Restoring an image backup to a brand new HD?

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it could
be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable into
windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption on my
part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have never tried
it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there is some
limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image to a
virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).


Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on
it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there
is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image
to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).


Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

I knew it worked well on a functional hard drive, but I didn't know if it
would work ok on a brand new, unformatted and unitialized, hard drive. From
what you're saying it does, and it takes care of all of that automatically.
Which is good to know.

So from that point of view, you don't really ever need a disk CLONE,
assuming you have some image backups, a bootable CD with ATI on it, AND a
brand new hard drive handy.

I guess the only disadvantage of this emergency backup method (i.e., for a
completely ruined defective main hard drive) is that it relies on having a
bootable ATI restore CD handy, and a good reliable image backup on another
drive, AND on having a brand new hard drive handy - instead of just
replacing the drive with a CLONE.

From: "Bill in Co"

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on
it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into
the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an
assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there
is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image
to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

I knew it worked well on a functional hard drive, but I didn't know if it
would work ok on a brand new, unformatted and unitialized, hard drive.
From what you're saying it does, and it takes care of all of that
automatically. Which is good to know.

So from that point of view, you don't really ever need a disk CLONE,
assuming you have some image backups, a bootable CD with ATI on it, AND a
brand new hard drive handy.

I guess the only disadvantage of this emergency backup method (i.e., for a
completely ruined defective main hard drive) is that it relies on having a
bootable ATI restore CD handy, and a good reliable image backup on another
drive, AND on having a brand new hard drive handy - instead of just
replacing the drive with a CLONE.

A clone is disk to disk.

An image is the disk made to a disk file.

I can clone a drive goingf from disk to disk but I can also clone a drive
going from disk to image and then from image to disk.


--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

On 3/20/2012 8:06 PM, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored
on it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up
into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to
restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard
drive that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if
there is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an
image to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have
the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

I knew it worked well on a functional hard drive, but I didn't know if
it would work ok on a brand new, unformatted and unitialized, hard
drive. From what you're saying it does, and it takes care of all of
that automatically. Which is good to know.

So from that point of view, you don't really ever need a disk CLONE,
assuming you have some image backups, a bootable CD with ATI on it,
AND a brand new hard drive handy.

I guess the only disadvantage of this emergency backup method (i.e.,
for a completely ruined defective main hard drive) is that it relies
on having a bootable ATI restore CD handy, and a good reliable image
backup on another drive, AND on having a brand new hard drive handy -
instead of just replacing the drive with a CLONE.

A clone is disk to disk.

An image is the disk made to a disk file.

I can clone a drive goingf from disk to disk but I can also clone a
drive going from disk to image and then from image to disk.

True, but the latter takes twice as long. Plus in the time you can do a
backup image, you could be testing the clone to see if everything is ok.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0
Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 8 CP

From: "BillW50"

On 3/20/2012 8:06 PM, David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored
on it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally
is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up
into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to
restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard
drive that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive
bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an
assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if
there is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an
image to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have
the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

I knew it worked well on a functional hard drive, but I didn't know if
it would work ok on a brand new, unformatted and unitialized, hard
drive. From what you're saying it does, and it takes care of all of
that automatically. Which is good to know.

So from that point of view, you don't really ever need a disk CLONE,
assuming you have some image backups, a bootable CD with ATI on it,
AND a brand new hard drive handy.

I guess the only disadvantage of this emergency backup method (i.e.,
for a completely ruined defective main hard drive) is that it relies
on having a bootable ATI restore CD handy, and a good reliable image
backup on another drive, AND on having a brand new hard drive handy -
instead of just replacing the drive with a CLONE.

A clone is disk to disk.

An image is the disk made to a disk file.

I can clone a drive goingf from disk to disk but I can also clone a
drive going from disk to image and then from image to disk.

True, but the latter takes twice as long. Plus in the time you can do a
backup image, you could be testing the clone to see if everything is ok.


Yes, it takes longer but there are advantages.

For example you can't clone an 80GB drive with 40GB free to a 60GB drive but
you can image that 80GB drive with 40GB free and then restore that image to
a 60GB drive.

Then there is the concept of image distribution. Software can use multicast
IP to restore one image to multiple computers at the same time.

Then there is the concept of a failing drive. It is better to get an iumage
than a clone because you want to get that image down and onece you have it
you can use it over and over. You might get one cahnce from the failing
drive. Make a mistake that causes you to repeat the process and if that
drive fails, you are too late.

Then there is the concept of disater recovery. You have that image for the
recovery.


--
Dave
Multi-AV Scanning Tool - http://multi-av.thespykiller.co.uk
http://www.pctipp.ch/downloads/dl/35905.asp

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

David H. Lipman wrote:
From: "Bill in Co"

I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on
it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into
the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to
restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an
assumption
on my part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have
never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there
is
some limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image
to
a virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

Yes. That's the whole idea of an "image".

In fact you can have a 80GB hard disk with 10GB free and image it.

The install a 250GB bare hard disk and restore the image and now have
the
same OS on that 250GB hard disk with 180GB free.

I knew it worked well on a functional hard drive, but I didn't know if it
would work ok on a brand new, unformatted and unitialized, hard drive.
From what you're saying it does, and it takes care of all of that
automatically. Which is good to know.

So from that point of view, you don't really ever need a disk CLONE,
assuming you have some image backups, a bootable CD with ATI on it, AND a
brand new hard drive handy.

I guess the only disadvantage of this emergency backup method (i.e., for
a
completely ruined defective main hard drive) is that it relies on having
a
bootable ATI restore CD handy, and a good reliable image backup on
another
drive, AND on having a brand new hard drive handy - instead of just
replacing the drive with a CLONE.

A clone is disk to disk.

An image is the disk made to a disk file.

I can clone a drive goingf from disk to disk but I can also clone a drive
going from disk to image and then from image to disk.

Let's suppose you have a disk with 4 partitions on it. AFAIK, you can
either clone the disk (the entire disk), or choose which partitions to
image, but not image the whole disk in one image, and one simple operation,
unless I'm missing something.

On Tue, 20 Mar 2012 20:59:32 -0600, "Bill in Co"
wrote:

Let's suppose you have a disk with 4 partitions on it. AFAIK, you can
either clone the disk (the entire disk), or choose which partitions to
image, but not image the whole disk in one image, and one simple operation,
unless I'm missing something.

Yes, you're missing something. When you choose to create an image, you
can select one partition, multiple partitions, all partitions, or the
entire disk.

On 3/20/2012 7:20 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it could
be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable into
windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption on my
part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have never tried
it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there is some
limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image to a
virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

If you backup just the partition, no! Although you should be able to fix
it with a XP install CD (not a recovery disc in most cases). With
Acronis True Image you need to backup the whole drive (MBR, Boot,
System, etc) except any partition (if you have more) that you don't care
about.

NOTE ABOUT ACRONIS: It will fail to restore (only) with some USB drives.
All other functions will work perfectly. So you would know until to try
to restore. So go through the motions and at the point to pick the
backup to restore and it can find the USB drive, you are good. So you
don't have to do the actual restore to find out if your USB drive will
work or not. Sometimes it will work with some one day and the next day, no.

Having said all of the above, it still can fail for veriest reasons.
Because of this, I throw in a spare drive and test it out to make sure
everything is ok when I test to see if the restores are ok. Most people
don't bother and learn the hard way like I used to.

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0
Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 8 CP

BillW50 wrote:
On 3/20/2012 7:20 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could
be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on
it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into
windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption on
my
part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have never
tried
it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there is some
limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image to a
virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

If you backup just the partition, no! Although you should be able to fix
it with a XP install CD (not a recovery disc in most cases). With
Acronis True Image you need to backup the whole drive (MBR, Boot,
System, etc) except any partition (if you have more) that you don't care
about.

Well, when I create an image backup in Acronis, I just select C: as the
partition, and it seems to backup everything related to that. (It seems to
know about MBR and Track 0, as I mention below):

When I use Acronis to restore, I select C: in the checkbox, and just below
that, it puts a dotted box around the MBR and Track 0, which I assume
implies it's restoring those too.

NOTE ABOUT ACRONIS: It will fail to restore (only) with some USB drives.
All other functions will work perfectly. So you would know until to try
to restore. So go through the motions and at the point to pick the
backup to restore and it can find the USB drive, you are good. So you
don't have to do the actual restore to find out if your USB drive will
work or not. Sometimes it will work with some one day and the next day,
no.

Having said all of the above, it still can fail for veriest reasons.
Because of this, I throw in a spare drive and test it out to make sure
everything is ok when I test to see if the restores are ok. Most people
don't bother and learn the hard way like I used to.

I have successfully used Acronis True Image Home (version 11) to back up my
system with both USB external and SATA internal and external drives and so
far, without issues (fortunately) in the restorations, which I have done a
lot of.

On 3/20/2012 7:54 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
BillW50 wrote:
On 3/20/2012 7:20 PM, Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could
be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized? Let me
explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD that
only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system stored on
it,
AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD handy.

So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally is
unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into the
boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to restore
from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that
has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive bootable
into
windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only an assumption on
my
part. I know the operation works well on a normal HD, but have never
tried
it out on a brand new hard drive, and am wondering if there is some
limitation there I'm not aware of (like you can't restore an image to a
virgin hard drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

If you backup just the partition, no! Although you should be able to fix
it with a XP install CD (not a recovery disc in most cases). With
Acronis True Image you need to backup the whole drive (MBR, Boot,
System, etc) except any partition (if you have more) that you don't care
about.

Well, when I create an image backup in Acronis, I just select C: as the
partition, and it seems to backup everything related to that. (It seems to
know about MBR and Track 0, as I mention below):

When I use Acronis to restore, I select C: in the checkbox, and just below
that, it puts a dotted box around the MBR and Track 0, which I assume
implies it's restoring those too.

NOTE ABOUT ACRONIS: It will fail to restore (only) with some USB drives.
All other functions will work perfectly. So you would know until to try
to restore. So go through the motions and at the point to pick the
backup to restore and it can find the USB drive, you are good. So you
don't have to do the actual restore to find out if your USB drive will
work or not. Sometimes it will work with some one day and the next day,
no.

Having said all of the above, it still can fail for veriest reasons.
Because of this, I throw in a spare drive and test it out to make sure
everything is ok when I test to see if the restores are ok. Most people
don't bother and learn the hard way like I used to.

I have successfully used Acronis True Image Home (version 11) to back up my
system with both USB external and SATA internal and external drives and so
far, without issues (fortunately) in the restorations, which I have done a
lot of.

I have Acronis True Image 2009, 2011, and the free WD and Seagate
versions. And these all have problems with some USB drives. But if it
passes this test and everything you have stated, it sounds like you are
good to go. ;-)

--
Bill
Gateway M465e ('06 era) - Thunderbird v3.0
Centrino Core2 Duo T7400 2.16 GHz - 1.5GB - Windows 8 CP

Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely brand new hard drive* that has never been used or
initialized? Let me explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system
stored on it, AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD
handy.
So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally
is unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into
the boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to
restore from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive
bootable into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only
an assumption on my part. I know the operation works well on a
normal HD, but have never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and
am wondering if there is some limitation there I'm not aware of (like
you can't restore an image to a virgin hard drive that has never been
initialized or whatever).

Suppose you didn't have an image, what would you do? You'd use the new
drive manufacturer's program to clone the existing drive. So yes, you can
restore an image you have to the new drive.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico

dadiOH wrote:
Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely brand new hard drive* that has never been used or
initialized? Let me explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system
stored on it, AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD
handy.
So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally
is unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up into
the boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd like to
restore from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard drive
that has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard drive
bootable into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but that's only
an assumption on my part. I know the operation works well on a
normal HD, but have never tried it out on a brand new hard drive, and
am wondering if there is some limitation there I'm not aware of (like
you can't restore an image to a virgin hard drive that has never been
initialized or whatever).

Suppose you didn't have an image, what would you do? You'd use the new
drive manufacturer's program to clone the existing drive. So yes, you can
restore an image you have to the new drive.

?? Not sure what you meant here. If your original main HD failed, you
can't clone or access it under any situation, as its completely borked. By
borked I mean it's toast.

Bill in Co wrote:
dadiOH wrote:
Bill in Co wrote:
I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but
it could be more general, too.

Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a
*completely brand new hard drive* that has never been used or
initialized? Let me explain further:

Suppose your main hard drive dies, and that you also have another HD
that only contains some Acronis True Image backups of your system
stored on it, AND that you also have an Acronis True Image Boot CD
handy.
So you replace the bad drive with a brand new drive (which naturally
is unbootable if you just tried to boot up on it).

However, using your Acronis boot CD, you can use that to boot up
into the boot CD, and then presumably select a backup image you'd
like to restore from the other HD.

BUT will the restore operation work for a brand new virgin hard
drive that has never been used before (i.e. make the brand new hard
drive bootable into windows, etc)? I'm guessing it will, but
that's only an assumption on my part. I know the operation works
well on a normal HD, but have never tried it out on a brand new
hard drive, and am wondering if there is some limitation there I'm
not aware of (like you can't restore an image to a virgin hard
drive that has never been initialized or whatever).

Suppose you didn't have an image, what would you do? You'd use the
new drive manufacturer's program to clone the existing drive. So
yes, you can restore an image you have to the new drive.

?? Not sure what you meant here. If your original main HD failed,
you can't clone or access it under any situation, as its completely
borked. By borked I mean it's toast.

I meant if you bought a new drive which you wanted to use as your system
drive. The new drive program is cloning the info from the old disc. That
works. Same is true if you restore an image of a failed drive to a new HD.
That works too (assuming no mobo change or a program capable of rectifying
changes). Both situations are doing the same thing...writing an image to a
new HD; in the first case, the image is coming from an existing HD; in the
second, the image was already made.

--

dadiOH
____________________________

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| I'm a little confused about this seemingly basic issue, in this case
| involving the use of Acronis True Image and its backup images, but it
could
| be more general, too.
|
| Is it possible to restore an image backup of your system to a *completely
| brand new hard drive* that has never been used or initialized?

There's really no such thing as "initialized". A new
disk doesn't get broken in. The only difference is that
it doesn't yet have partitions.

I use BootIt. I can copy an image from CD or disk
to any empty space that will fit it, on any disk. The
only difference is that I always partition the new drive
before installing OSs. (I leave room for 3 primaries in
front and then apportion the rest for logical data
partitions in an extended partition.)

This isn't an Acronis issue. It's about how disks work.
But the software you use could have limitations in what
it can do. Also, there seem to be different definitions used,
which can make things confusing. (In this thread, one
person defines an image as a partition backup while
another defines it as a section-of-disk backup.)