Will TI Server work here?

System is set up with a primary (C: 12GB) partition that holds as the OS a beta versions of XP Pro, and a a second partition (D: 8GB) that is the operating partition, having the current Windows XP operating system.

The drive is set as dynamic, which is why I am looking at the Acronis and the server version of the software as a possible issue. They are the only ones that I could find that even mentioned support for dynamic disks.

Drive c: has penty of space and drive D: is getting close to 90% full, so I was hoping for a way to image the drives (as basic) to a new HDD, and while doing so resize the partitions so that C: has 4GB and D: has the balance.

From reading below it appears that this MIGHT work, but then again might not, and might require a repair installation or manually sizing partitions afterwards.

Does anyone here have any experience with this kind of setup, and any success, fail or horror stories?

 

Well, things just got more urgent as the drive just started giving SMART warnings. While it is still bootable I downloaded and installed the trial of the TI8 Server and am working on imaging the system to network now.

 

Hello Solomon_Kane,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Server Backup Software.

We do not guarantee that you will be able to boot the computer after the restore of separate partitions. However, you may first restore the image of the whole disk (it will set MBR in the right way) and then restore single partitions in turn. This should work for you. Also please note that the partitions will be restored as Basic.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Well, it will not/would not let me image the entire drive as it is a Dynamic drive.

So, if I read what you are saying correctly, I should follow the steps in this order.

1.) Image each individual partition, all together as a single back up file.
2.) Restore the whole set of partitions.
3.) Restore each individual partition again.

Currently when I do step 1 and then Step 2, I can boot and log in to the sytem but the OS goes directly from Loading your settings to Saving your Settings and back to the log in screen. Nothing of the desktop ever loads up.

 

Hello Solomon_Kane,

If you restore an image archive of the entire hard disk including the master boot record (MBR), then you cannot resize the partitions. There is workaround, if you need to restore the partitions with resizing while the MBR is also restored:

- Create the image of the entire disk.
- Restore the entire hard disk without resizing and then restore each of the partitions separately setting the proper size for it and overwriting the previously restored one.

Please read the article "Unable to Log on if the Boot Partition Drive Letter Has Changed" where your problem is described.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova