Best Backup Method to Restore to a Different Computer

I have TI Home Ver 11. Just installed it yesterday so I am very new at this. My computer started displaying bad symptoms today (apparently problems with the power on process) and it appears that my 7 year old machine may be nearing the end of its lifetime. I'm seeking advice as to which backup method I should use if I expect to try to restore to a new, or different, computer. Or is that even possible? Any advice will be greatly appreciated, and if it can be received right away (since I expect a disaster to occur at any moment), it will be appreciated even more. Altho I have installed the software, I have not performed any backup at this point.

 

Immediately, if not sooner, make the bootable True Image Rescue CD and make a Backup of the entire system. I would also backup, using Windows Explorer, any data files, pics, mp3 files etc. to an external hard drive (I hope you have one.)

 

Okay - I have the Rescue Disk, and I've checked it out - it works. I plan to backup to a network share, and I don't expect any problems with that. My question, however, is: Is there any way I can perform a backup (preferably an image) of the system on this (7 year old, failing machine) PC, and simply, easily, restore both the operating system and applications and data to a hard drive on another PC (since I expect that the original system will have to be replaced)? Eventually, I would like to write the image to DVD-RW disks, from correctly sized image files written to a network drive. I understand this is possible with Acronis software.

I suspect (but I don't know for sure) that a backup image of the system on one set of hardware (not just the hard drive, but the complete system, motherboard, memory modules, bus configuration, etc.) may not successfully be restored onto a totally different set of hardware. Can anyone provide information on this issue?

 

I gave an answer to a very similar issue here:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=214763

See if it helps.

 

The OS and apps from one machine will not restore to another machine without having to do a Windows repair. You can look at Microsofts Sysprep tool which will help with PCI devices. You should set the video to something like a generic setting rather than the video card's specific settings in order to avoid the driver issues.

Acronis sells an add-on product called Universal Restore but you can't use it with the Home version if that is what you have.

I personally prefer to setup a new machine with a fresh Windows install and to only reinstall the apps that I really need. In other words, clean out the old garbage. It also has the benefit of not having to wonder if some obscure problem is because I ported the old OS/apps to the new machine.

 

I agree with this.

Veritasffg, don't hesitate to make (and verify) a backup of your old machine RIGHT NOW! If you do have a catastrophic failure, then you can buy a new PC if that's what you want to do, and then you have ALL of your apps & files on your TI backup you can Explore later, if not to Install your apps (you can't) then at least to see what you *had installed* on that old PC and maybe at least recover some .ini files (settings) and whatnot. But all your data files will be there on the mounted image file to copy-over to the new PC.

I'll bet your 7-year old PC is suffering from no more than "constipation" i.e. needs a good, thorough junk file cleanout, defrag, Registry clean, etc. etc. I have done this for friends who thought their old PCs were junk, and they were amazed when I returned the PCs to them cleaned-up.

After making a backup or two, or three, then you can start tuning-on your PC with confidence that if you break something you can restore at least to where you were before...

Wish I had access to every PC that people threw-out because they thought it was junk, only because it worked like crap after years of "no maintenance".

 

I endorse this advice. There will be hardware differences on the newer PC, so while it is possible to use Universal Restore to restore to it, you'd be better off doing a fresh install, then optimizing and tweaking Windows, and then restoring just your data.

Absolutely! I went to a client's office to transfer his data from his "old" PC to a brand new one, then setup the old PC for his daughter. He said the old one was way too slow, so his child would use it while he would use the new one. After I clean installed, optimized and tweaked the old PC, my client was shocked at how fast it became. He said if he had known that it could be that fast, he wouldn't have bought a new one.

I still often use a nine-year-old desktop PC running Windows 98SE, which I have heavily tweaked to be fast and stable. Friends, when they use it, are often surprised at how fast such an old PC is when compared to their modern PCs.

 

Thanks to all who replied. I don't disagree with those who recommend clean installs over Universal Restores (or whatever). However, I have clients who want to just recover from a system failure at the least cost, in time, trouble, and dollar outlay. This was the reason for my interest in the full restore to new hardware.

As for the comments regarding regular computer maintenance - I also agree. The machine which I suspect is near the point of failure is defragged every day; the registry is cleaned out at least once per week; I have removed significant numbers of resident programs to increase the amount of available RAM; etc. In short, I try to practice what those kind posters were preaching. I suspect the machine is close to failing because, on three separate occasions, after being powered on, the monitor displayed nothing. I shut the system down, power on again, and everything boots as normal. It may be that the power on switch is malfunctioning. In any case, I see this as a good test case for the TI Echo Workstation/Universal Restore process, and I'm seriously considering it - but of course the cost of about $130 makes it a fairly expensive test case.

Again, thanks to all who posted suggestions.

 

As I recall, you said there was a power on problem.
Maybe you just need a new power supply?

Also, a clean install is by far the best method.

I would not trust ANY "universal restore" tool. In general, it cannot work if the hardware configuration is different. There's just too much stuff that needs to be modified that cannot be automated.

A number of years ago, being a masochist, I copied an OS from one drive to another on the same PC. I've got 4 windoze OS on the 'puter.

I then used a registry editor, etc., to fix all drive letter references. Process was painful. A clean install would have taken less time. I'd never do this again.

 

Hello veritasffg,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for delayed response.

We may recommend you to download and install the free trial version of Acronis True Image Echo Workstation to see how the software works on your computer. With the trial version of the product you will be able to fully use the Windows version for 15 days. The bootable rescue media will be limited to restore function.

Please also be aware that the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore is not available on Acronis web site. In order to obtain the trial version of Acronis Universal Restore please contact Acronis Support Team. Explain your wish to obtain the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore and provide your personal information (full name; phone number along with the area code; company name, if any) along with the link to this thread. We'll provide you with the free trial version of Acronis Universal Restore as soon as possible.

You can find basic instructions on how to use Acronis Universal Restore here. Detailed instructions can be found in the Acronis True Image Echo Workstation User's Guide.

Thank you.
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Marat Setdikov