Help ! My Windows positions are not being remembered

[ctal]

Most (but not all) imaging programs are first installed into Windows, just as any other program would be. That typically allows you to do the following things:

-- Creating the bootable cd or floppy.

-- Recovering an individual file or folder from a previously created image, which can be a useful feature at times.

-- With some imaging programs, it allows creation of the image file by running the imaging program within Windows. However, I and many others do not recommend doing that, because there is a small chance that if you have to restore the image at a later time, the restored image will not work. Some people, though, are comfortable with taking that small chance.

-- Create images of partitions and drives other than the one that runs Windows. No reason not to do that, and it will be faster than doing the same thing from a bootable cd or floppy.

-- Verify (check the validity) of a previously created image.

Regardless of how the imaging program is run (within Windows or from a bootable cd or floppy), the image file(s) that are created, and stored on another drive (external or internal) is NOT in itself a duplicate of what is on the hard drive. It is a set of files that contains the information necessary for the imaging program to, at a subsequent time, re-create an exact duplicate of everything that was on the hard drive at the time the image was created.

If, for instance, your Windows hard drive failed, you would first fix the hardware by replacing that hard drive. You would then boot up the bootable cd containing the imaging program, and that program (running on the bootable cd) would allow you to choose to restore the contents of the new hard drive from the image that you previously created and stored on a separate drive. The restored new hard drive would then be an exact duplicate of your original, failed, hard drive, as it existed at the time the image was created.

The replacement drive needn't be the same size as the original drive, either. If it were larger, there would just be some additional unused space that wasn't present on the original drive. If it were smaller, that would be ok too (at least with imaging programs that I am familiar with), as long as there is enough room to hold the restored image.

It will become clearer when you purchase and install the imaging program. It's really very quick and easy.

Regards,
-- Al

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal, Thanks for such a detailed explanation. You said after a HDD is replaced we can directly boot from the back up CD. My doubts is when the HDD is replaced its neither formatted nor recognized until we load windows right. Does the bootup cd ask for the USB drive which has the back up image or is the bootup cd THE image by itself ? Does the backup program even restore windows thereby eliminating a fresh OS install ? How does the bootable CD recognize usb drives for a restore when the HDD is a new one and has nothing on it ?

Regards..

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

How does the bootable CD recognize usb drives for a restore when the HDD is a new one and has nothing on it ?

A bootable cd, by definition, includes an operating system, such as dos or some variant of Linux. In this case the bootable cd is designed to automatically open and run one and only one program, the imaging program, so you don't have to know anything about using dos or Linux to use it. The operating system on the cd, that runs essentially invisibly to the user, will see the usb drive on which your image is stored, and will also see the new and empty hdd that you want to restore to.

If the imaging program is dos-based, you will have to enable "legacy usb support" in your bios to make anything connected to the usb ports visible to it. That is quick and easy to do.

Originally Posted by plainman007

Does the backup program even restore windows thereby eliminating a fresh OS install ?

Yes, that's what we've been saying. It restores EVERYTHING that was on the drive or partition that was imaged. BTW, I wouldn't refer to it as a backup program. To me, a "backup program" means something that just copies data files. An "imaging program" copies everything.

Originally Posted by plainman007

Does the bootup cd ask for the USB drive which has the back up image or is the bootup cd THE image by itself ?

The cd is not the image. The image is a file or small group of files stored on the usb drive or some other medium. The cd contains a rudimentary os, as I indicated, and a program that enables you to select the image files you want to restore, and the drive or partition you want to restore them to.

Originally Posted by plainman007

My doubts is when the HDD is replaced its neither formatted nor recognized until we load windows right.

Not right. It is recognized by the operating system that, as I said above, runs (pretty much invisibly to the user) from the cd.

Under some circumstances, depending on the imaging program and on whether or not you want to wind up with multiple partitions on the new drive, it may be necessary or desirable to format the new drive before you restore the image to it. If the imaging program's bootable cd doesn't provide that capability, you can easily do it by first booting to a Windows installation cd and using its formatting capability (without installing Windows).

One advantage of formatting before restoring the image is that the formatting process will exercise the new drive, give you confidence that it is working properly, and detect and remap bad sectors if necessary. Don't use the "quick format" option, though, or you will not get those benefits.

Happy holidays!

-- Al

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal > Gotcha and its Christmas Eve !!!!! Wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas !

And to all other members too. Wish you guys a merry Christmas !

[plainman007]

Ctal > Just to get a feel of things, i tried windows xp's back up, and it backed up my entire system in about 2 hrs. Seemed better than copying folders out by individually as i was usually doing. Its now backed the entire system state and all partitions. It even showed the USB backup drives as selected for back up which i promptly unselected as i didnt want to backup, the backup drive also. I dont know if what i did was right.

Any idea how a restore goes using this utility ? I understand that i have to just run the prog and select the back-up file its created. But does it just overwrite the system completely. This is for a system thats just about working. How do i restore a windows backup on a completely new/formatted HDD ?

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Ctal > Just to get a feel of things, i tried windows xp's back up, and it backed up my entire system in about 2 hrs. Seemed better than copying folders out by individually as i was usually doing. Its now backed the entire system state and all partitions. It even showed the USB backup drives as selected for back up which i promptly unselected as i didnt want to backup, the backup drive also. I dont know if what i did was right.

Any idea how a restore goes using this utility ? I understand that i have to just run the prog and select the back-up file its created. But does it just overwrite the system completely. This is for a system thats just about working. How do i restore a windows backup on a completely new/formatted HDD ?

I think you are referring to "Automated System Recovery" (ASR), which I believe is only available on XP Pro. I use XP Home, and so I have no familiarity with it. Perhaps someone else will answer you. I WOULD NOT RELY ON IT FOR DATA BACKUP, AND I WOULD NOT ATTEMPT A RESTORE FROM A BACKUP IT CREATED, WITHOUT FIRST HAVING A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF EXACTLY WHAT IT DOES AND DOES NOT DO, AND HOW RELIABLY IT WORKS.

Regards,
-- Al

[plainman007]

No this was done with asr being an option but not available. Its working on XP Home. My Laptop runs XP Home. I had to install the back-up utility from the OS Original Disk. But after that it ran with no issues.

[ctal]

Ok, but my previous comments still apply as I have no familiarity with the backup utility.

-- Al

[plainman007]

Hmm, then which one do u use ? can you suggest one that dosent run from within windows (since you siad you and most here dont prefer that) ?

Thanks..

[ctal]

I use Drive Image 2002 (also known as Drive Image 6), which is no longer available. I usually run it from a BartPE cd, Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD, which takes some time to prepare but is really neat. It basically boots a stripped down version of Windows from a bootable cd. Sometimes I just run DI2002 from floppies, though, which is either a little bit slower or a whole lot slower, depending on the machine.

Take another look at the thread I referenced that discusses the various programs. Acronis True Image is probably the most popular choice among ABX'ers, and it works great for a lot of people, although some people have problems with it, in part for reasons that are discussed in that thread.

I believe that ShadowProtect, which is mentioned in that thread, was created largely by the same people who created Drive Image, at Powerquest, before Powerquest was bought out by Norton/Symantec. ShadowProtect has been extremely well reviewed, but is a bit expensive.

-- Al

[plainman007]

Hi Ctal > which is the easiest one to use ? What about norton ghost ?

Wish you a happy new year.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by plainman007

Hi Ctal > which is the easiest one to use ? What about norton ghost ?

Wish you a happy new year.

The only ones I have had experience with are Drive Image 2002 and the TerabyteUnlimited programs. I'd imagine they are all pretty easy to use. The main concern is whether they will work reliably (or at all) with your hardware. I'd imagine that most programs will, for most people, but read through the thread I referenced for more on that.

Happy 2009!

-- Al

[DBoone]

Originally Posted by ctal

I usually run it from a BartPE cd, Bart's Preinstalled Environment (BartPE) bootable live windows CD/DVD

Thanks for the link Al! This is something I've needed to do for a while.

[ctal]

Originally Posted by DBoone

Thanks for the link Al! This is something I've needed to do for a while.

You're welcome! It takes some familiarization and time to prepare, but it's a really neat thing to have.

Regards,
-- Al