Computer Query

A quick question, I have a Mac and a PC, where spread across both, I have lots of pre-installed fancy software which I use like Pro Tools, Final Cut Studio and all the Adobe CS4 thingys.

I'm now slightly worried that if one or both of the hard drives throw a wobbly (and they've done so before) - then I'd lose all this software which I don't have any discs for.

Is there any way I can back everything up and then somehow load it on again, if worse comes to worst? I'm not keen on buying brand new software and I don't know the right kind of shady people to get my hands on it otherwise.

Ghost the drives. But that does require software. Google it matey I'm sure you'll find something that's cheap-ish.

Assuming the OS on your Mac is recent, it should have Time Machine already installed. It makes backing up your data easy.

http://www.apple.com/macosx/what-is-macosx/time-machine.html

Free Windows partition copying software:

http://clonezilla.org/

The scary thing is that I use computers on a daily basis but know next to nothing about them, so thanks for the above...

You could try buying the software - novel I know.

Quote: Godot Taxis @ April 5 2010, 12:45 AM BST

You could try buying the software - novel I know.

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Those are many, many thousands of dollars'/pounds' worth of software. I agree that one should purchase it if he/she uses the software commercially, but some software is priced beyond the budget of average people who just like to tinker.

I purchase anything I find useful that costs $100 or less. I try to do the rest of my puttering with open source software.

I know what they cost, Dabutt I'm a registered user of CS4 Master Collection and Final Cut Studio. It's taken me years to become fully legit, and I could've bought a couple of cars with the money it cost me, but bootlegging software is just stealing.

Adobe software is overpriced, but Apple's stuff isn't really and people who claim they can't afford to buy it usually mean they don't want to buy it. These guys often have a powerful rig to run it all on that they acquired from somewhere. The OP has a Mac as well as a PC so presumably isn't that skint. If you bought a S/H machine with lots of good software on it - great - you got lucky, but when it becomes outdated - well, tough.

Tinkering is a nice idea but people worked hard to develop this stuff. As I say I would be in favour of lowering software prices globally (and throwing in some f**king manuals - the Master Collection silver box of nothing is a pretty dispiriting experience) but I actually hate people who ask how to get free software. F**king ponces! (No offence to Sploge)

Quote: Godot Taxis @ April 5 2010, 1:37 AM BST

Tinkering is a nice idea but people worked hard to develop this stuff. As I say I would be in favour of lowering software prices globally (and throwing in some f**king manuals - the Master Collection silver box of nothing is a pretty dispiriting experience) but I actually hate people who ask how to get free software. F**king ponces! (No offence to Sploge)

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There are different classes of users. You, I assume, use the software to earn money somehow. Someone who fires up Photoshop once a month to lighten up a photo of their cat shouldn't be expected to fork over $900 for a copy of Photoshop. That said, there are cheaper alternatives and Adobe even sells watered-down versions of some of its programs.

I remember reading an interview with an Adobe official about 15 years ago where he said something like "One copy of our software seems to be enough for an entire country in some parts of the world. That's ok as long as they aren't making money off our hard work."

I've been thinking of backing up my software on a Neiman Marcus Kitchen Computer. A bargain at only $10,600 and with 16K of memory. I can't believe that none were ever sold.

Quote: Godot Taxis @ April 5 2010, 12:45 AM BST

You could try buying the software - novel I know.

View original

If you take the few seconds to read the original post, Splodge said that he (she?) does not know where to get naughty copies from. And that the software was pre-installed, and without installation discs.

Quote: Godot Taxis @ April 5 2010, 1:37 AM BST

I know what they cost, Dabutt I'm a registered user of CS4 Master Collection and Final Cut Studio. It's taken me years to become fully legit, and I could've bought a couple of cars with the money it cost me, but bootlegging software is just stealing.

View original

And now it turns out that you're just having a go at other people for doing the exact same thing you've done for years. Pulling up the ladder behind you at all?

It's very unusual for software to be pre-installed without a means or re-installing it.

Sometimes that is CD/DVD disks but sometimes it is a hidden partition on the hard disk. In the latter case the system almost always has a software tool to copy that hidden information onto blank CD/DVD disks, which you shouls always do, because if the disk electronics fail you lose the hidden partition as well.

However...

Final Cut as pre-installed software???

Quote: billwill @ April 5 2010, 4:30 PM BST

Final Cut as pre-installed software???

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Very rare, but possible. I've seen it.