Is it appropriate to select all partitions on Ghost & simply leave it

[GMul]

Is it appropriate to select all partitions on Ghost & simply leave it

My laptop hard drive has three partitions:

PQService
System Reserved
C:\\

When Norton Ghost is set up to do imaging, the three partitions are shown as selectable to back up.

(Macrium presents similar to Ghost while, curiously, Win7 Backup and Restore does not give the option to select partitions).

Is it appropriate to select all partitions on Ghost and simply leave it that way?

When doing a recovery, should I recover all partitions? Or just C:\\?

Thanks, Gary

 

[whs]

My laptop hard drive has three partitions:

PQService
System Reserved
C:\\

When Norton Ghost is set up to do imaging, the three partitions are shown as selectable to back up.

(Macrium presents similar to Ghost while, curiously, Win7 Backup and Restore does not give the option to select partitions).

Is it appropriate to select all partitions on Ghost and simply leave it that way?

When doing a recovery, should I recover all partitions? Or just C:\\?

Thanks, Gary

1. I would not use the Windows7 imaging. It has quasi no options and I have seen a lot of people having trouble with it. Plus it is not easy to use.
2. I used Norton Ghost for 2 years. That worked well after I got used to it (which took a while - LOL). But it is a good program. For Win7 you need Ghost15.
3. Macrium is my choice. it is easy to use, reliable, fast and has plenty of options (multiple partitions, scheduling, multiple images, etc.). It does not have incrementals which I do not like anyhow. You lose one in the chain and you lost the whole chain.
4. Regarding your question: I do not know what your "system reserved" is. If that is the 100MB active boot partition, I would image it once only because it never changes (unless you decide for a double boot). Thus you have it "in stock".
The PQ service probably the same - though I am not sure what it is.
C: you should image as often as you feel necessary, but at least weekly. And that is the only one which needs to be recovered - unless you have to install a new disk.

 

[GMul]

whs,

Thank you for your informative reply.

I've been experimenting with Macrium. You are right - it is easier to use than Win 7's Backup and Restore. I'm going to switch to Macrium from Win 7 for my "other" backup system.

Agreed. Norton Ghost takes a while to get comfortable with, and I'm still working at it. However, it has saved my bacon four times with flawless recoveries - a confidence builder

Which partitions(s) to recover was nagging at me. Thanks for the clarification.

Regards, Gary

 

[whs]

Hi Gary, looks like you are all set. I have made a video tutorial on Macrium which you find here. Unlike many other tutorials, it also shows the complete recovery cycle so that you can have an idea how that works.

 

[mjf]

I use Windows imaging and Macrium as a safeguard as well as for partition specific imaging.
Windows imaging has never let me down (I did ~6 successful image restores in the last year including one to a new HDD).

Why does Windows insist on always imaging the 100MB system reserved as well as the Windows 7 boot/OS partition? Because it's a key element to a complete image along with the MBR. The MBR is the first 512 bytes of the disk and not part of the system reserved partition.

When using Macrium I always include the little 100MB system reserved partition in the set. It may not change often and you may not need to include it in a reimage, but it's there (& the correct one) in the set if you need it.
Macrium will always include a copy of the MBR when you image a partition and gives you the option to include it when you reimage. You need both the MBR and the system reserved if you are reimaging to a new disk.

PQService is the factory recovery partition and I have a few Macrium images of it. Windows doesn't image it. I used it to reimage PQService to my new HDD.

 

[GMul]

mjf,

Thank you for your explanation. Between you and whs I'm actually starting to understand this stuff

Gary

 

[GMul]

Hi Gary, looks like you are all set. I have made a video tutorial on Macrium which you find here. Unlike many other tutorials, it also shows the complete recovery cycle so that you can have an idea how that works.

Excellent tutorial. Thank you!
Gary

 

[whs]

Thank you Gary.

 

[Mike Connor]

This is really good, easy to use, and free;

Free Backup Software for Hard Drive System Backup and Restore. Backup freeware for data backup and disaster recovery in Windows 7/XP/Vista and Linux - EASEUS

<http://www.todo-backup.com/>

Regards....Mike Connor

 

[mjf]

There are a number of options out there and people will have have grown to like their favourite (Acronis, Paragon......).
My advice is never trust single imaging package even if you use one more than the other. If Windows imaging lets me down I have a Macrium image I can get by with.
Also never trust a single backup drive.

 

[Cato]

My laptop hard drive has three partitions:

PQService
System Reserved
C:\\

When Norton Ghost is set up to do imaging, the three partitions are shown as selectable to back up.

(Macrium presents similar to Ghost while, curiously, Win7 Backup and Restore does not give the option to select partitions).

Is it appropriate to select all partitions on Ghost and simply leave it that way?

When doing a recovery, should I recover all partitions? Or just C:\\?

Thanks, Gary

1. I would not use the Windows7 imaging. It has quasi no optiions and I have seen a lot of people having trouble with it. Plus it is not easy to use.
2. I used Norton Ghost for 2 years. That worked well after I got used to it (which took a while - LOL). But it is a good program. For Win7 you need Ghost15.
3. Macrium is my choice. it is easy to use, reliable, fast and has plenty of options (multiple partitions, scheduling, multiple images, etc.). It does not have differentials which I do not like anyhow. You lose one in the chain and you lost the whole chain.
4. Regarding your question: I do not know what your "system reserved" is. If that is the 100MB active boot partition, I would image it once only because it never changes (unless you decide for a double boot). Thus you have it "in stock".
The PQ service probably the same - though I am not sure what it is.
C: you should image as often as you feel necessary, but at least weekly. And that is the only one which needs to be recovered - unless you have to install a new disk.

whs, I think you're mistaken on the differential backup. I use differential always, and delete the previous day's every day (when I remember) after the latest backup. This according to the Macrium Help file:


Incremental
Copy only Partition/Disk sectors that have changed since the last backup.

Requires a previous backup to be present on a locally attached drive. Greatly reduces backup time and reduces backup image size. When restoring from incremental backup, you need the most recent full backup as well as EVERY incremental backup you've made since the last full backup.


Differential
Copy only Partition/Disk sectors that have changed since the last full backup.

Requires a previous backup to be present on a locally attached drive. Restoring a differential backup is a faster process than restoring an incremental backup because only two backup container files are needed: the latest full backup and the latest differential.

Obviously, this is straying from the gist of the OP's questions, but I was sort of worried when I read your statement and had to make sure that I understood. Since my restores have always gone without a hitch, I guess I should have known.

 

[whs]

Cato, you are absolutely right. I mixed up incremental and differential. Forgive an old man who has already enough trouble operating in a foreign language half of the day. I will try to correct my posting so that nobody gets mislead. Thank you for pointing it out to me.

 

[Cato]

Cato, you are absolutely right. I mixed up incremental and differential. Forgive an old man who has already enough trouble operating in a foreign language half of the day. I will try to correct my posting so that nobody gets mislead. Thank you for pointing it out to me.

No problem. I'm an old man, too, and if I had to converse in your language all day, I'd be SOL. The closest I could come is saying I have a German Shepherd Dog.

 

[GMul]

This is really good, easy to use, and free;

Free Backup Software for Hard Drive System Backup and Restore. Backup freeware for data backup and disaster recovery in Windows 7/XP/Vista and Linux - EASEUS

<http://www.todo-backup.com/>

Regards....Mike Connor

Thanks Mike. I'll have a look.
Gary

 

[GMul]

There are a number of options out there and people will have have grown to like their favourite (Acronis, Paragon......).
My advice is never trust single imaging package even if you use one more than the other. If Windows imaging lets me down I have a Macrium image I can get by with.
Also never trust a single backup drive.

I'm well on my way to paranoia in the extreme. I use two external hard drives for the laptop with Ghost on one and Win 7 backup on the other. This is my wife's machine and if her extensive photography work were to be lost I would have to find a new place to live.

My PC has a spare internal drive and an external as well. Ghost is used on the internal and Macrium is now used on the external.

Cheers, Gary

 

[essenbe]

If you have either a Seagate or Western Digital drive, they offer a backup program free. Both are reduced versions of Acronis. I won't go into what I do because too many here have already heard it, but suffice it to say that you are not even close to paranoid - I hold that honor.

 

[mjf]

Eviction Worries

There are a number of options out there and people will have have grown to like their favourite (Acronis, Paragon......).
My advice is never trust single imaging package even if you use one more than the other. If Windows imaging lets me down I have a Macrium image I can get by with.
Also never trust a single backup drive.

I'm well on my way to paranoia in the extreme. I use two external hard drives for the laptop with Ghost on one and Win 7 backup on the other. This is my wife's machine and if her extensive photography work were to be lost I would have to find a new place to live.

My PC has a spare internal drive and an external as well. Ghost is used on the internal and Macrium is now used on the external.

Cheers, Gary

Gary, I can't quite understand your worries about being booted out the door. You have 2 external hard drives- ok. If you have images from both imaging programs on both ext HDDs you have the 2x2 redundancy I like.

 

[GMul]

"Gary, I can't quite understand your worries about being booted out the door. You have 2 external hard drives- ok. If you have images from both imaging programs on both ext HDDs you have the 2x2 redundancy I like."

mjf,

Good point. Thanks.

Gary

 

[GMul]

If you have either a Seagate or Western Digital drive, they offer a backup program free. Both are reduced versions of Acronis. I won't go into what I do because too many here have already heard it, but suffice it to say that you are not even close to paranoid - I hold that honor.

Actually, I've been considering off site storage
Gary