Should I buy...?

I have a quick question.

I have a Windows 2003 Server machine here running Active Directory/IIS and others with a 30GB disk in it. The disk is a little slow and ideally I'd like to move the partition to a larger and quicker disk.

I've used Norton Ghost and Partition Magic (having tried LOTS of times) to do this and on booting the Windows 2003 Server installation I'm greeted with the...

"Active Directory Is Rebuilding Indices"

...message and have to restart into Directory Restore mode. Once into DR mode I log in as local admin and get logged back off straight away, so the copy is basically unusable.

My question is, would any of the corporate versions of Trueimage allow me to move my Win2K3 partition to a new drive and actually have the new partition 'work', or is this a limitation of Active Directory that I actually can't move it...?

Answers would be helpful We can't afford to buy it unless we're reasonably sure it would work

 

Hello P-J,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/).

Current version of Acronis True Image cannot clone partitions, only disks. If you clone the disk after booting from Acronis Bootable CD you will need to remove the old drive before you boot the new one. It is not needed when you clone your disk under Windows.

You may obtain the details of the cloning process in the User's Guide available at http://www.acronis.com/pdf/trueimageserver8.0_ug.en.pdf

Thank you.
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Ilya Toytman

 

Thanks for the info.

So are you essentially saying that if you have two disks of different sizes they are not usable in Trueimage in any way?

 

Hello P-J,

I didn't tell that you can't use Acronis True Image with disks of different size. Furthermore, Acronis True Image allows you different ways of data transfer: proportional, as is, manual. Please see the User's Guide to find out the differences between these methods.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Ok, I'll have a look at the manual, thanks.

Could you also answer the question about Active Directory? None of the other partition management/cloning tools I've used have successfully created a fully working installation of W2K3 server on another disk.

Is Trueimage any different in this respect, or will I end up with exactly the same issues?

 

Hello P-J,

Please note that Acronis True Image is sector-based rather than file-based. It means that the data type doesn't matter when you clone the drive. In the result you will obtain the exact copy with the same Active Directory and all other data on it. The only thing I have already warned you is that if you clone the drive after booting Acronis Bootable CD you should unplug one of the disks before you boot the other one. If you perform the cloning under Windows this is not necessary.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

You will need to make sure that the line in your boot.ini file matches the location of your new drive. It WILL NOT work otherwise. I have done this on the 2003 Server that I am the admin for.

Code:

default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS

Check this before you clone and then swapping the cables is the easiest route I found. Kinda works great if you get the new drive, shutdown and replace the old one with it, plug the new one into the cable that your existing drive was on, boot to the CD and clone. Like support told you it will make an exact copy meaning the boot.ini will retain the settings for your boot drive. If the new drive is not on the cable in place of the old one, it won't boot. Hope that helps.

 

Thanks for the info-- But my worry is that Norton Ghost and Partition Magic 8.0 (when copying) are ALSO sector based and it came up with the same errors once I booted into Windows Server 2003 when using either of these utilities.

Have you actually seen any instances of a Windows Server 2003 installation being moved to a new (larger) disk with no issues when using TI?

 

Hello P-J,

We have tested the Windows 2003 system transfer in our Testing Lab and everything worked Ok. We cannot tell you anything concerning the problem with Symantec products. If you encounter any problems with Acronis software please let us know about them. We will certainly help you to solve any issue.

Thank you.
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Ilya Toytman

 

Ghost by default isnt sector based, it can set to work sector-based.
But as I know, Symantec PartitionMagic dont work in server environment at
all, I use example Paragon Partition Manager to work with win2003.

 

Hello Ivar,

Please note that using Acronis True Image to clone the drive no partitioning software is needed. Just choose the "Manual" mode of cloning and you will be able to set the future partition layout before the cloning process actually starts.

Thank you.
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Ilya Toytman

 

Well, it sounds like it's all possible. Now just to convince the big cheeses to fork out for it

Thanks for the help!