No, I meant restore an image file (from a WinXP pro system on a raid partition) back onto the same raid partition. Is your C: partition on a RAID1 drive? Or is it only your external USB HD?
My computer HD system is organized as one small (75GB) and fast (10krpm) RAID1 system drive, and one larger (500GB) RAID1 drive for files, and backups. I also have an external eSATA/USB single (not RAID) 500GB HD for a global secondary backup location of all my computers. This external HD is only switched on when I do a backup. Otherwise I physically switch it off. (I have a friend who lost all his RAID5 system and drives when his power supply failed an fried the computer). So, maybe your "Auto" setting has some use after all. I prefer to create an initial clean system install with a few applications as possible except for firewall/AV and updates, customized menus, folder locations themes etc. I back up this initial installation and keep it always. I did not change anything in the system. I had WinXP pro SP2 installed on RAID1, and backed up regularly. Then a few months ago I tried to install SP3 and everything fell apart. I could not restore back the images I had of SP2, and spent 2 weeks trying to figure out where the problem came from (replacing everything from motherboard, memory and HD). Not much fun!. After restoring the image the system would not boot. I found out by coincidence that if I disable the RAID1 in the BIOS my system would boot ok. The only solution was to start from scratch. Ever since than I am leery about my backups. I downloaded the demo version of the server version of IT. what I find disturbing is I can figure out how to specify the destination of the backup unless I use the "secure zone" partition (which I would like to avoid) and I can't figure out how to specify a secondary backup location if it is on a partition other that C: (I only can select a folder not a drive). If you have any info on these 2 items and it is possible, your inputs will save me some time... -- Joseph Biran ____________________________________________ -----Original Message----- From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Yuki Taga Sent: Sunday, January 04, 2009 12:18 AM To: J. Biran Subject: Re: [amibroker] [OT] Acronis True Image and system backup [was Re: Re: Curing AmiBroker slowdowns with a system restore] I have successfully restored systems from the RAID1 drives, yes. (You said "restore onto" but I think you meant "restore from", yes?) In fact, after many, many years (I think since 2002), I finally decided to do a clean install of XP. (Photoshop CS4 would *not* install, because of some legacy Adobe and Macromedia stuff, and even their tech support finally threw up their hands and suggested I reinstall the OS.) The first thing I did was to clean install XP to a virtual machine, making sure it was fully updated, fire-walled and anti-virused. Then I installed some key apps, including Photoshop and AB. There were absolutely no problems. When I had all my myriad custom settings matched in both the real and virtual systems, I backed up the virtual machine to the USB RAID setup, and with a full system backup there, too, (just in case) I attempted to use Universal Restore to restore the VM XP system partition to my real system partition. Absolutely no problems whatsoever. (It's been about 3 weeks now, and I haven't yet nuked the old system backup, but I'm getting ready to.) If your backup destination is a network drive, I suspect you would have to have the server version of the software, but I am not positive about that. Maybe not; maybe just the workstation version, but I doubt that the home version of Acronis will do it. There is at least one other thing I know that you might need to consider: The two versions of XP (Home and Pro) are not equal. It is impossible, for example, to install the TI Agent on Home versions. So you may have some trouble doing what you want network-wise if you have the Home version of XP. You can find a lot of information about this stuff at the Acronis site. I'm surprised you could even try a restore once you changed the RAID configuration. Usually, changing RAID configurations wipes all the drives. But maybe I did not understand what you did. The newest USB RAID setups can be configured to run either on 'Auto' or 'Manual'. And I don't even know why anyone would consider 'Auto'. The auto setting (it's a toggle switch on back of the unit with mine) means that the unit is powered up *ONLY* when it is getting a USB signal from the OS. Yes, this means that when you remove the device with Windows safe removal option, the OS stops sending a USB signal there, so the device powers off automatically, even though the power switch is in the ON position. I find this really odd. You have to switch OFF, then back ON to power up the unit again, or reboot. But booting with the setup on auto is an odd experience. Apparently the OS (or the BIOS, or something during boot) sends, then stops sending, then finally again sends a USB signal. So the device will shutoff, then come on, then shutoff again, then once again power on. Very disconcerting to me. More importantly, it seems to bother the Acronis recovery program run from a boot CD. If you leave the unit on auto, for some reason Acronis does not seem to see it until you power off and then power on again, being sure to power on while the "Loading Acronis" message is displayed on the screen. But in manual (drive always on unless you flip the power switch), it's apparently seen immediately by the Acronis program when it loads from boot. The problem seems to be that after initially getting a USB signal at some point during the boot (power to the unit then goes ON), the signal then is cut when the bootable CD is detected, which cuts the power to the USB unit just when you want the now-loading recovery program to detect it. No thanks; I don't want to play around like that. At first, I thought the recovery program was never going to be able to read that RAID setup, and that I had a real problem. But I finally figured it all out with a little trial and error, and the manual from the RAID gear explaining Auto and Manual. Default was Auto. As I say, no thanks. I just think I'd rather turn the drive off myself when I want it off -- one can configure these drives with either cache enabled (*potentially* better performance, but the possibility of data loss if you do a hot unplug) or disabled (I think my performance is the same because when my system is writing to that setup I have nothing else going on, so there is not really any need for the system to cache anything anyway), which allows you to unplug the drive without any warning or preparation, assuming you are not going to unplug it in the middle of a backup operation, of course. ^_^ I've heard horror stories about Ghost, but some people swear by it of course. Since they insist on .NET now, I have no need to even review the product. Yuki Sunday, January 4, 2009, 4:00:35 PM, you wrote: JB> Yuki, JB> Did you have the opportunity to actually use Acronis True JB> Image to restore your complete system (bare metal restore) JB> onto the raid1 drive you use? JB> The reason for my question is that I was using Norton Ghost JB> and felt secure until I needed to restore my system from an JB> image I created (from a raid1 HD). It failed to restore to JB> the same raid1 drive but if I disabled the raid everything JB> functioned ok. I had to start reinstalling windows from JB> scratch in order to keep my raid configuration ;( JB> Also, does Acronis True Image work with a backup destination JB> that is a network drive? (this would apply to a backup of a JB> laptop). JB> -- JB> Joseph Biran JB> ____________________________________________ JB> -----Original Message----- JB> From: [email protected] On Behalf Of Yuki Taga JB> Sent: Saturday, January 03, 2009 4:04 PM JB> To: Lester Vanhoff JB> Subject: Acronis True Image Re: [amibroker] Re: Re: Curing JB> AmiBroker slowdowns with a system restore JB> Lester, on what do you base your claim that USB drives are JB> any less reliable than others? I've got a Buffalo twin 1-TB JB> in a RAID1 configuration, and I've never had a hint of any JB> problem. And a six-year-old Buffalo 120 GB USB is still in JB> perfect operating condition, other than the fact that I JB> cannot use it for an entire system backup anymore, because JB> of the size. (Thank you, 15 megabyte RAW files.) JB> Also, a tip for something I *finally* solved in conjunction JB> with Acronis and my backup configuration. For a long time JB> with this RAID setup, I was getting ftdisk or disk errors in JB> the System log, for about 1 to 2 hours after a nightly JB> backup was completed. Then the errors would stop (about 5 JB> am in the morning). I could not solve it until I finally JB> looked at each and every item in Tools > Options > Default JB> Backup Options > Additional Settings. Unchecked by default, JB> is a line item: "Dismount media after backup is finished". JB> I checked that, and from that moment on I never had another JB> ftdisk or disk error in the System log. I should add here JB> that the errors did not mean anything -- the data was fine. JB> Oddly enough, as far as Windows is concerned, the USB drives JB> are still mounted in the morning. So the "dismount" must be JB> Acronis from the drives, rather than the drives from JB> Windows. But I think Acronis ought to fix this so that it JB> doesn't spit out dozens upon dozens of yellow triangles in JB> the log. (Why the default would be not to dismount prior to JB> program close, I cannot imagine.) They could overhaul that JB> interface, too. The sub windows (such as the one you get to JB> above) are much too small and don't stay sized, and resizing JB> them has an clunky feel about it. When I "drill down", I JB> like to see where I've been, as well as where I am and where JB> I'm going. ^_^ JB> Excellent program however. I've accomplished numerous JB> restores and never had a bit or a byte out of place to my JB> knowledge. That's what we pay for: peace of mind. JB> I'll add that in your "the way it works" explanation, maybe JB> you forgot to say that one has a choice, too, of either JB> restoring entire partitions, or just restoring files or JB> folders. And in the later case it's sometimes just as easy, JB> or even easier, to simply mount the image and do a manual JB> copy across, than to sort through all the dialog options for JB> a restore. JB> BTW, I've always had an uneasy feeling about the Secure Zone JB> feature of Acronis. To me, that just adds one more layer of JB> complexity between a restore and the data. (If, for any JB> reason, TI cannot solve the Secure Zone -- that it exists on JB> the drive -- then I cannot see how it can possibly restore JB> the data that resides there, nor can I see how one could use JB> the OS to make that data visible to the JB> program.) So I never used it and still don't. But TI has JB> never failed to restore (never had an unreadable backup), so JB> I have no particular reason to think it might fail to JB> decipher the Secure Zone. JB> I just like to keep things as simple as possible. JB> Finally, I never bother to verify my images after writing JB> them anymore. First, I've never had an image that did not JB> verify, and second, according to posters on Acronis forums, JB> a verified image still is no guarantee that the image can be JB> restored or mounted. So I don't bother with verifying now. JB> (The verify process only verifies that *all* data on the JB> image can be read; it does *not* compare data on the image JB> with source data.) JB> Yuki JB> Sunday, January 4, 2009, 6:24:26 AM, you wrote: >>> I can take a product like this and save my complete hard JB> drive on say >>> a usb hard drive and it will automaticly backup the JB> complete hard >>> drive when ever I want it to do it. JB> LV> 1) The backup can be stored on your disk, in the secure JB> partition JB> LV> which is not visible to Windows XP / Vista. On the JB> screenshot below JB> LV> it is shown as "Logical Disk - Unknown (BC) and has no JB> drive letter: JB> LV> JB> http://img166.imageshack.us/img166/7749/01032009160435kv5.pn JB> g JB> LV> 2) Another method is to store the backup on an external JB> hard drive. JB> LV> USB drive is not a good idea because they are not very JB> reliable. >>> Then if I have hard drive problems, I can put the copy JB> that is on the >>> [external] hard drive on my machine hard drive and it JB> will be just >>> like it was, with all programs and files the same as the JB> last backup? JB> LV> That's right. The backup copy has it's own mini-OS (it JB> doesn't need JB> LV> Windows). You boot into the external drive (or into the JB> secure JB> LV> partition) and follow the prompts. JB> LV> My Windows XP takes about 8 GB of disk space and JB> restoring all this JB> LV> from Acronis secure partition takes about 4 minutes. >>> This type of software is something everyone should have. JB> LV> Absolutely correct. >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: Lester Vanhoff >>> >>> Microsoft's System Restore is very unreliable. It's JB> just dumb luck >>> that it worked for you. Consider getting a disk imaging JB> application >>> and do the disk image backup every day. One of the best JB> programs is >>> Acronis True Image, I've been using it for years. The JB> way it works, >>> when you get into a problem, it wipes out (formats) the JB> whole disk >>> (or selected partitions), including your operating JB> system, and then >>> restores everything from the backup image. >>> >>> JB> http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/ ------------------------------------ **** IMPORTANT **** This group is for the discussion between users only. 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