Partition Resizing on Restore

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by jimshu1, Jan 28, 2005.

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  1. jimshu1

    jimshu1 Registered Member

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    I do not have a problem. I am trying to better understand the partition resizing done by TI under some circumstances. To clarify your responses, I will attempt to state my questions so a yes/no answer can be provided. Pls feel free to explain any of these:

    1. When cloning a PARTITION image to a partition of greater size, no re-sizing of the destination partition will be done by TI. Is this correct?


    2. When cloning a PARTITION image to a partition of lesser size, no re-sizing of the destination partition will be done by TI IF THE DATA CAN FIT ONTO THE DESTINATION PARTITION. Is this correct?


    3. When cloning a PARTITION image to a partition of lesser size, an error will be generated IF THE DATA CANNOT FIT ONTO THE DESTINATION PARTITION, but no re-sizing will be done. Is this correct?


    4. When cloning a DISK image to a disk of greater size, any partitions will be proportionally increased in size to fill the larger capacity. Is this correct?


    5. When cloning a DISK image to a disk of lesser size, any partitions will be proportionally decreased in size IF THE DATA CAN FIT ONTO THE SMALLER DESTINATION PARTITIONS. Is this correct?


    Thanks for any replies!
     
  2. Defenestration

    Defenestration Registered Member

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    Good questions jimshu1! I'm also interested in how this feature works, and have one more question related to your question (5):

    Suppose you have two equally sized partitions on the Disk image, and one of the partitions is empty, while the other partition is 95% full. When cloning the disk image to a disk which is 75% the size, will TI reduce the size of the empty partition more than the 95% full partition, or will the clone process fail completely ?
     
  3. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello jimshu1 and Defenestration,

    Thank you for your interest in Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/).

    I will answer your questions in the order you asked them supposing that questions 1 - 3 concerned restoration of the image rather than cloning (because Acronis True Image cannot clone single partitions, only disks):

    1. No, you will be able to restore the image so that the final partition will be the same size as the initial one (please see the User's Guide p.33);

    2.No, the asme as for the first question. You are able to resize the final partition in the following limits: it cannot be less than the data you plan to store there (that is naturally I suppose) and it cannot by more than the original partition plus the unallocated space right before and right after this partition (if there is any).

    3. If the data takes more space than te size of the partition you just won't be able to choose this partition.

    4. When you clone the disk to another one you will be able to manage partitions in the way you wish. Just choose the "Manual" method of cloning and the only restriction will be that a partition cannot be less than the size of the data contained on it. When you restore the image of the disk it looks as if you restore partitions one by one. It means that you can manage partitions within the limitations described above.

    5. This is the same as in your second question because restoring disk is restoreing all its partitions one by one.

    I hope this explanation is helpful. Also please note that you may try to start performing the operations because nothing actually happens until you press the "Proceed" button and you will be able to have a look at how the image can be restored without the restoration.

    Thank you.
    --
    Ilya Toytman
     
  4. jimshu1

    jimshu1 Registered Member

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    Thank you very much!

    I'd like to suggest that your development group consider leaving the target partition alone whenever possible when restoring just a partition. If the data will fit, let it without forcing a resize to the original, source image size. I know this isn't an issue if you are restoring to exactly the same partition on the exact same HD. It's when you change HD's and create new partition sizes that TI can mess you up on individual partition restores.

    On a disk restore (clone), you state that a person can manually set the partition sizes, which is OK. What happens if you don't choose manual? What does TI's default logic do?

    A lot of people, myself included, have multiple HD's (I have three), with very complex partition strategies involving up to 20 partitions. We've spent days coming up with these strategies and implemented them with PartitionMagic or even good old FDISK. Size of the partition is the biggest decision you make and nobody wants another program changing these if it can be helped.

    When you manage systems with this number of partitions, you do partition imaging, not disk imaging. So being able to restore partition images without screwing up your overall partition strategy is critical.

    Thanks again for any replies!
     
  5. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello jimshu1,

    When you clone the disk you may choose three ways of cloning: as is, proportional and manual. In the first case you will obtain the exact copy of your source disk without resizing. In the second case the space will be distributed proportionally among the partitions (this is also happens when you choose the "Automatic" mode). The third way is recommended only for professionals and allows you to manage partitions in the way you need. Please see the User's Guide (Chapter 7, p. 39)

    When you restore partitions you are able to set the destination partition size as I have described in the previous post.

    Thank you.
    --
    Ilya Toytman
     
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