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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: amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] 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: amibroker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 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/
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