OK, been here forever but want to finally build a new system on Black Friday. Plan on i7-4790k, ASUS Z97 Pro, and SSD and HDD. OS will be Win 8.1. So my question is my concern that if I mess up the SSD or if it dies, will there be an Image software that will restore everything without having to re-register the OS and other software? I ask this as I see so many posts regarding issues with UEFI and SSD's, etc.
MPSAN, Almost the same specs as my son's computer except he has a Z87. I installed Win8.1 in UEFI mode. The TeraByte apps will do what you want. After the initial install you will have 4 partitions.... http://www.eightforums.com/tutorial...e-firmware-interface-install-windows-8-a.html The MSR isn't seen in Disk Management. Immediately after Win8.1 has been installed use IFW (or IFL/IFD) to create an Entire Drive image. Thereafter you only have to image the Win8.1 partition. If your SSD fails, replace it and restore the Entire Drive image (you don't really have to restore the original Win8.1 image as all partitions will be restored to the correct LBA). Then restore your most recent Win8.1 image.
A second backup solution could be of some use. Try Clonezilla live usb, it supports UEFI boot and is free.
Thanks ALL, and thanks for the link. So, I can do a FULL Drive image ONCE? Then do 8.1 partition only? I guess if I mess up, I can just do a full drive restore and then the 8.1 partition after that to get back to where I was..I guess AX64 will do this Soon Only Not Yet...OH, I forgot that was what SONY stood for.
When you do the Entire Drive restore, remove the tick from the Win8.1 partition. The other 3 partitions will be restored to their correct positions. Then restore the latest Win8.1 image to the unallocated free space representing the future Win8.1 partition. After the Win8.1 install you might want to resize the Win8.1 partition smaller and create a data partition. Then create another Entire Drive image.
Brian...can I do an entire drive image each time...all partitions...and then just recover the whole thing? I do not believe that would take much longer to do from an SSd to a 3TB internal HDD. In that way I would always be safe.
Sure. Easy! Edit... I just imaged the 3 non Win8.1 partitions on my son's SSD. It took 4 seconds and the image was 270 MB. So your suggestion is sensible.
IFW Simple Operations Mode would be ideal for your Entire Drive imaging. It does a full backup, then 6 incremental backups, then a full backup, then 6 incremental backups, etc. You can run it manually of scheduled or both. Manually, it's a 3 click backup and 3 click restore procedure. So simple.
Great, I will look into this. I am planning on a great Black Friday, or Cyber Monday...but want to get this system before long!
