Dealing with HP Recovery Partition

Hi, my question is about using TI8 (903) for backing up a new HP Media Center Desktop with 400GB internal drive. Other posts have said creating a bootable recovery requires imaging the whole DISK (c) OS/Data and (d) HP Recovery, so that's what I've done and it looks about like this...

Disk 0: 364GB Partition (c) XP MCE OS/Programs/My Docs etc [16GB used] and the 8GB Partition (d) HP_Recovery [7.2GB used]

Wouldn't it be preferable to create separate partitions with an ablity to image and restore each one independently with TI? For example (using rough #s):

32GB Operating System/Program Files (bootable)
40GB My Documents, Pictures etc...
150GB Music Library
150GB Recorded TV

I think there's a way to burn Recovery CDs and eliminate the need for HP's Recovery partition, but I'm not sure how to move the OS/Programs etc.. to a bootable partition so it can be imaged and restored to a bootable state on it's own without having to include HP's Recovery partition in the image.

Is there a straightforward way of doing this with TI? Thanks in advance for any feedback or suggestions.

Other System Notes: I also have a newly installed and unpartitioned 300GB internal drive and Partition Magic 8. If there's a good reason to use Acronis Disk Director Suite 9 (better interoperability with TI?), I'll gladly consider it.

 

why would the other partitions need to be bootable? You can image whichever partitions you like, and restore any of them from the bootable rescue media or the startup recovery manager.

And yes, partitioning your drive is a good idea with respect to backing up and restoring data. (rather than all as one)

 

Thanks for the quick response...

I only need one bootable partition (c) and the other 3 or 4 would be for data. I may be misinterpreting some of these other posts concerning HPs Recovery partition, but here is an example of a thread that suggests to me that it's not possible to image and restore a bootable (c) partition on its own.

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=91351&highlight=Newbie

I'd like to create 3 more partitions, capture full images of each partition independently, capture regular incrementals for all 3 independently, and be able to restore any (or all) of these at any time.

I understand that I can image the 3 new partitions and restore each one on its own, but it also sounds like every time i want to capture an image of (c) that's bootable, I would have to image the whole disk which would essentially duplicate any prior images of the other 3 (new) partitions.

I hope that makes more sense, and thanks again.

 

The important point here is to make one image of the entire drive. That's the only way to be sure that you will have a bootable drive after you restore it. Only when you image the entire drive (all partitions in one image) is the MBR included in the image. This is essential if the MBR is non-standard.

Obviously, the best time to do this is when the computer is brand new before you have any data on it so that the image is a small as possible. However, it can be done later. The image will just be larger.

After you have this one full image safely stored, you can image individual partitions. Individual partitions can be restored, including the boot partition, as long as the MBR has not been corrupted or lost.

However, if you have to restore to a brand new hard drive that hasn't been used previously, you have two options.

1. Partition the drive using the Windows CD, a Win98 boot floppy, or partitioning software. This will create an MBR. Restore the boot partition alone from an image. Test to see if the drive is bootable. If it is, you can restore the other partitions. If it is not bootable, try method 2.

2. Restore from the old image of the entire hard drive. This should produce a bootable drive. Then modify/create partitions to suit your needs. Restore current images of each partition to bring the drive up to date.

After you repartition the drive, make another image of the entire drive which includes all partitions. This becomes your new base image in case you have to restore to a brand new hard drive.

I hope that helps.

 

Assuming the HP Recover Partition can be selected during system boot then, if CasperMountian wants to retain this capability, he will need to go with Option 2.

Regards

 

I made an image to Acronis Secure Zone which did not include the HP Recovery Partition. After having to restore the image and restarting the computer, the HP Recovery Manager starts and installs the original Hp system, erasing my restored image. Would either of the methods described enable me to restore my image(35gb of applications and data)?

 

There's no way to prevent the HP Recovery Manager from starting? That's odd. Software design by a sadist.

If you have a spare hard drive, remove the original drive and install the spare. Partition it for just one partition if it isn't already partitioned. A Win98 floppy can be used for the partitioning.

Restore your image to the spare drive and confirm that nothing happens to it.

You now have the option of repartitioning your original drive to delete the HP partition and prevent the Recovery Manger from recovering you to oblivion.