Image For Windows

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by Stigg, Apr 15, 2014.

  1. JohnBurns

    JohnBurns Registered Member

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    Thanks Brian - will take another whirl at it when I get a chance. I know it's good - just have to prepare myself for dealing with something i am not familiar with. After the Holidays, maybe. Appreciate your advice.
     
  2. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    John

    It may seem daunting, but once you figure out the few options you need, they stay defaulted, and it becomes a hop click and a jump after that.
     
  3. Hadron

    Hadron Registered Member

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    It is daunting at first. Even getting the program registered is not so simple.
    I am sure it can be made easier in future versions.
     
  4. fouriron

    fouriron Registered Member

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    I replaced my old-smaller SSD with a new-bigger one. The old one had a bootable windows 8.1 partition of 75G.aligned on a 4096 boundary which I imaged with IFW 2.91. On the new one, I created a 75G partition, checked the alignment and restored the image using IFW running on the original Windows 8.1. When I was done, the new partition would boot fine, but the partition offset was no longer on a 4096 boundary. Is their any way to force the alignment on a restore from an existing image. The original image was done on a properly aligned partition to begin with.

    Len
     
  5. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Len,

    Which app did you use to create the partition on the new SSD?

    How was the new SSD connected when you restored the image? Internal or external?

    In IFW, Settings, Geometry tab. Do you have a tick in "Align on 1MiB Boundaries"?

    In BIBM, Partition Work, View MBR. What is the LBA for the Win8.1 partition? Instead of using BIBM you can open IFW, Backup (Full), select the Win8.1 partition (don't put a tick in the box), Information. What are the LBA numbers?
     
    Last edited: Dec 16, 2014
  6. fouriron

    fouriron Registered Member

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    I got it Brian.
    I Partitioned the drive using windows storage mgmt and checked the alignment. It was internal. The problem was that the winpe IFW image would not let me set the 1mb alignment option. I ran the restore from the old windows drive (which was still installed) and checked the align on 1 mb option and all is well.

    Thanks for the response.

    Len
     
  7. Hadron

    Hadron Registered Member

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    I have often wondered about the alignment when transferring an OS from a hard drive to an SSD.
     
  8. Rokhsana

    Rokhsana Registered Member

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    Hello everyone ,
    I want to sysprep (deploy) a windows with installed softwares and updates for restoring it to 6 PC's and laptop with different hardwares (new and old). (windows 7 & 8 X64)

    I want to do this work with IFL GUI and it's tools (bought full bundle pack already).

    How can I backup this image ? (to be able for small partitions or SSD's or different hardwares)
    How can I restore this image ? (Does it work)

    Thanks a lot.
     
  9. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Rokhsana,

    Instead of Sysprep you can use TBIDTool in IFL. See the TBOSDT manual. There is a video in the IFL section using TBOSDT but it's an old method...

    http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/index.htmf

    Sorry I can't be more specific. I'm away from home and don't have access to my notes and tutorials.
     
  10. Rokhsana

    Rokhsana Registered Member

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    Hello Brian ,
    if you can explain this , it's very helpful for me.

    Thanks.
     
  11. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Rokhsana,

    I suggest you follow the step by step instructions in the user guide. Page 51 and onwards. Open IFL and click the TBIDTool icon.

     
  12. Rokhsana

    Rokhsana Registered Member

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    Thank you very much Brian .
    I have a question regarding to it :
    If I remove the Drivers , Can terabyte search for new drivers in 'Driver pack solution" or a CD-ROM motherboard ?
    Can't windows find the drivers itself like when we install a new windows ?

    Thanks a lot.
     
  13. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Yes. Exactly. They are automatically installed on the first boot.

    The main purpose of TBIDTool is to let you boot into Windows on the new hardware. If any drivers need to be installed, such as the latest nVidia drivers, they can be installed at your leisure.
     
  14. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Hi guys... need some help (guidance?)

    System: i7, 8gB RAM, 120gB SSD (LEGACY, MBR-based), IFW v2.91

    Have been using IFW for many years (on and off as PRIMARY imaging app) so COMPACTing partitions prior to imaging and expansion (if needed) at restoration, I think, is well understood.

    Anyway, the SSD has (2) freshly formatted partitions (aligned at 1mB). I have (2) OS images I'm loading into those partitions. The 1st, W7sp1x64 was compacted (44gB to 38gB) prior to imaging and restored, with expansion, to the 1st PRIMARY partition without issues. The 2nd, W8.1.1x64 (fully operational... I'm using it now on the same platform) refused to COMPACT from 60gB (its current size) down to anything between the used space value of 41gB and its current 60gB used size (the source partition was actually 111gb)... constant "Error: (51)." By the way, I've never found a good source for TB's error codes... I love to know if something exists.

    Anyway, I imaged the 2nd partition at its 60gB size without issue. Upon restoration, I tried an expansion to 77gB of which IFW went through all the motions and at the end said the following... "Partition reduction failed (1/2/51). The target partition will be deleted." This happened regardless of what size I was trying to expand to.

    My question... why is IFW trying to REDUCE that partition when it's finished, giving me that strange error? I figured maybe it was borrowing a "standard" error msg for the notification but the bigger question is... why won't it expand. So far I've not been able to return that partiton to a clean 61-77gB partition.

    Any help, greatly appreciated... and I would LOVE a TB error list for this app :'(
     
  15. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    TRF,

    It's been requested in the TeraByte forum but without response from Support.

    I've experienced your issue. Failure to compact and resize. If you try to resize your partition with BIBM you will get a similar error and a message you have file system errors. A chkdsk /f should fix all your issues.
     
  16. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    You're saying I should run the ChkDsk on the LIVE W8.1.1. OS before I actually image it, correct?
     
  17. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    That's correct. Then Compact if desired. Or you could chkdsk the restored partition if it will restore to its native size. Then resize.
     
  18. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    W8.1 drives me crazy. When I asked it to check the file structure, instead of telling me it's scheduled for the next BOOT, it says, "Hey! I'll fix it for you right now." It runs, says it found an error and fixed it. I say, "Great!"

    Run the same image... same failure, no compaction. I then say screw it and BOOT into the RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT and run ChkDsk myself. Since the recovery environment runs under LIVE Windows on W8.1.1, ChkDsk won't allow me to fix the volume until I have it unMOUNTED... I do this, ChkDsk runs, finds more errors and fixes them.

    Now the image will COMPACT (and I assume, EXPAND when I restore). Thanks for the tip, Bryan.

    Some error docs from TB would help... but I think what would help more is if I dump W8.1.1 and go back to W7 again :sick: (I will be dual booting them for a while). Thanks again!
     
  19. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    Interesting, chkdsk /f initiated in Windows didn't fix it. You needed to use the RECOVERY ENVIRONMENT. Good perseverance.

    Win8.11 chkdsk doesn't show details when it is running but there is a good log in....

    Event Viewer/ Windows Logs/ Application/ Wininit
     
  20. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    On reading this again it seems you didn't use the /f switch. Chkdsk works after a reboot with the /f switch. Running chkdsk without the /f switch won't fix errors, it just reports them.
     
    Last edited: Jan 25, 2015
  21. Longboard

    Longboard Registered Member

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    OK ....
    That is an interesting exchange above : #339 - #345: without expertise and experience that could cause some sweatyness ??

    Brian you have never intimated any issues with Terabyte and W8 before.

    Any further discussions ??
     
  22. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    LB... it did! o_O Luckily I had an additional image from another imager hangin' 'round when I started the process. The big problem there is that the TB errors mean absolute nothing without some sort of error legend. I'm sure they have a meaning which would have led me somewhere but I had no idea where to look. So... I came on-line to ask the human TB encyclopedia (B K) for some pointers.
    Not to speak for Brian, but these issues aren't new to either W8 or IFW. My guess is IFW has always balked about certain "structure" issues with Windows when it comes across them... what causes them, who knows. The problem is, without some sort of documentation, the "balk" becomes undefined and the user hasn't a clue.

    In this case, the Windows structure had some sort of glitch in it that Windows, itself, either hadn't come across yet (so it could scream) or didn't care much about... and IFW found it but couldn't tell anybody what it really found (a major documentation issue with the product, I believe). IFW has so few issues with its primary task that most users haven't really noticed the lack of error documentation... except for Brian who has been using it extensively for many years.

    Now you couple this with the fact that W8.1.1 does disk error checking a bit differently than previously, and confusion, for me anyway, abounds. W8 allows you to run a check of your disk, even after it said all was OK when the tool was activated, and the check found a problem (no definition) and said it would fix it then... and it did. What really happened was that there were more than one problem and the check didn't find them all.

    I then went to the WINDOWS REPAIR facility (under W8.8.1) and wanted to run "ChkDsk /f" from there. Since, under W8, that facility runs under the LIVE system (unlike W7 and before which ran under a separate LIVE PE environment <WinRE.wim>), it wouldn't let me repair the LIVE volume until I took it out of circulation (disMOUNTed it). I did that, then the "ChkDsk /f" found additional errors (fairly benign, I believe) and fixed them. After that, IFW was very happy about both COMPACTion and EXPANSION of that imaged system. The whole thing was a bit confusing since it was the first time I had done such a thing under W8.
    I'm not sure there's much else to say other than prepare yourself for a slightly different method to fix your SYSTEM volume, if necessary, under W8... and, anyone who regularly visits the TB forums should lobby heavily for some error documentation for the IFW product.
     
  23. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Brian, things are a bit different (at least for me they were) under W8.1 in this area. Previous systems would tell you that it would have to schedule a ChkDsk at the next BOOT... this system did not. When I invoked the error checking (under LIVE W8.1), it said everything was OK but it offered me the ability to SCAN anyway... which I did. The SCAN announced that it found something and that it could fix it now, which it did. That's where the false sense of security came about as far as now having a fixed partition... it really wasn't fixed yet and Windows said there was no problem.

    After a failed IFW test following the above, I took it upon myself to run ChkDsk in a pre-BOOT environment to get the real skinny. The problem was that the REPAIR FACILITY under W8.1 doesn't really run pre-BOOT like under previous OSes, it runs under the LIVE real system. That's why it says at that point that it won't let me repair until I dismount that volume (which it allows me to do). Once the dismount is performed, the "ChkDsk /f" runs normally but in my case found additional errors which it fixed. After all that, it appeared all the anomalies in that W8.1 SYSTEM partition had been dealt with.

    The problem is that the so called pre-BOOT environment under W8.1 (which provides a TOUCH interface, if needed, for tablets and that fancy mouse controlled screen offering you beautiful selection blocks <Troubleshoot, etc.>) is really running under the LIVE system, although a bit restricted as to what you can do. As we know, anytime you're running under the LIVE system, you cannot change or repair structures on that volume until it's no longer live. That's why when running ChkDsk under the COMMAND PROMPT interface offered in the troubleshooting area, the volume has to be dismounted. It's just all a bit different than it used to be... including the fact that LIVE Windows couldn''t see those errors when doing a LIVE disk check (Thanks, MicroSloth).
     
  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    TRF,

    That's where I'm confused. I've tried 3 Win8.1 computers (two desktops and a tablet) and all request a restart...

     
  25. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Hi Brian! Maybe the issue is how we do the basic check from the LIVE system.

    On W7, I bring up the Explorer and <right-click> "Properties" on the disk I wanna check... I get the following menu...

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17664826/IFW/W7-1.jpg

    Then I select the "Tools" TAB and get the following...

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17664826/IFW/W7-2.jpg

    Then I select the "Check now" button and get the usual...

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17664826/IFW/W7-3.jpg

    ...and when I say "start," it says...

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17664826/IFW/W7-4.jpg


    However, when using W8.1.1, following the selection of "Check" (similar to Window #2 above), the following window appears...

    https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/17664826/IFW/W8-3.jpg

    This is exactly what I saw when I went chasing your partition error down. Although Windows said the same thing as the window above, I executed the "Scan drive" option anyway, at which point Windows scanned the drive and said it found some errors and asked if it wanted me to fix them. I said YES, and it said it fixed them.

    I then tried the IFW COMPACTion once again, in its PE, and it failed once again. That when I decided to use the COMMAND PROMPT option in the Windows RE (Repair Environment) to run ChkDsk instead.
     
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