Images are more important than ever

[whs]

System Images are more important than ever

Now that we learned that a Repair/Install of an SP1 system is impossible or very difficult ( http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install-48.html#post1298885 ), it is more important than ever that people are being encouraged to image frequently.

I keep about 10 current images and stash away another set of older images all the way back to the initial installation. It is also a good strategy to keep images on 2 or 3 different disks and even use 2 different imaging programs - just to be on the safe side. The day you need an image to get yourself out of a tight spot, you will applaud yourself for these measures.

 

[GeneO]

+=1

I was a little fooled by the title (did you mean photographic images )

I would add - or cloned drive.

I was doing cloned drives as I never had a problem but tried Windows 7 image restore when I had a choice of both and it worked well.

I had been counting on system restore to back out of installs and other minor changes, but twice - rolling back service pack 1 and IE9 RTM with system restore, SFC found inconsistencies that were not there before the restore. In both cases, I recovered from image backups I had made before the installations.

The only thing I didn't like about the image restore compared to the cloning the system drive was that you lost restore points. But now that I find I can't trust them anyway....

Cheers

 

[whs]

Thanks for the suggestion I updated the title.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

It's not impossible, I'm in the process right now in VirtualBox using the installer I created HERE with an SP 1 ISO from MS TechNet.

I do agree that images are very important and I use them myself.

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7

click to enlarge


​

 

[Layback Bear]

I'm confused; I think. After installing SP-1 can I use built in Windows 7 back up to a dvd??

 

[severedsolo]

It can also be done by slipstreaming the SP into the ISO.

I agree that's probably a bit beyond the average user, but frankly, I think alot of the time, so is creating system images, or even backups! "Joe Average" who know's nothing about computers, is in my experience, unlikely to take any sort of backup at all. Just my tuppence worth.

 

[whs]

1. I understand that a slipstreamed .iso does not work
2. Imaging (win7 backup as Layback Bear calls it) is really no rocket science. Everybody should be able to do it.
3. The morons that do not make provisions to be able to bail themselves out, should go to the Geek squad and pay thru the nose
4. People that know nothing about computers and are not willing to learn the basics (and imaging is part of the basics) should not use computers or pay thru the nose - LOL

 

[severedsolo]

1. I understand that a slipstreamed .iso does not work

Ah fair enough, didn't know that

As for parts 2-4, I completely agree. It's not difficult, and everyone SHOULD both be able to do it and actually do it. Frankly even my girlfriend, who manages to break a computer as soon as she looks at it figured it out the first time I showed her.

The point I was making was that unfortunately Joe Average doesn't do these things. How many times do we see someone who has installed 12,000 (ok I'm exaggerating a little) toolbars that they never use and then wonder why their browser is slow? How many people just let everything put itself in startup and then wonder why it takes 30 minutes to boot?

There is a popular TV show over here called "The IT Crowd" in one of the episodes the non technological minded manager had loads of popups appearing all over her screen, and her response was "I like it like that"

The sad thing is, comedy or not, it's not too far away from the truth.

 

[whs]

I think we agree. I always hope that our modest efforts here help to educate people. I am always shocked to see people in my computer club that have used Windows since 3.1 and still have no clue about the most elementary things. They are coming to my classes trying to learn something, and my first PC was Vista - but at least they are trying.

 

[kado897]

I agree that images are vital. I had to do a restore myself lat Thursday following some BSODs and sfc reporting unfixable corruption and BSODing itself. Had to go back two images before sfc ran clean, fortunately I image twice a week with Win 7 and Macrium so only had to go back a few days and recovered virtually all data files from a daily data backup.

YOU CAN'T HAVE TOO MANY BACKUPS.

 

[whs]

kado, I suggest you make a seperate Data Partition. Then you do not loose any files next time around: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/72427-data-partition.html

 

[kado897]

Yes I would like to. However it would probably mean a complete rebuild as my laptop came with 4 partitions already installed. System, Recovery, C and HP Tools. I believe that 4 is the max and I don't really want to get rid of either Recovery or HP tools.

 

[whs]

Yes, 4 primaries is the maximum. But that is easy to fix. We'll make C a logical partition. You can do that since you have the 100MB active boot partition. (check in disk management whether that is true).

Then you take the bootable CD of this program and change C: from primary to logical. The control is in the Partition tab > Modify. But you can only do it with the CD of PW because the C partition must be inactive in order to do that.

Now you can create a new Extended partition (best with Disk Management after you shrunk some space off C and then as many logical partitions as you have letters. Just right click on the unallocated space after you shrunk and you will see. Very easy.

 

[kado897]

It Sounds interesting. This is my current set-up. It says my sytem partition is active but C is boot.


Assuming I go ahead with this how to you suggest I integrate my data partition into the Windows data environment? I think I need to plan this carefully.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

What do you mean exactly by "data partition"?

The current C?

The current L?

If you make a new data partition, let's call it X. The simplest procedure would then be to simply move your data from wherever it is to X, via the mouse.

You'd then save a file to X:\whatever rather than C:\Users\whatever.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Yes, 4 primaries is the maximum. But that is easy to fix. We'll make C a logical partition. You can do that since you have the 100MB active boot partition. (check in disk management whether that is true).

Then you take the bootable CD of this program and change C: from primary to logical. The control is in the Partition tab > Modify. But you can only do it with the CD of PW because the C partition must be inactive in order to do that.

Now you can create a new Extended partition (best with Disk Management after you shrunk some space off C and then as many logical partitions as you have letters. Just right click on the unallocated space after you shrunk and you will see. Very easy.

Have a look at Method Two of this tutorial at the link below.


Partition / Extended : Logical Drives

 

[whs]

It Sounds interesting. This is my current set-up. It says my sytem partition is active but C is boot.
View attachment 144399

Assuming I go ahead with this how to you suggest I integrate my data partition into the Windows data environment? I think I need to plan this carefully.

That is simple too. Just follow my video tutorial that I have linked earlier. You will see it's a piece of cake. Just make sure you predefine folders in your new data partition to which you move Documents, Music etc. Do not move your folders to the partition itself - only to folders. You can name those folders anything (F1,F2,etc.) - the system will rename them anyhow once you move your folders. Moving the user folders directly to the data partition would create a mess.

 

[whs]

What do you mean exactly by "data partition"?

The current C?

The current L?

If you make a new data partition, let's call it X. The simplest procedure would then be to simply move your data from wherever it is to X, via the mouse.

You'd then save a file to X:\whatever rather than C:\Users\whatever.

Unfortunately it is a bit more complicated if you want to do it right. You use the MOVE function in the Location tab of the folder Properties.

You can, however, create new folders in the data partition and move your data there whilst preserving the existing user folsers. Then you have to INCLUDE those folders in their respective libraries.

The advantage of that second approach is that all the system and program generated folders (especially in Documents) do not get intermingled with your own folders.

 

[kado897]

Thank you whs and bare Foot Kid you have given me a lot to think about and to research further. as I said earlier I will need to plan this carefully including an exit strategy if it goes belly up.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Create an image of the entire HDD first.


Imaging with free Macrium