Solved Macrium - Which Disks to Include in Image

[abredt]

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

 

[mjf]

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.

 

[fireberd]

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).

 

[Layback Bear]

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.

 

[mjf]

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.

 

[Layback Bear]

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.

 

[RolandJS]

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.

 

[fireberd]

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.

 

[RolandJS]

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.

 

[fireberd]

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.

 

[RolandJS]

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.

And, if the data partition has stuff much newer than the last backup, then what? Well, one could do a folder/file backup of the newest of the new, re-image the drive, then copy back the newest of the new on top of the material coughed up from the restored backup. For me, I'll stick with OS and data partitions being separate full images; but, hey, whatever works

 

[mjf]

I Whole drive restore could very well result in over-writing newer material with an older image.

That works for me as well.
I've found that it is more likely that the OS develops problems that I'm not prepared to jump through hoops to "fix". I just go back to a previous image as far back as needed.
But my data drives aren't backed up as frequently as they should be.

 

[abredt]

Many thanks to all who replied.
cb

 

[mjf]

Ticked as solved so what was your final decision.

 

[abredt]

I have a spare 2 TB external hard drive with lots of room on it, so I took the easy way out.

I ran Macrium 4 times - once for each "drive" and again combining all three drives together.

If I have to do a complete restore, I'll come back and ask all of you how to do it.
cb

 

[RolandJS]

Fireberd!
"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."
At first, I disagreed, 'cause separate OS and data partition full images have served me well.
However, I recently realized that you are a backup/restore genius! By having at least one full image of the whole internal hard-drive, following a catastrophic HD failure, leading to a HD replacement, that full image will place any and all partitions back onto the replacement hard-drive [matching what was on the original HD]. Then, simply follow through with the separate OS and data partition restores, if such partition images are newer than your full HD image. I'm adding your idea of a full HD image next week to my three computer's two dedicated usb ext backup HDs.

I have a backup/restore thread in five different forums, including this one. May I quote you? And, I will adjust any quotation of you to suit you

Thanks for PMg your yes! And, done -- I edited the URL of this thread to: [sevenforums]
You will have your "5 minutes of fame," I will probably remain "Confusingmous."

 

[mjf]

If you have say a 1TB HDD and image the whole drive every time you make an image then you won't be making many regular images. This assumes you have a decent amount of data on the drive as well.

For my system (see specs) system image times to an external USB 3 drive using Macrium Reflect (default compression) are:
55 GB ~ 10minutes
extrapolate
550 GB ~ 100 minutes
1 TB ~ 182 minutes (3 hours)

 

[RolandJS]

mjf, I meant doing the full drive full image only once on each of the two ext HDs dedicated to each of my three computers. Once that is done, it is done no more unless I change the partitions. You're very correct! Not too many full drive full images will fit on a 1TB ext HD