As software vendors move away from the distribution of boxed software and towards electronic download, what role is a distributor to play? Ingram Micro has introduced its own direction, debuting what the company calls a “Digital Locker” that holds details of customers’ software licenses on behalf of those customers’ solution providers.
The distributor’s first partner signed up for this electronic software delivery model is Microsoft, which is now offering Office 2013 and Windows 8 for download through the distributor.
Solution providers choose a SKU from the distributor on behalf of a customer, then post-transaction, the customer gets the license key and downloads the actual bytes of the software from Microsoft directly. The distributor keeps all the details of the transaction, including license key information, in its digital locker, ready to be retrieved by the solution provider should it ever be misplaced.
Jodi Honore, executive director of vendor management at Ingram Micro, said digital locker simplifies and streamlines the process of acquiring software through licensing, and as such, it believes it will allow SMB-focused solution providers to get business from very small customers (1-10 seat locations) that may have traditionally opted to buy packaged software at retail.
The service is live with Microsoft wares across North America, throughout EMEA, and in Australia and New Zealand, part of a global effort by the distributor to build on its software business.
Honore said that any partner that can access the offered products can opt to do electronic software delivery instead of the traditional software model, and that the terms and conditions of involvement with Microsoft’s wares are the same in the electronic world as they have been in the physical world.
As well as making a previously hard-to-reach part of the market more accessible, the distributor suggests that going with ESD will help solution providers accelerate their software business, as downloads are available immediately, and attract no freight costs for the distributor, reseller or customer. Honore said ESD can also open up the business to a variety of solution providers that have not traditionally have software licensing practices – again, particularly local VARs and MSPs that deal with small-business customers.
Honore said the idea for the Digital Locker had been in development at Ingram for some time, and that Microsoft was the right vendor to launch with. But the goal is to broaden the company’s electronic software distribution horizons in the very near future with other software companies.
“I’ve already had a few [other vendors] reach out to me looking for a bit more information about it, and that’s all good for Ingram and our partners,” she said. “I’d like to add other vendors as soon as they’re ready to go.”
2013年4月24日星期三
2013年4月11日星期四
Will Blue meld Windows 8, Windows Phone OS into one?
Chalk this up in the unconfirmed column, but a new report adds an interesting shade to the Windows Blue story.
According to some prognosticating over at DigiTimes, Microsoft is developing Blue to help merge Windows 8 and Windows Phone into one product. The team working on Blue is reportedly working independently of crews in either of those departments.
The idea, DigiTimes said, is to create an operating system to compete with Google's Android and Chrome platforms.
The Softies are reportedly skittish about Google partnering with PC brand vendors to create Chromebooks and Android-based notebooks. A report from last week (also from DigiTimes) hinted at "Androidbooks" coming down the line from Google.
Not an easy thing to do
It's unclear if Blue - which will be called something different publicly - will merely serve as a stepping stone in the path towards integration or have immediate mash-up capabilities at launch.
DigiTimes also mentioned an October release for another, next-gen operating system Microsoft is developing, though again it's hard to tell if the pub is pointing to Blue or something else, such as Windows 9.
We've heard Blue updates will extend to other Microsoft platforms besides the PC, even catching wind of a Windows Phone Blue revamp, so this new rumor could tie into Blue's supposed cross-platform applications.
While intriguing, DigiTimes was quick to point out that fusing PC and mobile OSes together "will pose great difficulties" for both Microsoft and Google. It's a bit of a no-brainer observation, but also serves as a reminder that it could take yet more time before we ever see a mobile-to-PC crossover from either firm.
DigiTimes didn't give much in the way of verification for its info, so this could all turn out to be little more than conjecture. Lucky for us, Blue's mysteries should get solved in a few short months.
According to some prognosticating over at DigiTimes, Microsoft is developing Blue to help merge Windows 8 and Windows Phone into one product. The team working on Blue is reportedly working independently of crews in either of those departments.
The idea, DigiTimes said, is to create an operating system to compete with Google's Android and Chrome platforms.
The Softies are reportedly skittish about Google partnering with PC brand vendors to create Chromebooks and Android-based notebooks. A report from last week (also from DigiTimes) hinted at "Androidbooks" coming down the line from Google.
Not an easy thing to do
It's unclear if Blue - which will be called something different publicly - will merely serve as a stepping stone in the path towards integration or have immediate mash-up capabilities at launch.
DigiTimes also mentioned an October release for another, next-gen operating system Microsoft is developing, though again it's hard to tell if the pub is pointing to Blue or something else, such as Windows 9.
We've heard Blue updates will extend to other Microsoft platforms besides the PC, even catching wind of a Windows Phone Blue revamp, so this new rumor could tie into Blue's supposed cross-platform applications.
While intriguing, DigiTimes was quick to point out that fusing PC and mobile OSes together "will pose great difficulties" for both Microsoft and Google. It's a bit of a no-brainer observation, but also serves as a reminder that it could take yet more time before we ever see a mobile-to-PC crossover from either firm.
DigiTimes didn't give much in the way of verification for its info, so this could all turn out to be little more than conjecture. Lucky for us, Blue's mysteries should get solved in a few short months.
Windows 8 Is Worth Trying for the Security Features Alone
If it’s not already there, Windows 8 is probably coming to your network in the near future.
Although some companies are delaying the official adoption of Microsoft’s new operating system, manufacturers are shipping devices with the operating system preinstalled. And if your company allows any form of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, it has even less say in the matter. In fact, it’s quite difficult for a consumer to walk into a store and purchase a system running the now “outdated” Windows 7 OS.
When it comes to new operating systems, IT workers are usually interested in hearing about security improvements first. Fortunately, Windows 8 is strong on that front.
Windows 8 Secures the Boot Process
Rootkits are some of the most insidious forms of malware circulating today. These packages gain privileged access and reach into the lowest levels of an operating system and undermine traditional antimalware controls that run at the application level.
The rootkits often function by replacing critical components of the operating system that facilitate the boot process, allowing them to gain a foothold in the system when it boots, before antimalware software is able to load.
Windows 8 adds two features to the boot process that greatly enhance security by protecting against rootkit infections: Secured Boot, with Early Launch Antimalware (ELAM); and Measured Boot. Together, these technologies combat rootkits by minimizing the likelihood of their successful launch and by using remote trusted systems to identify the presence of untrusted software that bypassed antimalware controls.
Secured Boot’s ELAM capability loads during the very early stages of the boot process, before the kernel is given the opportunity to load other hardware drivers. ELAM then monitors the other drivers that the kernel attempts to load and verifies their digital signatures, classifying each driver as “good,” “bad” or “unknown.”
The kernel then uses this information to implement an administrator-defined policy. In most cases, especially until ELAM technology is widely adopted by hardware vendors, administrators should follow the default policy: allow the loading of both “good” and “unknown” drivers while preventing the loading of known malicious drivers.
It is important to understand that ELAM is not a replacement for antivirus software. It merely complements existing packages by adding security to a phase of the boot process that is inaccessible to traditional antimalware packages.
Once Windows 8 finishes loading boot drivers, ELAM terminates and the system’s other antimalware software assumes control. ELAM can, however, perform a seamless transfer of status information to the system’s runtime antimalware software.
While Secured Boot takes an active approach to securing the boot process, Measured Boot combines passive monitoring with remote attestation to provide administrators with assurance about the integrity of the boot process.
Measured Boot monitors the launch of all system components that load prior to the launch of antimalware software. It records this information in a tamper-proof fashion using the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a secured piece of hardware attached to the motherboard. When antimalware software loads, it may access (but not modify) the information stored in the TPM to verify the steps that occurred on the system before the activation of antimalware software.
The remote-attestation feature of Measured Boot is also a promising development that administrators should keep an eye on. It facilitates the use of a remote server to verify that systems on the network are booting into a known trusted state.
With remote attestation, Measured Boot sends a securely encrypted copy of the TPM data to the remote-attestation server. The server then verifies that the values recorded in the TPM match previously known secure states for that specific system. If the values do not match, the remote attestation server may alert the administrator or trigger corrective action. Full implementation of remote-attestation will require the cooperation of third-party software vendors, so stay tuned.
Security on the Run: Windows To Go
The new Windows To Go feature provided with Windows 8 Enterprise edition offers administrators a solution to a problem that has plagued them for years: how to provide remote users with access to enterprise data in a secured environment. While VPNs and other remote-access technologies have long offered a means to protect sensitive information transferred over the Internet, administrators were still left to worry about the security of the systems used to access that data from home, hotel business centers and similar environments outside the protection of enterprise security controls.
Windows To Go allows administrators to provide users with a complete Windows 8 image on a supported USB drive. Users simply insert the drive into any hardware that supports Windows 7 or Windows 8, boot the system and find themselves up and running in the familiar corporate computing environment.
When they are finished, they just remove the drive and reboot the computer; the system will return to its normal use, with no trace of the user’s computing activity left behind.
Windows To Go also protects against a user accidentally leaving a session open after stepping away from the computer. If the USB drive is removed, Windows To Go pauses for one minute to allow reinsertion of the drive. If the drive is not reinserted, the machine shuts down. To protect against the risk of loss, Windows To Go is also compatible with BitLocker drive encryption.
The downside? Currently, there are only a small number of USB drives certified by Microsoft as compatible with Windows To Go. These include:
IronKey Workspace W300
Kingston DataTraveler Workspace for Windows To Go
Spyrus Portable Workplace
Spyrus Secure Portable Workplace
Western Digital My Passport Enterprise
Watch for additional products to support this technology as its adoption grows.
Regardless of when Windows 8 makes its way to your enterprise, the additional security provided by ELAM, Measured Boot and Windows To Go makes it an attractive OS for IT workers.
A recent Spiceworks survey found that 69 percent of small and medium-size businesses were currently testing Windows 8, so if you don’t want to roll the new OS out to the whole company, it’s worth conducting pilot evaluations to assess potential future uses.
Although some companies are delaying the official adoption of Microsoft’s new operating system, manufacturers are shipping devices with the operating system preinstalled. And if your company allows any form of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) program, it has even less say in the matter. In fact, it’s quite difficult for a consumer to walk into a store and purchase a system running the now “outdated” Windows 7 OS.
When it comes to new operating systems, IT workers are usually interested in hearing about security improvements first. Fortunately, Windows 8 is strong on that front.
Windows 8 Secures the Boot Process
Rootkits are some of the most insidious forms of malware circulating today. These packages gain privileged access and reach into the lowest levels of an operating system and undermine traditional antimalware controls that run at the application level.
The rootkits often function by replacing critical components of the operating system that facilitate the boot process, allowing them to gain a foothold in the system when it boots, before antimalware software is able to load.
Windows 8 adds two features to the boot process that greatly enhance security by protecting against rootkit infections: Secured Boot, with Early Launch Antimalware (ELAM); and Measured Boot. Together, these technologies combat rootkits by minimizing the likelihood of their successful launch and by using remote trusted systems to identify the presence of untrusted software that bypassed antimalware controls.
Secured Boot’s ELAM capability loads during the very early stages of the boot process, before the kernel is given the opportunity to load other hardware drivers. ELAM then monitors the other drivers that the kernel attempts to load and verifies their digital signatures, classifying each driver as “good,” “bad” or “unknown.”
The kernel then uses this information to implement an administrator-defined policy. In most cases, especially until ELAM technology is widely adopted by hardware vendors, administrators should follow the default policy: allow the loading of both “good” and “unknown” drivers while preventing the loading of known malicious drivers.
It is important to understand that ELAM is not a replacement for antivirus software. It merely complements existing packages by adding security to a phase of the boot process that is inaccessible to traditional antimalware packages.
Once Windows 8 finishes loading boot drivers, ELAM terminates and the system’s other antimalware software assumes control. ELAM can, however, perform a seamless transfer of status information to the system’s runtime antimalware software.
While Secured Boot takes an active approach to securing the boot process, Measured Boot combines passive monitoring with remote attestation to provide administrators with assurance about the integrity of the boot process.
Measured Boot monitors the launch of all system components that load prior to the launch of antimalware software. It records this information in a tamper-proof fashion using the Trusted Platform Module (TPM), a secured piece of hardware attached to the motherboard. When antimalware software loads, it may access (but not modify) the information stored in the TPM to verify the steps that occurred on the system before the activation of antimalware software.
The remote-attestation feature of Measured Boot is also a promising development that administrators should keep an eye on. It facilitates the use of a remote server to verify that systems on the network are booting into a known trusted state.
With remote attestation, Measured Boot sends a securely encrypted copy of the TPM data to the remote-attestation server. The server then verifies that the values recorded in the TPM match previously known secure states for that specific system. If the values do not match, the remote attestation server may alert the administrator or trigger corrective action. Full implementation of remote-attestation will require the cooperation of third-party software vendors, so stay tuned.
Security on the Run: Windows To Go
The new Windows To Go feature provided with Windows 8 Enterprise edition offers administrators a solution to a problem that has plagued them for years: how to provide remote users with access to enterprise data in a secured environment. While VPNs and other remote-access technologies have long offered a means to protect sensitive information transferred over the Internet, administrators were still left to worry about the security of the systems used to access that data from home, hotel business centers and similar environments outside the protection of enterprise security controls.
Windows To Go allows administrators to provide users with a complete Windows 8 image on a supported USB drive. Users simply insert the drive into any hardware that supports Windows 7 or Windows 8, boot the system and find themselves up and running in the familiar corporate computing environment.
When they are finished, they just remove the drive and reboot the computer; the system will return to its normal use, with no trace of the user’s computing activity left behind.
Windows To Go also protects against a user accidentally leaving a session open after stepping away from the computer. If the USB drive is removed, Windows To Go pauses for one minute to allow reinsertion of the drive. If the drive is not reinserted, the machine shuts down. To protect against the risk of loss, Windows To Go is also compatible with BitLocker drive encryption.
The downside? Currently, there are only a small number of USB drives certified by Microsoft as compatible with Windows To Go. These include:
IronKey Workspace W300
Kingston DataTraveler Workspace for Windows To Go
Spyrus Portable Workplace
Spyrus Secure Portable Workplace
Western Digital My Passport Enterprise
Watch for additional products to support this technology as its adoption grows.
Regardless of when Windows 8 makes its way to your enterprise, the additional security provided by ELAM, Measured Boot and Windows To Go makes it an attractive OS for IT workers.
A recent Spiceworks survey found that 69 percent of small and medium-size businesses were currently testing Windows 8, so if you don’t want to roll the new OS out to the whole company, it’s worth conducting pilot evaluations to assess potential future uses.
Using Windows 8 AppLocker and application sideloading in Windows 8
Organizations planning a Windows 8 upgrade have to choose between Windows 8 Professional and Windows 8 Enterprise. The latter edition offers remote desktop functionality not available in Windows 8 Pro, including Windows To Go and BranchCache. Here are some more features found only in Windows 8 Enterprise.
Administrators can centrally manage AppLocker through group policies that include rules for blacklisting or whitelisting scripts, dynamic link libraries and executable files. AppLocker also includes policies for Windows Installer files and Windows Store app packages and their installer files (.appx). Support for Windows Store files is new in Windows 8 Enterprise, as is the ability to manage .mst files, a type of Windows Installer file.
To deploy AppLocker, administrators usually create the necessary policies and then apply them through Group Policy. However, an Active Directory environment is not mandatory. In a small network, administrators can install the policies directly on Windows 8 Enterprise desktops. And in either environment, admins can set up publication rules to permit software updates to specific applications without having to set up a rule for each update.
For organizations that want to maintain tighter controls over their desktops yet still retain flexibility, AppLocker could prove an invaluable addition to their arsenal of management tools.
Microsoft now requires that Metro-style applications be distributed through the Windows Store. For organizations with their own line-of-business applications, this approach might not acceptable. Windows 8 Enterprise offers a solution: application sideloading.
Sideloading lets organizations publish Metro-style apps directly to their own desktops, without going through the Windows Store. Users or administrators can install approved, in-house apps (via an app installation package). At the same time, admins can prevent unapproved and potentially malicious apps from being installed.
Sideloading is available in some form in all Windows 8 editions, but it's only in Enterprise that the feature is turned on by default. Other editions also require an activation key to be created for each app, which needs to be added to the system through a special sideloading script.
Windows 8 Enterprise, on the other hand, lets organizations distribute apps with far less fuss. In fact, IT can build what is essentially an internal app store for distributing their in-house applications. When used with AppLocker, sideloading provides a controlled, secure way to distribute internal Metro-style apps to Windows 8 Enterprise desktops.
Features such as Windows To Go, DirectAccess, RemoteFX enhancements, BranchCache, AppLocker and application sideloading add important functionality to the Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Depending on the needs of your organization, one or more of them could prove valuable enough to warrant Windows 8 Enterprise over Windows 8 Pro. So the better you understand how these features work, the easier it will be to decide whether to go with Windows 8 Professional or Windows 8 Enterprise.
Administrators can centrally manage AppLocker through group policies that include rules for blacklisting or whitelisting scripts, dynamic link libraries and executable files. AppLocker also includes policies for Windows Installer files and Windows Store app packages and their installer files (.appx). Support for Windows Store files is new in Windows 8 Enterprise, as is the ability to manage .mst files, a type of Windows Installer file.
To deploy AppLocker, administrators usually create the necessary policies and then apply them through Group Policy. However, an Active Directory environment is not mandatory. In a small network, administrators can install the policies directly on Windows 8 Enterprise desktops. And in either environment, admins can set up publication rules to permit software updates to specific applications without having to set up a rule for each update.
For organizations that want to maintain tighter controls over their desktops yet still retain flexibility, AppLocker could prove an invaluable addition to their arsenal of management tools.
Microsoft now requires that Metro-style applications be distributed through the Windows Store. For organizations with their own line-of-business applications, this approach might not acceptable. Windows 8 Enterprise offers a solution: application sideloading.
Sideloading lets organizations publish Metro-style apps directly to their own desktops, without going through the Windows Store. Users or administrators can install approved, in-house apps (via an app installation package). At the same time, admins can prevent unapproved and potentially malicious apps from being installed.
Sideloading is available in some form in all Windows 8 editions, but it's only in Enterprise that the feature is turned on by default. Other editions also require an activation key to be created for each app, which needs to be added to the system through a special sideloading script.
Windows 8 Enterprise, on the other hand, lets organizations distribute apps with far less fuss. In fact, IT can build what is essentially an internal app store for distributing their in-house applications. When used with AppLocker, sideloading provides a controlled, secure way to distribute internal Metro-style apps to Windows 8 Enterprise desktops.
Features such as Windows To Go, DirectAccess, RemoteFX enhancements, BranchCache, AppLocker and application sideloading add important functionality to the Windows 8 Enterprise edition. Depending on the needs of your organization, one or more of them could prove valuable enough to warrant Windows 8 Enterprise over Windows 8 Pro. So the better you understand how these features work, the easier it will be to decide whether to go with Windows 8 Professional or Windows 8 Enterprise.
2013年4月10日星期三
The cloud saved my Windows 8 disaster
If there is one lesson I have learned in my life, it is that nothing ever goes easy. So why I thought it would be an easy fix after I messsed up my Windows partition while installing Ubuntu on my computer is beyond me. I guess I will never learn. Thank goodness the cloud saved my bacon.
After trying to fix a Windows 8 boot error myself I brought my laptop into the local Mom & Pop repair shop. I asked for someone who was familiar with Linux and disk partitions. I left the laptop and the next day the tech called me with the bad news. I had completely overwritten the Windows partition (I know, pretty stupid of me). I now had a really big Ubuntu swap file and a 400GB Linux hard disk. The tech said there was a Windows 8 boot partition, but no Windows to boot up. Not good news at all.
He said that since I had just installed Ubuntu, he should be able to recover the files on my disk except the ones that might have been written over during the Linux install. I said that would work, told him to just grab those files and leave Ubuntu on the machine so I could set up a new partition for Windows. Not too bad.
Just when things were looking up, there is that good old Murphy's Law again (who is that Murphy guy, anyway?). The tech called me the next day (Saturday) and said he scanned the disk and found that there was nothing to salvage. Now, maybe he's not a great recovery expert, or maybe he is, but it was what it was. At this point, I had to realize that I had to pay the piper for my silly stunt. Windows and my files were toast on this machine.
I was looking at a clean install of Windows, and I guess I would see just how good my backup solutions were. What backup, you ask? Well, I had a backup in depth strategy. I had Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive on the box. Plus I had a 500GB Pogoplug appliance on my home network and Pogoplug cloud. The problem was that although I had all of that available, what was actually being backed up? Primarily I had my documents folder, pictures, video and music that was important. But I am getting ahead of myself. More about restoring from backup later.
The other problem was that I really liked running Ubuntu. Even when I put Windows back on, I wanted to keep Ubuntu on the machine as well. But talking to my friend Billy Austin of iScan Online, he told me that running a dual-boot setup was kind of dinosaur-ish. It would be better to run Ubuntu in a virtual environment. That made a lot of sense, as opposed to having to reboot the computer to switch between them. So I decided I would install Windows and run Ubuntu in a VM.
Having already bought Windows 8, I had my activation key and figured I just had to reinstall Windows 8 to get up and running. Well, not so fast - here's that Murphy guy again. It seems Microsoft only sells Windows 8 upgrades over the web. You need Windows running on your machine to use it. I called the Microsoft support number and they tried to get me to fork over another $199 dollars for a DVD of a full Windows license. I refused and was getting frustrated. This little adventure had already set me back more than a few dollars.
Then I remembered that I still had the license key for the Windows 7 that came with my laptop. I asked the Microsoft rep if I can download Windows 7, install that and then upgrade to Windows 8. For the first time in this whole ordeal, I caught a break. She said that was possible and would not cost me any additional money. So it was a bit clunky, but I downloaded and installed Windows 7, then downloaded and upgraded to Windows 8. I had to reformat my drive and wipe everything, but it worked. A few hours later, I was running Windows 8 again.
Now, I realized that my Toshiba laptop had a lot of Toshiba files that I had wiped out. So I spent the next few hours download and installing Toshiba-specific files. It was harder because Toshiba's support site is not that good and my laptop model is not technically on the Windows 8 upgrade list. But I was able to get the network, video and sound drivers all working well, and that is all I needed.
Running Microsoft Office 365, it was easy to reinstall my Office apps. As for my other apps, it was actually refreshing to only install those that I know I really use. It got rid of a lot of bloat on my machine. Now, though, it was down to the nitty gritty. What could I hope to have restored in the way of my files?
The easiest restore was my music. Between my iTunes match and Google music, I actually had two complete copies of all of my music files. I choose to leave them up in the cloud and not take up the GBs of space on my laptop. The next thing was my pictures. Between Shutterfly and my iCloud photo stream, I had my photos. What was missing were the graphic files that I use for my blog posts, for instance. Those, I am afraid, are lost unless I go back to my blogs and download the image files. Frankly, they are not that precious. Most of them were taken from Google image searches, anyway.
Next was the My Documents folder. This was the trickiest. Since I was using Office 365, I had been storing a lot of files in SkyDrive. That turned out to be a blessing. Without problem, my files were still there. The files, of course, that I put in Dropbox were still available, and those that I had shared on Google Docs were there. Finally, my Pogoplug had a good chunk of files. Both the local Pogoplug appliance I have and the Pogoplug cloud had files. I restored those and that was the overwhelming bulk of my files. A few files from the last day or two before the crash are gone and the odd file that I did not store in a regular location are also gone. All in all, though, it could have been much worse.
It is a testament to how ubiquitous cloud apps are, at least in the consumer space, that without really trying too hard I actually had copies of almost all of my files. I have now also updated all of my cloud backup locations in case this ever happens again.
So I am back up and running. A little worn for the wear, but wiser for sure. The next question is about Ubuntu. I installed Microsoft Hyper-V on my Windows 8 desktop. I can now run an Ubuntu VHD. Does anyone know where I can get an up-to-date VHD? Let me know. Also, I would be interested in your thoughts about running in a VM versus a dual-boot, or should I just stick with running it of a USB stick?
Many thanks to all of the commenters who gave me advice on how to restore my Windows files as well. To those who called me names or thought I was blaming Linux or other such drivel, sorry I wasn't clearer about what happened.
After trying to fix a Windows 8 boot error myself I brought my laptop into the local Mom & Pop repair shop. I asked for someone who was familiar with Linux and disk partitions. I left the laptop and the next day the tech called me with the bad news. I had completely overwritten the Windows partition (I know, pretty stupid of me). I now had a really big Ubuntu swap file and a 400GB Linux hard disk. The tech said there was a Windows 8 boot partition, but no Windows to boot up. Not good news at all.
He said that since I had just installed Ubuntu, he should be able to recover the files on my disk except the ones that might have been written over during the Linux install. I said that would work, told him to just grab those files and leave Ubuntu on the machine so I could set up a new partition for Windows. Not too bad.
Just when things were looking up, there is that good old Murphy's Law again (who is that Murphy guy, anyway?). The tech called me the next day (Saturday) and said he scanned the disk and found that there was nothing to salvage. Now, maybe he's not a great recovery expert, or maybe he is, but it was what it was. At this point, I had to realize that I had to pay the piper for my silly stunt. Windows and my files were toast on this machine.
I was looking at a clean install of Windows, and I guess I would see just how good my backup solutions were. What backup, you ask? Well, I had a backup in depth strategy. I had Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft SkyDrive on the box. Plus I had a 500GB Pogoplug appliance on my home network and Pogoplug cloud. The problem was that although I had all of that available, what was actually being backed up? Primarily I had my documents folder, pictures, video and music that was important. But I am getting ahead of myself. More about restoring from backup later.
The other problem was that I really liked running Ubuntu. Even when I put Windows back on, I wanted to keep Ubuntu on the machine as well. But talking to my friend Billy Austin of iScan Online, he told me that running a dual-boot setup was kind of dinosaur-ish. It would be better to run Ubuntu in a virtual environment. That made a lot of sense, as opposed to having to reboot the computer to switch between them. So I decided I would install Windows and run Ubuntu in a VM.
Having already bought Windows 8, I had my activation key and figured I just had to reinstall Windows 8 to get up and running. Well, not so fast - here's that Murphy guy again. It seems Microsoft only sells Windows 8 upgrades over the web. You need Windows running on your machine to use it. I called the Microsoft support number and they tried to get me to fork over another $199 dollars for a DVD of a full Windows license. I refused and was getting frustrated. This little adventure had already set me back more than a few dollars.
Then I remembered that I still had the license key for the Windows 7 that came with my laptop. I asked the Microsoft rep if I can download Windows 7, install that and then upgrade to Windows 8. For the first time in this whole ordeal, I caught a break. She said that was possible and would not cost me any additional money. So it was a bit clunky, but I downloaded and installed Windows 7, then downloaded and upgraded to Windows 8. I had to reformat my drive and wipe everything, but it worked. A few hours later, I was running Windows 8 again.
Now, I realized that my Toshiba laptop had a lot of Toshiba files that I had wiped out. So I spent the next few hours download and installing Toshiba-specific files. It was harder because Toshiba's support site is not that good and my laptop model is not technically on the Windows 8 upgrade list. But I was able to get the network, video and sound drivers all working well, and that is all I needed.
Running Microsoft Office 365, it was easy to reinstall my Office apps. As for my other apps, it was actually refreshing to only install those that I know I really use. It got rid of a lot of bloat on my machine. Now, though, it was down to the nitty gritty. What could I hope to have restored in the way of my files?
The easiest restore was my music. Between my iTunes match and Google music, I actually had two complete copies of all of my music files. I choose to leave them up in the cloud and not take up the GBs of space on my laptop. The next thing was my pictures. Between Shutterfly and my iCloud photo stream, I had my photos. What was missing were the graphic files that I use for my blog posts, for instance. Those, I am afraid, are lost unless I go back to my blogs and download the image files. Frankly, they are not that precious. Most of them were taken from Google image searches, anyway.
Next was the My Documents folder. This was the trickiest. Since I was using Office 365, I had been storing a lot of files in SkyDrive. That turned out to be a blessing. Without problem, my files were still there. The files, of course, that I put in Dropbox were still available, and those that I had shared on Google Docs were there. Finally, my Pogoplug had a good chunk of files. Both the local Pogoplug appliance I have and the Pogoplug cloud had files. I restored those and that was the overwhelming bulk of my files. A few files from the last day or two before the crash are gone and the odd file that I did not store in a regular location are also gone. All in all, though, it could have been much worse.
It is a testament to how ubiquitous cloud apps are, at least in the consumer space, that without really trying too hard I actually had copies of almost all of my files. I have now also updated all of my cloud backup locations in case this ever happens again.
So I am back up and running. A little worn for the wear, but wiser for sure. The next question is about Ubuntu. I installed Microsoft Hyper-V on my Windows 8 desktop. I can now run an Ubuntu VHD. Does anyone know where I can get an up-to-date VHD? Let me know. Also, I would be interested in your thoughts about running in a VM versus a dual-boot, or should I just stick with running it of a USB stick?
Many thanks to all of the commenters who gave me advice on how to restore my Windows files as well. To those who called me names or thought I was blaming Linux or other such drivel, sorry I wasn't clearer about what happened.
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