Macrium Reflect

I don't want to get too carried away with this but I believe you have a misunderstanding of that 4k reference.

In AOMEI's discussion, the 4k refers to the smallest block size that can be allocated in a reference File System... in the case of NTFS, that's 4k BYTES (representing a block of 8-sectors at 512-bytes each). This is the size of the smallest allocation unit that can be had in the file system. When a file is created, even if it has 10-characters in it, it will wind up using 8-sectors on the storage element. It has nothing to do with internal sizes of anything in the SSD.

BUT, whatever size allocation block is used (it doesn't have to be 4K, it can be larger), it must align itself with a start of a NAND storage block within the SSD and be equivalent to a multiple of those storage blocks... that's why the partition alignment is important at a 1mB boundary... that's the common denominator of all the possible NAND storage blocks in use for partition alignment, and it has no reference whatsoever to 4K anything. That 1mB boundary guarantees that you will always start at one of the many blocksizes that have been used in SSDs (this covers all common SSD page and block size scenarios, as it is divisible by 1 MB, 512 KB, 128 KB, 4 KB and 512 bytes).

If you feel we need to get deeper into this, I'll be happy to provide many links to appropriate knowledge in this area... but we should carry it on in a PM environment... it can get "windy."

 

The 4k requirement exists for SSD only because SSD stroage uses "blocks" physically. Such alignment requirement does not exist for HDD. It's not accurate to say "In SSD alignment, 4k means 4k sectors", so I deleted that statement from my original post, right after I posted it. I don't think I misunderstood what AOMEI was saying. The reason why SSD needs to be properly aligned is because of the 4k storage unit, AND the existence of physically separated NAND block / cells. HDD has no such alignment issues because its storage unit is physically continuous (Logically it still uses sectors and cylinders), not block by block.

I never said 4k alignment has anything to do with the internal size of an SSD. "SSD 4k alignment" is THE common term referring to SSD proper alignment, I am not sure why you appear to have a problem with that common term. "A multiple of 64kb (most commonly, 1024kb or 2048 sectors) is the recommended offset for SSD disks." I think the concept and examples for 4k alignment are well illustrated in the two Acronis links I provided in post #1599, therefore I don't see a need to continue our discussion on the 4k issue.

Back to topic, I think Macrium is still generous to provide many good features in the free version. As I mentioned before, I don't use incremental/differential backup/restore. I only do full backup restore using the boot media, so the free version is good enough for me. Currently I don't use Macrium. when they improve their imaging speed AND compression algorithm, I might use it.
My current workhorses are Acronis, IFL and Storage Craft SP.

 

Exactly the same in my case.

 

I'm using Macrium V6 workstation now....Is there any backup imagining software that it doesn't play nicely with it?.....I just want to use another to be safe in case Macrium fails for one reason or another.

 

It uses no special TRACKING drivers and runs a simple service to assist in mounting images as virtual disks (and that service may be set to MANUAL to be loaded only when needed). With that in mind, I think it should play well with just about any imaging task.

 

OH...well it works fine here with a 512 GB SSD! But it is setup for GPT and still has the 4 partitions on restore. Also, Win 8.1 says that TRIM is enabled. Just try this at the command prompt. 0 = enabled.
fsutil behavior query disabledeletenotify

 

Thanks Rollback, that's good news

 

Trim is enabled by default for Windows 8/8.1 installation on an SSD. It's a windows built-in feature. Disk imaging apps won't change that upon restore.

 

Hi Froggie,Pete any news about MR 6 User Manual in PDF?

 

A local help file is something that I miss with Reflect.

 

I used to have purging issues with v5, but v6 works flawlessly.

And regarding Retention (Purging) rules, the default settings are [12 - Full], [Differential - 4] and [Incremental - 10].
I changed Full to 2 and turned off Differential and Incremental purging as Reflect deletes all linked Differential and Incremental images anyway. And it worked. Not sure what the reason is for those settings.

 

I have now done my two first restores with v6 and notice a BIG difference in restore time. in v5 it took about 35 minutes for 160GB now it takes 11 minutes. That is a huge improvement. I am also revisiting Rollback RX v10.2 and Macrium can restore Rollback and its snapshots flawlessly! As I said this is only my second restore, but with the track record Macrium has I am fully confident that future restores will be as reliable as usual.

 

This option is provided to limit the number of incremental or differential backup files independently of the number of full backup files.

When the number of incremental files equals the limit chosen (or when an incremental file is old enough), it is merged forward with the next incremental file.
In this way the Chain of backups to the full backup is maintained but the number of incremental files is limited to save storage space.

 

Sukarof... pls be very careful with that 2nd assumption concerning Rollback RX. There is no reason to believe that operation would be successful in all cases.

The only way to know for sure is to restore to a <BLANK> storage volume. I would suggest you do that test successfully before moving on with the above Rollback RX assumption.

 

Hadron, Reflect will only delete associated Incrementals when their PARENT (Differential or Full) is deleted. As long as the PARENT is standing, the CHILDren will stand. As the CHILDren are created, they are created from the most recent FULL/DIFFERENTIAL that is available at that time.

Of course, if all you're running is TWO monthly Fulls and FOUR Differentials, then the Differentials will migrate forward (not merge) and FOUR will always be available with some of them as CHILDren to the FIRST Full and some CHILDren of the SECOND Full. Your limited Incrementals will do the same in relation to their Parents (Full/Differential) but they are supposed to merge forward.

 

There's nothing available as of yet that I'm aware of.

 

Sukarof, if you're RAW imaging (all sectors) that partition, it will probably work just fine (using the "Make an exact copy of the partition" option). If you're using the "Intelligent Sector Copy mode" it will not work correctly (tested) when restoring to a <BLANK> storage volume, as expected.

 

I have an elementary and probably stupid question! When starting a restore, a text box asks if I want to use W PE (being my boot menu). I don't want to mimic a restore right now since I'm only 99.9% sure there is a "Cancel" option there so I'm asking this question. Is that PE text box an option and if so, what happens if you don't select it?
I just did an incremental restore after testing Toady's latest Cyberfox beta (v37) and it worked flawlessly but I did want to go back to the latest Cy version (36). Normally I do those chores with AX but figured I'd try MR. It worked great although I definitely think an AX hot restore is quicker by at least one minute. Not that that is any kind of a deal breaker.
Also Frog, if you read this post, from your last post, I take it you can't begin to delete incrementals from the oldest moving forward like I do with AX snapshots? Is that correct? Thank you!

 

Morning Ratchet!

I might be missing a few things here so bear with me. First of all, there IS a CANCEL option available when using an Automatic Restore from any source (via the BOOT menu or from an external Recovery device)... keep that heart fluttering down

Now, when using the LIVE Windows restore initiation of the SYSTEM volume, the last step arrives at a window offering the following... a pre-CHECKed "Automatic BOOT Option" function which will only be available if you have installed the "BOOT Menu" option to start the Reflect Recovery environment, and a big BUTTON that says "Run From Windows PE." Here's the breakdown...

As mentioned above, the Automatic BOOT Option CheckBox is prechecked because Macrium knows you have the local BOOT menu installed and assumes you wanna use it. If you unCheck this offered option, Macrium will not change the BOOT menu to automatically start the Reflect Recovery operation from the BOOT menu. If you do this and don't have another external Recovery Media staged and ready, when you hit the "Run from Windows PE" button (which you need to do to start this operation) your system will just reBOOT normally, doing nothing for you.

BUT, if you unCHECK the "Automatic BOOT Option" CheckBox, and move forward with the "Run from Windows PE" button, AND have an external Recovery Media mounted and ready, the system will BOOT to that media and do the Automatic recovery using that option instead. This is how we "played" when only the TRIAL was available and we wanted to checkout the Automatic recovery function... I tested with both a UFD recovery media and a CD/DVD recovery media.

Now you ask... why would they do that? Well, in many cases users can't stand the additional time required to meander through a BOOTmgr menu to wait for their OS to BOOT normally. And once you have Macrium add the local BOOT option, that menu needs to be navigated through on every single BOOT (yes, it can default to your OS and the timing can be lowered but it's still a pain to many). So... Macrium gives you the option of NOT INSTALLING the local boot option but still be able to do an automatic recovery via a UFD or CD/DVD. This way your system continues to BOOT cleanly into Windows and the Automatic BOOT Recovery option for Macrium may be used with other recovery media.

Glad to hear that it worked for you. I've done hundreds of similar restores without issue... MVv6 is a more than adequate snapshot tool with the new RAPID DATA RESTORE.

That is correct. AX64 does individual MERGEs forward as you delete its snapshots (same as Macrium's FOREVER INCREMENTAL feature with the SYNTHETIC FUL option selected... but only for that baseline), When you delete a snapshot (incremental) under Macrium, that PARENT snap and all its CHILDren are offered for deletion... there is no merge forward operation available.

If you opt to use the INCREMENTAL FOREVER or INCREMENTAL MERGE features with limitations on the number kept, the oldest incremental (or Full in FOREVER) will merge automatically forward to maintain the max # of incrementals you have configured under the Retention section.

 

Thank you on all counts! Not trying to compare apples to oranges but AX does have a couple convenient features, i.e. trim the snapshot chain without touching the baseline and hot restore from windows. I have two good tools and will continue to take my morning snapshots/incrementals with both.

 

Just remember... if you experience a HOT restore failure with AX64, only repair it with either a COLD AX64 or COLD Macrium. People may forget that that Macrium's DEFAULT restore is WARM, not COLD. If you try and use the DEFAULT Macrium restore after an AX64 HOT failure, you're probably gonna wind up in deep doo doo

 

Indeed, was not aware of this. I can't recall a failure with AX "hots," however, does that mean I have to boot from the MR v6 boot CD? AX I could just select Restore, avoiding the advance features, correct?

 

If you have an AX64 HOT restore failure, most likely your system will be unBOOTable, and if it does BOOT, it would be totally untrustworthy. At that point, no choice but to use external recovery media. With MR, during the RESTORE operation at the "Summary" screen you will need to enter the "Advanced Options" window and DISABLE the "Rapid Data Restore." This will cause MR to do a COLD restore (i.e., restore everything).

...and yes, "most" (not all) of AX64's default Recovery Media restore operations were COLD...

 

Ratchet... it appears you have one of those "good" systems (whose configuration didn't aggravate AX64's HOT restore attempts). If so, AX64 and MRv6 seem like an excellent combination for you to use.