Currently using Ghost 15 (believe all live updates installed properly).
Problem is that even with SP1 applied when restoring an image to a new (fresh out of the box) hard drive I still need to restore the 'System Reserved' partition first (using the 'Edit' option) and then restore the Windows 7 partition.
Question: Is this still an issue with SP1 or am I doing something wrong.
Which backup and restore process for an operating system disk is best? A "cold" backup followed by the same restore, as in using the SRD to perform both functions?
When doing a warm image restore to a new out of the box drive does the new drive end up becoming a second bootable operating system disk (until you reconfigure the heardware?)
Thank for asking the question, and thanks for the first answer.
A follow on question for me would be, if my OS is on a RAID 0 drive (dual SATA disks) is there any different consideration for putting my clone on a PATA drive on a different adapter?
Auburn wrote:
Which backup and restore process for an operating system disk is best? A "cold" backup followed by the same restore, as in using the SRD to perform both functions?
It would depend on how frequently you want to do back ups. The cold backup is good for when you do not want to install the program. It would be good if you are trying to image a drive that is failing and you want to keep reads / writes to a minimum.
When doing a warm image restore to a new out of the box drive does the new drive end up becoming a second bootable operating system disk (until you reconfigure the hardware?)
A hot backup is good because you can use your computer while the back is being made. It also supports incremental backups which only has to image changed sectors. This means that the incremental iv2i files are quite small compared to a full v2i image file. Ghost runs pretty fast doing an incremental backup.
As far as restoring to a new drive, make sure Windows never sees it until you boot from it with the original drive unplugged. After you boot from it it will be OK to use your old drive. You do not want the new drive to have a drive letter when you restore to it. Windows assigns a disk signature and drive letter to a drive the first time it is detected. If you restore an image to it that has the signature in the registry, it will not boot. So, if windows saw the drive, zero fill it with the drive manufacturer's utility before you restore an image to it. The fist time you boot from the new dive, it will assign it the letter C.
Thank for asking the question, and thanks for the first answer.
A follow on question for me would be, if my OS is on a RAID 0 drive (dual SATA disks) is there any different consideration for putting my clone on a PATA drive on a different adapter?
I do not have experience with RAID, but you may have to delete the drivers before you do the image and let Windows reinstall them when you recover if that is possible. Other than that you may need something like Ghost's sister program Backup Exec System Recovery. It allows restores to dissimilar hardware. Someone will probably come along and comment on that.
If I use the "By Date" option it will create an error when I try to do the restore, can even proceed to the next step, this is why I used the two step method.
I'll try the view recovery points by 'System' option and see what happens. Will report back in a day or two. Be aware that currently there is only one image backup on the USB drive so its not like I need to pick one from a list of many.
Thanks.
Currently using Ghost 15 (believe all live updates installed properly).
Problem is that even with SP1 applied when restoring an image to a new (fresh out of the box) hard drive I still need to restore the 'System Reserved' partition first (using the 'Edit' option) and then restore the Windows 7 partition.
Question: Is this still an issue with SP1 or am I doing something wrong.
Redk9258:
Tried the "By System" option. The problem is the same in that if the old drive was 80GB and the new drive is 500GB (unallocated) Ghost will automatically create an 80GB partition. This is evident when you choose the "Edit" option as you will see both the System,Reserved partition and a 80GB slice of the new drive already created. This is where I need to delete the partitions so the 500GB is all listed as "Unallocated" and then recreate the System partition and set the options. Then repeat the procees for the Windows 7 partition with the 'Resize' option enabled. Then the restore to a larger hard drive works as expected and expands thet Windows 7 partition to utilize all the available drive space.
If it was not for the fact that Ghost jumps the gun and creates both partitions before you even try restoring then what you suggested would work.
I think the restore wizard could be more user friendly. The functions are there but not always obvious. Ghost should detect that the drive is a different size and ask how you want to handle the extra space. You could always expand the C drive or add another partition in Windows 7 disk management too.
JImS wrote:This is where I need to delete the partitions so the 500GB is all listed as "Unallocated" and then recreate the System partition and set the options. Then repeat the procees for the Windows 7 partition with the 'Resize' option enabled. Then the restore to a larger hard drive works as expected and expands thet Windows 7 partition to utilize all the available drive space.
Jim,
I agree. This is not an intuitive menu. You and I only found this by trial and error. A first timer will have trouble.