Won't let me restore backed up drive

Hi
My C Drive is failing so I backed it up on D Drive. I then partitioned the D Drive so I now have D Drive and G Drive (new partition).

But when I try and restore the backed up drive on to the G Drive (new partition) it won't let me, because it says "the image file is on same drive as am going to restore to". But the backup up drive is on D and I want to restore it onto G Drive.

I thought that when you partition you make 2 seperate drives out of one, therefore able to restore backed up drive onto seperate G Drive (new partition).

Why is it not recognising that G Drive (new partition) is a completly seperate drive from D Drive (therefore allowing me to restore backed up drive on D to G )

Any advice would be appreciated

 

Hi Adam, welcome to the Forum...

When you created the partition did you create it as a Logical or a Primary partition?

T.

 

I created it as an Active partition. I don't know if that was correct. I think it said if you want to boot PC from this disk you should create an active partition. I wasn't quite sure which to choose to be honest.

 

I just need to clarify your first post.

When you talk about C and D drives are you referring to 1 or 2 physical disks?

T.

 

Yes, I have 2 physical disks

 

Adam,

Is it possible for you to move the data on Disk #2 to somewhere else and then re-format and re-partition Disk #2 ?

If this is possible get back to me and we can walk through the process together.

T.

 

Hello Adam Dunbar,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please notice that the term "drive" usually refers to the physical drive, while "partition" refers to a logically separated section of the drive, which is nevertheless is still a part of it. Please notice that in your case you can restore just the partition from the image (the checkmark next to the partition name, not the one near "Disk 1").
Please see the respective User's Guide for detailed instructions.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

Ok thanks, but what will that do, if I only tick the partition instead of the whole "disk 1". This will mean that that I am not including "MBR and track 0". But is this a critical part of the restoring process?

It says in user guide:
"Disk and partition images contain a copy of track 0 along with MBR. It appears in this window on a seperate line. You can choose whether to restore MBR and track 0 by checking the respective box. Restore MBR if it is critical to your boot system."

What will I be leaving out if I don't tick "MBR and track 0" ?

 

You don't say what version and build number you have, version 10 backs up the MBR whether you select disk 1 or not see Chapter 3.1 of the user guide

 

Hello Adam,

Please note the post by Como. Acronis change things (sometimes for reasons that are not obvious to mere mortals) from version to version.

When the Windows Operating System starts it needs to gather certain essential information about the system. Some of this information is contained within the MBR.


The MBR is a small piece of code that is located on the system disk at Sector-1, Cylinder-0, Head-0 (sometimes referred to as Track 0). Within the MBR reside the Master Boot Code, the Disk Signature and the Partition Table.


The Master Boot Code scans the disk for a Primary partition that has been marked “Active” – hence the requirement that only one partition per disk can be Active at any given moment. If there is an Active Primary partition on the disk then the Master Boot Code will look for the boot sector associated with the appropriate operating system within that partition, and then load the code at that sector into the computer’s memory (RAM). This is the reason why an Active partition must contain an operating system. If the Master Boot Code does not find an operating system the computer may “freeze”.

Therefore, if you want a disk to be bootable under Windows, the disk needs to have an MBR located at Track 0.

T.

 

Adam,

Not much. If you don't require a special MBR then it makes no difference if you tick it or not.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=178785#22

 

Hi again
Interestingly, when I do not click on whole "disk 1" in the "please select partition to restore", but just on partition (without clicking "MBR and track 0"), it does give me the option of restoring on Drive G (the partition).

If I do click on whole disk (ie check box next to "Disk 1") it does not give me that option.

But this restoring process to partition G includes the operating system, therefore I think I do need to select the MBR and track 0.

I'm thinking at the moment I may go and get an additional HDD and restore the old and failing Drive C onto that, so I will have my current working Drive D and also a new Drive C.

 

Hi Adam

Let me try and clarify this thing about the MBR and Track 0. In summary....

In a Windows environment, if a disk is to be used as the boot disk (the disk that starts the computer) then it needs the following: -

1. At least one Primary Partition that must be marked as "Active"

2. The MBR code located at Sector-1, Cylinder-0, Head-0 (also known as Track 0)

3. A Windows Operating System

If a disk is to be used for Data ONLY then it does NOT require any of the above.

(If the above is not clear please ask again because I can assure you that you are not the only one that finds this confusing).

T.

 

It is confusing and I'm trying to find a good reference. Here are some quotes by Dan Goodell

When you install a blank new HD (second HD) and boot to WinXP you are asked to "initialize" the HD. This is simply adding a MBR to the HD. If you partition the new blank HD in DOS with Partition Magic or DDS, a MBR is created automatically. Then when WinXP first sees the HD it doesn't ask for it to be initialized. Similarly, when TI restores an image to a blank HD it creates a MBR automatically, even if you don't tick Restore MBR and Track 0.

Track 0 or the First Track is the first 63 sectors on the HD. So it includes the Master Boot Sector (LBA-0) and the next 62 sectors. We have seen in another thread how code in LBA-3 can mess up cloning Dell laptops with MediaDirect2.

As Tabvla has pointed out the Master Boot Sector consists of boot code, DiskID and Master Partition table. fdisk /mbr creates generic boot code and zeroes the DiskID. fixmbr just creates generic boot code, ClearSig from TeraByte just zeroes the DiskID.

One other quote from Dan for you Adam

 

Hi
Ok thanks for that info.

Due to the fact that I do need MBR and track 0 ticked because the restoration includes the OS, I have decided to buy a new Hard Drive (Hitachi 160GB).

I bought this today and I took out old failing C Drive and put this in its place.

My old C Drive is backed up onto D Drive. I planned to boot Acronis CD on boot up (beacause I currently have no OS - it being ready to be restored to this new drive) and restore from there the back up on D Drive to this new drive.

I started PC just now with Acronis CD in CD drive, hoping that the PC would run Acronis CD without OS available, as it says is possible in user guide.

Unfortunately, I have a message coming up saying "NTLDR is missing, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to restart", so cannot get into PC at all.

I looked up on internet and there seem to be many causes to this problem.

Does anyone have any advice/experience with this problem?

 

This sounds like you have not changed the boot order in your Bios to boot first from a CD, the rescue CD is Linux based and I don't expect Linux uses NTLDR.

When your computer starts up there should be a message as to which key to press to get into the Bios, or look in the Mobo manual if you have one. Possable keys are any of the function keys or the delete key.

When in the Bios change the boot order so that you boot from CD first then save and reboot.

 

I didn't say that. You must have Restore MBR and Track 0 ticked if you have a special MBR. Otherwise, it doesn't matter if you tick it or not. With the exception of a Dell laptop image restore to a new HD (if a HPA is present), Restore MBR and Track 0 must not be ticked.