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard drives and
>then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking for missing
>drivers. And I often think if only they saved their drivers before
>formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>
> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this one
> is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is one I would
> recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format their hard drives
> someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
>
> http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>
> --
> Bill
> 2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
> 3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> 2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu
>

thanks for the heads up

"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard drives and
>then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking for missing
>drivers. And I often think if only they saved their drivers before
>formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>
> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this one
> is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is one I would
> recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format their hard drives
> someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
>
> http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>
> --
> Bill
> 2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
> 3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> 2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu
>

might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S then you
will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't activate. Also, of
course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the HD, you will lose it by
formatting. So it would be best to copy the saved driver files to a CD and
not rely on the restore function of the program.

"BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard drives and
>then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking for missing
>drivers. And I often think if only they saved their drivers before
>formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>
> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this one
> is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is one I would
> recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format their hard drives
> someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
>
> http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>
> --
> Bill
> 2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
> 3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> 2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
> Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu
>

might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S then you
will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't activate. Also, of
course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the HD, you will lose it by
formatting. So it would be best to copy the saved driver files to a CD and
not rely on the restore function of the program.

In news:71d8qaFkmjriU1@mid.individual.net,
olfart typed on Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:36:56 -0500:
> "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
> news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>> I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard
>> drives and then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking
>> for missing drivers. And I often think if only they saved their
>> drivers before formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>>
>> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this
>> one is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is
>> one I would recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format
>> their hard drives someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in
>> the future. http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>
> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of
> the program.

Well actually, Driver Magician allows you to create an EXE file, so
reinstallation of Driver Magician isn't necessary. And once you activate
it, you don't need to ever do that again. Just open up Regedit and
search for Magician and then export it. And yes, always best to save on
something else other than the drive you plan on formatting.

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu

In news:71d8qaFkmjriU1@mid.individual.net,
olfart typed on Fri, 6 Mar 2009 13:36:56 -0500:
> "BillW50" <BillW50@aol.kom> wrote in message
> news:gorhc8$rq1$1@news.motzarella.org...
>> I heard lots of horror stories of people formatting their hard
>> drives and then reinstalling Windows. Then they pop on here looking
>> for missing drivers. And I often think if only they saved their
>> drivers before formatting everything would have been a lot easier.
>>
>> One of the ones I like is called Driver Magician. And I noticed this
>> one is free for today on the giveawayoftheday website. So this is
>> one I would recommend for anybody who believes they will ever format
>> their hard drives someday. As it will save you a lot of trouble in
>> the future. http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/driver-magician-34/
>>
>> --
>> Bill
>
> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of
> the program.

Well actually, Driver Magician allows you to create an EXE file, so
reinstallation of Driver Magician isn't necessary. And once you activate
it, you don't need to ever do that again. Just open up Regedit and
search for Magician and then export it. And yes, always best to save on
something else other than the drive you plan on formatting.

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu

There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.

The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
flash drive, optical media, whatever).

The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
that you have today and on which you activate it today.

olfart wrote:

>
> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S then you
> will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't activate. Also, of
> course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the HD, you will lose it by
> formatting. So it would be best to copy the saved driver files to a CD and
> not rely on the restore function of the program.
>
>

There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.

The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
flash drive, optical media, whatever).

The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
that you have today and on which you activate it today.

olfart wrote:

>
> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S then you
> will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't activate. Also, of
> course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the HD, you will lose it by
> formatting. So it would be best to copy the saved driver files to a CD and
> not rely on the restore function of the program.
>
>

In news:B0isl.326$r66.119@newsfe08.iad,
Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:06:51 -0500:
> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>
> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>
> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the
> systems that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>
> olfart wrote:
>
>>
>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of
>> the program.

All true Barry, except the secret to activating it again is all in the
registry which I previously posted. This is your future activation if
you want to reinstall, which isn't necessary on the same machine anyway
if you create the EXE file.

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu

In news:B0isl.326$r66.119@newsfe08.iad,
Barry Watzman typed on Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:06:51 -0500:
> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>
> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>
> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the
> systems that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>
> olfart wrote:
>
>>
>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of
>> the program.

All true Barry, except the secret to activating it again is all in the
registry which I previously posted. This is your future activation if
you want to reinstall, which isn't necessary on the same machine anyway
if you create the EXE file.

--
Bill
2 Gateway MX6124 - Windows XP SP2
3 Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
2 Asus EEE PC 702G8 ~ 1GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
Windows XP SP2 ~ Xandros Linux - Puppy - Ubuntu

Barry Watzman wrote:
> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>
> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>
> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
> that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>
> olfart wrote:
>
>>
>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of the
>> program.
>>
My main system here, this one, has a series of folders named after the
Dell systems I have worked on, e.g. Dimension4600, Inspiron5100, etc.
Each folder has the drivers needed for that specific model. When I get
to work on a given model again, I copy the appropriate folder onto a
flash stick and install drivers on the target computer from the stick.
This is not rocket science.

For the cost of a flash stick (Best Buy sold 8GB for under $20
recently), you get your Driver Magician unencumbered by any rules
imposed by the software... Ben Myers

Barry Watzman wrote:
> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>
> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>
> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
> that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>
> olfart wrote:
>
>>
>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of the
>> program.
>>
My main system here, this one, has a series of folders named after the
Dell systems I have worked on, e.g. Dimension4600, Inspiron5100, etc.
Each folder has the drivers needed for that specific model. When I get
to work on a given model again, I copy the appropriate folder onto a
flash stick and install drivers on the target computer from the stick.
This is not rocket science.

For the cost of a flash stick (Best Buy sold 8GB for under $20
recently), you get your Driver Magician unencumbered by any rules
imposed by the software... Ben Myers

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:20:50 -0500, Ben Myers <ben_myers@charter.net>
wrote:

>Barry Watzman wrote:
>> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>>
>> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
>> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
>> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
>> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>>
>> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
>> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
>> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
>> that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>>
>> olfart wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of the
>>> program.
>>>
>My main system here, this one, has a series of folders named after the
>Dell systems I have worked on, e.g. Dimension4600, Inspiron5100, etc.
>Each folder has the drivers needed for that specific model. When I get
>to work on a given model again, I copy the appropriate folder onto a
>flash stick and install drivers on the target computer from the stick.
>This is not rocket science.
>
>For the cost of a flash stick (Best Buy sold 8GB for under $20
>recently), you get your Driver Magician unencumbered by any rules
>imposed by the software... Ben Myers

I think what Barry might have in mind is a portable version of the
program so he can do the backup at any given time on any machine??
Of course I have no idea if that exists but I guess Google could find
it, if so.

On Fri, 06 Mar 2009 18:20:50 -0500, Ben Myers <ben_myers@charter.net>
wrote:

>Barry Watzman wrote:
>> There is a problem, but that is not a good description of what it is.
>>
>> The program has a way of "packaging" all of the drivers into a self
>> installing format that does not require Driver Magician on the system
>> being restored. This can then be saved off-line (external hard drive,
>> flash drive, optical media, whatever).
>>
>> The real issue is that I want it for future use on other systems (of
>> mine) ... systems that may not even exist today. And they are not
>> giving you that. They are giving it to you only for use on the systems
>> that you have today and on which you activate it today.
>>
>> olfart wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> might be a slight problem....if you do a fresh install of your O/S
>>> then you will have to reinstall Driver Magician...which now won't
>>> activate. Also, of course, if you saved the drivers anywhere on the
>>> HD, you will lose it by formatting. So it would be best to copy the
>>> saved driver files to a CD and not rely on the restore function of the
>>> program.
>>>
>My main system here, this one, has a series of folders named after the
>Dell systems I have worked on, e.g. Dimension4600, Inspiron5100, etc.
>Each folder has the drivers needed for that specific model. When I get
>to work on a given model again, I copy the appropriate folder onto a
>flash stick and install drivers on the target computer from the stick.
>This is not rocket science.
>
>For the cost of a flash stick (Best Buy sold 8GB for under $20
>recently), you get your Driver Magician unencumbered by any rules
>imposed by the software... Ben Myers

I think what Barry might have in mind is a portable version of the
program so he can do the backup at any given time on any machine??
Of course I have no idea if that exists but I guess Google could find
it, if so.