What backup & relocation strategy for User profiles and Program Data

adri123 said:

whs said:

I see, but that is simple.

1. Create a seperate data partition

2. Make 4 folders in that partition (Docs-2, Music-2, Videos-2, Pictures-2). In lieu of the -2 you can use anything. I use my initials. It is just to distinguish them from the folder names in C.

3. Move the data from the corresponding folders in the C partition to those new folders.

4. Right click on each of these new folders and include them into the corresponding library. Now you get something like this. I use my initials in the front for distinction.

Attachment 293992

5. From now on everything pertaining to the system and to programs will go into the original folders in C (mainly into Documents). All you user data should go into the new folders.

Where is the information stored, that is saying that this and that folder are included in that library. I mean where is the "link" between folders and libraries stored?
Say this scenario:
1. you image your OS partition
2. one week later, for some reason, you rename your Music-2 folder (on the data partition). Or delete it.
3. you need to get back the OS image cause you have an OS problem.

Will the OS image contain library links to an unexisting folder?

I've never run into a problem with the scenario you postulated. The OS reads the partition's directory.

Lady Fitzgerald said:

I've never run into a problem with the scenario you postulated. The OS reads the partition's directory.

Which partition's directory? The OS's?

My question is wether the information that says that the Music-2 folder is included in the Music library is stored on the side of the folder(data partition) or on the side of the library (OS).

I guess the OS.

I doubt it would be a big problem, leastwise not one that couldn't be easily fixed. Whenever I make a change like that on my computer, I make an image before and after so if I do wonk things up, I can easily restore my way back. When all you need to image are the OS files and Programs, it doesn't take long to make an image (I spend more time than that on a trip to the loo).

Thank you both again :)

So you don't burn DVDs for every OS image you make right?


If I store the image on an external hard disk, will Macrium FREE be able to restore it ?


And a third question: I don't seem to have a boot partition. Is that possible? I have :
- factory recovery 25GB
- C (os) 100 GB NTFS
- D (data) 500 GB NTFS
- unallocated space 73GB - in case i'd like to install another OS

adri123 said:

Thank you both again :)

So you don't burn DVDs for every OS image you make right?...

Ohmigosh no! That would take too long and too many disks!

adri123 said:

...If I store the image on an external hard disk, will Macrium FREE be able to restore it ?...

Absolutely. I do it all the time. If you don't already have one, you will need a rescue CD or USB stick.

adri123 said:

...And a third question: I don't seem to have a boot partition. Is that possible? I have :
- factory recovery 25GB
- C (os) 100 GB NTFS
- D (data) 500 GB NTFS
- unallocated space 73GB - in case i'd like to install another OS

"Curiouser and curiouser," said Jeannie (apologies to Lewis Carroll). It's possible but a bit unusual with those figures. Where did you get those figures? My Computer or Disk Management? Can you show us a screen shot?

Kari said:

adri123 said:

Hello,

In a configuration with a single HDD with 2 partitions (one for OS+Progs and one for data), how do we properly back up the OS and progs given the fact that the ProgramData and Users folders have been relocated to the Data partition ?

If you have used sysprep to relocate your system folders Users and ProgramData (as described in this tutorial), you need to include those in your image, too.

They are both system folders. If you leave them on C:, they would automatically be included in system image anyway. If they are relocated you need to be sure they are included.

I've used the sysprep method for years now on every Windows computer I have. As it is a one time procedure taking a minute to do and does not involve any manual folder location changes in folder properties or changes in library settings, one by one, but is instead done by changing the value of one Windows internal environment variable, it easily beats every other relocation method and makes changing settings manually obscure.

Both Windows' own Backup & Restore and third party tools like Macrium have no issues in creating images when these two system folders are moved from their original place.

Kari

Hi and thank you fo your reply,

I don't understand though, say I use the method in the tutorial and do relocate these two folders. Will the backup program create only one image? containing the whole OS partition + these two folders?

Second question: Given the fact that these two folders are on another partition, how will they be put to the right place again since that partition would have evolved over time? Will the present-time files in these two folders be overwitten? (that would be ok actually).

Kari said:

adri123 said:

Hello,

In a configuration with a single HDD with 2 partitions (one for OS+Progs and one for data), how do we properly back up the OS and progs given the fact that the ProgramData and Users folders have been relocated to the Data partition ?

If you have used sysprep to relocate your system folders Users and ProgramData (as described in this tutorial), you need to include those in your image, too.

They are both system folders. If you leave them on C:, they would automatically be included in system image anyway. If they are relocated you need to be sure they are included.

I've used the sysprep method for years now on every Windows computer I have. As it is a one time procedure taking a minute to do and does not involve any manual folder location changes in folder properties or changes in library settings, one by one, but is instead done by changing the value of one Windows internal environment variable, it easily beats every other relocation method and makes changing settings manually obscure.

Both Windows' own Backup & Restore and third party tools like Macrium have no issues in creating images when these two system folders are moved from their original place.

Kari

All I did when I set up my computers was to drag the data folders to the new location on the other drive. Easy peasy and it works just fine for me.