Hard Drive Imaging Freeware

Thanks. That would be an option. So this means that there is no way of selecting the two? I just want to be sure that im not missing something here.

 

Under the "tools" --> "settings" ---> "backup image options" --> uncheck "set file name automatically" option.

 

ANY worthwhile image backup pprogram, perhas not a free version, provides a means to create a rescue disk (and t original CD oft serves as a rescue disk, but it is better, if not required, to create a new rexcue disk each time you update tg esoftware).

When you boot with te rescue disk, ypou would be given an opportunity to select an archive from your backup media.

Backup software is nothing to fool with.
Get a paid version.
Unless you wish to try using a Linux prog as your backup and restore. I would not recommend this for most folkes.

 

Yes, they are false.

Some backup progs have an option to create an archive on an internal drive, and may provide a special mechanism to access that archive.

Howeve, to be as tactful as I can, it is quite foolish to backup to internal drives.

In the old acronis forum, there were postings from Acronis foles who even deprecated the use of the Acronis Secure Zone. The feature was available back in the daze when using external drives was not so common. The feature should also be deprecated in the manual and the software.

Of course, there are those willing to take a chance on an internal back up, but that might make sense ONLY on a notebook. Even then smallish USB cards/drives are available for notebooks.

Bottom Line: Pay for a good backup program.

 

You are joking right?

Simple BS.
On my desktop I have 5 internal drives (3.5T in total). You really believe that they will fail all together?

Not true. Some freewares work perfectly.

Panagiotis

 

Pandlouk: I think HK is referring to a set-up with one "internal" drive ie the system drive itself and the foolhardyness of not having external drives or multiple "internal" drives
??

LOL: 3.5T what you got in there ?

 

Most folkes do have only 1 internal drive.

I happen to have 4 internal hard drives, all SCSI.

Heck the drives could work, the SCSI/other controller card could go belly up.
Of course, in this case, you would not be able to restore anything.

Due to drive or power issues an internal drive is more likely to fail than an external drive. Not to ,ention, you could have a chain reaction with more than one drive dying.

 

Well, here's what happened to my PC:

Partition size to image: 21.7 GB:

- Paragon with high compression: resulting file: 6.4 GB

- Macrium Free with high compression: 7.5 GB.

Unfortunately, Macrium did the backup at about 5 minutes quicker.

However, Pagagon Free has even differential imaging! This is amazing! It's all i need! I never thought a free product would give differential imaging. This is great!

I was thinking about eventually buying Macrium one day, but with their license quirks, tying to 1 hard disk, online activations etc, after i get Paragon with free differential, i see no reason to spend money on Macrium...

Thanks guys!

EDIT: Restoring Paragon image without CD failed. Maybe it is because of Rollback, i don't know. It asked me to insert a floppy to write exceptions, i have no floppy drive. But the Recovery CD worked fine, so at this point i may as well use Paragon with CD instead of Macrium with CD and "earn" the ability of differential imaging and getting rid of Rollback.

 

Can you explain this?

Thanks

 

Hmm... so is acronis as far as I know.

 

Hi All

The Problem with Paragon Drive Backup & Recovery 10 is that the you cannot "disengage image splitting". So if you are saving an image to a USB drive for example you get a plethora of 2GB splits.

I raised this in the Paragon forum which has been confirmed by the moderator Paragon Tommy. There are other issues with this software as well.

Frankly, for all the extolling of it by quite a number of people, very few seem to have put it through its paces, relying rather on a high end free spec to justify it.

I am not impressed so far, its no point in being free if the price is unnacceptable bugginess.!!

 

Maybe you mean "20GB"? On my hard disk where i backup, i have one 6,4 GB non splitted image.

Maybe it's a problem that appears when you save to USB device?

 

Hi Fuzzfas

No I meant what I said. If you look at the software as installed it quite clearly tells you that the image is split into 2 GB segments. This is also the default setting.

The inability to disengage splitting applies both when you backup from the installed software or if you backup from the Rescue CD.

As I said the MOD of the Paragon forum tried it and confirms that when you try to remove the 2 GB split it does not work

Terry

for your info the install file is br free.msi and I downloaded it on the 8th November

 

In tool - settings - back up image options, you can uncheck "Enable Image Splitting".

It worked for me and i have a 48gb image.

 

Hi Tony

Please refer to this thread in Paragon Forum (Wilders):

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=257814

Terry

 

Ah, i see! This happens when you want to create image from within the Linux CD instead from inside Windows! I would have never suspected that!

Well, if you want to use the CD for backup, that's a serious bug alright!

 

In this case I agree that is always better to backup to a different drive (be it internal or external)

Only 2+T is used (actually 1+T coppied twice) mostly films, music, family videos etc.

Not true, the same applies to external disks as well.
I have seen both internal and external drives fail. (the reason that I backup in more than 1 place).

Panagiotis

 

Acronis loads a LinuxPE image in ram and this is what performs the restore.
Norton/symantec and Macrium load a WinPE image in ram to perform the restore.
You do not actually boot your installed windows OS but the PE OS instead, when restoring.
Paragon uses the installed windows OS to perform the restore.

ps.I am not saing that one is better from the other. Only that they are different.

Panagiotis

 

Ok can anyone confirm this:

In Acronis i try to restore an image. It detects that the windows partition is locked. Offers me a reboot. Restores the image without a boot cd? (like the paid version of Macrium it seems)

 

Terry you realise that the new Paragon freeware is less than a month old. Most people (me included) recommended it based on the findings of their previous freeware.

Anyway since you know how to make a bartpe cd, I think that you'll be better off with DriveImage xml.

Panagiotis

 

Confirmed

Panagiotis

 

Thank you. I have tried it. Theoretically it works. But not on my machine
So back to the good old boot cd.

 

Strange, if he normal cd boots fine.
Is the image placed on an internal disk or on a usb?

You should contact acronis about this.

Panagiotis

 

Does anyone know how Acronis TI (or Macrium) does the restore without a boot disk? Does it create a Virtual partition similar to the Ghost 2003 method or is it done from a "bootfile" where a new MBR is created temporarily?

rolarocka, how many primary partitions are on your HD? Strange that the non disk restore doesn't work.

 

When I tried one of the version 9 Paragon backup offerings (likely the Pro version offered on GAOTD), I encountered the same 2GB limit from the Linux rescue CD. I do not believe there was an option to choose no splitting, though memory fades. When subsequently perusing Paragon's pre-Wilders forum, the explanation that I found in a post was that the version of Linux used was restricted to 2GB file sizes. I'm not well versed in Linux so cannot offer an opinion of that assessment, but if that was in fact the case, it may still be a problem, or alternatively they could have overcome the Linux version issue but screwed up in invoking the no splitting user option.

Doug