Macrium Reflect Free making multiple images?

[ignatzatsonic]

see comments in bold

I also noticed that Macrium have the option to "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows". I assume that selection would capture boot, OS and restore partitions - have I got that right?



No.

You named 3 possible partitions: boot, OS, and restore.

A restore partition is not normally needed to restore Windows with Macrium. So, no, it would not be captured (unless it contained your boot files, which is possible in some cases).

Boot and OS partitions should be the same in a standard installation: C.

"Create an image....." should capture C and whatever other partition (if any) that happens to be marked as "system", signifying the location of the boot files. That is typically the System Restore partition, but could be any partition, depending on how your PC is configured. Maybe C alone. An OEM like Dell might put your boot files on the yadayada partition, so the yadayada partition should be captured if you want to restore Windows. That's why you have to identify which partition is marked "system".

So if a computer had been upgraded to W10 from W7, or W8.1 from W8.0, that would be useless, unless you wanted to go all the way back to original configuration, correct?

If you have W7 and make an image file that represents that W7 installation and then upgrade to W10 or any other operating system, a restoration of that image file will take you back to W7 as of the moment you made the image file---not to any later state. That's all it could possibly do. If you want to restore to W10, you'd have to make an image of the W10 installation after you installed W10.

 

[simrick]

see comments in bold

I also noticed that Macrium have the option to "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows". I assume that selection would capture boot, OS and restore partitions - have I got that right?



No.

You named 3 possible partitions: boot, OS, and restore.

A restore partition is not normally needed to restore Windows with Macrium. So, no, it would not be captured (unless it contained your boot files, which is possible in some cases).

Boot and OS partitions should be the same in a standard installation: C.

"Create an image....." should capture C and whatever other partition (if any) that happens to be marked as "system", signifying the location of the boot files. That is typically the System Restore partition, but could be any partition, depending on how your PC is configured. Maybe C alone. An OEM like Dell might put your boot files on the yadayada partition, so the yadayada partition should be captured if you want to restore Windows. That's why you have to identify which partition is marked "system".

So if a computer had been upgraded to W10 from W7, or W8.1 from W8.0, that would be useless, unless you wanted to go all the way back to original configuration, correct?

If you have W7 and make an image file that represents that W7 installation and then upgrade to W10 or any other operating system, a restoration of that image file will take you back to W7 as of the moment you made the image file---not to any later state. That's all it could possibly do. If you want to restore to W10, you'd have to make an image of the W10 installation after you installed W10.

Thank you. I think I've got it now.
I have a lot of computers for which I am responsible to keep running smoothly, (friends, family, churches, school), and I am trying to get them all prepared for the W10 upgrade, and I really want to avoid as many headaches as possible. So, I really appreciate your time and explanations!

 

[ignatzatsonic]

However----maybe you SHOULD make an image of any "restore" partition regardless. It's not needed to restore Windows in the typical situation, but it IS necessary to restore the PC to a factory state---which you may want to do under some circumstances---such as if you are selling the PC or have some issue that you can't otherwise resolve.

If you restored the "restore" partition, the PC would retain the ability to go back to a factory state. Otherwise, it would not unless you had made "recovery" discs or got direct assistance from the manufacturer.

That's a purely personal decision based on your individual situation.

 

[simrick]

However----maybe you SHOULD make an image of any "restore" partition regardless. It's not needed to restore Windows in the typical situation, but it IS necessary to restore the PC to a factory state---which you may want to do under some circumstances---such as if you are selling the PC or have some issue that you can't otherwise resolve.

If you restored the "restore" partition, the PC would retain the ability to go back to a factory state. Otherwise, it would not unless you had made "recovery" discs or got direct assistance from the manufacturer.

That's a purely personal decision based on your individual situation.

Thank you again.
You would be proud of me. After this thread, my husband's HDD needed to be upgraded to a larger size, as it was getting full. This is a dual-boot XP/8.1 with 2 internal HDDs, one for each OS. I took him from a 120Gig to a 250Gig using Macrium. After I swapped drives and reimaged, it would not boot. I saw an option in Macrium to fix boot problems, tried it, and he is up and running. I love this program, and this forum, and all you guys (and gals) that help!