Most of the changes with this version relate to Simple Operations Mode. There is no doubt this mode is simple. A few clicks for a backup or a restore. One click to create a TBWinRE disk. There is nothing wrong with using this mode, especially with complex systems such as UEFI installs. Beginners will appreciate its simplicity although experienced users will probably continue with the standard mode.
How to use Simple Operations Mode For the first backup Backup this computer to an alternate drive Backup From...Select the Source drive Backup To ....Select the Target drive and target partition on the drive That's it. For the second and subsequent backups Backup this computer to an alternate drive Backup From...Select the Source drive That's it. To restore a backup Restore a backup to this computer Select Backup to Restore Accept the Warning That's it. There are no switches or Options to select. It really is simple.
Hadron, You can make it as simple or as complicated as you like. I prefer complicated. More fun but same result.
I am going to try a restore. I read in a PDF manual that you can't restore using this app in Windows. Is that right? Why is there a restore button there? And what is restore normal and restore automatic?
You can't restore the OS you are booted into. No imaging app lets you do that. But if you have other OS and data partitions on the drive, you can restore these using IFW in Windows. You can backup and restore UFD in Windows with IFW. If you want to restore your currently booted OS partition then use IFL, IFD or TBWinRE for the restore. Restore Automatic leaves out a few of the restore screens and chooses default options in the ini. It saves a few seconds in getting to the Finish button. I suggest a Normal restore for the time being as you get to see all the options. Edit... Which OS are you using? MBR or UEFI System?
You can create a restore script. When you double click the script Windows will restart into IFL (or the other two) and automatically do the restore. But that's above your current pay grade.
What I really like about this imaging utility - besides the fact it just works - is the ongoing development it gets from the vendor. They seem to put a great deal of time and effort into fine-tuning it and with improvements and fixes. Also I don't get any licensing hassles with it, unlike another product I've used.
The latest IFL (2.89) can be installed on the HD in a minute or so. Previously this had to be done from Linux but now it can be done directly from the UFD. http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/kb/article.php?id=545 See "Boot Disk Mode". IFL on the HD loads fast and can be used for scheduled backups and restores. By copying different scriptslist.txt into the scripts folder, the one IFL partition can perform different backups/restores.
wat0114, In addition to the above instructions you can simply use IFW to "Copy" the IFL UFD partition to the HD. On the IFW Options screen use a resize value of 100 MiB. This method is faster. Same final result.
You can do a similar thing with IFW. Create a TBWinRE UFD and copy (with IFW) the UFD partition to the HD. Backup/restore scripts can be run from autorun.cmd in the TBData folder.
Well stated wat0114 I use IFL and BIBM mainly and since I have been a customer of Terabyte products suite for over 2 years, (I bought the whole suite, best money I have spent on software), I will say in my opinion, they are of the highest quality in terms of how they conduct their business, how they handle support, and how they handle product upgrades. They have proven to have a level of integrity seldom seen in business today, and their free upgrades of minor versions is amazing. I have upgraded several times over the last 2 years and I think I purchased when IFW/IFL was at version 2.69 if I recall, back in Feb. of 2012. Their prices are more than fair, their support is top grade and their attention to details is excellent, plus as you stated, their software just works, and works well. Most reliable suite of products I have ever used over the last 18 years of being involved with computers in both sales and tech service and personal use. It has been an excellent experience for me personally, and in addition to all the above, we have the great support and help from guys like BrianK, Mudcrab, Pandlouk, etc., and I cannot ever say thank you enough to these guys and others for sure who have helped me to understand these products enough to really see how flexible and useful they are. I am still learning all the areas these products cover and I will say it again, they are of the highest quality in my opinion and I have used many imagers, utilities over the years. Have a great day Jim
I went through a few hundreds of imaging and restore since I bought their products a few years ago. it has never failed yet. I use to validate the images to make sure everything was fine but I have not bothered with that for a couple of years. it's rock solid.
I bought IFL version v2 in Feb 2008 and have been having free update over all these years! I just don't see any other company offers such generous and kind upgrade policy. I am ready to pay to upgrade to v3, and plan to buy the whole set of products including IFW and BIBM v3.
I confess that due to time constraints, being busy all this past weekend, I haven't looked into the suggestions form Brian K. I guess it's also because my current automated backups (daily incrementals and one weekly full backup) via Task scheduler continue to work so well I don't see a need to change anything just yet.
wat0114, Don't change anything. What you are doing with IFW backups is much the same as I do. My comments regarding IFL were mainly related to auto restores. I don't use IFL for creating backups but some people prefer creating cold backups. I'm not in that group.
Very good, that works for me. Status quo. The backup process even sends me an email, and I always seem to get the reassuring "Error Code 0" notification
