How do I clone my Vista system partition to a multi-partition disk?

[Teffy]

I want to "clone" my Vista system partition to DVD-sized files on a data disk containing multiple partitions. I used to do this with Norton Ghost all the time, but can't figure out how to do it with Acronis True Image Home 10.

The ATI help, under "Disk Cloning - Partitioned Destination Disk" says:
"If there are any partitions on the new disk, they must be deleted first."

I don't have confidence in a 'plain backup' of a running system for the reasons discussed in this thread:
Reliability of "live" imaging

My computer has Vista Home Premium, and two hard drives, both with multiple partitions.

Thank you,
Teffy

[DwnNdrty]

Clone, in Acronis terms, is the wrong feature to use ... you want Backup, also called Imaging. This will give you the option to choose the split size and will also not delete partitions on the destination drive.

Also to be sure of the least amount of problems in the process, make and use the bootable True Image cd to do the Backup.

[GroverH]

My computer has Vista Home Premium, and two hard drives, both with multiple partitions.

Vista occupies one partition, what other partitions is on the Vista disk?

In at least one of your backups, you should choose the "disk" option and backup all partitions on the Vista drive. You will have a better chance of recovery should your Vista disk fail.

As DwnNdrty stated, cloning is not the Acronis option you want. Acronis cloning only does disks--not single partitions.

Check out my guides below. Think of your Vista disk as being the one in the guide. Check marking the disk option will backup all partitions on the disk. By doing the disk option, you have more choices later--such as replacing the disk should you have a need. Also, you can choose which partition is to be restored. Vista may need what is in the other partition--so make at least one image backup with disk option checkmarked.

[Teffy]

Originally Posted by GroverH

Vista occupies one partition, what other partitions is on the Vista disk?

The second partition on the Vista disk is for backups of the data disk. My goal was to make the backup of the system as small as is possible. But, from my quick look at your links, it sounds like I need to backup the entire drive anyway in order to make the restored backup bootable. Thanks so much for the guides!!!! What a time and agony saver! I'm gonna dive into them right now

Teffy

[GroverH]

Just be sure that part of the backup/archive creation, you use "archive splitting" so you can control the file size of your backup set.

[Acronis Support]

Hello Teffy,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

As noted by previous posters, please be aware that there are two approaches available:

Clone Disk - migrates/copies the entire contents of one disk drive to another;

Backup - creates a special archive file for backup and disaster recovery purposes;

Please take a look at this FAQ article explaining the difference between Clone Disk and Backup approaches in more detail.

Actually, Clone Disk approach is usually used to upgrade the hard drive (e.g. install a larger disk), while Backup approach is basically dedicated for the complete data backup and disaster recovery purposes. Since you are interested in backing up your hard drive for the disaster recovery purposes, I would recommend you to follow Backup approach.

Moreover, there are several advantages of creating an image over the disk cloning procedure such as: you can create an image without rebooting your PC, image creation can be scheduled for the particular point in time, Acronis True Image allows you to create incremental and differential images, image archive contains only the actual data and so it has a smaller size, images are ordinary files and so they can be stored on any type of the supported media, etc. However, the final choice is always up to your needs.

Regarding creating images from Windows, please notice that Acronis True Image uses a special snapshot technology to ensure that the image is consistent. Please see this post for some details.
However, if you don't trust live imaging, you can always use Acronis Bootable Rescue Media to create images while Windows is inactive. Please see this article for details on Acronis Bootable Rescue Media.

You can find more information on how to use Acronis True Image 10.0 Home in the respective User's Guide.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov