Macrium - Which Disks to Include in Image

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  1. Posts : 80
    Windows 7 Home Premium
       #1

    Macrium - Which Disks to Include in Image


    I have a Dell XPS desktop running Windows 7 Home Premium. When I run Macrium free which disks should I include?

    It shows 1-DellUtility
    2-Recovery (Y)
    3-OS(C)

    Click them all
    Click OS(C)
    Run it 3 times - once for each
    ???

    Thanks, cb
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  2. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #2

    For an OEM PC I would image each of the types of partitions you mention separately just initially. Normally, you then only select "Create an image of the partition(s) to backup and restore Windows. You can image data partitions if you really want to.
    Creating separate images of the utility and recovery should allow you to go back to the original OEM partitions on a new replacement HDD if needed and they don't take up that much storage. Dell may provide recovery discs but still a separate image isn't a bad idea.
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  3. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #3

    If you have space on the backup drive, image the whole drive - all partitions. That is what we always recommended when I worked the Dell forums (I was there for 10 years).
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  4. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #4

    I personally backup the complete drive and all it's partitions.
    If one doesn't have enough room on a external drive; then get a bigger drive with enough room.
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  5. mjf
    Posts : 5,969
    Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
       #5

    There is a difference between a system image and general backup. Clearly everything of importance should be backed up. I have a different backup policy for my large data partitions/drives.

    I make OS partition images (plus the active partition) every 1-2 weeks. I also make a system image before installing Windows updates. I also keep a number of system images on different USB3 external drives. These take me around 10 minutes to image and 10 minutes to restore. So I have system images coming out of my ears in case things go bad - and they have gone bad. It's a personal decision.
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  6. Posts : 25,847
    Windows 10 Pro. 64/ version 1709 Windows 7 Pro/64
       #6

    From mjf post #5

    It's a personal decision.
    Bingo; right on the money.
    One has to figure out for themselves what is or is not important to backup or image.
    Personally I don't have a lot to save so I do images of complete drives and Clones about every week or so. I tinkered with Macrium and Windows 7 Disk Management for a while until I settled on the methods I wanted to do.
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  7. Posts : 2,774
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #7

    On my two external hard-drives for each computer, I've backed up the System Reserved partition once, the factory restore partition once. I do weekly/bi-monthly full image backups of OS and data partitions, end up keeping the last two of each.
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  8. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #8

    I only do full drive back ups. Eliminates several backup steps if the drive needs restored. With selective partitions, if the full drive has to be restored it requires several separate operations.

    Sort of like "incremental" backups that I never do. If you restore you have multiple operations to do.
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  9. Posts : 2,774
    Windows 7 Professional 64-bit
       #9

    In my experience, I've had to restore OS partition several times, the data partition was untouched and undisturbed. Whole drive restore could very well result in over-writing newer material with an older image.
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  10. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #10

    Any restore the data is only as "new" as the last backup. My point, with doing whole drive backups, there is only one image to restore, regardless of whether the OS partition is the only one that needs restoring or the whole disc.
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