Bootable CompletePC Backup Challenge!

Robert McLaws — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:20:00 GMT

Speaking of CompletePC backup VHDs, today I'm launching the first WindowsNow Coding Challenge. This month's challenge is all about those Virtual Hard Drives (VHDs) that CompletePC spits out. You can easily mount them to a Virtual PC / Virtual Server machine... but you can't boot to it. I don't know why Microsoft didn't go the extra mile to make that happen, but it needs to. So here's the drill...

The first person to create a utility that automatically converts CompletePC backups into images that can successfully boot into Vista will receive A FREE COPY OF WINDOWS VISTA after the consumer launch in January! But here's the catch: the edition of Vista you receive will be based on a couple factors:

Creativity
Presentation
Complexity (if the solution requireds a crapload of code, it will get a higher edition than if you just wrote a script that used VHDMount to copy a boot sector to the VHD, for example.)
Must include the source code (will not be published)

I will be the sole judge, and all decisions are final. To submit your entry:

Register as a WindowsNow user (if you're not already one)
Private message me with the subject "CompletePC Backup Challenge" and send me a link to the zip file with the source code, compiled solution, and comments.

The contest closes on the 31st... so get cracking! May the best code win!

Speaking of VHDMount...

Robert McLaws — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 08:16:00 GMT

The VirtualPC Guy posted this ROCKIN tip on how to associate VHDs with VHDMount. The result is double-click virtual disk mounting goodness... perfect for getting files out of Vista's CompletePC backups.

Robert McLaws: Windows Edition : CompletePC

Bootable CompletePC Backup Challenge!

Speaking of VHDMount...