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Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?



 
 
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  #61  
Old June 22nd 18, 06:45 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
VanguardLH[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,881
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

VanguardLH wrote:

Ed Cryer wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:

When you set up a brand new OEM PC, it takes you through account
creation before you can do anything (even install Macrium).
Your solution would restore that account.

Not a clue what you are talking about. WHAT account is forcibly
established when you "set up" a new OEM PC? The pre-built (OEM) PC is
already setup before you even get it. I've gotten stuck working on
several pre-builts and don't remember ever being forced to create some
"account" before the PC is usable nor after starting to use it.

The OEM uses a sysprep image (by family line and model within family)
and ply a sticker on the case whose product key won't match the volume
license for the sysprep image they put on that computer and why you
should use Magic Jellybean or similar to record the product key for the
actual sysprep image on the HDD.

We're in the Windows 7 newsgroup. Maybe you were thinking of Windows 10
that has you create a Microsoft account; however, that is optional - you
don't have to create an MS account to complete the install but that
assumes YOU are doing the install and it isn't a pre-built PC. Even if
a pre-built, the OEM obviously cannot predefine an MS account for you.
They're reusing the same image to prep all the same model they're
selling to every customer, so they cannot create an account.

Enlighten us what account you speak of.


You're right about Win10. I use Win7 but I haven't done an OEM setup on
ones for decades. Win10, OTOH, many.

I must enlighten you about "account". An account is necessary; that's
the "a" in UAC.
Are you overlooking the fact that that "a" can be a "local" one?


And now you bring up UAC as though it were referenced before.

Oh, a Windows account aka user account. Okay, so why not either boot
using the Macrium CD and do an image of the drive (all partitions)
before you load or login to Windows to create an account, or you can
delete user profiles; however, deleting a profile only removes it from
the registry. You still have to delete (better to permanently wipe) the
userprofile folder for each account you have logged into.

Despite your mention that lots must be changed in the BIOS to boot from
the CD drive, if there is one, or from a USB drive, most PCs that I've
worked on already have those as the default boot order. Else, most
users wouldn't have a clue why they cannot boot from those sources. For
a PC to be configured to list the HDD first and then the other sources
or no other sources means someone went into the BIOS to change away from
the defaults in an attempt to lockdown that PC. How would users even
install Windows from a CD if the BIOS didn't boot from the device before
trying the HDD? While the CD or USB drive may be bootable before the
HDD, I've seen some that timeout. The BIOS/UEFI presents a prompt
asking the user to hit some key if they want to boot from those other
sources. If the user doesn't hit the key in, say, 5 seconds then the
BIOS/UEFI skips those boot sources and move on to the next one in the
boot order list.


Oh, an even if you want to argue that users have no bootstrap from their
prior PC to be creating a bootable Macrium rescue CD to do a whole-drive
image before loading Windows to create a user account, ANY image of all
partitions made at ANY time will include the recovery partition. So, if
you have no Macrium boot CD to start with, and later when you want to
get rid of the PC onto someone else, restore using that Macrium image
which has the recovery partition and run the recovery to lay a default
Windows image onto the drive. Probably want to wipe the OS partition
(and all others except the recovery partition) to make sure no personal
data gets left behind in clusters used before but not allocated in the
fresh recovered image.
Ads
  #62  
Old June 22nd 18, 06:50 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ed Cryer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,621
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image:Partitions?

pyotr filipivich wrote:

As I recall it, "images" are bitwise copies, so that everything
(including the "blank" part is copied. Very useful for Discovery in
legal cases. Because it is a bitwise copy, it takes a long time to
accomplish, and you need to copy it to a larger drive.


Very wrong! So wrong that if I were you I'd run now before the wolves
catch you.

Ed
  #63  
Old June 22nd 18, 06:58 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ed Cryer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,621
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image:Partitions?

VanguardLH wrote:
VanguardLH wrote:

Ed Cryer wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:

When you set up a brand new OEM PC, it takes you through account
creation before you can do anything (even install Macrium).
Your solution would restore that account.

Not a clue what you are talking about. WHAT account is forcibly
established when you "set up" a new OEM PC? The pre-built (OEM) PC is
already setup before you even get it. I've gotten stuck working on
several pre-builts and don't remember ever being forced to create some
"account" before the PC is usable nor after starting to use it.

The OEM uses a sysprep image (by family line and model within family)
and ply a sticker on the case whose product key won't match the volume
license for the sysprep image they put on that computer and why you
should use Magic Jellybean or similar to record the product key for the
actual sysprep image on the HDD.

We're in the Windows 7 newsgroup. Maybe you were thinking of Windows 10
that has you create a Microsoft account; however, that is optional - you
don't have to create an MS account to complete the install but that
assumes YOU are doing the install and it isn't a pre-built PC. Even if
a pre-built, the OEM obviously cannot predefine an MS account for you.
They're reusing the same image to prep all the same model they're
selling to every customer, so they cannot create an account.

Enlighten us what account you speak of.


You're right about Win10. I use Win7 but I haven't done an OEM setup on
ones for decades. Win10, OTOH, many.

I must enlighten you about "account". An account is necessary; that's
the "a" in UAC.
Are you overlooking the fact that that "a" can be a "local" one?


And now you bring up UAC as though it were referenced before.

Oh, a Windows account aka user account. Okay, so why not either boot
using the Macrium CD and do an image of the drive (all partitions)
before you load or login to Windows to create an account, or you can
delete user profiles; however, deleting a profile only removes it from
the registry. You still have to delete (better to permanently wipe) the
userprofile folder for each account you have logged into.

Despite your mention that lots must be changed in the BIOS to boot from
the CD drive, if there is one, or from a USB drive, most PCs that I've
worked on already have those as the default boot order. Else, most
users wouldn't have a clue why they cannot boot from those sources. For
a PC to be configured to list the HDD first and then the other sources
or no other sources means someone went into the BIOS to change away from
the defaults in an attempt to lockdown that PC. How would users even
install Windows from a CD if the BIOS didn't boot from the device before
trying the HDD? While the CD or USB drive may be bootable before the
HDD, I've seen some that timeout. The BIOS/UEFI presents a prompt
asking the user to hit some key if they want to boot from those other
sources. If the user doesn't hit the key in, say, 5 seconds then the
BIOS/UEFI skips those boot sources and move on to the next one in the
boot order list.


Oh, an even if you want to argue that users have no bootstrap from their
prior PC to be creating a bootable Macrium rescue CD to do a whole-drive
image before loading Windows to create a user account, ANY image of all
partitions made at ANY time will include the recovery partition. So, if
you have no Macrium boot CD to start with, and later when you want to
get rid of the PC onto someone else, restore using that Macrium image
which has the recovery partition and run the recovery to lay a default
Windows image onto the drive. Probably want to wipe the OS partition
(and all others except the recovery partition) to make sure no personal
data gets left behind in clusters used before but not allocated in the
fresh recovered image.


Imaging the recovery partition with the rest of the HD/SSD is what I
always do. And (incidentally) I do it with this Win7 box; have done for
years.

Ed
  #64  
Old June 23rd 18, 12:42 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
pyotr filipivich
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 752
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

Ed Cryer on Fri, 22 Jun 2018 18:50:48 +0100
typed in alt.windows7.general the following:
pyotr filipivich wrote:

As I recall it, "images" are bitwise copies, so that everything
(including the "blank" part is copied. Very useful for Discovery in
legal cases. Because it is a bitwise copy, it takes a long time to
accomplish, and you need to copy it to a larger drive.


Very wrong! So wrong that if I were you I'd run now before the wolves
catch you.


It's been over twenty years since I was using some one else's
proprietary software.

I no longer care.

Ed

--
pyotr filipivich
Next month's Panel: Graft - Boon or blessing?
  #65  
Old June 23rd 18, 01:38 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ant[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 554
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

Ed Cryer wrote:

Here's a version for non-IT-guys.
1. Do the full guided setup.
2. Image the whole lot with Macrium.
3. Do a factory-restore with the OEM-provided software.
4. Image that with Macrium, and keep safe.
5. Restore image 2 above.
6. Duplicate image 2 for safety.


Too bad OEM companies don't include the physical discs anymore. Do they
still provider options to make discs from the internal drives at least?

--
Quote of the Week: "At high tide the fish eat ants; at low tide the ants eat fish." --Thai Proverb
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
| |o o| | ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and URL/link.
\ _ /
( )
  #66  
Old June 23rd 18, 01:44 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ant[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 554
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

Ed Cryer wrote:
VanguardLH wrote:
VanguardLH wrote:

Ed Cryer wrote:

VanguardLH wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:

When you set up a brand new OEM PC, it takes you through account
creation before you can do anything (even install Macrium).
Your solution would restore that account.

Not a clue what you are talking about. WHAT account is forcibly
established when you "set up" a new OEM PC? The pre-built (OEM) PC is
already setup before you even get it. I've gotten stuck working on
several pre-builts and don't remember ever being forced to create some
"account" before the PC is usable nor after starting to use it.

The OEM uses a sysprep image (by family line and model within family)
and ply a sticker on the case whose product key won't match the volume
license for the sysprep image they put on that computer and why you
should use Magic Jellybean or similar to record the product key for the
actual sysprep image on the HDD.

We're in the Windows 7 newsgroup. Maybe you were thinking of Windows 10
that has you create a Microsoft account; however, that is optional - you
don't have to create an MS account to complete the install but that
assumes YOU are doing the install and it isn't a pre-built PC. Even if
a pre-built, the OEM obviously cannot predefine an MS account for you.
They're reusing the same image to prep all the same model they're
selling to every customer, so they cannot create an account.

Enlighten us what account you speak of.


You're right about Win10. I use Win7 but I haven't done an OEM setup on
ones for decades. Win10, OTOH, many.

I must enlighten you about "account". An account is necessary; that's
the "a" in UAC.
Are you overlooking the fact that that "a" can be a "local" one?

And now you bring up UAC as though it were referenced before.

Oh, a Windows account aka user account. Okay, so why not either boot
using the Macrium CD and do an image of the drive (all partitions)
before you load or login to Windows to create an account, or you can
delete user profiles; however, deleting a profile only removes it from
the registry. You still have to delete (better to permanently wipe) the
userprofile folder for each account you have logged into.

Despite your mention that lots must be changed in the BIOS to boot from
the CD drive, if there is one, or from a USB drive, most PCs that I've
worked on already have those as the default boot order. Else, most
users wouldn't have a clue why they cannot boot from those sources. For
a PC to be configured to list the HDD first and then the other sources
or no other sources means someone went into the BIOS to change away from
the defaults in an attempt to lockdown that PC. How would users even
install Windows from a CD if the BIOS didn't boot from the device before
trying the HDD? While the CD or USB drive may be bootable before the
HDD, I've seen some that timeout. The BIOS/UEFI presents a prompt
asking the user to hit some key if they want to boot from those other
sources. If the user doesn't hit the key in, say, 5 seconds then the
BIOS/UEFI skips those boot sources and move on to the next one in the
boot order list.


Oh, an even if you want to argue that users have no bootstrap from their
prior PC to be creating a bootable Macrium rescue CD to do a whole-drive
image before loading Windows to create a user account, ANY image of all
partitions made at ANY time will include the recovery partition. So, if
you have no Macrium boot CD to start with, and later when you want to
get rid of the PC onto someone else, restore using that Macrium image
which has the recovery partition and run the recovery to lay a default
Windows image onto the drive. Probably want to wipe the OS partition
(and all others except the recovery partition) to make sure no personal
data gets left behind in clusters used before but not allocated in the
fresh recovered image.


Imaging the recovery partition with the rest of the HD/SSD is what I
always do. And (incidentally) I do it with this Win7 box; have done for
years.


Isn't it better to make images for each partition? Like an image for
recovery, an image for OS, image for whatever left, etc.? It seems
easier to manage that way for my setups.

--
Quote of the Week: "At high tide the fish eat ants; at low tide the ants eat fish." --Thai Proverb
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://antfarm.home.dhs.org
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail privately. If credit-
| |o o| | ing, then please kindly use Ant nickname and URL/link.
\ _ /
( )
  #67  
Old June 23rd 18, 02:24 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

Ant wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:

Here's a version for non-IT-guys.
1. Do the full guided setup.
2. Image the whole lot with Macrium.
3. Do a factory-restore with the OEM-provided software.
4. Image that with Macrium, and keep safe.
5. Restore image 2 above.
6. Duplicate image 2 for safety.


Too bad OEM companies don't include the physical discs anymore. Do they
still provider options to make discs from the internal drives at least?


Mine did:

The system prompts to create discs, soon after
setup and usage.

Acer 3-DVD set for C: partition restoration

Acer single CD for hardware drivers
(in case reinstalling later from MS media)

Microsoft System Restore CD for putting back
Windows 7 style backups.

A total of five discs.

*******

On a tablet without an optical drive, the machine
is more likely to need a USB key to hold resources
like that. Just one of those hidden costs.

Paul
  #68  
Old June 23rd 18, 04:12 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

In message , Ant
writes:
Ed Cryer wrote:

[]
Imaging the recovery partition with the rest of the HD/SSD is what I
always do. And (incidentally) I do it with this Win7 box; have done for
years.


Isn't it better to make images for each partition? Like an image for
recovery, an image for OS, image for whatever left, etc.? It seems
easier to manage that way for my setups.

Depends _why_ you're making images. I image (C: & any hidden partition),
to a single image file (which means when I restore from it, the boot
sector/master table/whatever get set up for me) so that in the event of
drive failure, I can restore my system - OS (including activation),
updates, software, configurations, and tweaks - all in one go. [I backup
_data_ using just synctoy - basically just a copy.] Some people might be
doing it so they can restore an as-new condition to sell or give away;
others might be imaging for other reasons again.

I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original configuration
anyway. Or, for that matter, if you aren't - though in that case, I'm
not sure I'd image some of them at all. But I'll be interested to see
others' answers to your question!

I'm probably not seeing your point about separate images for each
partition making it "easier to manage for my setups"; perhaps if you
explained why, I'd understand how. (Or how/why.)
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

"Address the chair!" "There isn't a chair, there's only a rock!" "Well, call
it a chair!" "Why not call it a rock?" (First series, fit the sixth.)
  #69  
Old June 23rd 18, 05:09 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:


I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original configuration
anyway. Or, for that matter, if you aren't - though in that case, I'm
not sure I'd image some of them at all. But I'll be interested to see
others' answers to your question!


That's to control "fault size".

If you have a large disk, you put all the partitions in
one .mrimg, all it takes is one error to break the "Verify".

Separating the partitions, backing up one at a time,
each .mrimg has a copy of the MBR partition table, so
you should try to keep a backup set "consistent" in
terms of the partition structure. While it's not
the end of the world to have modified something, I
don't know if there are any corner cases you might
care about.

You could probably afford to put several 20GB partitions
into one .mrimg.

But if the partitions are 2TB and take half the day to
write, chances are those should be done individually.
Then if one is ruined, the others might not be ruined.

I haven't researched what mechanisms exist to "step over"
an error. Presumably part of the backup operation, is
writing out clusters in cluster_order. At the end of the
backup is some sort of directory structure (because there's
a delay at the end, implying something is going on when
it hits 100%). If some clusters were damaged, the restore
process should be able to consult the directory structure
and say what is damaged. But it didn't work that way for
me when I had a couple bad .mrimg files. The restore
just stopped. (The bad files were caused by bad RAM, not
by a hard drive problem. Backups made recently on the
same computer with new RAM installed, pass Verify, and
I actually tested a couple during my last backup set to
make sure it's still good.)

Paul
  #70  
Old June 23rd 18, 05:41 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

In message , Paul
writes:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original
configuration anyway. Or, for that matter, if you aren't - though in
that case, I'm not sure I'd image some of them at all. But I'll be
interested to see others' answers to your question!


That's to control "fault size".

If you have a large disk, you put all the partitions in
one .mrimg, all it takes is one error to break the "Verify".

Separating the partitions, backing up one at a time,
each .mrimg has a copy of the MBR partition table, so


I didn't know that; thanks. So if you restore an image that contained
just your D: partition, say, the MBR is refreshed?

you should try to keep a backup set "consistent" in
terms of the partition structure. While it's not
the end of the world to have modified something, I
don't know if there are any corner cases you might
care about.

You could probably afford to put several 20GB partitions
into one .mrimg.

But if the partitions are 2TB and take half the day to
write, chances are those should be done individually.
Then if one is ruined, the others might not be ruined.


I definitely take your point there! I image my C: and any hidden
partitions, which comes to a few tens of GB; for my data partition, I
copy, rather than imaging - I use synctoy. So that I could - though have
never had to - access individual files without needing the
image-unwrapper (such as Macrium); and, also, your fault size limit
principle, of not putting all eggs in one basket. (I'd rather not image
C: either, but the practicalities - I think started as an antipiracy
measure, but developed to include lots else since - mean imaging is the
only practical backup for most of us.)

I haven't researched what mechanisms exist to "step over"
an error. Presumably part of the backup operation, is
writing out clusters in cluster_order. At the end of the
backup is some sort of directory structure (because there's
a delay at the end, implying something is going on when


I'd noticed that delay - hadn't occurred to me that it might be for that
reason though!

it hits 100%). If some clusters were damaged, the restore
process should be able to consult the directory structure
and say what is damaged. But it didn't work that way for
me when I had a couple bad .mrimg files. The restore
just stopped. (The bad files were caused by bad RAM, not

[]
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Odds are, the phrase "It's none of my business" will be followed by "but".
  #71  
Old June 23rd 18, 05:48 AM posted to alt.windows7.general
Paul[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 11,873
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul
writes:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original
configuration anyway. Or, for that matter, if you aren't - though in
that case, I'm not sure I'd image some of them at all. But I'll be
interested to see others' answers to your question!


That's to control "fault size".

If you have a large disk, you put all the partitions in
one .mrimg, all it takes is one error to break the "Verify".

Separating the partitions, backing up one at a time,
each .mrimg has a copy of the MBR partition table, so


I didn't know that; thanks. So if you restore an image that contained
just your D: partition, say, the MBR is refreshed?


In some cases, the MBR is "compared".

And the stupid tool will ask you "do you want the
original partition table or do you want to let
me fix this mess". That's why I don't generally
recommend capturing disks while the partition
tables are "all different". You don't want to be
sitting there with that "what do I do now" look
on your face.

Suffice to say, the tool keeps records for its
own purposes. They aren't "partitions floating in space",
and the partition table info is part of records keeping.
It tries to do the best it can, with the hand
of cards you deal to it :-)

At the very least, it's going to need to preserve
the "boot flag", the 0x80 thing that the Windows
boot code uses to find the correct partition to
start from. Most other numbers in the partition table
can be modified, as the user deals cards to the
tool, and the tool tries to do its best to
keep up.

Paul
  #72  
Old June 23rd 18, 01:14 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ed Cryer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,621
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image:Partitions?

Paul wrote:
Ant wrote:
Ed Cryer wrote:

Here's a version for non-IT-guys.
1. Do the full guided setup.
2. Image the whole lot with Macrium.
3. Do a factory-restore with the OEM-provided software.
4. Image that with Macrium, and keep safe.
5. Restore image 2 above.
6. Duplicate image 2 for safety.


Too bad OEM companies don't include the physical discs anymore. Do
they still provider options to make discs from the internal drives at
least?


Mine did:

The system prompts to create discs, soon after
setup and usage.

Â*Â* Acer 3-DVD set for C: partition restoration

Â*Â* Acer single CD for hardware drivers
Â*Â*Â*Â* (in case reinstalling later from MS media)

Â*Â* Microsoft System Restore CD for putting back
Â*Â*Â*Â*Â* Windows 7 style backups.

A total of five discs.

*******

On a tablet without an optical drive, the machine
is more likely to need a USB key to hold resources
like that. Just one of those hidden costs.

Â*Â* Paul


So do my Acers. They have an Acer eRecovery Management program that
includes "Create Factory Default Disc" (N.B the singular noun) amongst
other functions such as restore to ex-factory state.
I never did this because I include the restore partition in my regular
Macrium backups.

My tablet has a mini USB port and handles optical drives excellently. So
that I have actually installed Macrium on it, taken backup images and
put M on the boot menu.

Ed

  #73  
Old June 23rd 18, 01:26 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Ed Cryer
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,621
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image:Partitions?

Paul wrote:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:
In message , Paul
writes:
J. P. Gilliver (John) wrote:

Â*I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original
configurationÂ* anyway. Or, for that matter, if you aren't - though
in that case, I'mÂ* not sure I'd image some of them at all. But I'll
be interested to seeÂ* others' answers to your question!

That's to control "fault size".

If you have a large disk, you put all the partitions in
one .mrimg, all it takes is one error to break the "Verify".

Separating the partitions, backing up one at a time,
each .mrimg has a copy of the MBR partition table, so


I didn't know that; thanks. So if you restore an image that contained
just your D: partition, say, the MBR is refreshed?


In some cases, the MBR is "compared".

And the stupid tool will ask you "do you want the
original partition table or do you want to let
me fix this mess". That's why I don't generally
recommend capturing disks while the partition
tables are "all different". You don't want to be
sitting there with that "what do I do now" look
on your face.

Suffice to say, the tool keeps records for its
own purposes. They aren't "partitions floating in space",
and the partition table info is part of records keeping.
It tries to do the best it can, with the hand
of cards you deal to it :-)

At the very least, it's going to need to preserve
the "boot flag", the 0x80 thing that the Windows
boot code uses to find the correct partition to
start from. Most other numbers in the partition table
can be modified, as the user deals cards to the
tool, and the tool tries to do its best to
keep up.

Â*Â* Paul


I save the whole C drive just like John. I don't think I ever exceeded
120GB, though.
Each partition in the image is accessible and mountable as a virtual
drive, just by right-clicking the image and choosing "explore image"
from the context menu.

Ed
  #74  
Old June 23rd 18, 01:48 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
Mayayana
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 6,438
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" wrote

| Isn't it better to make images for each partition? Like an image for
| recovery, an image for OS, image for whatever left, etc.? It seems
| easier to manage that way for my setups.
|
| Depends _why_ you're making images. I image (C: & any hidden partition),
| to a single image file (which means when I restore from it, the boot
| sector/master table/whatever get set up for me) so that in the event of
| drive failure, I can restore my system - OS (including activation),
| updates, software, configurations, and tweaks - all in one go. [I backup
| _data_ using just synctoy - basically just a copy.] Some people might be
| doing it so they can restore an as-new condition to sell or give away;
| others might be imaging for other reasons again.
|
| I can't think of a good reason for making separate images for each
| partition, _if_ you're anticipating restoring the original configuration
| anyway.

I put an OS image on one or two DVDs. What you're
describing is basically a disk clone. It may be compressed,
but you're backing up all of your data unnecessarily.
(Assuming "synctoy" is something you use to back up
data seaprately from imaging.)

I don't know how big that ends up being, but it sounds
like you need a 2nd hard disk just to hold your backup.
In that case, why not just copy disk to disk?

So a big part of the reason to image partitions separately
is to have conveniently-sized backups that don't require
a hard disk or expensive USB stick to store. That's just
wasting space. But it requires a little planning to do itr more
efficiently. If you just install Windows on a 500 GB C drive
and put all of your files in your docs folder then you may
be stuck backing up one giant pile of stuff. Every time you
want to back up one doc you're also backing up GBs of
system files unnecessarily. Even if you have some kind of
tool to only back up changed files, you're still maintaining
a massive backup that you don't need.

I think this also gets back to whether people are
willing to deal with partitioning and disk issues. You
shouldn't need to be backing up restore partitions,
MBRs, or anything like that. If you're using a disk
image program it should be able to make an image
of any partition and restore it to any disk. But that
does require getting into more details. For instance,
you need to know about boot config. If you make an
image of Win7 that's the second partition and then
install it to a disk as 1st partition, it won't boot. It
will try to boot the 2nd partition. And even that will only
work if you've set it active. But once you work out
those details you no longer need to be tied to disk
layout with your backups.

On a typical disk I'll have 1-3 OSs and maybe 5
data partitions. One of those is changeable data like
business receipts, email, current desktop, programming
work, website files, etc. One is graphics/video. One
is non-changing data like manuals for appliances,
programming docs, Windows SDKs, program installers,
etc.

I also like to use a 2nd disk for redundancy. And
I make disk images of fresh OSs, configured and with
most software installed.
With that setup in place, I make occasional copies
of the graphics and non-changing data. I make regular
backups to DVD of the changing data. That comes to
less than 1 GB. I never need to back up Windows
because I already have disk images of a fresh,
configured system.

If there are problems I can put back the OS quickly
without disturbing the data. There's nothing important
that I have only on C drive.

With XP the OS+software is about 1.5 GB. I make
the C partition 10 GB. With 7 I make it 60 GB. The
basic OS image is 7-9 GB and requires 2 DVDs to
store.

That's also a big part of the reason I like to avoid
bloat. Bloated software is typically a sign of sloppy
or inexperienced programmers. But it also takes up a
lot of space. Many people respond to that by saying,
"Well, these days hard disk space doesn't cost much."
But that misses the point. The same basic software
that used to be 30 MB is now often 300 MB. It's crazy.
It's sloppy. And it's inefficient. (A big part of Vista/7
bloat is that MS forces one to accept a copy of the
whole install DVD on disk, along with a copy of every
single library that happens by during the course of
using the computer. Win7 can grow to 40-60 GB for
one reason only: So that plug and play appears to
be improved. Just in case you end up somehow installing
an Intel graphics chip on your AMD system, you have
the drivers ready to go.

You might have an attic the size of a football field,
but that's not a reason to fill it with junk. With a little
planning, Windows and data can still be realistically
stored on DVDs and/or inexpensive-sized USB sticks.
I have images for all of our computers, ready to restore,
and backed up to numerous locations. All on CDs or DVDs.

But people are different. There's one category of people
that I can think of offhand who can never have efficient
backup. That's the people who hoard and never weed.
The people who have 100 GB of music and videos,
along with 2 TB of photos. They'll never look
at most of that again. Probably most of the photos are
worthless. But to those people it's their riches and they
want it all backed up. They have no choice but to buy
extra hard disks and copy disk-to-disk. Nothing else is
big enough to back up their football-field-sized attic.
They're the same people who, 30 years ago, would
have had a floor-to-celing bookshelf to store their photo
albums. And when you go to dinner you're careful not
to walk near that room, lest they invite you in: "Did
you ever see the pictures from our 1970 trip to the
Yukon? Oh, you gotta see them. The snow is amazing!
Come on in. Here, sit on the sofa while I find the 4
Yukon trip albums..... Let's see.... I should probably
organize these albums alphabetically, but it's all moving
to a bigger library once we finish building the addition.
Maybe I'll organize it all then.... Oh, here we go! I found
Yukon Trip #2, anyway..."


  #75  
Old June 23rd 18, 11:31 PM posted to alt.windows7.general
J. P. Gilliver (John)[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,679
Default Converting From 1 TB to 2 TB via Macrium Reflect Re-Image: Partitions?

In message , Ed Cryer
writes:
[]
I save the whole C drive just like John. I don't think I ever exceeded
120GB, though.
Each partition in the image is accessible and mountable as a virtual
drive, just by right-clicking the image and choosing "explore image"
from the context menu.

Ed


Only if Macrium is installed on that machine (and associated with that
filetype, though installing it will probably do that).
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/1985 MB++G()AL-IS-Ch++(p)Ar@T+H+Sh0!:`)DNAf

Anything you add for security will slow the computer but it shouldn't be
significant or prolonged. Security software is to protect the computer, not
the primary use of the computer.
- VanguardLH in alt.windows7.general, 2018-1-28
 




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