Imaging C (system) partition only and then restoring from it?
I have been going through numerous posts and sorry if its repetition but pls guide me.
I have a new dell laptop xps 14z which has default layout as shown in screenshot.
As suggested I only plan to image my system partition C and NOT clone. I intend to recover in future if need be from this C system partition to have a ready system drive.
However I am confused what to do about:
1. 31 MB Healthy OMB partition - Can i delete it?
2. Recovery partition of 13.25 GB - can i delete it?
Also how can i create a smaller C and one more data partition.
All the above I want to achieve in context of creating image of C for future.
Thanks for your help and time really. Anticipating your valuable guidance.
---In your current setup, you should not image only the C: partition. That would be an incomplete image, as C: is not bootable so if you restored that image to a new drive it would not be bootable.---
I m wondering why you say C is not bootable. It also uses word BOOT in partition description. As you said other two partitions are dell diagnostic and recovery partition then where else can the remaining bootable matter be present apart from C. Pardon my question but am i missing something.
----As I've replied to some of your other posts, a full disk image is the best, safest, simplest backup method. ----
Yes But i am wondering that once say I have data D partition created and has lot of data then creating in future full disk backup image every time would entail lot of space consumption as D (loaded with data) would be backed up in full disk backup image every time. Hence I wanted to back up image of C only.
---I removed my Dell Recovery partition and thus freed up almost 20 GB of disk space. But, first I used Dell's backup utility to create the Recovery image to a USB flash drive (you could also choose three DVD-R disks), which could be used restore to Dell factory state if I ever sold the PC. I also moved boot files from Recovery partition to the OS partition. ----
I believe yu are referring to Dell Local Data Safe. I also tried DVD route but it fails. Nevertheless I will try again.
How did you move your BOOT files from Recovery partition to the OS partition? I am not even able to go into recovery partition as it does not appear in my computers.
----But, with ATI, the Dell Recovery disks aren't even necessary if you use ATI to create a pre-boot backup image. I also did that (belt and suspenders). ---
How do you that....I mean Pre Boot backup image?
------So yes, you could remove the Dell Recovery partition, but you can't just delete it since that is the boot partition. You would have to so as I did and move the boot files from Recovery partition to the OS partition to make the OS partition bootable. You could also reduce the size of C: and create a new D: partition for data.----
How do we achieve this Pls guide sir.
Thanks tonnes for your help and patience. I really am indebted for all help. Thanks Again Again.
Currently Recovery partition is required for boot process because it is the Active partition.
Yes, Dell's DataSafe would be used to create bootable OEM restore DVDs or USB flash drive.
No, you cannot open Recovery partition in Windows Explorer to move boot files. There are various ways to do it. In my case, I booted from Windows Repair Disc to copy boot files to the OS partition and set OS partition as the Active partition. I booted from Partition Wizard ISO to delete Dell Recovery partition, resize C, and create new data partitions. There are various tools that can do this.
The pre-boot backup image is something I created by booting from the ATI Rescue Media before I ever booted the new computer for the first time. The Dell had never yet been booted, so I was able to create an ATI image of its OEM pre-boot state.
Hi - Thanks for your reply.
However Appreciate if you could also share your guidance / thoughts on few aspects which you missed or did not elaborate in detail Pls.
----As I've replied to some of your other posts, a full disk image is the best, safest, simplest backup method. ----
Yes But i am wondering that once say I have data D partition created and has lot of data then creating in future full disk backup image every time would entail lot of space consumption as D (loaded with data) would be backed up in full disk backup image every time. Hence I wanted to back up image of C only.
Do you still suggest full disk backup image creation.
-------Currently Recovery partition is required for boot process because it is the Active partition. -----
Pls elaborate.
Again thanks for all the time and sorry for my shallow knowledge. Appreciate truly all inputs and gudiance.
A full disk image is the best, safest, simplest backup method. It ensures that you have everything you need, including drive/partition layout.
If a large part of your data is made up of just a few file types, you could exclude them from the full disk backup. For example, I have several hundred GB of music, so even when doing a full disk backup I often exclude music extensions: *.flac; *.m4a; *.mp3. You could do the same.
You could also image all partitons except for D:. That's not quite as good, IMO, as a full disk backup, but is better than what you've done so far.
As I've said, your system currently relies on the Recovery partition is required for boot process because it is the Active partition. You can change that, as I've explained, by a process to move boot files to C:, but until then if you image only C:, it would not be bootable when restored to a new drive because Recovery partition is required.
Acronisfan,
You can safely exclude a data partition that you have created from a recovery disk and partition backup, if you are concerned with backup size.
Many users have a lot of videos, pictures, PDF files, music and other media/content that is already stored in compressed file formats. From my point of view, it doesn't make much sense to store these files in a proprietary file format. I much prefer sync these files to another disk. Some software allow to have versioning of what is synched/mirrored.
Of course, be aware that you will have to backup your content some other way.
Finally, all systems have an active partition or some specialized partition (EFI) that contain essential files for booting. It is important to have this partition in the backup. Some times, it is possible to repair a system that is missing that partition after a restore. This can be somewhat complicated depending on the situation.
For this reason, unless you are very comfortable with computer systems technology and operating systems, we recommend that users create backups including all the partitions on the system disk AND the active partition (which is sometimes NOT on the system disk).
You could also image all partitons except for D:. That's not quite as good, IMO, as a full disk backup, but is better than what you've done so far.
Then what should be my order for recovery...which partition to restore first.
Also do I need to restore MBR in case of only partition recovery?
Thanks for your wonderful points always.
In general, you don't need to restore the MBR+track0 when you restore your partitions, because it is rare, but not unseen, that your MBR gets corrupted and needs to be restored.
Of course, if you restore to a blank disk, you need to restore it along with the partitions. If you restore to a disk of different size, you are better off restoring each partition manually to control the target size, and then the MBR+Track0 at the end with the disk signature.