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System Image Backup
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Feb 6, 2017 10:53:45   #
One Jughead Loc: Greene County, OH
 
brucewells wrote:
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I've delved into the technology and would ask for other's experiences.

For the uninitiated, one of the drives in your computer contains the OS (operating system) that allows your computer to work. If that drive fails, your computer won't work. Sure, you can run to Best Buy or Amazon and get a replacement drive and may even be able to install it yourself. But now, you're faced with re-installing the OS, re-configuring all those devices connected to your computer (printers, scanners, etc.), then re-installing all of your software titles (Adobe CC, Photoshop, Lightroom, Quicken, and so on). That equates to a lot of work.

There is software that will allow the creation of an 'image' of that drive prior to failure and that image is saved as any other file on some other drive(s). Part of the process involves the creation of a 'boot disk' that allows you to start your computer that just received the new drive from Best Buy or Amazon. Once booted, the software then allows that 'image' file to be expanded back on to the new drive. Once complete, shut down and restart and your computer is back up and running just like before the drive failure.

So, if you are doing something of this nature for your computer, and don't mind sharing your experiences, what would I want to know about this? Thanks!!
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I'... (show quote)



I have an external drive that is dedicated for the mirror image and kept up to date by Carbonite. When the drive in my PC fails I can replace it and then put the mirror image on the new drive in the PC. Mirror imaging has copies of the software as well as all of the data files where doing only a backup of the files doesn't include the software. Takes quite a bit of time to put all of the software back on the PC - even if you have DVD copies and then updating them after they are each installed. Ask me how I know - been there, done that.

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Feb 6, 2017 11:23:14   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
brucewells wrote:
Thanks for the input, Jerry. The machine I currently use came with Win 7 installed. I upgraded to Win 10, and have no Win 10 installation disks. How does one deal with Microsoft to get that ironed out? But, assuming it could be worked out, it's a major undertaking to start from scratch to build a system up, with all applications installed and configured. It could easily take several days.

One does not need to keep a spare hard drive on hand. Just need the image of the existing drive, prior to failure. When it crashes, shop for the drive you want, install it and go through the restore function to place the image files back on the new drive.
Thanks for the input, Jerry. The machine I current... (show quote)


I had a Dell that wouldn't boot. Of course, I had messed around with it quite a bit - different drives, etc. I went to the Dell Support/Download site, entered my info to download the OS, but I couldn't. Since it was out of warranty, I could not get the original software. That stinks. They save money by not giving you the disk, and then they prevent you from getting a legitimate copy that you paid for.

I think the process is different for Win10, though. If you downloaded a free version to install/upgrade, you should be able to use that in the future on the same machine. MS and Dell exist to make maximum profit, not to service the public. Some new cars do not come with any spare tire at all, just a can of stuff to inflate and seal a flat tire.

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Feb 6, 2017 11:26:54   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
Good discussion, Bruce.
I'm a Windows user and have recovered my entire drive multiple times. I have an Acronis Cloud (unlimited) subscription and use Acronis
True Image 2017. I backup all my drives and laptop to externals and the "Cloud". My latest three recoveries were:
1. Found a system error in Windows 10. Tried everything to resolve it, including Microsoft tech support, to no avail. I finally decided to recover an earlier backup of the drive. I have an exclusive SSD for my operating system and backup daily. I recovered a backup file prior to the discovery of the system error. No more system error - everything back in place. Took about an hour.

2. I had a 240 GB SSD as my operating system drive (c:/). It was almost full. I purchased a Samsung 1 TB SSD, formatted it using a sata/usb cable in Disk Management and recovered my latest backup file of the c:/ onto the new 1 TB SSD. Took out the old SSD and installed the new one and was off in running in about 2 hours (start to finish).

3. My friend, unfortunately, got caught by ransomware. Could not boot. I had convinced and helped him use backup software. I downloaded a rescue medial file to a freshly reformatted flash drive - booted to usb and was then able to recover his latest backup file. Everything back in place. Took about 40 minutes.

While my subscription does cost $99 a year, it has saved my "butt" numerous times. I've used Acronis for 10+ years. There are many other software programs available for backup. Backing up is imperative!

brucewells wrote:
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I've delved into the technology and would ask for other's experiences.

For the uninitiated, one of the drives in your computer contains the OS (operating system) that allows your computer to work. If that drive fails, your computer won't work. Sure, you can run to Best Buy or Amazon and get a replacement drive and may even be able to install it yourself. But now, you're faced with re-installing the OS, re-configuring all those devices connected to your computer (printers, scanners, etc.), then re-installing all of your software titles (Adobe CC, Photoshop, Lightroom, Quicken, and so on). That equates to a lot of work.

There is software that will allow the creation of an 'image' of that drive prior to failure and that image is saved as any other file on some other drive(s). Part of the process involves the creation of a 'boot disk' that allows you to start your computer that just received the new drive from Best Buy or Amazon. Once booted, the software then allows that 'image' file to be expanded back on to the new drive. Once complete, shut down and restart and your computer is back up and running just like before the drive failure.

So, if you are doing something of this nature for your computer, and don't mind sharing your experiences, what would I want to know about this? Thanks!!
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I'... (show quote)

Reply
 
 
Feb 6, 2017 11:30:21   #
jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY
 
markngolf wrote:
2. I had a 240 GB SSD as my operating system drive (c:/). It was almost full. I purchased a Samsung 1 TB SSD, formatted it using a sata/usb cable in Disk Management and recovered my latest backup file of the c:/ onto the new 1 TB SSD. Took out the old SSD and installed the new one and was off in running in about 2 hours (start to finish).

While my subscription does cost $99 a year, it has saved my "butt" numerous times.[/b]


"2...." Samsung has very good software for doing that, but it doesn't work if it doesn't find a Samsung SSD. : )

"... it has saved my "butt" numerous times." I thought it only backed up computer data. Glad it saved your butt.

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Feb 6, 2017 12:27:03   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
Funny, but I'd be happy to attach a butt image!
jerryc41 wrote:
"2...." Samsung has very good software for doing that, but it doesn't work if it doesn't find a Samsung SSD. : )

"... it has saved my "butt" numerous times." I thought it only backed up computer data. Glad it saved your butt.

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Feb 6, 2017 12:34:18   #
One Jughead Loc: Greene County, OH
 
markngolf wrote:
Funny, but I'd be happy to attach a butt image!


I quit smoking quite a few years ago and don't have a fresh one to photograph.
The new vapors don't have butts left to photograph.
DARN.

Reply
Feb 6, 2017 12:41:34   #
davidarcangel Loc: Arroyo Grande, California
 
What is the difference between making an "image" of my C drive vs making a "copy" of my C drive and then writing either to my backup disk? Is the Register also copied?
brucewells wrote:
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I've delved into the technology and would ask for other's experiences.

For the uninitiated, one of the drives in your computer contains the OS (operating system) that allows your computer to work. If that drive fails, your computer won't work. Sure, you can run to Best Buy or Amazon and get a replacement drive and may even be able to install it yourself. But now, you're faced with re-installing the OS, re-configuring all those devices connected to your computer (printers, scanners, etc.), then re-installing all of your software titles (Adobe CC, Photoshop, Lightroom, Quicken, and so on). That equates to a lot of work.

There is software that will allow the creation of an 'image' of that drive prior to failure and that image is saved as any other file on some other drive(s). Part of the process involves the creation of a 'boot disk' that allows you to start your computer that just received the new drive from Best Buy or Amazon. Once booted, the software then allows that 'image' file to be expanded back on to the new drive. Once complete, shut down and restart and your computer is back up and running just like before the drive failure.

So, if you are doing something of this nature for your computer, and don't mind sharing your experiences, what would I want to know about this? Thanks!!
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I'... (show quote)

Reply
 
 
Feb 6, 2017 12:46:02   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
See what you started, Jerry!!
Mark
One Jughead wrote:
I quit smoking quite a few years ago and don't have a fresh one to photograph.
The new vapors don't have butts left to photograph.
DARN.

Reply
Feb 6, 2017 12:53:06   #
sarge69 Loc: Ft Myers, FL
 
davidarcangel wrote:
What is the difference between making an "image" of my C drive vs making a "copy" of my C drive and then writing either to my backup disk? Is the Register also copied?


A copy can only duplicate files not in use. An Image gets everything so the operating system is imaged as is and when you use the backup to re-image, you get everything happening at the time of the image.

Sarge69

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Feb 6, 2017 12:53:38   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
This seems to cover the answer to your question.
Mark
http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-disk-cloning-disk-imaging-68100.html

davidarcangel wrote:
What is the difference between making an "image" of my C drive vs making a "copy" of my C drive and then writing either to my backup disk? Is the Register also copied?

Reply
Feb 6, 2017 13:16:09   #
rcdovala
 
brucewells wrote:
Thanks for the input, Jerry. The machine I currently use came with Win 7 installed. I upgraded to Win 10, and have no Win 10 installation disks. How does one deal with Microsoft to get that ironed out? But, assuming it could be worked out, it's a major undertaking to start from scratch to build a system up, with all applications installed and configured. It could easily take several days.

One does not need to keep a spare hard drive on hand. Just need the image of the existing drive, prior to failure. When it crashes, shop for the drive you want, install it and go through the restore function to place the image files back on the new drive.
Thanks for the input, Jerry. The machine I current... (show quote)

Windows 10 creates a recovery partition that allows you to restore the operating system. However, this does little good if you have a total hard drive failure and can't access this partition. At one time Microsoft allowed users to download (for free) an ISO image of Windows 10 which would allow you to restore your operating system. I don't know if this is still available. A call to Microsoft should resolve this issue.

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Feb 6, 2017 13:22:46   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
Still is a download. I've used it in the past.
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Mark
rcdovala wrote:
Windows 10 creates a recovery partition that allows you to restore the operating system. However, this does little good if you have a total hard drive failure and can't access this partition. At one time Microsoft allowed users to download (for free) an ISO image of Windows 10 which would allow you to restore your operating system. I don't know if this is still available. A call to Microsoft should resolve this issue.

Reply
Feb 6, 2017 16:19:25   #
Festus Loc: North Dakota
 
brucewells wrote:
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I've delved into the technology and would ask for other's experiences.

For the uninitiated, one of the drives in your computer contains the OS (operating system) that allows your computer to work. If that drive fails, your computer won't work. Sure, you can run to Best Buy or Amazon and get a replacement drive and may even be able to install it yourself. But now, you're faced with re-installing the OS, re-configuring all those devices connected to your computer (printers, scanners, etc.), then re-installing all of your software titles (Adobe CC, Photoshop, Lightroom, Quicken, and so on). That equates to a lot of work.

There is software that will allow the creation of an 'image' of that drive prior to failure and that image is saved as any other file on some other drive(s). Part of the process involves the creation of a 'boot disk' that allows you to start your computer that just received the new drive from Best Buy or Amazon. Once booted, the software then allows that 'image' file to be expanded back on to the new drive. Once complete, shut down and restart and your computer is back up and running just like before the drive failure.

So, if you are doing something of this nature for your computer, and don't mind sharing your experiences, what would I want to know about this? Thanks!!
Realizing I have put this off for far too long, I'... (show quote)


I thoroughly agree with what you say. It is a real time consumer having to reinstall all that needs to be reinstalled after a hard drive crash. However, I find it quite refreshing. Over time many computers become filled with archaic software, old drivers, old BIOS, old lots of stuff! "Stuff that is never used, and stuff that takes up space and potentially slows the computer. I find reinstalling just the items I need after a hard drive crash good therapy for an aging computer.

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Feb 6, 2017 16:33:28   #
markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ
 
Probably does, but if you have tons of programs, it is time consuming. I do find, since I save all my downloads to one of my data drives (and not to my OS drive) that re installation from the saved "setup installation files" is a time saver and eliminates downloading from internet. I have only two programs on cd's and even those can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website. I still appreciate and highly value the backup files of my OS drive via Acronis.
Mark

Festus wrote:
I thoroughly agree with what you say. It is a real time consumer having to reinstall all that needs to be reinstalled after a hard drive crash. However, I find it quite refreshing. Over time many computers become filled with archaic software, old drivers, old BIOS, old lots of stuff! "Stuff that is never used, and stuff that takes up space and potentially slows the computer. I find reinstalling just the items I need after a hard drive crash good therapy for an aging computer.

Reply
Feb 6, 2017 17:45:59   #
brucewells Loc: Central Kentucky
 
Festus wrote:
I thoroughly agree with what you say. It is a real time consumer having to reinstall all that needs to be reinstalled after a hard drive crash. However, I find it quite refreshing. Over time many computers become filled with archaic software, old drivers, old BIOS, old lots of stuff! "Stuff that is never used, and stuff that takes up space and potentially slows the computer. I find reinstalling just the items I need after a hard drive crash good therapy for an aging computer.


:-) I cannot contest that sentiment. 'Refreshing' is a good descriptor.

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