Dear Daemon-Tools developer,
my name is Patrick, I am working as an Administrator for school-networks.
We have to use virtual CDs for installing and running application in about 100 schools. The best tool to handle those images seemed to be Daemon Tools. Other tools are not free or do not work well on Multiuser-Systems.
And even since years I recognized, that Daemon-Tools is on the other hand NOT the best solution.
There were several problems, which made the use of Daemon Tools quite difficult:
1) You cannot change the number of Devices by command-line
2) You now (4.x) even can't initialize GUIs without User-Interaction
3) There's a maximum of 4 Devices
4) You cannot mount images by Explorer-extension
Point 1)
The problem is, that the number of devices may vary from school to school. So...the User has to rightcklick the Daemon-Tools-Icon and set the Device-Number by setting it up in the Submenu...do you use Windows? Did you recognize, that the Icon in the Taskbar-position of the Daemon Tools-Icon is changing depending on other software you install? It is impossible to write a script which is working on any machine.
AND...the first threads dealing with this topic wer opened about 3 or 4 years ago...does problems and wishes of users interest you? Or do you develop the tool only depending on your own needs?
2)
That brings us directly to Point 2)
Till Version 3.x you could compensate this problem by using a GUI, such as DaeminUI. There you could enter the number of device and set some other customisation, like language or initialized Secure-Options.
But hey...that was too simple...so you decided to imlement a DLL-lock. Cool...now I have...correct...rightclick on the Daemon-Tools-Icon and Unlock the DLL...But, as mentioned in point 1...how could I automate this step? I don't know...so...what is the deeper sense of this LOCK-Option? and why can I only lock the DLL by command-line but NOT unlock it?
3) The device-maximum - also metioned in posts about 3 years ago - is set to 4 devices. This is normally a good number...but it seems that you never have worked with school-teachers. I even don't know why a teacher needs 6, 7 or even more virtual devices...but there are teachers who do. And they get angry if they don't get this number of drives. This is not a big problem...there is always an argument which calms the teacher down, the best is: "Daemon Tools does not support more and I am not a developer."
Point4)
Last but not least it would be very helpfull if there was a feature, allocating file-extensions to Daemon-Tools and then - by rightclicking on a file with the allocated extensions - choose a virtual device in the context-menu of the file where you can insert it. Why do you have to rightclick (again) the Daemon-Tools-Icon, choose the correct virtual device, open an image-file and insert it into the virtual drive.
A normal User normally schould not have the permission to execute scripts - so the command-line is nonpractical (at this point). But did you ever explain a pupil or other non-technical user how to insert an image using the right-click-feature of the Daemon-Tools-Icon?
So, please see this thread as an informational thread posted by an enduser getting more and more desperated with new releases of Daemon-Tools. I don't want to look for a different solution, because I like Daemon-Tools. But past times have shown, that there are other users having the same problems. So...please...don't give the enduser the impression that problems or wishes simply were, are and will be ignored.
Kind regards Patrick
my name is Patrick, I am working as an Administrator for school-networks.
We have to use virtual CDs for installing and running application in about 100 schools. The best tool to handle those images seemed to be Daemon Tools. Other tools are not free or do not work well on Multiuser-Systems.
And even since years I recognized, that Daemon-Tools is on the other hand NOT the best solution.
There were several problems, which made the use of Daemon Tools quite difficult:
1) You cannot change the number of Devices by command-line
2) You now (4.x) even can't initialize GUIs without User-Interaction
3) There's a maximum of 4 Devices
4) You cannot mount images by Explorer-extension
Point 1)
The problem is, that the number of devices may vary from school to school. So...the User has to rightcklick the Daemon-Tools-Icon and set the Device-Number by setting it up in the Submenu...do you use Windows? Did you recognize, that the Icon in the Taskbar-position of the Daemon Tools-Icon is changing depending on other software you install? It is impossible to write a script which is working on any machine.
AND...the first threads dealing with this topic wer opened about 3 or 4 years ago...does problems and wishes of users interest you? Or do you develop the tool only depending on your own needs?
2)
That brings us directly to Point 2)
Till Version 3.x you could compensate this problem by using a GUI, such as DaeminUI. There you could enter the number of device and set some other customisation, like language or initialized Secure-Options.
But hey...that was too simple...so you decided to imlement a DLL-lock. Cool...now I have...correct...rightclick on the Daemon-Tools-Icon and Unlock the DLL...But, as mentioned in point 1...how could I automate this step? I don't know...so...what is the deeper sense of this LOCK-Option? and why can I only lock the DLL by command-line but NOT unlock it?
3) The device-maximum - also metioned in posts about 3 years ago - is set to 4 devices. This is normally a good number...but it seems that you never have worked with school-teachers. I even don't know why a teacher needs 6, 7 or even more virtual devices...but there are teachers who do. And they get angry if they don't get this number of drives. This is not a big problem...there is always an argument which calms the teacher down, the best is: "Daemon Tools does not support more and I am not a developer."
Point4)
Last but not least it would be very helpfull if there was a feature, allocating file-extensions to Daemon-Tools and then - by rightclicking on a file with the allocated extensions - choose a virtual device in the context-menu of the file where you can insert it. Why do you have to rightclick (again) the Daemon-Tools-Icon, choose the correct virtual device, open an image-file and insert it into the virtual drive.
A normal User normally schould not have the permission to execute scripts - so the command-line is nonpractical (at this point). But did you ever explain a pupil or other non-technical user how to insert an image using the right-click-feature of the Daemon-Tools-Icon?
So, please see this thread as an informational thread posted by an enduser getting more and more desperated with new releases of Daemon-Tools. I don't want to look for a different solution, because I like Daemon-Tools. But past times have shown, that there are other users having the same problems. So...please...don't give the enduser the impression that problems or wishes simply were, are and will be ignored.
Kind regards Patrick
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