Afraid to Atempt Full Back-Up

Dell Dimension 8300 HD apparently defective. Dell On-Site tech now installing new HD, and new Windows XP. I could do so, but was covered under warramnty. I have a full back-up of my "crashed" C:\ HD on an external HD using TI 9.0, just in case this happened. Do I do a full restore, including the Windows OS? Or, is there a way to restore all "old" HD files but keeping the new Windows XP OS, now installed on new HD, intact? I am afraid if I do full restore, I will certainly wipe the "old" Windows over the "new" Windows, and therefore propagate any errors or corrupt files that may exist from my "old" Windows XP to my new HD.

Is it simple procedure to do complete restore with TI 9.0? Any tips? A bit afraid to do this as I don't want to lose my back-up data captured with TI 9.0. Do program files actually restore using TI 9.0, without need to reload every single program? I will never be able to determine what separate files and folders to manually restore...that is why I am hopeful full restore will work, and the reason I bought TI9.0 in the first place. Any advice or tricks, I should try to ensure successfull restore, or pitfalls that I should be aware of, or is this a complete restore process an easy and safe procedure? Thanks for any response.

 

You can restore selected files, but as you’ve already stated, “I will never be able to determine what separate files and folders to manually restore”.
If it were me, I would first create a new FULL image after the tech is done, to the external drive. I would then validate/verify the image to insure it was good. Then, I’d boot from the Recovery disk and make sure the external HD can be seen by TI. Then I’d verify the new image again while still booted from the Recovery disk.
After that, I’d restore from the first/original image.
But that's just me ...

 

Or if you really want to play it safe invest in a spare hard drive. Put this in place of the old one and restore with confidence. You know its worth it )

Xpilot

 

Thanks for the feedback. My attempt to do a full restore of a full back-up failed. All the on-screen windows looked OK, and the progress window went as though the restore was working correctly. At the end, message said "restore was successful" or similar message. After reboot, system failed on hardware error. Possibly the system was confused on locating correct Windows XP, as a new version of Windows XP was loaded on to the new HD and the .tib backup file also had XP on it. Many hours trying to get this back-up .tib file restored, but to no avail. I read and re-read the Acronis instructions, but can not see where I am going wrong. The "new" HD works, after Windows XP is loaded on to it. I can get to Internet. Again, keep in mind that the backup .tib file that I am trying to restore also has windows XP on it. I am thinking of wiping the new drive clean and starting over without loading XP on to new drive, but don't hold much hope that will work. Any help from anyone? Thanks for any response.

 

“Possibly the system was confused on locating correct Windows XP, as a new version of Windows XP was loaded on to the new HD and the .tib backup file also had XP on it”

No, not possible. The .tib file is just that, a file. The system cannot “see” that a Windows OS is contained within.

 

Thanks Weaz. Assuming that you are correct, that fact alone would eliminate my proposed next attempt to do the restore again, after first wiping clean the new HD. Your reply would indicate that the presence of Windows XP on the new HD AND presumably on the .tib file would not present an incompatability issue and prevent the restore function from occurring. As such, I must try a different plan to restore the image file. Thanks again.

 

Do you remember what the hardware error message was?

If you have not, as yet, wiped the restored image, run a repair using your XP CD and see if that rectifies the problem. The following site outlines the procedure -

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

 

Thanks Mark and also all others who posted above. I did not proceed with any re-try, and instead opted to try Support-for-Pay with Acronis. They have sent me Report Utility file which I am to boot to floppy, and then run, then send to them. I am yet hopeful my problem is small and only a minor input from Acronis will help. Alternately, I possibly did not do the original image back-up of full C:\ drive correctly. Don't know yet if I did it correctly, but it seemed simple to do. There is data that is my back-up image data on external HD, as .tib file is locatted there that corresponds with the name I gave it as like, "Full back-up of Drive C". I bought TI 9.0 after reading the recommendations and reviews, but my experience so far has not been pleasant. 72 page instruction manual is far from "plug-and-play". I assumed the software was intuitive and easy to set-up and run, but so far I am disappointed. Maybe I should have opted for external HD with preinstalled pushbutton back-up software, like Maxtor/Seagate, others offer. Maybe would have saved me days of agony trying to get my system back. Thanks in advance for any future posts.

 

Joseph,

Did you take care that both the imaging and restoring had been whole disk operations?

The box next to Disk 1 should have been ticked both times.

 

May a lurking newbie ask just what a "whole disk" operation is and why it matters.

Many thanks in advance,
Good luck, Dan

 

When you do a backup using TI and you have partitions on that disk, you are given the option of backing up the whole disk or, any combinations of partitions.

If you do have partitions on your disk and you only backup C (say), the restore process requires that the disk that the image is going to be restored to, has to have similar number of partitions for it to boot correctly.

By selecting the whole disk for image creation and then restoring, you need not worry about the state of the exisiting disk nor the disk to which the image is going to be restored to. TI will even restore to a smaller disk as long as the original used space will fit on the smaller disk. It will also include the partitions, albeit, proportioned accordingly.

It's a great program when you do not experience problems.

 

Many thanks for the education.

Dan

 

Thanks Bvolk for your post. I honestly cannot tell you an answer to your good question, but have moved past my trial to restote the entire c:\ drive now. I tried to do a selective file restore onto my new HD, however, the process went disatrously wrong. I thought I'd try to only restore "Documents and Settings", which is where most of the data files resided for 3 user accounts, in an attempt to not destroy the entire system in case of a failure. I thought wrong as I did exactly that...Destroyed XP OS.

I used the process in back of the user manual, "Mounting an Image as a Virtual Drive". I tried to only recover Documents and Settings. This attempt ruined my XP OS on new HD. Spent 14-16 hours gettiung XP back with drivers and most programs reinstalled with help of Dell support. I am deathly afraid to access the .tib file now to recover any of the data because I am afraid I will again corrupt my entire OS, and lose all newly re-loaded programs. Very frustrated, alomst sick about it during the attempted recove, then re-load program process. I think the Acrons back-up data is there on external HD, I just can't figue out how to safely try to recover it. Maybe I did the original back-up onto external HD incorrectly...I don't know. Very sick over entire expperience with TI 9.0. Now <snip>

Any suggestions/comments much appreciated. Thanks all.


edited to remove non-Acronis related discussion - Detox

 

My advice is never to restore over an existing drive . Put a spare drive in your computer and restore to that. You then put nothing at risk.

Xpilot

 

Thanks Xpilot for the advice. I was actually thinking along the same lines as I continue to try to restore my data somehow, someway. The back-up operation I originally did (either correctly or incorectly), was made to an external new HD, because I was afraid to make the back-up to the original HD where the original data resided -- in the case that the HD ever failed (which is exactly what happened!!). I don't think it is possible to "restore" a .tib to the same drive (in this case the stand-alone HD). Is that correct?

So what you are recommending is for me to get an additional external HD and attempt the restore to this new/second external HD. Is that correct? Then if that works, move (data) files manually to the new HD -- correct? I think too much data resides in .tib image file to try to restore to CDs since the back-up image contains all programs, all data. Thanks for the post.

 

No, I am suggesting that you actually take out your existing hard drive and replace it with another one. Boot with the recovery CD and restore your saved image. I am assuming that this image was of the whole of your original hard drive. If all is present and correct after the restore you should be able to re-boot from the replacement drive and carry on as normal.
If for any reason this restore fails your original drive will not have been erased by the restore process and you should still be able to get to and copy your data when you have established a bootable system by other means.

Xpilot

 

Thanks Xpilot for your clarification. But wouldn't a (second) separate stand-alone HD accomplish the same goal of possible recovery, if the process works, without risking my "new" internal HD to which I have now restored just the program files?

Here is where I may have made my irreversible mistake...I didn't create a "recovery CD" as you mention when I did the original image backup to the external HD, after I initially installed TI 9.0. As such, my guess is that I am now unable to recover any data from the image file (.tib), and the image on the external HD is essentially now useless/irrecoverable. Is that correct, or is there yet a way to make a "recovery CD"? Thanks again for your post.

 

Joseph, I cannot understand how you could have ruined your XP by mounting your tib file. Mounting simply creates a drive that is in memory. Then, if you had selected the option 'Read and Write' during mounting procedure, you you can copy your information out of it, back to C Drive.

 

When I say I ruined XP OS, that is the conclusion drawn after several hours on phone with Dell Support. I am sure XP was on the new HD, as Dell supplied me with new XP OS, and I installed it on new HD successfully, ...however when I attempted to access new HD after doing what I thought was a restore of just "documents and settings" where most data resided for 3 user accounts, using the "Plug in Image as Virtual Drive"; the new HD with newly-installed XP could not access the drive. It wanted to access F:\Windows, which is not where XP resided. Was unable to change the system for it to "look" for XP OS on the new HD. Dell tech suppport clearly indicated I must start over with new install of XP, which I did. Don't know if this was correct call, but that one decision cost me 14-16 hours of more work getting drivers and programs installed. Due to this failure and many, many hours of reinstalling programs, I am now trying to find a way to safely access my basic data within "documents and folders", and do a safe restore. I know data is there, because I could "see" it when I did "explore" under the "Plug in Image as Virtual Drive". But again, when I tried to restore the "documents and folders" section of the .tib, my system was then unable to reboot. I am so afraid of ruining my system now using TI. Actually, in spite of my terrible failure to restore, and the subsequent wrecking of my OS in the process, I think the TI program must be very good, but I am having a very difficult time properly operating it. At this point, I just want to try to restore basic data files, not the entire image file made in backup operation, as I initially tried to do, unsuccessfully. I am yet stuck. Thanks for post.

 

I borrowed a separate HD to do as you recommend, as an experiment, that doesn't risk my new HD with that now contains replaced programs. I will completely remove my working "new" HD that has restored program files and start over with this second/temporary HD, to see if I can do either a full restore or restore just files. I would be ecstatic to be able to restore just files at this stage as I've spent so much time in replacement of the program files to the "new" HD supplied by Dell. Thanks.

 

I am new to this too, so this may be wrong....but if you mount the partition image try using explore to find the specific files or folders in the 'Documents and Settings' folder and restore them that way. My thinking is that the entire 'Documents and Files' folder may contaim some system stuff that needs registry registrations. I may be wrong here, but I have restored a single file from a folder in 'my documents' folder this way.

 

Azdon, this is a great comment you make, and one that I have thought about myself, since my original attempt to restore the entire "documents and settings" essentially made my new HD unreadable to Windows XP. You are likely correct in that registry files or associations with the registry may exist that rendered XP inoperable, when I tried to reboot. I think I will only try to restore specific documents and maybe folders (although I am scared to try), on my next attempt to restore. As I mention earlier, I borrowed an empty HD that I will first try to restore documents to, as an experiment, without risking my new HD with installed programs. If that works, I will install my real HD and try to do the restore of files to that drive. Thanks for post.

 

Joseph, check out this Microsoft link concerning Documents and Settings folder:http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q236621

Don

 

Working with the Documents and Settings is possible but it is a system folder and a lot of things get put into it by various programs. For this reason I treat it as just that, part of the overall operating system, and I don't fool around with the contents. I have my own customized file structure located elsewhere for storing my personally created docs, spreadsheets, jpgs etc.

I only use My Documents, My Pictures, etc, as a "scratch" area where I save things for temporary storage when testing.

 

In the beginning of this thread Joseph reported that he 'mounted' a full disk image then attempted to 'restore' the 'Documents and Settings' folder with explorer(copy and paste) , and then his system wouldn't boot anymore. I was suggesting the problem might be that just replacing a system folder without the associated registry stuff, dlls, etc. might cause OS corruption. Better to find the specific files or folders to restore, or actually do a full image restore. Your comment says the same kind of thing. Thanks Seekforever.