Guest John Posted August 26, 2007 Posted August 26, 2007 Hi I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I have two questions; 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True Image Workstation. Many Thanks Regards
Guest Shenan Stanley Posted August 26, 2007 Posted August 26, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise John wrote: > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a > crash. I have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the > first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I > need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? Depends on what you wish to accomplish. > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis > True Image Workstation. That's good. The best one is the one that you can understand and will utilize periodically - in parallel with your more frequent backup plan. Symantec/Norton Ghost BootItNG And I am sure other people can chime in with others (or you can google groups search.) -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Guest philo Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Hi > > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I > have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first > partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do the > whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. > I've used Acronis twice now and it was easy to use... worked *perfectly*. My free trial will soon be up and I will be buying it! -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Guest John Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Did you image just the partition or the whole disk? I used DVD+R DL disks to burn straight from Acronis Home Trial using a Sony drive. Even though the operation was completed the disks became unusable. Any ideas? Thanks Regards "philo" <philo@privacy.net> wrote in message news:46d20bf6$0$16409$88260bb3@free.teranews.com... > > "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message > news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> Hi >> >> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. >> I >> have two questions; >> >> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first >> partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do > the >> whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >> >> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True >> Image Workstation. >> > > > I've used Acronis twice now and it was easy to use... > worked *perfectly*. My free trial will soon be up and I will be buying it! > > > > -- > Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com >
Guest Ron Badour Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Making an image on the same hard drive that contains the system only works if the drive still works after a crash. You would be better off backing up to a second hard drive or a DVD disk. -- Regards Ron Badour MS MVP 1997 - 2007 "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Hi > > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I > have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first > partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do > the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. > > Many Thanks > > Regards >
Guest Rock Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Hi > > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I > have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first > partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do > the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? Depends on what you want to do. If you want to restore the system to the state it was in before the problem arose then it's simple, image the complete disk. > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. I use Acronis True Image Home version 10 on both XP and Vista. It works fine. Others are Symantec Ghost, BootIt NG, Terabyte Unlimited Image for Windows and Casper XP. -- Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]
Guest Jerry Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Hi > > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I > have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first > partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do > the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. > > Many Thanks > > Regards I have removable hard drives and clone my C drive as a form of backup. I use Ghost2003, boot from floppy or cd and can create a clone of approx. 25gb in less than 15 minutes. I then swap drives and run off the clone to insure success. Couldn't be simpler. A Ghost created clone would have both of your partitions.
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise True Image 10 is all you need. I think that one is cheaper. Don't go near Ghost. Nowhere near as reliable. "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... > Hi > > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I > have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first > partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do > the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. > > Many Thanks > > Regards >
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:%236CjIzE6HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Did you image just the partition or the whole disk? > > I used DVD+R DL disks to burn straight from Acronis Home Trial using a > Sony > drive. Even though the operation was completed the disks became unusable. > Any ideas? > That can be because of a faulty DVD disk or drive. Just buy another hard disk and attach internally. Dirt cheap and easy. If you don't like to open your machine or if it is a laptop, then get an external HD and attach via USB and do it that way. Greg.
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Rock" <Rock@nospam.net> wrote in message news:uXNjdXF6HHA.2752@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message > news:eLYEKeD6HHA.5424@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl... >> Hi >> >> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. >> I have two questions; >> >> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first >> partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do >> the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > Depends on what you want to do. If you want to restore the system to the > state it was in before the problem arose then it's simple, image the > complete disk. > >> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True >> Image Workstation. > > I use Acronis True Image Home version 10 on both XP and Vista. It works > fine. Others are Symantec Ghost, BootIt NG, Terabyte Unlimited Image for > Windows and Casper XP. > Word of caution though - with True Image 10 there is an option, when doing a backup either manually or as a task, to VALIDATE the backup after it is completed. It adds considerable time to the whole process but it is worth it. Backups can SAY they run properly in ANY backup program and for unknown reasons, it isn't always true. The VALIDATE option always picks up a backup that stuffed up so you can do it again.
Guest DL Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise An image process can be unuseable if the memory is at all iffy, in my experience of TI. "Diamontina Cocktail" <lrb@australia.com> wrote in message news:e7VlycF6HHA.4712@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > > "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message > news:%236CjIzE6HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >> Did you image just the partition or the whole disk? >> >> I used DVD+R DL disks to burn straight from Acronis Home Trial using a >> Sony >> drive. Even though the operation was completed the disks became unusable. >> Any ideas? >> > > That can be because of a faulty DVD disk or drive. Just buy another hard > disk and attach internally. Dirt cheap and easy. If you don't like to open > your machine or if it is a laptop, then get an external HD and attach via > USB and do it that way. > > Greg.
Guest Phisherman Posted August 27, 2007 Posted August 27, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise On Mon, 27 Aug 2007 00:18:23 +0100, "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote: >Hi > >I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case of a crash. I >have two questions; > >1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder is in the first >partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do or do I need to do the >whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > >2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True >Image Workstation. > >Many Thanks > >Regards > You just need to save the active partition in order to restore the O/S. Acornis, Ghost, and Partition Magic can save and restore partitions quickly. Before saving a partition scan for disk errors, malware and viruses.
Guest philo Posted August 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message news:%236CjIzE6HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > Did you image just the partition or the whole disk? > > One of each. For the first time I used it...it was just one partition. The next time (on another machine) the entire HD (which had two partitions) worked just fine both times -- Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
Guest Timothy Daniels Posted August 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "John" wrote: > I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case > of a crash. I have two questions; > > 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder > is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do > or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering > Acornis True Image Workstation. It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can clone a single partition or several partitions and put them on the destination HD even if there are already several partitions already there. Casper, as I recall assumes you want to copy the MBR to the destination HD, and Ghost will give you the option of copying the MBR or not. True Image is a highly-rated archiving utility, and so are Ghost and Casper, et. al. But for cloning individual partitions, True Image can't do it. BTW, the major HD manufacturers make available downloadable cloning utilities that will work with their own HDs. These utilities are meant to be used by customers who are upgrading their HDs to a larger size, so the utilities will copy *all* the partitions onto the destination HD and adjust the sizes of the partitions upwards proportionally to fit the new HD. If you intend always to clone the entire HD, this is a free alternative. *TimDaniels*
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Any program you care to name for whatever purpose will be "iffy" with dodgy memory. You cant blame one program for that!! "DL" <address@invalid> wrote in message news:%23gdPoFI6HHA.5212@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... > An image process can be unuseable if the memory is at all iffy, in my > experience of TI. > > "Diamontina Cocktail" <lrb@australia.com> wrote in message > news:e7VlycF6HHA.4712@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... >> >> "John" <John@nospam.infovis.co.uk> wrote in message >> news:%236CjIzE6HHA.1208@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... >>> Did you image just the partition or the whole disk? >>> >>> I used DVD+R DL disks to burn straight from Acronis Home Trial using a >>> Sony >>> drive. Even though the operation was completed the disks became >>> unusable. >>> Any ideas? >>> >> >> That can be because of a faulty DVD disk or drive. Just buy another hard >> disk and attach internally. Dirt cheap and easy. If you don't like to >> open your machine or if it is a laptop, then get an external HD and >> attach via USB and do it that way. >> >> Greg. > >
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote in message news:46d482db$0$32538$4c368faf@roadrunner.com... > > "John" wrote: >> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case >> of a crash. I have two questions; >> >> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder >> is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do >> or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >> >> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering >> Acornis True Image Workstation. > > > It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True > Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can TI also allows you to backup single partitions or just folders.
Guest Joe At Work Posted August 28, 2007 Posted August 28, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Hmmm, True Image seems to clone individual partitions here. ----- Original Message ----- From: "Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> Newsgroups: microsoft.public.windowsxp.general,microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware,microsoft.public.windowsxp.setup_deployment Sent: Tuesday, August 28, 2007 3:17 PM Subject: Re: Disk imaging advise > > "John" wrote: >> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case >> of a crash. I have two questions; >> >> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder >> is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do >> or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >> >> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering >> Acornis True Image Workstation. > > > It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True > Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can > clone a single partition or several partitions and put them > on the destination HD even if there are already several > partitions already there. Casper, as I recall assumes you > want to copy the MBR to the destination HD, and Ghost > will give you the option of copying the MBR or not. True > Image is a highly-rated archiving utility, and so are Ghost > and Casper, et. al. But for cloning individual partitions, > True Image can't do it. > >
Guest Plato Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise John wrote: > > 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering Acornis True > Image Workstation. One can test out: http://www.xxclone.com/ -- http://www.bootdisk.com/
Guest Timothy Daniels Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Diamontina Cocktail" wrote: > "Timothy Daniels" wrote: >> >> "John" wrote: >>> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case >>> of a crash. I have two questions; >>> >>> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder >>> is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do >>> or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >>> >>> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering >>> Acornis True Image Workstation. >> >> >> It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True >> Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can > > TI also allows you to backup single partitions or just folders. What do you mean by "backup"? True Image can make *image files* of a partition - which must go through the "restore" process before use. Because images are *files*, they can undergo compression so they will take up less space in the archive medium. What is being discussed is *cloning* - the creation of byte-for-byte copies of the original which also contain the boot files and usually the MBR so that they can be directly booted. Clones are handy to have if the original hard drive malfunctions. *TimDaniels*
Guest Timothy Daniels Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Joe At Work" work: > Hmmm, True Image seems to clone individual partitions here. Do you mean "clone" (i.e. make a byte-for-byte copy, including the boot files, and usually the MBR as well, onto a bootable device) or "image" (i.e. a file, like any other file, that can be compressed, which contains the contents of a partition, and which must be "restored" from its archiving medium onto a bootable device)? If you really mean "clone" and if you are correct, then the online User Manual for True Image needs updating because it only mentions cloning an entire hard drive. *TimDaniels*
Guest Diamontina Cocktail Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote in message news:46d5951e$0$28846$4c368faf@roadrunner.com... > "Diamontina Cocktail" wrote: >> "Timothy Daniels" wrote: >>> >>> "John" wrote: >>>> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case >>>> of a crash. I have two questions; >>>> >>>> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder >>>> is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do >>>> or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >>>> >>>> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering >>>> Acornis True Image Workstation. >>> >>> >>> It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True >>> Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can >> >> TI also allows you to backup single partitions or just folders. > > > What do you mean by "backup"? True Image can make > *image files* of a partition - which must go through the > "restore" process before use. Because images are *files*, You obviously dont fully understand the program. As I said, it can backup JUST files or JUST folders if you want.
Guest Shenan Stanley Posted August 29, 2007 Posted August 29, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Diamontina Cocktail wrote: >>> TI also allows you to backup single partitions or just folders. >> >> What do you mean by "backup"? True Image can make >> *image files* of a partition - which must go through the >> "restore" process before use. Because images are *files*, > > You obviously dont fully understand the program. As I said, it can > backup JUST files or JUST folders if you want. For Acronis True Image 10 Home <- that is one of the new features - yes. http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/faq/backup-features/ -- Shenan Stanley MS-MVP -- How To Ask Questions The Smart Way http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
Guest Timothy Daniels Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Diamontina Cocktail" wrote: > "Timothy Daniels" wrote: >> "Diamontina Cocktail" wrote: >>> "Timothy Daniels" wrote: >>>> >>>> "John" wrote: >>>>> I need to disk image my xp pro so I can restore easy in case >>>>> of a crash. I have two questions; >>>>> >>>>> 1. My xp pro drive has two partitions and WINDOWS folder >>>>> is in the first partition. Would disk imaging the first partition do >>>>> or do I need to do the whole disk to ensure MBR images as well? >>>>> >>>>> 2. What is a good disk imaging software? I was considering >>>>> Acornis True Image Workstation. >>>> >>>> >>>> It depends on which cloning utility you use. Acronis True >>>> Image clones the entire hard drive. Ghost and Casper can >>> >>> TI also allows you to backup single partitions or just folders. >> >> >> What do you mean by "backup"? True Image can make >> *image files* of a partition - which must go through the >> "restore" process before use. Because images are *files*, > > You obviously dont fully understand the program. As I said, it can backup JUST > files or JUST folders if you want. And you don't understand what a clone is and how True Image does its cloning. I suggest you download the User's Guide from http://us1.download.acronis.com/pdf/TrueImage10.0_ug.en.pdf and read chapter 13. You will see that there is no provision for cloning just a single partition and putting on another HD which already has other partitions. True Image instead will copy *all* the partitions from the source HD and put the copies on the destination HD either as the same sizes they had on the source HD or proportionately expanded to fill the destination HD. Cloning is not a new feature of True Image, but file and folder backups apparently are, but they are not bootable and therefore are not "clones" of a bootable OS. Your confusion stems from thinking that "clone" and "copy" mean the same thing. *TimDaniels*
Guest Airman Thunderbird Posted August 30, 2007 Posted August 30, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise Guess I'm not as smart as some, but TI gives me the option to image files or the entire disk OR partition,and includes the boot info, which when transferred to another drive, boots. Least it seems to work that way here. Timothy Daniels wrote: > "Joe At Work" work: >> Hmmm, True Image seems to clone individual partitions here. > > > Do you mean "clone" (i.e. make a byte-for-byte copy, including > the boot files, and usually the MBR as well, onto a bootable device) > or "image" (i.e. a file, like any other file, that can be compressed, > which contains the contents of a partition, and which must be > "restored" from its archiving medium onto a bootable device)? > > If you really mean "clone" and if you are correct, then the online > User Manual for True Image needs updating because it only > mentions cloning an entire hard drive. > > *TimDaniels* > >
Guest Timothy Daniels Posted August 31, 2007 Posted August 31, 2007 Re: Disk imaging advise "Airman Thunderbird" wrote: > Timothy Daniels wrote: >> "Joe At Work" work: >>> Hmmm, True Image seems to clone individual partitions here. >> >> >> Do you mean "clone" (i.e. make a byte-for-byte copy, including >> the boot files, and usually the MBR as well, onto a bootable device) >> or "image" (i.e. a file, like any other file, that can be compressed, >> which contains the contents of a partition, and which must be >> "restored" from its archiving medium onto a bootable device)? >> >> If you really mean "clone" and if you are correct, then the online >> User Manual for True Image needs updating because it only >> mentions cloning an entire hard drive. >> >> *TimDaniels* > > Guess I'm not as smart as some, but TI gives me the option to image files or > the entire disk OR partition,and includes the boot info, which when > transferred to another drive, boots. Least it seems to work that way here. Now if a process did something with just a file, that file couldn't boot load the OS, could it? True Image certainly CAN *image* a partition and put that partition on some archiving medium. Then it could be told to take that image file and "restore" it to a formatted partition on another HD that might have other partitions on it. But that wouldn't be "cloning". That would be "imaging and restoring" - a 2-step process which includes an intermediate medium on which to store the image file. That is probably what you are doing, perhaps with the intermediate medium being the file structure on the source hard drive. Unless Acronis has neglected to update its User's Guide, True Image cannot clone a lone partition unless that partition is the entirety of its hard drive, and it cannot put that clone among other partitions on the destination hard drive. *TimDaniels*
Recommended Posts