Hello. I have 64-bit Win7 installed on a laptop for use in a home networking environment. It is the only operating system installed for booting into (i.e., it is not a multiboot setup) although I do have several VMs available using Oracle VirtualBox. There is only one disk in it, on which there appear to be three different partitions showing in Windows Computer Management Console window. Only one of these partitions has a volume lable, namely, "C:", and it is described as (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition, HPFS/NTFS 02) with a capacity of 453.89 GB. One of the other two unlabled partitions is described as (Active, Recovery Partition, System Windows RE 01), and it appears to have a capacity of 1.46 GB. The second unlabled partition is described simply as (Primary Partition, HDDRECOVERY Hidden HPFS/NTFS 03), and it appears to have a capacity of 10.41 GB.
While making an initial backup for the first time using the latest version of IFW GUI, I have done a complete backup of the entire Disk, including all three of these individual partitions. I backed it up to an external USB drive attached to the laptop directly. It is not entirely clear to me what, if any, data is on the unlabled partitions, but I do want to have all the data that would be necessary to make a complete restore of my system as it is right now, in the event that I should need to reinstall everything to put it back into good working order.
I have a couple of questions about the backup and restore procedure. In the future when I want to make another backup, do I need to continue backing up the unlabled partitions too, or only the partition labled as "C:"? When I want to restore everything at some point so that my system is put back in its current state, is the backup I did sufficient for that purpose? Lastly, when I do subsequent backups, I would like to do an incremental one so that I would be backing up only the parts that have changed. Does the data on these two unlabled partitions change?
I am not 100% certain at this point, but I think that the unlabled partition 03 actually contains the equivalent of a recovery CD, which would return my system to the way it was when it left the manufacturer. Is there a way to look at the data when it is not labled in this way so that I can confirm my hunch? Thanks.
IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
-
TeraByte Support(PP)
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
Having a backup of the entire drive is always a good idea. Your system appears to be booting from the smaller of the unlabeled partitions (marked Active, System). If you need to replace the drive you would at least need the Windows C: partition and the System partition.
You can make differential backups based on the entire drive image or you could create a new image of just C: and then create differentials based on that one. The data on the two unlabeled partitions is not likely to change, but will still be checked if used for the base image. What I usually do is save one backup of the entire drive and then just back up the partitions as desired.
You could open the backup of the recovery partition in TBIView and see the contents. From what you describe, though, it looks pretty standard.
You can make differential backups based on the entire drive image or you could create a new image of just C: and then create differentials based on that one. The data on the two unlabeled partitions is not likely to change, but will still be checked if used for the base image. What I usually do is save one backup of the entire drive and then just back up the partitions as desired.
You could open the backup of the recovery partition in TBIView and see the contents. From what you describe, though, it looks pretty standard.
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
TeraByte Support(PP) wrote:
> Having a backup of the entire drive is always a good idea. Your system
> appears to be booting from the smaller of the unlabeled partitions (marked
> Active, System). If you need to replace the drive you would at least need
> the Windows C: partition and the System partition.
I am understanding by this that I would need to restore both partitions to get my system back as it is right now. Is that right?
>
> You can make differential backups based on the entire drive image or you
> could create a new image of just C: and then create differentials based on
> that one. The data on the two unlabeled partitions is not likely to change,
> but will still be checked if used for the base image. What I usually do is
> save one backup of the entire drive and then just back up the partitions as
> desired.
>
> You could open the backup of the recovery partition in TBIView and see the
> contents. From what you describe, though, it looks pretty standard.
I have used TBIView to look at the contents. There appear to be three "files" or images, like these:
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
When I did this backup procedure, I was functioning inside of the Windows OS, not booted to a CD or USB backup and recovery environment. Also, I did not choose the option to backup unused sectors, etc. If I should need to restore my system to its current condition, do I have the necessary data backed up right now? Would I need to restore it from within a recovery environment (i.e., CD or USB)? I do not have a clone or copy of this disk byte for byte. Thanks.
> Having a backup of the entire drive is always a good idea. Your system
> appears to be booting from the smaller of the unlabeled partitions (marked
> Active, System). If you need to replace the drive you would at least need
> the Windows C: partition and the System partition.
I am understanding by this that I would need to restore both partitions to get my system back as it is right now. Is that right?
>
> You can make differential backups based on the entire drive image or you
> could create a new image of just C: and then create differentials based on
> that one. The data on the two unlabeled partitions is not likely to change,
> but will still be checked if used for the base image. What I usually do is
> save one backup of the entire drive and then just back up the partitions as
> desired.
>
> You could open the backup of the recovery partition in TBIView and see the
> contents. From what you describe, though, it looks pretty standard.
I have used TBIView to look at the contents. There appear to be three "files" or images, like these:
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
When I did this backup procedure, I was functioning inside of the Windows OS, not booted to a CD or USB backup and recovery environment. Also, I did not choose the option to backup unused sectors, etc. If I should need to restore my system to its current condition, do I have the necessary data backed up right now? Would I need to restore it from within a recovery environment (i.e., CD or USB)? I do not have a clone or copy of this disk byte for byte. Thanks.
-
TeraByte Support(PP)
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
When restoring to another drive, to get the system back to how it is right now you would need to restore all three partitions (the entire drive). If you have a need to restore Windows on the same drive you can just restore the Windows partition.
It would appear that the recovery partition is holding your current IFW backup. In this case, when restoring that backup you would not be able to restore the recovery partition since it contains the backup being restored. If restoring from the backup saved on the USB drive, then it wouldn't be a problem.
You would normally need to do the restore from the boot media version (CD, UFD, etc.). An automatic-type restore can be setup if that's what you want.
It would appear that the recovery partition is holding your current IFW backup. In this case, when restoring that backup you would not be able to restore the recovery partition since it contains the backup being restored. If restoring from the backup saved on the USB drive, then it wouldn't be a problem.
You would normally need to do the restore from the boot media version (CD, UFD, etc.). An automatic-type restore can be setup if that's what you want.
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
TeraByte Support(PP) wrote:
> When restoring to another drive, to get the system back to how it is right
> now you would need to restore all three partitions (the entire drive). If
> you have a need to restore Windows on the same drive you can just restore
> the Windows partition.
Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small partition created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main Windows OS partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows? I suppose then, in most cases, that it would be less likely to get corrupted (viruses, power failures, etc.) and to need reinstalled.
>
> It would appear that the recovery partition is holding your current IFW
> backup.
I may have misspoke somehow. Definitely my IFW backup was made to the external USB drive only. I believe that the existing recovery partition is holding the computer manufacturer's plan for recovering my system to its original pristine condition. I will have to look into that procedure myself.
> In this case, when restoring that backup you would not be able to
> restore the recovery partition since it contains the backup being restored.
> If restoring from the backup saved on the USB drive, then it wouldn't be a
> problem.
>
> You would normally need to do the restore from the boot media version (CD,
> UFD, etc.). An automatic-type restore can be setup if that's what you want.
If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the external recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I am assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data with that I made in the backup using IFW.
Using IFW in the past, I always had a byte for byte backup and restore from one disk onto an identical disk attached to a USB drive locally. It was actually a Copy of the disk, even the unused sectors. Now, however, with this new system, that does not seem efficient, if at all feasible, because the laptop's disk is much larger and I do not have another one of this size to copy the data onto.
I do have a large NAS device with a disk that is much larger than my laptop's disk, but they are not the same size. Can one make a byte for byte disk image from the laptop disk onto the NAS disk and later restore it again? Would that process also be a disk copy or what exactly? Thanks.
> When restoring to another drive, to get the system back to how it is right
> now you would need to restore all three partitions (the entire drive). If
> you have a need to restore Windows on the same drive you can just restore
> the Windows partition.
Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small partition created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main Windows OS partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows? I suppose then, in most cases, that it would be less likely to get corrupted (viruses, power failures, etc.) and to need reinstalled.
>
> It would appear that the recovery partition is holding your current IFW
> backup.
I may have misspoke somehow. Definitely my IFW backup was made to the external USB drive only. I believe that the existing recovery partition is holding the computer manufacturer's plan for recovering my system to its original pristine condition. I will have to look into that procedure myself.
> In this case, when restoring that backup you would not be able to
> restore the recovery partition since it contains the backup being restored.
> If restoring from the backup saved on the USB drive, then it wouldn't be a
> problem.
>
> You would normally need to do the restore from the boot media version (CD,
> UFD, etc.). An automatic-type restore can be setup if that's what you want.
If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the external recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I am assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data with that I made in the backup using IFW.
Using IFW in the past, I always had a byte for byte backup and restore from one disk onto an identical disk attached to a USB drive locally. It was actually a Copy of the disk, even the unused sectors. Now, however, with this new system, that does not seem efficient, if at all feasible, because the laptop's disk is much larger and I do not have another one of this size to copy the data onto.
I do have a large NAS device with a disk that is much larger than my laptop's disk, but they are not the same size. Can one make a byte for byte disk image from the laptop disk onto the NAS disk and later restore it again? Would that process also be a disk copy or what exactly? Thanks.
-
TeraByte Support(PP)
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
userX wrote:
> Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small partition
> created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main Windows OS
> partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows?
Correct. It's used for booting (it's the System Reseved partition), which is why it's required when you restore to a different drive. Please note that since it is the booting partition and is required to get into Windows, backing up this partition and the Windows partition together is a good idea (that way, you always have both).
> I may have misspoke somehow. Definitely my IFW backup was made to the external USB
> drive only. I believe that the existing recovery partition is holding the computer
> manufacturer's plan for recovering my system to its original pristine condition. I
> will have to look into that procedure myself.
If it's a factory recovery partition it also will not be changing. Once you have a backup it's not necessary to update it. However, if you later want to create another backup of the entire drive you would include it.
> If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the external
> recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I am
> assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data with
> that I made in the backup using IFW.
Correct. The existing partitions would be replaced with the restored partitions.
> Using IFW in the past, I always had a byte for byte backup and restore from one disk
> onto an identical disk attached to a USB drive locally. It was actually a Copy of the
> disk, even the unused sectors. Now, however, with this new system, that does not
> seem efficient, if at all feasible, because the laptop's disk is much larger and I do
> not have another one of this size to copy the data onto.
>
> I do have a large NAS device with a disk that is much larger than my laptop's disk,
> but they are not the same size. Can one make a byte for byte disk image from the
> laptop disk onto the NAS disk and later restore it again? Would that process also be
> a disk copy or what exactly? Thanks.
You can include unused sectors when creating the backup image. You can also do a validate byte-for-byte. However, that's usually only necessary in special cases (corrupted drive, data-loss recovery, etc.). Unless you have a pressing reason I'd just run standard backups -- they'll run a lot faster and take up a lot less space.
> Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small partition
> created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main Windows OS
> partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows?
Correct. It's used for booting (it's the System Reseved partition), which is why it's required when you restore to a different drive. Please note that since it is the booting partition and is required to get into Windows, backing up this partition and the Windows partition together is a good idea (that way, you always have both).
> I may have misspoke somehow. Definitely my IFW backup was made to the external USB
> drive only. I believe that the existing recovery partition is holding the computer
> manufacturer's plan for recovering my system to its original pristine condition. I
> will have to look into that procedure myself.
If it's a factory recovery partition it also will not be changing. Once you have a backup it's not necessary to update it. However, if you later want to create another backup of the entire drive you would include it.
> If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the external
> recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I am
> assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data with
> that I made in the backup using IFW.
Correct. The existing partitions would be replaced with the restored partitions.
> Using IFW in the past, I always had a byte for byte backup and restore from one disk
> onto an identical disk attached to a USB drive locally. It was actually a Copy of the
> disk, even the unused sectors. Now, however, with this new system, that does not
> seem efficient, if at all feasible, because the laptop's disk is much larger and I do
> not have another one of this size to copy the data onto.
>
> I do have a large NAS device with a disk that is much larger than my laptop's disk,
> but they are not the same size. Can one make a byte for byte disk image from the
> laptop disk onto the NAS disk and later restore it again? Would that process also be
> a disk copy or what exactly? Thanks.
You can include unused sectors when creating the backup image. You can also do a validate byte-for-byte. However, that's usually only necessary in special cases (corrupted drive, data-loss recovery, etc.). Unless you have a pressing reason I'd just run standard backups -- they'll run a lot faster and take up a lot less space.
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
TeraByte Support(PP) wrote:
> userX wrote:
> > Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small
> partition
> > created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main
> Windows OS
> > partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows?
>
> Correct. It's used for booting (it's the System Reseved partition), which is why it's
> required when you restore to a different drive. Please note that since it is the
> booting partition and is required to get into Windows, backing up this partition and
> the Windows partition together is a good idea (that way, you always have both).
PP, hello. I want to revisit our dialogue about this procedure again because I am going to do something new to my system, which I have not done in the past, and there is no room (ZERO) for error in my understanding of how to recover my system if anything unexpected were to happen to ruin the file system or booting partition, etc. I appreciate your patience.
I previously explained that I used IFW from within Windows to backup the three partitions on my laptop's hard drive to an external USB drive attached directly to one of the laptop's ports. When I finished, the backups looked like this:
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
Those were the initial complete backups of these partitions. Just now I completed two more separate backups, one of the boot partition represented by image "..- _0.TBI", and one of the system partition (i.e., the C: drive) represented by image "...-_1.TBI". This time I also did the backups from within Windows with IFW, but I made the backup of "changes only", instead of the whole partitions, and I put them on the same USB drive as before. The backed-up images look like this now:
Backup-w0-0x1-chg-2012-09-08-1403.TBI
Backup-w0-0x2-chg-2012-09-08-1427.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
[snip]
> If it's a factory recovery partition it also will not be changing. Once you have a
> backup it's not necessary to update it. However, if you later want to create another
> backup of the entire drive you would include it.
In regard to your statement about the boot partition not changing, I am curious because the new "change only" backup of that partition included 6060 KB, while the initial one was 168,692 KB. I am thinking that in both cases I used the Standard Compression option. So I can't really account for the size of the new backup. I suppose I should expect to see something even when nothing changes merely because the filesystem container takes up some space?
>
> > If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the
> external
> > recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I
> am
> > assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data
> with
> > that I made in the backup using IFW.
>
> Correct. The existing partitions would be replaced with the restored partitions.
Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to use for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the "change only" image? Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do the restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it is not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want it to overwrite, or what exactly would occur. Can you expound on this process a bit for me?
My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me since I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed on it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
> userX wrote:
> > Okay, this is good information for the distinction you made. So the small
> partition
> > created by Windows 7 when it installed does not undergo change as the main
> Windows OS
> > partition is modified? It is merely there for booting into Windows?
>
> Correct. It's used for booting (it's the System Reseved partition), which is why it's
> required when you restore to a different drive. Please note that since it is the
> booting partition and is required to get into Windows, backing up this partition and
> the Windows partition together is a good idea (that way, you always have both).
PP, hello. I want to revisit our dialogue about this procedure again because I am going to do something new to my system, which I have not done in the past, and there is no room (ZERO) for error in my understanding of how to recover my system if anything unexpected were to happen to ruin the file system or booting partition, etc. I appreciate your patience.
I previously explained that I used IFW from within Windows to backup the three partitions on my laptop's hard drive to an external USB drive attached directly to one of the laptop's ports. When I finished, the backups looked like this:
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
Those were the initial complete backups of these partitions. Just now I completed two more separate backups, one of the boot partition represented by image "..- _0.TBI", and one of the system partition (i.e., the C: drive) represented by image "...-_1.TBI". This time I also did the backups from within Windows with IFW, but I made the backup of "changes only", instead of the whole partitions, and I put them on the same USB drive as before. The backed-up images look like this now:
Backup-w0-0x1-chg-2012-09-08-1403.TBI
Backup-w0-0x2-chg-2012-09-08-1427.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_0.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_1.TBI
Backup-w0-2012-08-27-2041_2.TBI
[snip]
> If it's a factory recovery partition it also will not be changing. Once you have a
> backup it's not necessary to update it. However, if you later want to create another
> backup of the entire drive you would include it.
In regard to your statement about the boot partition not changing, I am curious because the new "change only" backup of that partition included 6060 KB, while the initial one was 168,692 KB. I am thinking that in both cases I used the Standard Compression option. So I can't really account for the size of the new backup. I suppose I should expect to see something even when nothing changes merely because the filesystem container takes up some space?
>
> > If I understand this correctly, I envision a recovery while booted into the
> external
> > recovery environment of IFW or IFL using the data on the USB created just now. I
> am
> > assuming that this process would completely overwrite the contents of the data
> with
> > that I made in the backup using IFW.
>
> Correct. The existing partitions would be replaced with the restored partitions.
Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to use for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the "change only" image? Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do the restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it is not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want it to overwrite, or what exactly would occur. Can you expound on this process a bit for me?
My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me since I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed on it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
-
TeraByte Support(PP)
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
userX wrote:
> In regard to your statement about the boot partition not changing, I am curious
> because the new "change only" backup of that partition included 6060 KB,
> while the initial one was 168,692 KB. I am thinking that in both cases I used the
> Standard Compression option. So I can't really account for the size of the new
> backup. I suppose I should expect to see something even when nothing changes merely
> because the filesystem container takes up some space?
Is the partition visible to Windows (assigned a drive letter)? If it is, then it's more likely to have changes than otherwise. However, the changes may not be anything important (defrag, for example). It is possible some other files are on the partition, depending on how the system is setup. I normally include the "System" partition along with the Windows partition since it's usually so small and they're paired.
> Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to use
> for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to
> restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the
> "change only" image?
You would select the differntial image (the "changes only" backup). It will find the matching full image if it's in the same folder. Otherwise, it will ask you to specify it.
> Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I
> restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do the
> restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it is
> not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want it
> to overwrite, or what exactly would occur.
If the backup is of the entire drive you would select the drive for the destination when restoring. All existing partitions on the selected drive will be removed (there will be a warning) when the restore is started. If the backup is of a single partition you would need to select an existing partition (e.g. restoring over the original) or free space as the destination. If the backup contains multiple partitions, but not all the partitions, then you can restore them all at once if restoring back to the original drive (otherwise, restore them one at a time).
> My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery
> environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me since
> I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed on
> it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
Correct. You would need to boot to IFL, IFD, or IFW in WinPE (e.g. TBWinPE/RE). If you haven't already, it's a good idea to boot to the recovery media and make sure your drives and partitions are seen correctly and that your backups validate successfully.
> In regard to your statement about the boot partition not changing, I am curious
> because the new "change only" backup of that partition included 6060 KB,
> while the initial one was 168,692 KB. I am thinking that in both cases I used the
> Standard Compression option. So I can't really account for the size of the new
> backup. I suppose I should expect to see something even when nothing changes merely
> because the filesystem container takes up some space?
Is the partition visible to Windows (assigned a drive letter)? If it is, then it's more likely to have changes than otherwise. However, the changes may not be anything important (defrag, for example). It is possible some other files are on the partition, depending on how the system is setup. I normally include the "System" partition along with the Windows partition since it's usually so small and they're paired.
> Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to use
> for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to
> restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the
> "change only" image?
You would select the differntial image (the "changes only" backup). It will find the matching full image if it's in the same folder. Otherwise, it will ask you to specify it.
> Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I
> restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do the
> restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it is
> not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want it
> to overwrite, or what exactly would occur.
If the backup is of the entire drive you would select the drive for the destination when restoring. All existing partitions on the selected drive will be removed (there will be a warning) when the restore is started. If the backup is of a single partition you would need to select an existing partition (e.g. restoring over the original) or free space as the destination. If the backup contains multiple partitions, but not all the partitions, then you can restore them all at once if restoring back to the original drive (otherwise, restore them one at a time).
> My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery
> environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me since
> I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed on
> it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
Correct. You would need to boot to IFL, IFD, or IFW in WinPE (e.g. TBWinPE/RE). If you haven't already, it's a good idea to boot to the recovery media and make sure your drives and partitions are seen correctly and that your backups validate successfully.
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
TeraByte Support(PP) wrote:
> Is the partition visible to Windows (assigned a drive letter)? If it is, then it's
> more likely to have changes than otherwise. However, the changes may not be anything
> important (defrag, for example). It is possible some other files are on the partition,
> depending on how the system is setup. I normally include the "System" partition
> along with the Windows partition since it's usually so small and they're paired.
The partition is visible in Windows Disk Mngt console, but there is no drive letter assigned to it. It is described as Healthy (Active Recovery Partition), and its size shows as 1.46 GB. It appears to have no recognizable file system as far as I can see as reported by Windows in the Mngt console. I am surprised it is this large if in fact it holds nothing more than boot data. Doesn't that seem a bit large to you, or normal? How can I take a look to see what is on it without risking damage to it?
If I understand you right, you referred to it as the "System" partition. What makes you do so? I am inclined to refer to the other one where Windows is installed as the System partition (e.g., %systemroot%). Also, in the Mngt. Console where the other partion is listed, the one where C: is located, it shows this: Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition). So, if this partition indeed has Boot data, what data is on the other partition, the unlabeled one? I am confused about that point.
>
> > Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to
> use
> > for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to
> > restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the
> > "change only" image?
>
> You would select the differntial image (the "changes only" backup). It will find
> the matching full image if it's in the same folder. Otherwise, it will ask you to
> specify it.
>
> > Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I
> > restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do
> the
> > restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it
> is
> > not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want
> it
> > to overwrite, or what exactly would occur.
>
> If the backup is of the entire drive you would select the drive for the destination
> when restoring. All existing partitions on the selected drive will be removed (there
> will be a warning) when the restore is started. If the backup is of a single partition
> you would need to select an existing partition (e.g. restoring over the original)
> or free space as the destination. If the backup contains multiple partitions, but
> not all the partitions, then you can restore them all at once if restoring back
> to the original drive (otherwise, restore them one at a time).
>
> > My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery
> > environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me
> since
> > I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed
> on
> > it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
>
> Correct. You would need to boot to IFL, IFD, or IFW in WinPE (e.g. TBWinPE/RE). If
> you haven't already, it's a good idea to boot to the recovery media and make sure
> your drives and partitions are seen correctly and that your backups validate successfully.
Two questions about yout statement. Maybe I am mistaken, but when I burned the IFL CD for using as a bootable recovery environment, I found it here: C:\Program Files (x86)\TeraByte Unlimited\Image for Windows\V2\IFL\IFLv2.ISO\. It was simply a matter of burining it to the CD like any other ISO image, but I was not aware of utilizing the WinPE program such as you just mentioned. What am I missing there?
> Is the partition visible to Windows (assigned a drive letter)? If it is, then it's
> more likely to have changes than otherwise. However, the changes may not be anything
> important (defrag, for example). It is possible some other files are on the partition,
> depending on how the system is setup. I normally include the "System" partition
> along with the Windows partition since it's usually so small and they're paired.
The partition is visible in Windows Disk Mngt console, but there is no drive letter assigned to it. It is described as Healthy (Active Recovery Partition), and its size shows as 1.46 GB. It appears to have no recognizable file system as far as I can see as reported by Windows in the Mngt console. I am surprised it is this large if in fact it holds nothing more than boot data. Doesn't that seem a bit large to you, or normal? How can I take a look to see what is on it without risking damage to it?
If I understand you right, you referred to it as the "System" partition. What makes you do so? I am inclined to refer to the other one where Windows is installed as the System partition (e.g., %systemroot%). Also, in the Mngt. Console where the other partion is listed, the one where C: is located, it shows this: Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition). So, if this partition indeed has Boot data, what data is on the other partition, the unlabeled one? I am confused about that point.
>
> > Now, if it becomes necessary to restore, I have two images for two partitions to
> use
> > for doing so. During a restore process, when the program asks for the image to
> > restore from, should I initially point to the original backup image or the
> > "change only" image?
>
> You would select the differntial image (the "changes only" backup). It will find
> the matching full image if it's in the same folder. Otherwise, it will ask you to
> specify it.
>
> > Also, would it matter which one of these partitions I
> > restore first? Does one do them all at once or one at a time? Finally, when I do
> the
> > restore, would I tell it to restore to the disk or to the partition, because it
> is
> > not clear to me how the program would know where to restore to or whether I want
> it
> > to overwrite, or what exactly would occur.
>
> If the backup is of the entire drive you would select the drive for the destination
> when restoring. All existing partitions on the selected drive will be removed (there
> will be a warning) when the restore is started. If the backup is of a single partition
> you would need to select an existing partition (e.g. restoring over the original)
> or free space as the destination. If the backup contains multiple partitions, but
> not all the partitions, then you can restore them all at once if restoring back
> to the original drive (otherwise, restore them one at a time).
>
> > My intention in the event of needing to restore is to boot into a IFL recovery
> > environment from the CD. Doing so would be the only way that makes sense to me
> since
> > I cannot restore to the very same partition while running from Windows installed
> on
> > it. Does this all sound correct? Thanks.
>
> Correct. You would need to boot to IFL, IFD, or IFW in WinPE (e.g. TBWinPE/RE). If
> you haven't already, it's a good idea to boot to the recovery media and make sure
> your drives and partitions are seen correctly and that your backups validate successfully.
Two questions about yout statement. Maybe I am mistaken, but when I burned the IFL CD for using as a bootable recovery environment, I found it here: C:\Program Files (x86)\TeraByte Unlimited\Image for Windows\V2\IFL\IFLv2.ISO\. It was simply a matter of burining it to the CD like any other ISO image, but I was not aware of utilizing the WinPE program such as you just mentioned. What am I missing there?
-
TeraByte Support(PP)
- Posts: 1646
- Joined: Fri Aug 12, 2011 12:51 am
Re: IFW backup of Win7 with multiple partitions
Look in Disk Management and check the details for each partition. The partition with the booting files (the partition that booted to Windows) will be marked as "System, Active" and the Windows partition will be marked as "Boot" (seems backwards to me too, but that's the way it is). From what you've described it looks like the the "System" partition is larger because it contains the WinRE files along with other data.
Normally, when creating the recovery media you would run the MakeDisk program in the appropriate folder. It will allow for customization of options and also get the key so the program is unlocked when you boot to it. TBWinPE and TBWinRE can be created using the tutorials (TBWinPE: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/ ... torial.htm, TBWinRE: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/ ... torial.htm). Since you have Windows 7, I would suggest using the TBWinRE version (it's generally easier and doesn't require a large download).
Normally, when creating the recovery media you would run the MakeDisk program in the appropriate folder. It will allow for customization of options and also get the key so the program is unlocked when you boot to it. TBWinPE and TBWinRE can be created using the tutorials (TBWinPE: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/ ... torial.htm, TBWinRE: http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/ ... torial.htm). Since you have Windows 7, I would suggest using the TBWinRE version (it's generally easier and doesn't require a large download).