Macrium - Do I need a new Rescue Disc each time?

Hello,

Following the awesome comments of members of this forum, I am using Macrium to backup my system/data partition. It works wonderfully, as I have had to restore once.

My question is: Do I need to create a new "Rescue Disc" with Macrium each time I create a new backup image or is one Rescue Disc good for a certain period?

Also, the reason I want to create an image now is that I want to change my partition sizes. (I have a little unallocated space at the "beginning" of my HD that was left over from the Vista Toshiba system recovery and is now empty, which I want to combine with my C: drive, which is in the "middle", then shorten the C: partition, and enlarge my D: partition, which is on the "end", which is the partition I use for for Macrium backup images when I am in between backing up to DVD.

Will I be able to restore the partition image, even if the partition size has changed?

Thanks for your help!

1. The recovery disk is good as long as you stay with the same release of Macrium. Once I installed a new release and was asked to make a new recovery disk. But that should be a very exceptional case.
2. If the partition size changes, there should be no problem when it gets bigger. A smaller target partition, however, will not work (as far as I know). As you can see from the feature comparison at the end of this page, Disk Space Management is only a function in the Pro version.

Thanks whs, I tried to give you rep, but it would not let me... Nevertheless, I do really appreciate your help!

juanantoniod said:

Thanks whs, I tried to give you rep, but it would not let me... Nevertheless, I do really appreciate your help!

Click to expand...

If you change the partition layout I would make a note of what images were made before. If you restore with an image made before the change, I believe it will have the effect of undoing the change. iow, you make C: bigger, then restore from an image made before that, then C: is right back to the old smaller size. Eventually you want to get rid of the old images once you are sure you have enough recent images to be safe.

I am so confused...

I thought that making my "Recovery" partition larger was a good idea. Then, I read about people who keep data and system on separate partitions. But I do not understand this, because both must be backed up regularly, why not just do both in one system image onto a separate partition, and periodically, onto DVD? My system configuration/settings changes almost as much as my data. I am trying to keep a system + data partition of 55GB (currently I am using 25GB for system+data), and a separate "recovery" partition of 55GB (currently I have a 30GB recovery partition, but it is almost full), with images of the original stable install, the current stable install, and the previous stable install. Is this not wise? I appreciate any input.

If you rely on recovery that's on the same HD as the OS, then it's just as vulnerable to the malware as the OS is. I used to rely on Restore Points and just backing up a few important data files. What got me into disk imaging was a hit from a malware that deleted my C: partition. When you get hit bad you can't rely on anything that's on that HD.

I use USB docking stations with internal Sata drives. I do a few backups to them, then pull the Sata drive out of the docking station and put another in. That way I always have some backups that aren't on the network when the hit happens. Usually you won't get hit as badly as I did. I use a kvma switch and just got a new PC. The old PC was getting hit with the virus. It killed Explorer and would not shut down. But I didn't want to risk powering down the new PC "dirty" by hitting the UPS switch.. so I let it kill the old PC. I was going to put another OS on anyway... but still I would have preferred controlling the timing.

Besides, if you invest in a few external drives, or docking stations with Sata drives, you find use for them other than backup. I just put in a USB 3.0 card and bought a couple of USB 3.0 docking stations. The Sata drives in the docks read and write as fast or faster than my internal system HD. If you can afford to invest a bit it's worth it. You read data off one dock and write to the other. Everything is faster and you're not beating up your system HD anymore. The machine will run a lot smoother if you do a lot of disk intensive stuff.

As to backup on DVD that's probably the worst option and least reliable. It's ok that you have a boot CD or boot DVD. It's one disc and you can burn a couple of copies to guard against a defect.. but if you rely on a series of DVD, one scratch on one disc and you're in tough shape. Better to use some kind of HD... either Sata in a dock, or you should be able to find USB 2.0 externals on sale. They should be dumping them now that USB 3.0 is available.

Thanks >> MilesAhead

MilesAhead,

Thank you very, very much. You made some great points, and all were very helpful! I guess my technosavvy was not quite up to the times. In my mind, I kept referring back to the days when you had multiple (A-B-C) backups on tape or floppy. Things have changed since then, so your advice is very relevant.

The elaborate setup that Miles Ahead has described is driven by similar simple principles that I like to follow. Those are:
1. seperate the data from the operating system. I always keep my data in a seperate partition. That way it does not get dragged down when the OS goes on the blink and it also allows me to seperate the OS backup from the data backup since that may be required at different intervals.
2. Always keep one set of images off-line. That way even the most sophisticated malware cannot get at it ans I am always sure to have one valid set of images.
For the implementation of those principles I use one internal and 2 external disks and the details are as follows:
I make a daily image of my system and data partitions at boot-up. I have set Macrium to do that automatically. It takes only 9 minutes from my SSD to the internal HDD. Every Sunday, I copy the Sunday image to an on-line external disk into a "weekly folder". Every first of the month I also copy the last image to an external disk "monthly folder" that usually stays off-line. That way I have a whole history all the way back to the initial installation.
In addition I have two 16GB sticks to which I copy my data every 3 months and put it into my bank safe. 3 months later I retrieve the first stick and deposit the latest data copy on the second stick, and so on.

juanantoniod said:

MilesAhead,

Thank you very, very much. You made some great points, and all were very helpful! I guess my technosavvy was not quite up to the times. In my mind, I kept referring back to the days when you had multiple (A-B-C) backups on tape or floppy. Things have changed since then, so your advice is very relevant.

Click to expand...

You're welcome. I remember when I got a 486. I paid someone to build it and got one of those tape drives for backup. I started doing backups then I read the docs for the restore program. They contained the phrase "you will probably never need to run this restore but.." Man! I should have saved my money!! That tape never did me squat except make noiise whirring and rewinding!! Of course mini-computers with real tape drives is another story. But for PC these USB drives really work. Restore is relatively easy. You can try out a beta OS knowing that you can lay the image back on to get back to the pre-installed OS etc.. It's worth doing.

Thanks to both of you!

Thanks, MilesAhead and whs,

I understand much better now that there are many different strategies for backing up, and at this time, there are many different options for supporting those strategies, and I must develop a strategy that works for me, and that I can afford.

One question I have is: Windows creates several "Libraries" / folders / subdirectories for data storage, and usually defaults to those when opening or saving files. Is there a way to set the Windows OS to redirect so that these can be moved to a separate partition?

I am very grateful for your advice!

juanantoniod said:

Thanks, MilesAhead and whs,

I understand much better now that there are many different strategies for backing up, and at this time, there are many different options for supporting those strategies, and I must develop a strategy that works for me, and that I can afford.

One question I have is: Windows creates several "Libraries" / folders / subdirectories for data storage, and usually defaults to those when opening or saving files. Is there a way to set the Windows OS to redirect so that these can be moved to a separate partition?

I am very grateful for your advice!

Click to expand...

Have a look at my 12 minute video tutorial on how to create a data partition. But note that you move the folders, not the libraries which are actually only directories pointing to the folders.
Make sure you understand that you first have to create folders on the new partition to which you move the original folders such as Documents, Music, etc. Do not just move to the partition, that will end up in a minor mess because your moved folders will end up with the name of the partition. Just watch the video carefully on that point - it is all explained.
If you have any further questions, let me know.

What an awesome video tutorial -- Thank you!!!

whs,

Thanks, I was just looking for such a tutorial when your email came in. I had posted in another thread the following:

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I was going to partiton my HD (with Partition Magic) so that I would have a data partition, and I need to know if it should be a primary or logical partition? I don't understand the difference. If it matters, my file system is NTFS.

Thanks!

P.S. I currently have 2 primary partitions, one C: for system+data, and one D: for system recovery images. I am going to reduce the size of D: by 20GB for data, then follow the tutorial to move Documents, Pictures, Video, and Music to the 20GB partition. But what about the Outlook PST file? I currently have it in C:...\Documents\Outlook Data. Furthermore, since Windows depends on the C:\users\username\my [documents/pictures/video/music] convention, won't it screw it all up if I move these to another partition?

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whs, Can you please answer the above questions? I now have a much better understanding, thanks to your video! But I still want to make sure I am doing it correctly.

Thanks!

1. Make it a logical partition - it's safer because you should not have more than 3 primaries anyhow.
2. I suppose the Outlook folder will be moved with the Documents folder. I never used Outlook but the path you indicated makes my suggestion a logical conclusion.
3. Don't worry about windows getting screwed up. Since you use the "Move" facility in Properties, the system will make all the necessary adjustments of the paths.

Great, thanks again! One follow-up question...

whs,

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I understand about the Documents/Music/Video/Pictures. But, can I/should I move the Desktop and Downloads folders?

You're help is very much appreciated!

Downloads I would move. Desktop rather not. There is usually not much in it - not worth it.

Awesome! Thanks, whs!

Have fun - I hope it works out as you planned. Let us know whether you got the result you expected.

whs >>> I'm a little dumbfounded!

whs,

First, this is not an angry post, just a confused one. I know that you know what your're doing, and I appreciate your help. So, please don't take this the wrong way. I'm asking to clear up my understanding, not to question your procedure. With that said, here is what I did:

I looked at my C: drive libraries, they each had "folders" in them named My Documents, etc. (from now on when I say this it also applies to Pictures, Videos, and Music as well). So, I went to the new J: partition and created My Documents, etc. folders. Then, when I went to the properties of the My Documents folder, to "Move Location", and the existing folder location was named simply Documents. So, I renamed the destination folder to Documents, to follow the instructions in your video to the letter. Then I moved the Documents from the C:\users\antonio\documents to J:\documents.

Here is the part I do not understand. I now have a folder in the J: partition named "My Documents" instead of just Documents. It seems as though the procedure was correct, but somehow the system thought on its own to rename the folder My Documents. (See the attached image of my C: and J: directories after the move.)

I know that the "My" structure was created (I think) by Microsoft when it came out with some version of Windows a while back, but I thoght that I read they dropped the "My" with Windows 7.

whs, What is correct? What should I do? I am sorry for being so "needy" but I want to make sure that my system is as it should be. Again, I am not questioning your knowledge at all, just trying to improve mine.

Thanks again for everything!

P.S. I just checked and, in the folders in the tree on the right side have files in them, but as you can see, they no longer have the Documents icon on the folder. Also, when I go to properties, it says they are in the C:\users\antonio\ directory. Do I now have 2 copies of everything?

P.P.S. It appears that they are not the same files. I just created the ~Antonio folder in the C: (right hand side) and it did not appear even after refreshing the J: (left side). Also, the "Auto Purchase 2010" folder is missing from the right side C: , but it is correctly listed (I think) in the left side. Help!

I just checked the other folders (Music, Video, Photos) in the C: drive, and they are empty. But the ones on the J: partition contain the correct files. I also checked in DOS (otherwise known as command prompt) and these are indeed separate file folder structures. I just don't know what to do!

Need Help with Outlook Error Also...

I also moved my Outlook.pst file, but I'm getting an error when I try to check email. (See attached Outlook error message.) What can I do to fix this?

Thanks!

Here is the part I do not understand. I now have a folder in the J: partition named "My Documents" instead of just Documents. It seems as though the procedure was correct, but somehow the system thought on its own to rename the folder My Documents. (See the attached image of my C: and J: directories after the move.)

Click to expand...

Yes, the system will rename it to "My Documents". I guess it is because that is the name of the originating folder.
When you create new folders or when you move or copy something, you have to make sure you get it to the right folder (your C or J whatever you wish). As you still have the empty folders on C, it is very easy to confuse the two and once it is moved to the C folder, it will of course not appear in the J folder.
I am a little bit handicapped right now because I just went back to my home in Germany and I am working off my Vista system. I still have to install win7. But for that, I first have to take my box apart and install my SSD which I probably will do next week.
As to your Outlook problem, I am completely lost. I never used Outlook because I am an AOL user of the first hour which is a lot more convenient if you work off multiple systems which are in different physical locations. Maybe you want to start a new thread on that particular problem and seek the advice of the Outlook specialists.