Three Newbie Questions

Anything you can offer to answer these question would be appreciated. I've never used any imaging software until now.

(1) I recently installed Windows XP on a new laptop and decided to image it with TI. First, I made the bootable Restore Disk (sorry if that's not the exact title) with TI; then I backed up everything on that drive on a number of CD's. Unfortunately, I then realized I needed to reconfigure my laptop and totally reinstalled the OS, etc. Is the bootable Restore Disk that I made initially pretty much generic to work with any imaging done after reconfiguring the computer (i.e., in my case, I had to set up my partitions differently). I'm assuming it would/should, but I just want to be extra cautious.

(2) After reinstalling the OS, I tried to image the partition again (this time a bit bigger than the first). I got 6 CD's finished, and on the 7th TI stopped, indicating that there was a problem (the error message mentioned something about possibly being corrupt media) and offered to start all over again, with the FIRST disk, even though I had the first 6 CD's, which I assume were just fine, completed. Is that normal behavior? I'm not too thrilled at the idea of investing that much time, as well as the CD's to image a partition and then find that I have to start all over again.

(3) I have also decided that I need to record to DVD instead of CD to minimize the number of disks involved, etc. I have done some looking around and found that one of the disk burners recoommended by Acronis is Pinnacle, which was bundled with some of the software I purchased with my laptop. Now, can anyone tell me how to backup to DVD, using the combination of TI and Pinnacle? I'm a newbie to imaging software AND DVD burning, so detailed instructions would be great.

Thanks.

 

The recovery CD is the same for each build of IT regardless of what computer it is created on. However, if you install a new build of TI, you should also make a new recovery CD.

Yes, if a backup is interupted, you have to start over. As you have concluded, using a bunch of CDs is not good. Actually, the best answer is to backup to an external hard drive. Western Digital and Maxtor One Touch drives are good candidates.

You will be a lot happier backing up to an external hard drive. You can also burn DVDs later after creating the backup on an external hard drive.

If you want to backup directly to DVD disks, they must first be formatted for packet writing (drag and drop). I don't know the name of the Pinacle program for this or whether your version includes that. Look for a way to format the DVD-RW or DVD+RW disks so that you can use them like a huge floppy or just drag files to the disk in Windows Explorer. That's the formatting you need to do. Note that RW disks are required for this in almost all cases.

 

Hello Lee69,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

In addition to what jmk94903 has said, I would also like to mention that the current version of Acronis True Image doesn’t write to DVD directly, instead it utilizes third party UDF packet DVD writing software.

You can find more information on how to write your images to DVD in this FAQ article. Please draw attention to the so-called two-step method of writing images to DVD which does not require any special software to be installed and is applicable for both CD and DVD.

The ability to write images to DVD directly will be implemented in the future builds\versions of a particular product, but exact time frame is not decided yet.

Please also note that you can find the detailed instructions on how to use Acronis True Image 9.0 in the respective User's Guide.

As for the problem you encountered when tried to create an image saving it to CDs, first of all, please make sure that you use the latest build (2323) of Acronis True Image 9.0 which is available at: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/updates/

To get access to updates you should create an account at:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/
then log in and use your serial number to register your software.

Please uninstall any previously installed build prior to installing build 2323.

If the problem still persists with the latest build (2332) of Acronis True Image 9.0 then please collect the following information:

- Create Acronis Report and Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post;

- Reproduce the problem and collect Acronis True Image 9.0 log which can be saved from Tools -> Show Log -> Diskette icon;

- What exact error message have you received?

- When exactly have you received this error message?

- Describe actions taken before the problem appears step-by-step.

Please submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the information about your purchase of Acronis software (order number, e-mail, where did you purchase our product, etc.) and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with the solution.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Hello Lee69,

Firstly, if you happen to use any third party UDF packet writing software there is no need to also use Windows XP's built-in CD recording functionality. Indeed, it can often cause compatibility problems. Disable Windows XP's built-in recording feature as detailed <here>.

When creating an image using the "direct" method, all the DVDs need to be preformatted with some form of UDF packet writing software. This same software needs to be running in the background when imaging to DVD is in progress. Note that Roxio Drag-to-Disk packet writer is the only program at the moment that can "UDF format" DVD+R media as well as DVD+/-RW. However, it isn't formatting in the normal sense of the word because that would be impossible with "write once" disks. True Image will automatically split the image across multiple, preformatted, DVDs.

Many people prefer to use the "two-step" method as they find it more reliable. In this case, you create a split image to your HD and then burn either DVD-ROM (ISO) or DVD-ROM (UDF) compilations onto blank DVD+/-R or DVD+/-RW disks. If a DVD+/-RW has previously been UDF formatted then it must first be "blanked" by erasing the UDF file system via your UDF packet writing software.

When creating the initial image to your hard drive, choose the option to split the size manually and just type in the required size into the space provided (ignore the drop down pick-list). For DVD-ROM (ISO) compilations, enter a size of 1492 MB and burn up to a maximum of three .tib files per DVD. If planning to burn DVD-ROM (UDF) compilations then enter a size of 4.3 GB. Ensure you burn "Single Session" compilations and that each DVD is "Finalized" as part of the burn process. I also strongly recommend that you reduce the burn speed to around half the maximum rated speed of your DVD recorder or media being used, whichever is the lesser. This greatly reduces the likelyhood of data corruption because modern, high-speed, recorders can be too clever for their own good when it comes to burning a full disk of pure data (one bad byte on single disk renders the whole image useless).

Whichever method you use to create a multiple-DVD image, when the time comes to verify or restore it, you need to insert the last disk first and then follow TI's prompts for subsequent changes. Therefore it's a good idea to number each disk with a marker pen after it's been recorded.

Regards

 

Thank you ...

I appreciate the detailed replies from all of you. I have to admit that some of this is over my head, inasmuch as I lack the experience and knowledge base to understand it all. However, I will work through all of these suggestions, read the information at the links that were recommended, research what I don't understand, and then try to implement the suggestions you've made.

I can offer a couple bits of information:

John, I do have an external hard drive that I have not yet connected to my computer. I will be using that extensively for backing up. However, I wanted to have one set of DVDs (preferably) or CDs which have my most basic working set up so that if I need to start fresh I would have copy of a good working setup for the the most crucial tasks I must do each day on a computer. It has been pointed out to me that hard drives do go bad, so it would be a good idea not to entrust my ONLY backup to a hard drive. Thus, my desire to have the disks.

Secondly, I do have the lastest version of Acronis TI (2323)---I just checked. I don't believe I did anything unusual when trying to back up my C:\ drive to CDs. I did exactly the way I had successfully done it once before. If there happened to be a bad disk in the bunch, could that cause the problem? Wish there was some way the program could restart where it left off instead of going all the way back to the beginning, as it was such a waste of resources (time and disks).

Anyway, thanks for giving me a place to start. I just want to add that the Acronis Australian site is where I read that the Pinnacle software was one that could be used with TI to burn DVDs. I've never used this before either, so I have two new software programs to learn.

 

I'm basically a newbie myself, so this question may already have been answered elsewhere in this forum.

After backing up an entire image to an external drive, can I then install that image onto a new computer?

I'm planning on getting a new laptop that has a larger 80G harddrive (rather than my current 40G), and I would like to simply migrate the whole system over to the new machine.

How well with this work with drivers and registry settings?

I'm still running WinXP Pro SP1+ - not yet SP2, and would be installing the image on a new laptop with RAW XP Pro OS installed (pre SP1 and SP2), since I still have my original XP installation disk

Any ideas, experiences, recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Greg

 

Hello Greg,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Yes, it's possible. Using Acronis True Image 9.0 you can create an image of an entire hard drive and restore it onto another computer. Please be aware that in order to migrate your Windows system to different hardware, you should first prepare Windows using Microsoft System Preparation Tool (sysprep). Please take a look at the respective FAQ on our web-site.

Please note that there are two approaches available:

Clone Disk - moves the entire contents of one disk drive to another;

Backup - creates a special archive file for backup and disaster recovery purposes;

Please read more in this FAQ article.

Actually, Clone Disk approach is usually used to upgrade the hard drive (e.g. install a larger disk), while Backup approach is basically dedicated for the complete data backup and disaster recovery purposes.

Since you are interested in migrating your hard drive content to the another hard disk, I would recommend you to follow Clone Disk approach.

You can also find more information on how to use Acronis True Image 9.0 in the respective User's Guide.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you.
--
Tatyana Tsyngaeva

 

Thank you very much.

I'll re-read everything.

Greg

*****

 

Hello Tatyana,

If you read Greg's original post again you will see that he intends to transfer his hard drive content to a different computer, not just to a bigger hard drive. This will entail more work for Greg, whether he uses imaging or the clone approach. He will possibly need to carry out a Windows Sysprep but, at the very least, will definitely have to carry a Windows Repair reinstall. Even then, there is no gaurantee that he will be successful.

Regards

 

You can do it as has been described but it is something I won't do, not because of the larger drive, but because of the new machine which I assume has a different motherboard and other hardware models.

You can easily come unstuck on hardware specific drivers and settings. It also is a good time to keep the garbage out of your new system and just reinstall the apps that you need. Since you have the old machine you can easily see what your customized settings for apps were without having to re-invent them and you can take the necessary steps to transfer your data files to the new machine.

You will have peace of mind and may save time in the long run. I also consider reloading to be a bit of a system and app refresher course. Make sure you have all your application install CDs etc before you start.

 

Re: Thank you ...

There could have been a bad disk in the bunch but it could also have been a speck of dirt or a fingerprint too. Having a backup on CD/DVD is a good idea but I would never want it as my only backup. I used to laugh at how people would copy a file to a floppy that they used a hundred+ times, delete it from the HD, and thought that they were safer than leaving the file on the HD - 't ain't necessarily so.

I have a second installed HD. I image to it which is fairly fast. I verify the image. my images typically are of my C drive. I still run a scheduled BackupMyPC job in the middle of the night to do my data files daily to CD.

Every second or third image I copy the image files to DVD. I also have the Verify feature enabled in my Nero burning software. The other day it picked up a verify failure when burning a disk but it doesn't happen often.

Don't buy bargain basement media and I personally stay away from RW media for backups unless you are really doing a lot of them. I would burn a non-RW every now an then. I just put the DVDs in an old spindle box. I also let the images accumulate on my HD and when it gets full I delete the oldest one(s).