Image will work on different drives ?

Hello,

Before I fork out money on what seems like it could be a good product I wish to know if I can backup my entire c: drive - a 20 gig drive running Windows XP, and then restore this drive to a new hard drive that is not the same make OR size.

The reason I ask this, is because Microsoft officially says that Windows XP will NOT install if it detects any changes in hardware. If I upgrade to an 80 gig drive but the image was made from my 20 gig, will the image work ? or will Windows XP hiss and spit at me and tell me that hardware has changed and then refuse to install ... ?

I don't find the website very informative on this subject. My 20 gig drive is a Maxtor and I may buy a WD brand drive, - will just this alone make the image not work properly because XP decides my hardware is NOT the same and so refuses to run ?

any help appreciated for a newbie.

 

The problem with XP is with changes with hardware, meaning things like new motherboard chipset--not new hard drive.
I just built a new system for my brother from a P3-450 to a P4-3.0 with a new motherboard, obviously. I tried to use his old hard drive and even do a repair install with XP to update any drivers the OS thought it might need. It wouldn't let me do it. We had to format the disk, install the OS clean, and then install his programs one by one again.

If you're moving the image to a new larger hard drive for the same system, I don't think TI will have a problem with it.

Any other thoughts?

 

Hi Mantronix,

Welcome to Wilders.
I don't have ATI, but the XP activation process will detect if you change 3 or 4 items at once (something like that). So you should have no problems as far as Windows XP activation is concerned with just changing out 1 device the HD.
When you swap out a Mobo, it is not just one device. A mobo has many devices so that's the reason Windows wouldn't work on the new computer.
When you make an image, you shouldn't have to reinstall windows at all. You just restore the image. It will simply detect the new hard drive and continue normally (with more free HD space available)

If I were you though, I would trial the imaging software first before buying. This applies to any backup software and imaging product. Test it out thoroughly on your system. It is not enough to just verify the integrity of the backup, you need to actually perform a backup and a restore to guarantee that it will work on your system. I have (with other backup software and hardware products not ATI) verified the integrity of the image and when it came time to restore, the image was corrupted. Here is a link that explains this procedure.

 

Hi Merlin and Devinco,

Thanks for putting me to ease with the backup and device stuff in XP. I guess it is not as bad as I thought.

Quick question for anyone....

Is it possible to redo my system - meaning, reinstall Windows XP, then install all my base programs I use on a daily basis, THEN do my image ....... but with a twist....

Is it possible to create an image disc with True Image that would also be bootable ? so I could only put one disc into the dvd writer drive and re-install my system with only one dvd-r disc ? .... or is this what True Image is all about ? and this is what it does ?

I have seen posts about Norton Ghost having to first ask you for your original Windows XP install disc, then it asks you for the image file you made, and then proceeds with a re-install - this sounds like a big convoluted process to me,..... I thought this could be accomplished with one dvd-r disc.... - when Windows XP is installed with a few programs it's far smaller in size than a 4.7 gig dvd-r disc so in theory it can all fit onto one disc....

any input appreciated.
thank you.

 

mantronix,

If you want to be sure that your system is clean when you reinstall, here is what I do.

I would consider these steps to be the bare minimum to be sure that your system starts clean and stays clean. You could add other steps like tweaking the OS (removing unnecessary services), alternate browsers, etc., etc. That's up to your preference.
I have practiced everything that I mentioned and it has worked very well for me. Most all of the items mentioned are covered in detail either here on Wilders somewhere or linked to from Wilders.

As you can see, Ghost 2003 (8.0) has no problem making a bootable CD image. No need for the XP cd anymore. I have implimented this procedure with great success. With Ghost high compression, I was able to fit a fresh tweaked XP install on 2 700MB CD-Rs (Note I used CDRs not CDRW so they can not be modified).
My first clean XP image (including all patches and OS tweaks) I call pristine.
My second image with all security apps I call Security. Even with all security apps it still only take 2 CDs.
My third with all essential normal apps I call Ready 2 Roll.
You will have no problem fitting it on a DVD-R. Depending how many apps you have, it may fit on one or it may need to span more discs. Ghost has no problem with this. I don't know how ATI handles bootable CD or DVDs, but if it does it right, then the above should work with ATI also.

Hope this helps

 

FYI the problem with trialing the software is that you can't restore an image, only back it up. At least that's what I experienced a few weeks ago.

Geniuses in Acronis Product Management at work yet again.

 

Hi Devinco, and Taz,

Taz, yes I see this - about your last comment

Devinco....

what am I missing here ? .... you say above that with Ghost 8 you do NOT need the original XP disc.... you can use a bootable image disc ? - so you mean ONE disc both contains the image file, and it also loads the software ( ghost) needed to install that image file ?

from my reading even the lastest version of True Image NEEDS the user to first boot the computer to its restore program.... then and only then you insert the disc with the image file - so in reality you are using not one but two discs... am I on the wrong path of thinking here ? I'm confused.

 

mantronix,

That's right. Ghost 2003 (8.0) can make a bootable DVD image that only needs 1 DVD. You just stick in the DVD, boot up and and restore.
I need 2 discs because I am using 700 mb CD-R. With a DVD, you could easily fit the image on one disc. If the image fits on one disc, that's all you need. If it is bigger, it will automatically span it across multiple discs.

If Acronis True Image doesn't have the ability to make real bootable CD/DVD images (so you don't need a separate boot disc), I think they should add that feature.

Since Backup Imaging software (in general) seems to be so sensitive to each users hardware configuration (SATA, Firewire, RAID, USB), I think they should permit trial users to perform a restore. With no way to actually test it out, people are going to buy it on blind faith. When it turns out to be incompatible, it is going to generate some bad blood. Other companies are able to make trials that have time limited restores without issues. After the time limit is up, then you can't restore any more. That is fair. Why can't Acronis do the same thing?

 

Hi Devinco,

Thanks for the FAST reply

Ok I think I misunderstood.... so you are a Ghost 2003 user right ? and NOT a True Image user ? ... I think I got that straight, unless I misunderstood you .... I guess I should ask you that or get that straight before proceeding ....

If you are a Ghost user, will you upgrade to version 9 that is coming out soon ? .. on the official Norton site they say it is being released at the end of August, so I guess very soon. I am also puzzled why so many names are given for the Norton software, is Norton 8 really Norton 2003 ? or is it 2004 ?

Also thanks for the tips on how you do your backups - very neat.

 

You're welcome.

I am not a True Image User. I have been interested in TI for quite some time as I really think it has an innovative approach on imaging. I consider backup imaging to be a very important part of layered security. So, I followed it's development and learned from other's experience with it on the forums. It's a great way to learn without the burn!

I am a Ghost user. The core version is Ghost 8. Ghost is also packaged with Norton System Works Professional 2003. In that package, which I have, they call it Ghost 2003. It is all really Ghost 8.

Ghost 8 is working well for me now. I am slow to migrate from something that works well. Newer versions are not always better. I would consider Ghost 9 though along with other possibilities. I would even consider TI if they would get it together.

I am only posting this here because you asked a direct question. This is the Acronis forum and I respect that. Further discussion about Ghost would be better on the Software & Services or Other Security Issues forum.
If you are interested, here are some other links here (post 45) and this thread

 

I just typed a nice long message and when I clicked on send IE bombed on me - argh. Oh well... darn. Thanks for the info much appeciated.

You've sold me on Ghost Devinco ... you can make a bootable image file with Ghost... this seems the only logical way to go.... it just doesn't interest me to use 2 discs to accomplish what you do with one.... you'd think that if one company did it a superior way that other companies would follow suite.

update: I was just on the Norton.com site and Ghost 9 is now slated for a September release date, pushed back from "late August" I am not surprised though, as many companies do this. I think it will be worth the wait though.

 

Remember that just because it works for me, doesn't necessarily mean it will work for your specific configuration. Symantec / Ghost has its share of problems too (just read through both threads linked to in my previous post completely and you will find some). I am sure there are many very happy customers of TI as well. That is why it is so important to fully test it out (doing full backup and restore) with your computer before buying.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes for you.