Little Angel can be used for many purposes:

1. make and customize bootable system image to be run in ram, using Diskless Angel virtual memory disk driver

2. make and customize bootable system image backup of different sizes to be run on hard disk

3. add & make components, helping to build system image of different sizes with different functionalities

4. help to mount up .dsk image files & subst file folders into a substed drive or unsubst such drives

5. make filelists, helping your to analyze what files are used since system boot-up and to make comparison


The above is done through the main screen of la.exe when run up:

1, 2 & 3 above are done using LiveImaging or StillImaging Functions

4 is done using the Help Button

5 is done using the Make List File Button

Common Option Panel contain the parameters that are to be used by LiveImaging Functions, StillImaging Functions, Help Button & Make List File Button.

1. Target is where the system image is to be placed when doing LiveImaging or StillImaging.

Target can be an .dsk image file or a drive letter.

LiveImaging takes the system drive as the source.

StillImaging requires you to specify a source as well.

If you use Image File as the Target, you will be prompted to specify an image file to be used later when doing LiveImaging or StillImaging.

2. Image Size (MB) is the size of the image file you expect to make.

If it is blank, the Image Size will be estimated for you, reminding you that sufficient space should be there for making the image. Using drive letter as the Target is the same.

3. Max File Size is the size in MB of the file to be handled.

The Default size is 20. This means that file of size greater than 20MB will not be copied or imaged. Normally you don't need to change this value except that you want to include files of size larger than 20MB in the image.

4. User Option File is an option file that helps to further customize the processing.

If a User Option File is absolutely needed, you will be prompted to provide it. Otherwise, Little Angel will ignore it or will do a default action for it if it is left blank. This will be explained later when coming to each function button.

5. Add System is a default selection for doing LiveImaging or StillImaging.

This means that by default, Little Angel will add the system files so far used since system boot-up to the image you are going to make. If it is not needed, you can de-select it.

6. Full System is an option that you can select if you want to make the image into a Full System image.

This will include the full system filelist when doing imaging.

For xp system, selecting this option will include fullexp.txt for processing. For 2k3 system, fulle2k3.txt will be used.

These two filelists included in the package are scanned from the full system made under VirtualBox.

You can provide your own filelists and replace them if desirable.

7. Make List File

This button when pressed will help you to make different kinds of filelists.

Make List File examines User Option File to see what action it is going to take.

If User Option File is left blank, it will prompt you to give it a filelist filename and then it will make a default filelist for you.

This default filelist is a list of files that have been accessed since the system boots up.

You can however specify a User Option File, ending in .lst, for it to use.

Currently, the package includes the following .lst files to be used:

a. complist2list.lst

for comparing 2 filelists

b. complist2sourcedrive.lst

for comparing a list to a drive specified as source

c. scan2list.lst

for scanning a file folder to a list

d. scansourcedrive.lst

for scanning the source drive into a list. scan2list.lst is a more generic option, you can use it to scan any drive as well.

e. translate2source.lst

for translating an input filelist so that an output filelist is produced containing only files found in the Source, using the Source path.

For example, if in the input filelist, there is a file:

D:\dadad\123.dad

but the file is found in the Source as:

C:\drivers\123.dad

This file entry will be listed in the output filelist file as C:\drivers\123.dad

8. Help

This button helps you to do some handy tasks.

When pressed, it also examines the User Option File to see what action is to take.

Currently, the package includes the following option files, ending in .cfg, to be used:

a. lamonitor_clear.cfg

This helps clear Little Angel's monitoring buffer. Upon system boot-up, if Little Angel Monitor is activated, Little Angel Monitor will keep a log of files accessed in a memory buffer. This buffer is used for making the default filelist as explained above when you press Make List File with blank User Option File.

b. lamonitor_install.cfg

This installs the Little Angel Monitor if you want to use it in case it is not setup or uninstalled. It will only take effect upon the next system boot-up.

c. lamonitor_mark.cfg

At any time you want to place a Mark, signalling the beginning or the end of a certain system activity such as opening or ending a certain application, you can use this .cfg file and press the Help button. A Mark with the description you provide will be placed in the Little Angel Monitor buffer.

d. lamonitor_pause.cfg

This pauses the Little Angel Montior for the time being.

e. lamonitor_resume.cfg

This resumes Little Angel Monitoring.

f. lamonitor_uninstall.cfg

This uninstalls the Little Angel Monitor if you don't want to use it anymore. It will only take effect upon the next system boot-up.

g. livecopy_services_activate.cfg

LiveCopy used in Little Angel depends on certain system services which may not be started. It helps to start these services, including:

vss
swprv
cisvc

These services can be started only if the corresponding system files are installed. The vshadow component included in the package helps you to add such files to your system image when you use the Add Component function. This is to be explained later.

h. mount_dsk_file.cfg

This helps you to mount up .dsk image file created by Little Angel so that the .dsk image file appears as a drive to be used. To unmount it, you can use imdisk to do it easily.

i. refresh_drives.cfg

This helps you to refresh the drive list as detected by the system inside Little Angel.

j. subst_drive.cfg

This helps you to subst a file folder into a drive for use inside Little Angel.

k. unsubst_drive.cfg

This helps you to unsubst the drive you make above in i.

l. wait.cfg

This helps to you specify the number of minutes to wait between each cycle of copying when you use the Online LiveCopy function. Online LiveCopy will help you to copy the files you use online time and again into a drive so that you can examine continuously what files have been and being accessed. This will be explained later when discussing LiveImaging.

The above are such helpful tasks that are currently provided by Little Angel when you press the Help button.

Other .cfg files are not used by the Help button.

There are 2 .cfg files included that are not supposed to be used and will be ignored.

These 2 are wdlst.cfg & wdlst_no_cache.cfg

wdlst.cfg is a special .cfg file used by Little Angel for generating the minixp system.

wdlst_no_cache.cfg is just a sample filelist like wdlst.cfg but excluding system cache files. If you want to build a minixp and exclude system cache files inside, you can rename it into wdlst.cfg for use. But normally, even not using this file, system cache files are normally not accessed by you when using the system.

*.cfg files can also be designed by you, but are intended for doing imaging than used by the Help button.

*.cfg files designed by user can contain filenames ending in .cfg or .txt

so *.cfg files are containers for .cfg and .txt files.

.txt is the filelist file that is used by Imaging functions for copying files into images. *.txt file is therefore a text file containing filenames of files to be copied into images.

Inside LiveImaging Function Group, from right to left there are 3 buttons:

1. LiveCopy

2. Live SysBack

3. Online LiveCopy

Each of these functions uses the system drive as the Source, so it spares you from specifying the Source.

These functions use xp/2k3 vshadow system services for copying files from your live running system drive to the image at the Target.

If your system does not have the system files for the vshadow services, no files can be copied to your Target from the system drive.

Then either you use the Add Component function inside the StillImaging Function Group to add the vshadow component to your system first or you have to use the StillImaging Functions to make the image.

StillImaging Functions cannot copy certain essential system files to the image at the Target, so the image thus made is not bootable.

If there are no vshadow services in your system and you cannot add vshadow system files to your system or the Add Component function is not successful for your system, then you still have another way to try to make a bootable system image using the StillImaging Functions to be explained later when StillImaging Function Group is discussed.

So if you have made a .dsk system image file using LiveImaging functions, you better mount up the .dsk image file and examine if it is blank first before specifying this to be booted up to ram for running using bootimage.exe as discussed in Tutorial 1.

LiveCopy uses the parameters specified in the Common Option panel for copying files to the image at the Target.

Please re-visit #3 of this thread for the use of each of the common options there if necessary.

If the Image Size is left blank, then LiveCopy estimates the size for you. Make sure that you have sufficient diskspace for the image to be made or the .dsk image file to be created.

The Target can be a drive letter or an Image File. If the default Image File is selected at the Target, LiveCopy will prompt you to specify a .dsk image file for containing the image to be made.

If Add System is specified, LiveCopy will copy all the files accessed in the system drive to the Target for you.

If Add System is not specified, LiveCopy will only copy the files listed inside the filelist specified in the User Option File.

A filelist specified in the User Option File can be a .txt file or a .cfg file.

.txt file is the actual filelist that contains filenames of files to be copied to the Target.

.cfg file is a file that contains .txt file or other .cfg files for the copying process.

Including Diskless Angel to your Target, you can specify:

Diskless Angel.txt

as the User Option File.

Using Add System default, then you can make a bootable system image with Diskless Angel included inside for use.

Diskless Angel is by default installed to Program FilesDiskless Angel folder.

If Full System is ticked, then the files listed inside fullexp.txt or fulle2k3.txt will be added to your Target as well.

You can customize these 2 files as you wish.

If Full System is not ticked, the files listed inside miniexp.txt or minie2k3.txt will be added to your Target.

In the package, these 2 files are just template which do not cause any files to be copied to your Target.

You can produce your filelist for any folders of your system drive for inclusion to your Target by using the Make List File button as discussed above.

So if you just want to add the files listed inside the filelist you make, you can specify the filelist as the User Option File and untick the Add System and the Full System options.

Live SysBack is just LiveCopy, but using the filelist scanned from your system drive as User Option File automatically.

It will ignore the Add System, Full System and User Option File parameters and do the backup of the whole system drive to the Target for you automatically except that it respects the Max File Size option.

That means if you use the default 20 for the Max File Size, files bigger than 20MB in your system drive will not be copied into the Target. This is normally good for doing the system image backup.

To do a complete backup of the whole system drive, you can increase the Max File Size to a value that is bigger than the size of any files inside your system drive.

Or you can use run up Diskless Angel and use the Copy Volume under the Tools menu for doing so.

Online LiveCopy will copy all the files accessed in your system drive since system boot-up to the Target incrementally from time to time separated by a wait period.

If you access some files inside the system drive, such files will be copied later to your Target after the wait period.

By pressing Online LiveCopy, it will copy all the files so far accessed in the system drive to the Target at once.

It then waits for the wait period to end.

During the wait period, if you access more files in the system drive, these files will be copied to your Target at the end of the wait period.

After this online incremental livecopying, the next wait period begins and then another online incremental livecopying.

You can minimize the main window of Little Angel while doing Online LiveCopy.

If you want to put an end to Online LiveCopy, you restore the main window of Little Angel and click the X button at the top righthand corner.

Then the Online LiveCopy function will do a final round of LiveCopy of all the files accessed in the system drive to your Target. This time is not an incremental copy but a whole copy to make sure that the image so made stays current and is bootable without any problem.

The default wait period is just 1 second.

You can specify the wait period using the Help button and using wait.cfg as the User Option File.

If so specified and the Help button is pressed, you will be asked to input the number of minutes for the wait period to be set.

But the wait period has to be specified before you press the Online LiveCopy button.

StillImaging Function Group has 7 function buttons:

1. StillCopy

2. Still SysBack

3. StillSource Delete

4. Still SearchCopy

5. Add Component

6. Make Component

7. Still ExpandISO

1, 2, 4, 5, 6 & 7 use both Source & Target, copying files from Source to Target.

Just like Target, in Source you can specify an Image File or a drive letter for use.

Unlike LiveImaging, you can specify other sources, in addition to the system drive, as Source of files to be copied to Target.

3 deletes files from the Source only. Target is not used and ignored.

StillCopy is just like LiveCopy.

Besides the system drive, you can specify other drives or image files to be used as the Source for copying files to the Target.

You therefore use StillCopy instead of LiveCopy when you want to copy files from Source other than the system drive or when your system does not have vshadow services available.

Even if you specify the system drive as the Source and tick the Add System option, there are some system files that StillCopy cannot copy. These system files can be copied only where the system has vshadow services available and you use LiveCopy to do it.

To make a bootable system image using StillCopy, you should make a Still Bootable System Image first.

Without vshadow services present in your system, the best way you can do it is to use Diskless Angel's Build Disk Image Tool to build a Still Bootable System Image .dsk file from the System Partition as follows:

Run up Diskless Angel and choose Tools menu and select Build Disk Image: