A quick boot on the move

Federal employees who are constantly on the move and need to boot their

PCs in a hurry or perform administrative tasks including operating system

recoveries now have a product that can do both.

SystemSoft Corp.'s PCCardAccess used as part of the Microsoft Corp.

Windows environment can boot PCs from a floppy disk and, with PC cards,

perform administrative tasks such as operating system downloads, disk cloning,

image application to multiple PCs, operating system recovery, and large

file transfers and backups.

For example, if a PC's hard dive has been corrupted, damaged or wiped

clean, information technology workers can use PCCardAccess to quickly conduct

an operating system recovery. Also, for government notebook users who regularly

work remotely and have a desktop computer, the tool can be used to image

everything on both hard drives to ensure quick recovery in case of a disaster.

"The goal of the product is to simplify the process for people doing

IT administrative tasks," said Sherri Way, business unit manager. "There

are a lot of systems in the federal government that use the same image on

multiple PCs, and they can download it easier through a network access card."

Way said SystemSoft, based in Natick, Mass., plans to have PCCardAccess

on the General Services Administration's schedule and will target federal

agencies that have large numbers of mobile workers.

PCCardAccess can be used within Microsoft Corp.'s Windows 98, NT and

2000 operating systems, and volume discounts will be available for customers

purchasing more than 20 seats, Way said.