Restoring an ATI on XP with NTFS

Can someone please advise if in such a case the Restore image will
Format the Drive before restoring the image, or will it
restore the image over the top of the existing NTFS file system XP OS ?

 

Micro:

No formatting is necessary. When TI restores it first deletes the existing partition, then it copies the image file to the partition, formatting and all.

 

When TI restores the image of a partition one of the first things it does is delete the existing partition. It then puts the contents of the image into the now unallocated space.

The format or file system of the restored image is the same as it was when the image was created. The format of the restored partition is defined by the file system, there is no special coding written to each of the sectors.

In other words, any formatting or program installations before restoring is wiped out by the restore.

 

Ti will delete the partition before it restores an Image and uses the file system that was in use at the time you created the Image.

So if your Image was made with XP using one or more Partitions NTFS that is what will be restored file system from the Image.

Or if you had a mix of file systems on different partitions, i.e NTFS and Fat16 or 32 that would then be the restored file systems from the Image.

Take Care.
TheQuest

 

Thanks to each of the guys above and to you Quest - I have nearly got it
but I just need to tidy it up in my head, so as usual Quest I need a fraction more.

I have twin internal 250 HDD's, the C:\ is the main one, the other HDD for Data storage such as my ATI's.

I used ATI to create a partition on the NTFS C:\ Drive and I think it made the
partition Fat 32, but
since then I got the other 250 HDD so no longer need C:\ to have the
partition.

Now here's the critical part, all I want to do is restore an ATI of the NTFS
C:\ Drive which I have parked on the second HDD - Am I to take it from
yours and the other lads info. that I can just go ahead and restore - other
words don't worry about the fact that at the time I took the image the C:\
Drive was split into two parts, half as NTFS and half as a Fat 32 partition.

Will the size difference when restoring the above not matter is my main question for all future ref. ?

 

I am not sure what you mean by the difference in size?

C:\ Is where the OS is under normal setup conditions.

So are you are only wanting to restore an Image that C:\ an Image of the OS.

Or both C:\ and the other partition Fat32, you did not say it drive letter [The drive letters can be changed if needed]

The size of a partition is up to you when you when you do a restore [if you choose manual restore rather then auto]

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

It's very fiddly to explain and taking me forever to type, because of the damn partition being half NTFS and half Fat32 - I no longer want
my 250 gig HDD to be split in two as it is now via
(120 gig NTFS and 130 gig Fat32).

- I just want to revert it back to
it's original 250 gig size with the NTFS file sys.


Now, I have a 20 gig NTFS image which I took
while the HDD has been split in two - When I restore this 20 gig image will it first
revert the split HDD back to it's full size in NTFS and then restore the 20 gig OS NTFS image
to the 250 HDD ?

 

If you Image is just of the the OS, before you made the second, then it will only restore the OS partition. [manual or auto restore options]

If the Image is of both partitions, you will have the choice to restore just the OS partition if you use the manual restore option.

You also have the choice of what ever size you what to make the partition when you do the manual restore. [providing there is enough free pace]

When you say

is that the size of the Image or the size of the OS partition in the Image?

You can delete the Fat32 Partition at any time by>Right click on MY Computer Left click>Manage Left click>Disk Management then right click it>Delete logical drive.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

I suspect that the FAT 32 partition is in fact the result of the OP creating a secure zone in the main drive.

The only correct way to remove this is to use the manage secure zone wizard.
Part way through the process the freed space can be allocated back to "C" if that is what is required.

Xpilot

 

I believe you are correct in what you say, after I read what MICRO posted

So it would be a Secure Zone [and should not be visible under Disk management anyway] as you pointed out thank you, and which he has no need for because he has Ti create the Image on the second 250GB HDD.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

Your first sentence is quite correct X.

Now if only I could grasp your 'how to' in the second sentence I'd be in business ?

 

Yes thanks Quest - So, when the computer starts up I press F11 and go into
ATI instead of Windows - When there can I do something to revert the
split 250 gig HDD back to it's full size and keep it as NTFS, or is it not so simple ?

 

I am thinking that when I took the image it would only have the OS with NTFS
included on it - Not any part of the secure zone.

 

It is an unfortunate fact that a secure zone is visible in Windows Disk Management.
This can tempt users to make changes using the normal Windows tools. Micro has activated the Acronis Start up Recovery Manager as well as making a secure zone.
To alter the zone or remove it using WDM could leave the computer in an un-bootable state because the ASRM changes made to the boot records will not be corrected.

The way to proceed either to reduce the Secure Zone in size or remove it altogether is to open ATI in Windows and use the Manage secure zone wizard.
The freed space can be allocated back to "C" if that is what is required. It will automatically be changed back to NTFS.

Xpilot

 

Thanks X. - I did the above and it did exactly that, then I exited and after
starting up back into Windows there was a dialog stating,
"new hardware has been added, and you will need to restart the computer".

I am now hoping that when I go to restore that 20 gig image to the full sized
250 gig HDD it goes as seamlessly as the above.

Windows checked the 'Indexing' box when it reverted the HDD to 250 gig so
I needed to uncheck and run it again.

 

If, as I think it was, the image of your 20GB was made before you removed the secure zone a restore will put things back to exactly the way they were before you removed the secure zone.

If you just restore "C" from the image your C drive will be restored down to its original size and the rest of the space will be unallocated. This can easily be corrected but a better course of action would be to forget about the original image and make a new one of your system as it now is.

My personal choice would be to forget about the ATI F11 feature. In a real breakdown situation it would not work and you would have to use the ATI recovery CD.
In normal working it is not much of an effort to open the ATI GUI and take it from there.
Possible complications with the boot records would then be avoided.

Xpilot

 

Absolutely correct. A feature which provides very little benefit.

 

Hey thanks for your perseverance X. - I would not have savvied, but should have, that the 20 gig image would only restore the C:\ to as it was, not how it is, so I shall delete all previously made ATI's, apart from the one taken after the HDD enlargement - Yes the F11 removed itself after it's job so
for any future restore I will use the CD as I have always done on my 98se because I don't have the ATI items in msconfig, I removed those when I first installed.

Kind Regards.