Drive imaging, the best way of system restore?

[Resung]

Sorry if that's a bone question, but i've just had to completely reinstall windows 7 due to some form of virus or software corruption that i couldn't fix. Rather than going through all of that again i was looking at creating a partition to do a factory restore but from looking around it seems that doing a disk image to restore from seems to be the more popular choice. I'm new to all of this though so...

Is a drive image the best way to system restore?

Is it easy to do for someone who's never tried it before?

[Pierre2]

the theory is that you set up the PC- the way you like it, with all of your essential applications installed.

then you image it, with [edited], or [edited], which are both commercial,
or with PiNG which is the clone of [edited], or with DD - under a Linux O/S.

it's somewhat bigger than a single DvD is, so you only create a file, which is then stored on a ext hdd,
and copied back when the restore is needed.
- either from a boot-able disc - like PiNG, or run it from another M$ PC, from your backup hdd,
via that image program.

- there are some Free alternative software, here on Gizmo, that will the job, as well.

it IS a little advanced area, but is quite achievable, even for a N00B.
and YES - it's a better way, than re-installing, like you had to do. ..

[Remah]

Best Free Drive Cloning Software (or Disk Imaging Software) has several good options for Windows.

It is easy to do but, as you will read in the article, there are many things to think about. Here's what I think about:

• I always try to get at least one image of the complete hard disk drive not just the individual partitions on it.
• It is best to get a complete image after you have done a clean install and configured and updated Windows. That means you can always go back to this minimum image if you need to as it is much faster than reinstalling Windows.
• I store most of my data/documents on a separate partition so I can image it without having to image the complete Windows system partition.
• In the review of Macrium Reflect, it is pointed out that you may need to backup more than just your Windows system/startup partition (usually C: ). You also need to backup the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) info which is not stored on your Windows system partition. Some programs do this automatically, others do not.
• I prefer the editor's choice, Macrium Reflect, because it has more options but it can be difficult for new users to navigate.
• Preferably choose a product that allows individual files to be restored, not just the entire image. That way you don't need a separatefile backup program.
• Having mentioned file backup, it is worth having an up-to-date copy of your data files that you can access quickly. For this purpose, I synchronize files to a backup partition and then synchronize them to an online service and another PC.

[Remah]

I should have added not to forget about Windows system restore which creates snapshots of your Windows configuration files. Before any major change to Windows you can make a manual restore point. I've used at least one imaging program that identifies and restores these Windows restore points from your image - I just can't remember which one.

[Joe A.TT]

Originally Posted by Remah

• In the review of Macrium Reflect, it is pointed out that you may need to backup more than just your Windows system/startup partition (usually C: ). You also need to backup the BCD (Boot Configuration Data) info which is not stored on your Windows system partition. Some programs do this automatically, others do not.

Remah, I am confused. At the expense of looking like a fool, isn't the BCD the same thing as the Master Boot Record? I just started using Macrium Reflect and I could be wrong but as far as I know Macrium Reflect will back up the Master Boot Record providing you choose the correct option. Just choose the option shown below in the left pane and Macrium will do the rest.



Also, once you don't change the default Restore settings, restoring an image will also cause the Master Boot Record to be restored.

Originally Posted by Remah

• Preferably choose a product that allows individual files to be restored, not just the entire image. That way you don't need a separatefile backup program.

Macrium Reflect can do that...

[Remah]

Seriously, your beautifully presented screenshots are impressive enough that you will never appear a fool.

Yes, Macrium Reflect can back up boot data
You're right about backing up the MBR if the correct option is selected. But if you image C: drive directly you won't get the boot data as you expect - at least, that is what happened last time I checked. Some other programs detect that it is a system partition and include the boot data.

Yes, Macrium Reflect allows file restore
I use Macrium Reflect because it does allow selective restore. I didn't mention it because I wasn't trying to "force" my preference on Resung.

MBR vs BCD
They are each different, but closely related, parts of the boot info.
1. A boot sector containing the:
2. Master boot record (MBR), which was originally developed for PCs running DOS but now provides the means to access the:
3. Boot Configuration Data (BCD), which was in boot.ini and used by NTLDR until Windows XP.

It is more complicated if *NIX or other OS are involved. Plus the PC firmware has also changed: the older BIOS uses MBR whereas the newer UEFI uses GUID Partition Table (GPT). But most UEFI implementations will provide backward-compatibility with MBR.

[Remah]

A useful primer on Some basics of boot data

[Joe A.TT]

Originally Posted by Remah

Some other programs detect that it is a system partition and include the boot data.

Really? Can you name some of them?

Originally Posted by Remah

A useful primer on Some basics of boot data

Thanks for the reading material although I must confess I understood less than 20% of it . I suppose I should have known that topics like this are always going to be highly technical and not for everyday consumption.

[Remah]

Originally Posted by Joe A.TT

Really? Can you name some of them?

I've probably been using Macrium Reflect 10-15 years. Every year or two I try a few other programs but I can't even remember the names any of the free competitors except for Paragon. So remembering the features of each one is also beyond me, although I do remember that one of the programs that recognized boot partitions was paid software.

I usually search the forum posts here to jog my memory, but I don't remember it ever being a topic of discussion.

[Joe A.TT]

No problem Remah. I was just curious.