Question regarding Macrium free Backup

[Lady Fitzgerald]

Yea Maybe you are,But I was a late starter with this computing stuff.

I'm pushing 65. At 60, I was doing good to know how to turn a computer on. A year ago, I built one.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

sml156,
A problem with the video you post is that it suggests cloning is the way to transfer your existing software installation (ie. OS, installed programs, data etc). It is one way and generally not the most efficient. System imaging is more efficient. I think the term cloning suggest a "pristine copy" and therefore the best way to proceed.

It depends on what you're doing as to which is more efficient. If transferring an existing installation to another drive, cloning is more efficient. Using an image would involve an intermediate drive and an extra step. If backing up an OS partition, imaging is best. An image takes up less room if compressed and can be used to restore a damaged OS partition without having to remove the drive from the computer. If backing up large amounts of data, a folder/file syncing program is more efficient.

 

[trendy]

whs.Thanks for the reply and I did download your iso and burnt it to a disc.
many thanks.

And also many thanks for all the support you have given me here,It was nice to hear that there are some late starters like myself.
Many thank You's till the next time.Cherio.

 

[whs]

You are very welcome. Make a test with the CD. Define a small 1 or 2GB partition with Disk Management (shrink a bit of space off somewhere), then copy a few folders into that partition (pictures are handy), image and restore it with the CD. Before I restore it I always take some pictures out of the partition and if those comes back, I know the restore worked.

Btw: I keep that 2GB partition permanently on my system(s) for testing purposes like that.

 

[trendy]

You are very welcome. Make a test with the CD. Define a small 1 or 2GB partition with Disk Management (shrink a bit of space off somewhere), then copy a few folders into that partition (pictures are handy), image and restore it with the CD. Before I restore it I always take some pictures out of the partition and if those comes back, I know the restore worked.

Btw: I keep that 2GB partition permanently on my system(s) for testing purposes like that.

whs,
Hi Sorry to get back to you,Now I'm seeing your last reply.Regarding the above it looks a good idea just to clarify one thing once I have made that small partition on my drive is it correct that I must use macriun to backup that partition then re install it from another drive using the iso file you sent me?
Do I read your posting correctly?
Many Thanks. David.

 

[whs]

With the CD you burnt from my iso file you can do both backups and recovery - although the main purpose is for recovery. You can make an image of the little partition with that CD or with the Macrium you have installed on your system. Best is to place the image on an external disk.

Then you use the CD (boot the system with the CD) to recover that small partition from the image. I always make a few small modifications to the data in that small partition just to make sure the original content came back with the recovery.

There are 2 advantages to this little exercise:

1. You now know that your recovery CD works
2. You have learned the recovery process because at a time when you are in panic because you have to make an emergency recovery is not a good time to start learning the process.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

With the CD you burnt from my iso file you can do both backups and recovery - although the main purpose is for recovery. You can make an image of the little partition with that CD or with the Macrium you have installed on your system. Best is to place the image on an external disk.

Then you use the CD (boot the system with the CD) to recover that small partition from the image. I always make a few small modifications to the data in that small partition just to make sure the original content came back with the recovery.

There are 2 advantages to this little exercise:

1. You now know that your recovery CD works
2. You have learned the recovery process because at a time when you are in panic because you have to make an emergency recovery is not a good time to start learning the process.

Rather than horse around with another partition on my computer, I run my tests using an external HDD. I put a few test files on an external drive, then make an image of it. I then erase the external HDD and try restoring the image to it. If works, I know I'm good.

 

[whs]

That's another possibility, But I have that small 2GB partition all the time on my system for testing purposes.

 

[trendy]

Many thanks both.I think I have enough info now.
Diolch from S Wales.

 

[gary777]

When backing up the c drive, wouldn't one want to also BU the factory recovery partition also, to still be able to have this feature in case the HDD actually crashed and had to be replaced?

 

[whs]

When backing up the c drive, wouldn't one want to also BU the factory recovery partition also, to still be able to have this feature in case the HDD actually crashed and had to be replaced?

Sure, and you also MUST backup the 100MB system partition. But both you really need to backup only once because they never change.

 

[gary777]

When backing up the c drive, wouldn't one want to also BU the factory recovery partition also, to still be able to have this feature in case the HDD actually crashed and had to be replaced?

Sure, and you also MUST backup the 100MB system partition. But both you really need to backup only once because they never change.

That's what I thought, some people forget about these two partitions when they BU their c drive they think it includes all of their data on the HDD. I know because this happened to me. I BUed my c drive via Paragon B&R every week then my HDD crashed, I put in a new one and it restored the snapshot without any problems. everything was there, except the system & recovery partitions.

I really did not need the partitions because, I had all disks including drivers that came with the computer. Still would have been a good idea to back up those two partitions though. Just thought I would mention this for others who forget about these partitions.

 

[whs]

I personally never backup the recovery partitions because I always make images at all stages of the installation and I keep those early images in a safe place.

But if you forget to image the system partition, your system will not boot unless you copy the bootmgr to the C partition.

 

[mjf]

When backing up the c drive, wouldn't one want to also BU the factory recovery partition also, to still be able to have this feature in case the HDD actually crashed and had to be replaced?

I think it is a good idea. One of my older PCs is an ACER and I imaged the recovery partition. If your HDD fails you can reimage it along with your system reserved and OS partition. This is more of a personal preference since good images of sys reserved and the OS partition are probably all you'll end up using.

 

[pabuman]

C partition include system partition and other data

 

[whs]

The C partition does not include the system partition. It is a seperate partition. Only if you have an active C partition can you boot without the system partition.

 

[VeroKL]

I personally never backup the recovery partitions because I always make images at all stages of the installation and I keep those early images in a safe place.

But if you forget to image the system partition, your system will not boot unless you copy the bootmgr to the C partition.

Hi. I have a Dell laptop, and the HDD has 4 partitions:
- Dell system recovery
- System Reserved (active) - NTSF
- C:\ - NTSF
- D:\ Dell Always ON Reader (as silly UNIX based partition that Dell includes as a fast-start up option)

Years ago I tried Macrium & my backups always failed. Recently, I found out that this may be because the Dell partition is FAT16 formatted. If I read the forums right, this partition only has the factory settings, so if I were to recover my system all I need is the "System reserved" partition and the C:\ partition, correct?
I don't understand what the purpose of the Factory default partition is...
Thanks!

 

[whs]

You are correct. Only C and the system partition need to be imaged.

This is a strange setup for Dell. I have 2 Dell systems and each one had the bootmgr (active partition) in the recovery partition. I moved the bootmgr to C. And that Fat16 partition I have never heard of. Very strange.

 

[VeroKL]

It turns out I have two Dell partitions...

Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition

grand stream dreams: Partition and Disk Management: Part III ? Pesky Dell Partitions