WinXP - "Suspend to Disk mode"

[foeshizzl]

Hello gamecopyworld community!

I have a question regarding the "suspend to disk" mode of windows xp.
Is there any way of saving the system and ram content to a cdr/dvd
and to load this state instead of booting windows after shutting down
the computer completely?

I remember from good old Amiga days that this was possible, so you
could (for example) save at any part of a game without using the save
game option but with storing the whole system status.

I hope this explanation was good enough to understand my problem

thanks in advance,
foeshizzl

[GeorgeK]

XP is supposed to let you close a program, when it freezes, without re-booting.

[foeshizzl]

sorry i think you did not get my question.
i got no problems with freezing programs.

all i want to know if there is a any way to save the whole
ram (and with that the system status) to a medium (usbdisk, cd-r/dvd).

and if there is a possibility to recreate the system staus from
that "ram"image on the medium.

for example...
1) i boot my windows
2) load several programs.
3) now i want to backup the system status, like win-xp does
when you switch it into suspend mode.
4) shut off the pc completely (no suspend mode)
5) switch on the pc on again
6) instead of loading windows, i would like to boot the system with
the image of the last system status (that means including all
running programs i started before i made the "ram"image to the
medium.)

any ideas? anybody?
thanks

[DABhand]

I dont see it possible...

With Programs running, Memory, Virtual Memory, Drivers, API's, etc etc

The image would be many gigs, more than Dual Layer.

[TippeX]

theoretically possible, after all on laptops theres a hibernate mode etc.. the problem is in loading the data again, and such things as file handles and so on would change especially if the system was rebooted and then an attempt was made to load the 'dumped data'... possible but only with a hell of a lot of work, and dabhand, think about it the dump would only be the swap file and the current physical memory.. possibly video memory as well, really depends how it would be dumped.. in theory the idea is sound, in practice there are a lot of things to handle, like the file handles, state of the hardware and so on there was an old program i used to use in the dos days that did it, cant remember the name of it now, but it worked well, however things move on and get more complex.. windows and so on, it could be done i guess if the program was loaded into a basic shell that recorded file handles and so on and handled them transparently, infact i've coded and played with such systems but it aint an easy task at all, and requires a hell of a lot of planning ahead, such as how you handle memory allocation, file handling.. storing file handles, current position and so on, huge task, but if someone did put the effort in it could be done and probably sell lots...

[Joe Forster/STA]

By the way, this question is completely off-topic on this forum, as it has nothing to do with games, let alone backing up games...

[foeshizzl]

The real reason why i posted this question in this forum is...

I had a copy of "Trackmania Sunrise" from my local videostore.
As the game was great fun for me i decided to buy a copy
on ebay. Of course i have to wait several days for it to arrive.

So i did the following trick. I started Trackmania Sunrise before
i gave back the copy to the videostore. Then i shutted down
the computer using the suspend to disk mode of windows whenever
i had to leave for work etc.

When i came back i just "woke up" my computer and the game was
still running (and working .. without the cd).

As i remembered there was a possibility on the Amiga to freeze the
memory state and load that image to the ram everytime you wanted
to. So i came up with the idea of doing the same on the pc.

But as i thought there seems no possibility to do this as a computer
running windows is far more complex than an old amiga

Nevertheless i thought it would be a good idea to ensure that
this is right, so i came up with that question here.

Sorry if that thread wasted your time
....and thanks in advance for your answers!

btw. the game arrived me today ... so now im gone playing