Windows 7 - Image your system with free Macrium

Raid issues aside if you want a Macrium pe disk without making one try
Hirens Boot CD v13 (or later if there is one) which has the Macrium pe built in to it's mini XP environment.
I've recovered a Windows 7x64 system using it. Plus you can make images using the boot CD if needed. You can also add RoboRestore if you like to reimage to smaller partitions..

Yes, mjf idea is a good one - easy way to get macrium pe1 functions.

Not sure if the pe1 environment will support your RAID, tho.

If you aren't using raid any more - it will be fine.

Hi Folks,


For sure, I am going to dismantle the Raid1 setup but the problem is now I am very busy with this computer for my study. I must deliver my work before the end of this month and do not know if it is safe and easy to dismantle it now without loosing lots of time. I see that this Raid1 is complicating and limiting the possibilities of finding a backup program. Now looking for a temporary program which will backup my computer till I finish this work.

mjf, do you know if (Hirens Boot CD v13) is supporting backups of RAID1? If yes, do you know where can I download it?

Best regards,

Anne

For a temporary solution I would just backup your user files from time to time (to an external drive and "manually") and hope that the system restore points (shadows) will work for the system. In fact, you can create system restore points yourself as often as desired. And allocate a big shadowstorage (maybe 50GB) since you have a big HDD. You can do that either in System Protection ( Control Panel\System and Security\System ) or with this cmd command:

vssadmin resize shadowstorage /for=C: / on=C: /maxsize=50GB

Hi whs,

Indeed for a temporary solution it is good option to backup the work files manually and regularly to an external drive. It is strange that the shadowstorage is limited to maximum of 6.35 GB!

Best regards,

Anne

Hi Anne, how come your shadowstorage is limited to 6.35GBs - from where do you get that info. If you run the command I posted above, it should set it to 50GB or any number of GBs that you put in (in lieu of 50). Just paste the command from above into an elevated Command Prompt (with the number of your choice) and hit Enter. Be aware that each restore point (shadow) is between 500MB and 1GB in size.

Sorry but I have no idea.

Given your priorities and time constraints I'd be treading carefully at this stage no matter what you do.
I'd put study constraints first and go ultra conservative.

Hi whs,

First time yesterday when tried to manage the shadowstorage, the recovery option was off !? Is this a default value when installing Windows 7? Anyway, turned it on and could get max a 6.35 GB. When started the computer this morning noticed that the 6.35 GB could be increased to much higher value. Now, I put it on 5% (46.26 GB). Was it a reboot problem? Anyway this problem is solved.

Went to Partition Wizard trying to increase the partition space of the recovery part but it looks that this is not possible. Tried to decrease the space of the C: but get the option (Move/Resize) in a gray color. Followed the instruction on the video of the FAQ of the (Partition Wizard) but could not reach a solution? Do you have an idea about this problem.

Thanks & regards,

Anne

Well,

1. I have no idea why you would want to increase the recovery partition, That is really not neccessary.
2. As far as shrinking C is concerned, PW shows 0 (zero) bytes free. Any idea why that could be the case.

Hi whs,

PW is showing 0 (zero) bytes free while as you see in the following screenshot (sorry it is written in Dutch) that there is a free space of 667 GB from the whole space of 925 GB.


Regards,


Anne