Acronis One-Click Restore

[eggrolls]

I have one hard drive with 3 partitions:

C = windows
D = data
E = acronis images of C

I accidently did something stupid and messed up Windows, so I figured I'd restore my C partition with a bootable DVD I made a few days ago. So I popped it in and chose One-Click Restore, hoping it would restore my Windows. It sure did, but it deleted D and E, leaving me with one big C partition with plenty of free space.

I thank Acronis for giving me an opportunity to reformat... been waiting for some time now.

Anyways, my questions are:

What settings does One-Click Restore use?
Could I have avoided this by booting into the Full Version instead?
How should I partition my hard drive this time? (and should I use the Acronis SecureZone?)

Thanks 🙂

 

[WildHorse]

I just started using Acronis True Image Workstation with Acronis Universal Restore, instead of Nero & a cloning tool called MaxBlast4 that I was using for backups.

Haven't yet had to restore a drive, so I can't answer your question about Acronis.

The suggestion is : install a 2nd physical HDD for saving backups, maybe keep 3 partitions on the main drive, and 2 partitions on the 2nd hdd for 2 backup copies of both C: and D:.

So you'll have (and this is exactly how I'm set up): on main hdd:
C : (Windows & applications),
D : (move My documents to here from C:, keep all your data in folders here, including data files automatically created by applications like MySQL, etc.),
E: (videos, bit torrents, other miscellaneous, like a scratchpad area);

and on 2nd hdd:
F: (safety backup of C: and of D:, and put your Windows paging file here instead of on C🙂, and
G: (another safety backup of C: and of D🙂 You can make the backups with Acronis, or a cloning app, or an ISO burner, whatever.
I don't care to back up my E: drive & don't.

I think if you make your backup within the same hdd, say directly from either C: or D: onto E:, the flying read/write heads get exercised too much, promoting early drive failure. Maybe I'm wrong, just my hunch.

With 2 hdd's you're better protected if either fails.

Also remember to move your Windows paging file from C: over to F: on the other hdd. It's supposed to make paging a little bit faster.

 

[eggrolls]

Interesting suggestion, but unfortunately I do not have a spare hard drive. And since my computer is in a SFF case, adding another hard drive would put more load on the PSU and impede airflow.

I've already reformatted using 3 partitions: C for Windows and essential programs/data, D and E for expendable data. From now on, I'll probably back up My Documents to my external HD. I wonder whether I can make 2 or more partitions my external HD (a WD inside a USB Nexstar2 enclosure). That way, I can have 1+ partition(s) for images and another for data.

 

[WildHorse]

C for Windows and essential programs/data,

It is recommended that you move My Documents out of C: and onto the other partition D:.
Best practices:
Data that is specific to a user can be redirected to a different hard disk on the user's local computer from the hard disk that holds the operating system files. This makes the user's data safer if the operating system is reinstalled.

How to Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
Article ID : 310147 (Microsoft XP Help and Support Center)

Change the Default Location of the My Documents Folder
To change the default location of the My Documents folder, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, and then point to My Documents.
2. Right-click My Documents, and then click Properties.
3. Click the Target tab.
4. In the Target box, do one of the following:? Type the path to the folder location that you want, and then click OK. For example, D:\My Stuff.

If the folder does not exist, the Create Message dialog box is displayed. Click Yes to create the folder, and then click OK.

-or-
? Click Move, click the folder in which to store your documents, and then click OK twice.

If you need to create a new folder, click Make New Folder. Type a name for the folder, and then click OK twice.

5. In the Move Documents box, click Yes to move your documents to the new location, or click No to leave your documents in the original location.

 

[Bozo Galora]

one click restore gets em every time - lol

no partition not in the restore image will be saved
people have complained about the vague warning for a long time.
I just got TI version 10.0.4871, probably try it next week, see if they changed the warning
As with any backup utility, you absolutely must focus on the words volume - partition - disc

http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=103113&page=2