Playing for Change: Stand By Me

Very cool...


Playing For Change | Song Around The World "Stand By Me" from Concord Music Group on Vimeo.

Virtual CD/DVD Disks From .iso Files

Regardless of popular opinion, Linux can often be so much more user friendly then Microsoft.

With one simple command I can access an .iso file as if it were an actual physical CD or DVD disc. Why must everything in the Windows world a) be such a pain in the butt, b) usually cost extra to implement a needed feature (virtually always free in GNU/Linux) and/or c) scare away the average user who just wants things to work without playing (or paying) the geek?

First let's examine the Linux version of adding virtual CD/DVD-Rom from an .iso file. Open a terminal session. Ready? Here goes:

sudo mount -o loop some_image.iso /mnt/img

Now was that so hard? Oh, and you can use any mount point you want: /media/lazy; /mnt/disc; etc. Don't have a mount point you like? No sweat. Just add one before you issue the command above, for example:

sudo mkdir /mnt/disc

or

sudo mkdir /media/image

You get the idea... Once your virtual CD/DVD is ready, navigate to the mount point with a gui file manager or cli and enjoy your virtual CD/DVD. Why burn a disc if you don't have to?

You can get similar results in Windows XP, but it's just simply not as quick, easy or user-friendly as Linux in my biased opinion.

Working with an .iso as a virtual CD/DVD in Windows XP

There are a multiple commercial tools available that will allow you to virtualize an .iso file into a CD/DVD drive, but free is good too. Microsoft offers a free (unsupported) application that will provide you with the functionality to add a virtual CD/DVD-Rom drive from an .iso file in Windows XP similar to what we did above with Linux--the biggest disadvantage is that only a user with administrator rights can utilize the virtual drive. Not so under Linux.

Download winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel_21.exe from download.com or from Microsoft.

Log into Windows XP as the Administrator or as another user with admin rights.

Run the downloaded file to extract the files to a working directory.

Next, from the command line or the gui file manager, copy VCdRom.sys from your working directory into the %systemroot%\system32\drivers folder.

You can do this with the cli (command line interface, you know: the DOS window) by doing the following:

1. Click Start → Click Run → Enter cmd → Click OK


2. Enter copy %systemdrive%\Program Files\msvcd\VCdRom.sys %systemroot%\system32\drivers (all one line)
   


3. Press Enter


4. Enter exit to close the DOS window

Of course you can also copy this file with the gui (graphical user interface, you know Explorer) file manager.

Running VCdControlTool to create your virtual DVD/CD

1. Open the winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel_21 application from your working directory


2. Click Driver Control


3. Click Install Driver


4. Navigate to VCdRom.sys or enter %systemroot%\system32\drivers\VCdRom.sys in the File name field


5. Click Open


6. Click Start


7. Click OK


8. In the Virtual CDRom Control Panel click Add Drive


9. Click on the drive that appears in the window to select it


10. Click Mount


11. Navigate to the .iso that you wish to virtualize as a CD or DVD disc


12. Select it in the File name field and click Open


13. Click OK


14. Click OK in the Virtual CDRom Control Panel window to close it.

You are now ready to use your virtual disc just as you would a physical CD or DVD.

Once you are finished with the virtual disc:

1. Open the Virtual CDRom Control Panel application
   


2. Click Eject


3. You may now mount another .iso file,


1. or to finish your session leaving the virtual CD/DVD drive assigned, simply click OK


2. to end your session and delete the virtual CD/DVD-Rom drive, Click Remove Drive & OK

Final thoughts... Today, the Linux desktop works just as well or better then anything Microsoft is putting out. I find Linux on the desktop often outperforms the Windows desktop in resource management, stability and performance. It is unfortunate that it is not more widely utilized. Of course this article was not about the pros & cons of competing OS desktops. I just think it provides an example of how powerful and simple Linux can be (for free) when compared to the Microsoft offerings.

Note: Use the above information at your own risk. Your mileage may vary. winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel_21.exe is a free, unsupported application supplied by Microsoft for Windows XP only. The above information is based on my usage of that application as of today only. Others may have more information about usage details and troubleshooting.

As to the Linux details, yeah, use as your own risk (blah blah blah), but don't be scared. It just plain works.

DriveImage XML Backup System

This has probably been around for a while without my noticing—I focus on Linux tools for the most part so I'm sure I missed it.

Runtime Software's DriveImage XML however is extremely cool! Free for personal use. "Hot Image" backups of drives that are in use, and other really cool stuff:

DriveImage XML is an easy to use and reliable program for imaging and backing up partitions and logical drives.

The program allows you to:

• Backup logical drives and partitions to image files
• Browse these images, view and extract files
• Restore these images to the same or a different drive
• Copy directly from drive to drive
• Schedule automatic backups with your Task Scheduler

Image creation uses Microsoft's Volume Shadow Services (VSS), allowing you to create safe "hot images" even from drives currently in use.

Images are stored in XML files, allowing you to process them with 3rd party tools. Never again be stuck with a useless backup!

Restore images to drives without having to reboot...

You can create a boot CD to run DriveImage (not officially supported--but there is a video available to show you how).

There is no support for the Personal Edition, but there is a quick YouTube How-To video that will get you started using the application in no time.

I have already backed up my Windows XP partition with this amazing software, what are you waiting for? :-)

Get DriveImage XML Today!

PS Their GetDataBack application looks pretty awesome too. My Dad could have used this when his HDD crashed a while back... if we'd only known about it then.

Peak Oil? We're Not Done Yet

I was looking back through a couple of old posts on the idea that the world has peaked out in oil production. Um, that's not quite the case. Not if we are willing to go after our own reserves. This according to the government's own reports:

Using a geology-based assessment methodology, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated mean undiscovered volumes of 3.65 billion barrels of oil, 1.85 trillion cubic feet of associated/dissolved natural gas, and 148 million barrels of natural gas liquids in the Bakken Formation of the Williston Basin Province, Montana and North Dakota.

If Obama will let us go after our own oil supplies, we can end dependence on foreign oil and provide him plenty of time to develop his (currently unrealistic) "green" renewable sources.

By the way, how is carbon dioxide NOT green? Plants love it! They would die without it! When did CO₂ become toxic?

Whatever...