Info please re: windows xp/symantec programs

All of our computers are running XP. In the past we were using the software that came with the new HD as we upgraded to migrate from old to new drive.

About a year ago we found that once we migrated with the Western Dig or Maxtor software, the resulting cloned drive had problems with Norton products and other products requiring activation and/or passwords.

We have recently upgraded to new Dell computers with SATA drives and Dell's hidden partition system restore.

We tried the latest version of ghost for windows and had many problems. Previously, we used Ghost 2003 which ran in DOS. This will not recognize the USB 2.0 external drives we use now. My concern centers around backing up in windows where files are open, etc.. I have found that many file backup programs simply skip over open files which leads to an incomplete backup.

Does True Image do a THOROUGH backup in Windows. I have always been much more comfortable backing up through dos. How does it interact with product activation, etc.?

I would also like to know what, if any changes are made by trueimage to the MBR as Dell indicated any changes to this "breaks" the systems' ability to restore the hard drive.

Thanks for your input.

 

I have several Dell computers (laptops/desktops) running XP and I use TrueImage 8 with no real problems.

I clone, I create & restore images and I backup to CD-R's and external USB2 drives with no real problems.

When programs have been activated on the original partition they remain activated and fully functional when restored.

In every case where I have restored an image or cloned, the hidden Dell diagnostic and restore partitions work 100%.

TrueImage 8 works. Period.

 

Hi pettyracing,

Be careful during the TI install and don't be tempted to activate the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager (and hence the associated Secure Zone). Doing so will modify the MBR and cripple Dell's special diagnostic and recovery facilities. By all means create an Acronis Secure Zone if you wish (useful for managing the number of incremental images) but use it without activating the SRM.

Regards

 

Pettyracing,

No worries about open files - this backup is sector based, and doesn't access files on the disk, it accesses the raw sectors.

The first few seconds, a "snapshot" is taken to see what needs to be backupped. During the backup, the sectors in the snapshot are monitored so they are not overwritten while the backup is being taken.

Short from heavily accessed databases, this method backups everything, including open files.

I've even been lucky with a running exchange database, even if it is recommended to shut it down during the snapshot phase...

 

Hello pettyracing,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please read the article "Disk Imaging in Windows — Increases User Productivity And Permits Broader Range of Backup Devices". If you have any questions concerning our software, please feel free to ask us.

Thank you.
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Irina Shirokova