Partition Windows 7 hard drive and run a full image.

[RolandJS]

I might have missed the answer, where you planning to store your backup images onto a large usb stick? Or, onto a usb 1-3TB external HD?

 

[Paul Black]

Hi SIW2,

I have downloaded both the AOMEI - PAssist_Std and AOMEI - BackupperFull.

The advatage of using part assist media creator is that it will include Backupper as well

Just to clarify, are you saying that I don't need to install AOMEI - BackupperFull because it is already included in AOMEI - PAssist_Std?
The AOMEI - PAssist_Std file size is 10 MB.
The AOMEI - BackupperFull file size is 85 MB.

I am probably going to go with AOMEI because as you have shown, it it easy to use.
I can create bootable media, partition my C: drive and create a partition Z: for example and then image my C; drive to it.

Thanks again.

 

[mjf]

I don't think a usb flash drive/stick is a realistic backup medium. For storing system images along with miscellaneous data backup you should be looking at a small external usb hard drive at a minimum if funds permit. I think 1TB is as small as you can get now. If your notebook usb port is usb3 then it should be a usb3 ext HDD.

 

[Paul Black]

I think you are right mjf,

It is definately something I will look into in the very near future before I re-image again.

Thanks for your input, it is appreciated.

 

[SIW2]

Backupper and part assist are separate programs.

Backupper will create boot media including only Backupper.

Part Assist will create boot media including Part Assist - if you already have Backupper installed, it will also be included in the same boot media.

 

[Paul Black]

What a day, I have only just got round to this about an hourago.

I ran the AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard v6.3.0.0, right clicked the C: drive in the bottom pane,clicked create partition, entered the size of the new partition and made it Z:etc, it defaulted to logical. I then clicked exit which led me to review thedata and then I clicked proceed.

It doesn’tappear to be doing anything.
I wouldexpect a status bar or something.
I did this about half an hour ago.

Have I doneanything wrong?

 

[SIW2]

You will have to post a screenshot to give us an idea of the layout .

mbr partitioned can only have 4 partitions. Usually the fourth is created as an "extended" partition, inside which more logical partitions can be created.

Not clear what you asked Aomei to do.

If it involves shrinking, it may need to move data.

I then clicked exit which led me to review thedata and then I clicked proceed.

After "proceed" it should show what the intended changes are.

To get it to apply the proposed changes, you need to click APPLY. The Big Green tick at top left of window.

I suggest you post a screenie first.

 

[Paul Black]

I am trying it on my test machine first to see if it works OK.
I only have C: partition.
I just follwed the instructions from their site.
I asked it to create new partition Z:.
Allocated 35GB to Z:.
It defaulted to logical drive.
I checked the data.
I then clicked proceed.
I have 2GB of RAM.
The CPU is going mad on occasions though.
I am not actually on the computer I am running it on.
Any help will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.

EDIT: When I click START the Run box is filling up with quote marks, is this normal?

 

[SIW2]

Hard to tell from your description.

If you applied the changes, then the program is making the changes. It is possible it may be moving data at the end of the original partion. It will need to do that before creating a new one.

EDIT: When I click START the Run box is filling up with quote marks, is this normal?

Is that on the machine you are trying to partition? Could be using a lot of cpu and moving data. best not to muck around with the drive you are partitioning. If you were going to post a screenie, that would be before applying changes, not during.

I have no idea why it is trying to apply the changes if you did not click the Apply tick. Never come across that before.

 

[Paul Black]

Is that on the machine you are trying to partition?

Yes it was.

I stopped it.
I have restarted the process and got to the green tick, clicked it and then clicked proceed.
I have just done that so I will give it and hour to see what happens.
I am actually trying this out on a test machine, I thought it best so as to get a feel for it before I run it on my actual machine.

Is there supposed to be a progress bar or something so that I can see that it is actually doing something and how far its got?

Thanks ever so much for all your help.

 

[SIW2]

Not clear what you have done. Never a good idea to stop a partitioning process. Still not sure whether it actaully started or not.

Fortunately it is a test machine. We will find out soon.

 

[SIW2]

There should be a progress bar. I am creating a partion now, just to show you.

There is 27.39 gb of data to move, it has already moved 7.40 gb in this pic:

 

[SIW2]

Finished in less than 2mins. I am on a desktop and it is an SSD.

 

[Paul Black]

I only have one partition on my C: drive as of now.

OK, I have rebooted the computer.

Here is the sequence of events as I actually do them.

Double clicked AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard to open it.

Right clicked C:drive in top panel.

Clicked createpartition.

Changed drive letter to Z:.

New partition size to 25.00GB.

Clicked OK.

Clicked GREEN Apply tick.

Clicked proceed.

Pressed YES torestart computer.

Computer reboots normally in about a minute, this time it tookabout two minutes.

NO PROGRESS BAR.

What have I done wrong?

 

[SIW2]

Did you create boot media first?

 

[Paul Black]

No, is that why?

 

[SIW2]

Probably. It needs something to reboot into. Most partitioners will use something that looks like DOS to go into preos mode. Sometimes that isn't possible due to strange mbr on some machines, so the machine just goes back into windows. In that case, use winpe media.

 

[Paul Black]

Thanks again for the reply and explanation.

So do I need to go though the create partition process and then make a boot media while doing that before I click the green tick, or do I do it first, and then create the the new partition.

I am confused.

 

[SIW2]

Create boot media first, so you have it on your usb stick.

You can also select "add to recovery environment". That way, you can boot into winre.wim ( the normal way by pressing F8 during post and select "repair my computer" - that is how you boot into winre.wim )

Then boot into either of the above to do your partitioning. Preos mode isn't doable on your test machine.


Winre.wim is a bootable file stored in a hidden folder on your drive. It is installed as part of your normal windows 7 installation.

[If you want to check where it is, you can open an admin command prompt and type:

reagentc /info
(press enter) ]

 

[Paul Black]

I am not following this, sorry. What is Preos?
Why can't I do it on my test machine?
Are you saying that I need to do boot media first and then boot into that to create my partition?
I might have to leave this for tonight, I have a consultants appointment tomorrow to see if I have to have another operation.
Thanks for everything today.