Ed Cottrell

  • A Backup Solution that Works on Vista

    I detailed here the problems I had trying to craft a script-based backup solution using vshadow and robocopy. I never did figure it out, even after a BIOS upgrade and hours and hours on various forums. I ended up downloading a trial of SyncBack SE, which has worked very well so far, even with open…

  • Moving, the Bar, and Other Craziness

    I haven’t been posting very often, since we just took finals, are trying to get ready to move, are studying for the bar, had to sublet our apartment, and have to graduate, still. Finals: done! They went well enough – each of us ended up reasonably happy with the quarter, especially since the only thing…

  • Errors in VShadow.exe

    Alright, all you Windows geeks: I need help. I tried to implement a backup script that uses a number of Microsoft tools. I keep getting errors that look like this: ERROR: Selected writer ‘ASR Writer’ is in failed state! – Status: 7 (VSS_WS_FAILED_AT_PREPARE_BACKUP) – Writer Failure code: 0x800423f4 () – Writer ID: {be000cbe-11fe-4426-9c58-531aa6355fc4} – Instance…

  • Tip of the Day: Word Shortcut to Paste Unformatted Text

    If you are not familiar with the “Paste Special” options in Word, you should read this article. If you are already familiar with it, but find it frustrating that there’s no shortcut, you should definitely read this article. Paste Special Unformatted Text At Your Fingertips [ed.: link updated to an archived link because the original was…

  • Sublet: 2 BR Apartment in Hyde Park, Chicago, with Lake view

    Our 2 BR apartment with a lake view is still available for lease or sublease, now at a reduced rate! Contact me if you are interested!