Bootable CD--XP Home vs. Pro

[Joanne2]

I'm about to create a bootable rescue CD for my Windows XP Home system. If I buy a notebook computer with XP Pro, will the same CD work for that as well, or would it be safer to create another one on the other system? (I know I'll need to buy another copy of ATI to run on the other computer.)

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

[DwnNdrty]

The rescue cd works on any PC. You only need to make a new one if you get a different build number or a different version.

[Snooker]

And you also need to set your bios screen to boot off cd rom first

[Earthling]

-{ Quote: "And you also need to set your bios screen to boot off cd rom first" }-
Not necessarily. Most later comps have a boot options function key - much more convenient than changing BIOS settings.

[Joanne2]

Thank you all! Once I create the boot CD, I assume I'll learn quickly if my current computer boots off the CD-ROM first... Question for Earthling: How would I find the boot options function key?

Jo-Anne

[Earthling]

-{ Quote: "... Question for Earthling: How would I find the boot options function key?" }-
No standard answer to that as BIOSs vary, but if you watch the screen during the initial bootup, before you get to Windows, it should tell you which keys to use for Setup (i.e. BIOS), and for Boot Options. One of my comps it's F8 and another it's F11, so try those.

[Joanne2]

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

[Bruce Mahnke]

Pressing F2 or Del are other options that are sometimes used. If you have the manufacturer’s manual it should mention what to use. Manuals may also be available on the manufacturer’s web site.

[Joanne2]

Thank you, Bruce! I checked the Dell manual, and it said: "1 Turn on (or restart) your computer. 2 When the blue DELL™ logo appears, press <F2> immediately." I assume that's it for checking the BIOS, right? Also, for what it's worth, Dell says "BIOS address F8000h." Don't know if that info is of any value at all.

Jo-Anne

[Earthling]

Yes, F2 is for BIOS, but did you manage to locate the Boot Options key?

[Joanne2]

I did it, and I thank everyone for their help! I created the boot CD and tried to boot my Dell from it. It didn't work; the computer went straight into Windows XP.

I restarted, pressed F2, located the boot order in the BIOS, and changed it to boot first from the optical drive. (To Earthling, yes, there is a boot menu too; F12 would have brought it up, but I didn't notice it at first so went to the full set of BIOS options.) I then booted again from the CD and went into the Acronis program.

Special thanks to Grover for his Beginner's Guide, which removed some of my fear of the unknown. I also followed Grover's instruction to make sure my external drives were hooked up and recognized by the boot CD. They are.

Jo-Anne

[GroverH]

Glad I could help. All of us were beginner's once. It takes time and it takes practice.

The next step is for you to take a few first steps in testing.
a. do a "disk" option backup as per the guide.
b. Use the Mount function and Mount the archive
c. Copy some files from the archive back onto a test folder.

Often times, you must learn how to crawl before you learn how to walk. First things first and the first thing is a good backup with the "disk" option checked as illustrated by image B4 in the backup guide.

[Joanne2]

Well, I already screwed up one thing. I did do a full backup of the entire disk, even validating it (and I had already named the external drive); but I forgot about not using spaces in the filename. My filename has several words--with spaces between them. So...what do I do now? Is it possible to rename the file (I suspect not)?

Once I get this part straight, I'll read through Chapter 13 of the Acronis manual--Exploring archives and mounting images (and I'll probably have more questions).

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

[Earthling]

If the tib file is a full backup and has simply been stored in a Windows folder you can rename it to whatever you want and ATI will be able to find and restore it. If you renamed an incremental or differential there would be a problem with restoration.

If you are using Secure Zone or Backup Locations I can't advise as I never use these features.

[Joanne2]

I'm not sure what you mean. I did the backup through the Wizard, naming it after choosing the drive to back up to.

When I go to Windows Explorer and look at that drive, I can see the Acronis folder I named--with its own icon, different from that of most folders--and all the backed up folders under it (but not the files). Does this mean I can simply change the folder name?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

[Earthling]

Joanne:

If in Windows Explorer you can see something equivalent to WhateverYouNamedIt.tib then yes, you can rename it, and provided it was not either an incremental backup or a differential backup (which it wasn't, as this was your first backup), then ATI will be able to explore/verify/restore it.

But to be on the safe side, note the name you are changing, as you could always re-rename it ;)

[Joanne2]

Well, I tried to rename it in Windows Explorer but got the error message "Cannot rename [filename]: It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again." Given that the only open programs were Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, perhaps this is a sign that it can't be renamed?

Jo-Anne

[Snooker]

-{ Quote: "No standard answer to that as BIOSs vary, but if you watch the screen during the initial bootup, before you get to Windows, it should tell you which keys to use for Setup (i.e. BIOS), and for Boot Options. One of my comps it's F8 and another it's F11, so try those." }-

Just curious but what type of board are you using Earthling ?

[Earthling]

-{ Quote: "Well, I tried to rename it in Windows Explorer but got the error message "Cannot rename [filename]: It is being used by another person or program. Close any programs that might be using the file and try again." Given that the only open programs were Internet Explorer and Outlook Express, perhaps this is a sign that it can't be renamed?

Jo-Anne" }-
The reason you can't rename it is that you still have one or two Acronis processes running in the background. They aren't required, but do run by default. If you open Task Manager you will see several of them. You can either stop them in Task Manager, or rename the file in Safe Mode.

[Earthling]

-{ Quote: "Just curious but what type of board are you using Earthling ?" }-
The PC that uses F8 is an MSI board, and the F11 one is Asrock.

[GroverH]

It easy to do another backup. Then you can choose a new name. Keep the backup name short. No reason for long names. Put any special details inside the backup as comments.

Picture of my backup folders as just a sample.
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=193151&stc=1&d=1188786467

[Joanne2]

Thank you, Grover! I did that today, with a correctly done filename. Which reminds me: Why is it that one can't uses spaces or dots in the filename, given that Windows allows them? I didn't see anything in the Acronis manual that specifies not using them.

Also, given that I'm backing up to an external hard drive that will be used only for my Acronis backups, I haven't created a folder tree. That may be why my filename is a bit long: Acronis-full-backup-2008-07-05.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

[GroverH]

I would recommend that you create a folder tree. Should you do any incremental or differentials, you will want them all in the same folder. Each time you create a new name for your backup, suggest you also create a new folder for it. There are no rules. Do what works for you.

Yes, Windows does allow spaces but they have been suspected of causing problems for some. Why take the chance is my motto. They are not needed. You cal always use dashes or underlines, etc. Remember too, any backup or restore from the CD does not involve Windows but is Linux. Not using spaces is a matter of personal preference. It's your choice.

[Joanne2]

Thank you, Grover! I'm perfectly happy NOT to include spaces or dots in my filenames. I remember some years back when spaces were a real issue; and if there's any way they could be problematic now, why indeed take the chance?

Re the folder tree, unless I change my mind later, I plan to do only full backups, which seem to me to be less complicated although more time-consuming.

Now for the other things you suggested:

a. Do a "disk" option backup as per the guide. [Done!]

b. Use the Mount function and Mount the archive. [Could you elaborate on what this means? I've tried reading the Acronis manual, but I'm still not sure. For example, where would the mounted archive go, and what is it?]

c. Copy some files from the archive back onto a test folder. [I assume that once I figure out what to do to mount the archive, I would simply create a folder anywhere on my C: drive and copy some archive files to it--right?]

As always, thank you, Grover! I would be lost without your help!

Jo-Anne

[GroverH]

As for Mounting your image:

The major purpose of the Mounting option is to enable you to recover files or folders of files from your backup archive. It is not for the recovery of your total system.
Browse to your folder containing your *.TIB backup archive.
Look at the file date column for your date choice. Right click on the one of the files and choose the Mount options.
Respond Yes to the request to assign a drive letter (note the letter assigned).
Close the successful completion window. Next Open My Computer and you will see an additional drive listed with the drive letter assigned by Acronis.
Click on the new drive letter and it will open up a window showing you the same directory tree and all the same files as listed on your C drive.
Now, you can drag any file from the mounted drive to your C drive for testing or recovery of individual files or folders of files but not system recovery.

After completion of the review of your mounted drive, the drive needs to be un-mounted.
Again, open Windows Explorer and right click on the new drive letter and choose the Un-mount option.
(Note: As an alternate, you can also open TI and choose the Mount & unmount options from inside the TI program.)

A discussion of Mounting & Exploring Files can be found in the Acronis user manual
Version 10 user manual, Chapter 12
Version 11 user manual, Chapter 13

Take one step at a time. You cannot learn it all in one sitting--but you can learn it. Be confident in your abilities but exercise a little patience.

[GroverH]

There are very few new questions about TrueImage. Most have been asked numerous times and answered via the forum. The search feature of the forum plus the search feature of Google can be of real help in getting answers quickly and from varied view points. The biggest deficiency of the search feature is that you must read it all to find what you are really looking for. Nevertheless,search can be a potent tool to increase your learning.

If you examine this page, you will note the Search option located upper right under your login name. Explore the advanced function which gives you more tools and can search via login names if desired.

Also, you can use the Google search function in your own browser
type in your search words and add the phrase "site: www.WildersSecurity.com" (without the quotes)
and perform the search. Search words can include topics or dates or login names, etc.

For example: use Google and copy/paste this search info into the search window.
"When/why do people mount" site:www.WildersSecurity.com

and the results will point you to this link below.

When/Why do people mount
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=154735

The more you practice you searches the better the results.
Just be sure and that every google search includes the object of your search plus Site:www.WildersSecurity.com

[Joanne2]

Thank you yet again, Grover--for both responses. I often use Google and do it well, but I hadn't thought of it for this area. I appreciate the link to the earlier thread on mounting, and I think I understand the concept now. I'll follow your directions for mounting an archive on my C: drive.

One more question, though.

I've been following the thread on "corrupt archives" that won't restore, even though they were successfully validated; but I haven't seen anything that spells out how to make sure a backup is restorable. (I know you can't be 100% certain, of course. In fact, some people either here or on another newsgroup reported that Acronis claimed an archive on a USB drive was corrupt and wouldn't restore when the USB drive was external but restored it properly when they made the drive an internal slave or moved it to another computer on their network.)

If I successfully mount the backup and copy from it, is that a good indication that the backup will also restore OK? If not, what else should I do? (I'm alternating my full Acronis backups between two WD160GB exernal drives.)

Thanks again!

Jo-Anne

[GroverH]

When you're done with the mounted drive. Then use the program to unmount. This is not something that needs to be mounted except to copy the test files, etc.

I haven't followed the corrupt thread.

The only way you know whether a archive will restore is to actually do it. If you have a data only partition, you could start by restoring that by itself.

The next best thing is to validate the backup files when booted from the Rescue CD.

And then to mount can copy files from it.

Sooner or later, you have to perform the restore in reality. You need to know whether it will work by doing it. This must be done either to a test disk or to the real disk. Certainly, a test disk is the best option. Perhaps you current disk need to be replaced with a larger capacity disk. That would be a good test.

As long as you have a "disk" option backup as described in my guide, you have some security.

Good luck.

addendum addition:
Best way for making functioning images
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=1047306

[Joanne2]

I guess to some degree I'll have to trust that the restore function will work, since I don't have either a spare disk or a partition to try it on. (My Dell desktop computer has only one small FAT16 partition--which I've been told is where Dell puts its diagnostics; the rest is simply the C: drive.)

Re validating from the Rescue CD, are you saying that I should do a full backup with Acronis running from its regular Windows XP location, then reboot the computer with the rescue CD and validate the backup with Acronis running from the rescue CD? If so, after the validation, would I then reboot normally and mount the backup?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

[GroverH]

The backup function can be done from either Windows or the Rescue CD. Some people do both--others do only the one or the other. Where the backup is done is a matter of choice--or user comfort level.

As for the validation, since the restore function on a disk replacement must occur when booted from the Rescue Cd, it is best that the validation be from the CD. Many of us have the validation set to automatic during the backup so doing the CD validation may be an extra but necessary step.

Once you have some comfort level that the CD validations works, many of us do not validate each and every backup--just randomly.

Should you ever need to restore your backup to a new disk, be sure and choose the disk option for the restore function--as you have that extra FAT16 partition.

[Joanne2]

Thank you, Grover! I'll do the Rescue CD validation later today for my latest backup and will continue doing it periodically if it appears to be OK.

Jo-Anne