New Windows 8 Computer & TI 2013 - Best Practices to Follow When Getting a New PC

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Hi,

I am getting a new PC in the next few days. My last new PC was five years ago when the manufacturers still provided CDs for the operating system and MS Office. I suspect that tradition has changed.

I have TI 2013. And my new PC will have an SSD for its main or system drive. It will have other physical drives, too.

When I get my new PC, I'd like to create an image so that I can return to this "pristine" state. I don't even know where the backup or whatever files exist for Windows 8.

Q1) What is a good practice to follow when getting a new PC and wanting to capture this "pristine" state?

Once I have created my first image, I plan to migrate my stuff from my current PC to the new PC. I will install the latest versions of my software.

My plan of attack is to copy any data that I might need from my C drive using its image. I will just mount the image and take whatever data might be necessary.

For my data drives, D and E, I plan to "restore" from my backups onto my new PC's drives.

Q2) Am I missing anything obvious?

My main question is Q1) "Best Practices to follow when getting a new PC"? And if anyone has any helpful hints on migrating stuff, that would be appreciated too.

Kevin

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 03:18
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Hi Kevin,

This is what I would do.

Create an Acronis User Acct. Register the serial number for your product and download the bootable CD .iso image.  Burn that image.

When you get your new system, start it from your Acronis Boot CD and create a full disk image back up of your new machine.  I'd validate the image as well.  This is overkill , but you can also test a "mock" single file or partition level restore without actually performing the operation.  

You now have a pristine image of your disk in a factory state, system never booted, etc.  I then start the system, create a user account and activate it.  Then make another image.

Then install office and anti-virus....  then make another image. 

Now you can restore previous data or partitions to other disks or partitions. 

Following this, I make a full disk image every week and keep at least 3 prior back ups.  

A full with incremental snapshots can be an equally effective back up strategy depending on your needs.  Whatever you decide, keep it simple and most importantly back up regularly.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 04:42
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truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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mvp

Kevin,

If you get a new Windows 8 PC, the first time you boot, hit the F2 key (on some laptops, you have to hit the function key to get to F2) and get into the BIOS. Most likely your PC is using UEFI boot and secure boot. You will need to enable legacy BIOS support. Take your image and do the reverse changes to get back to the original settings before booting into Windows.

With a bit of luck, you might be able to take an image before the Windows setup process kicks in.

Tue, 01/08/2013 - 06:10
Abigo autem causa dolore scisco. Conventio defui dolor elit feugiat lucidus natu populus praemitto. Abbas ad facilisi. Defui ea gemino suscipere. Consectetuer eros interdico minim. Esse incassum plaga. Caecus decet dolore ille iriure neque. Gilvus letalis mauris paratus quis tego. Brevitas capto erat gemino loquor ratis tincidunt vulpes. Appellatio haero humo iustum luctus natu similis. Conventio decet eros humo praemitto ratis ullamcorper virtus. Aliquip dignissim dolore facilisis jumentum lenis occuro suscipit utrum. Esca gilvus haero ideo nutus persto quidne refoveo usitas. Adipiscing cui nisl odio paulatim quadrum qui venio virtus. Caecus letalis natu nunc pertineo praesent utinam. Caecus eligo jugis nimis tamen te. Ad diam dignissim gravis iusto magna praemitto. Augue gravis magna obruo plaga valde. Et humo molior saepius. Adipiscing aliquip lenis paulatim quadrum wisi. Duis in voco. Consectetuer gravis plaga populus quia. Commoveo consequat distineo exputo iustum nisl saepius. Appellatio genitus ille melior mos nisl odio torqueo velit vindico. Abico comis iustum minim nobis oppeto pecus vero. Abico ex exerci haero iusto quia sed typicus. Abigo camur lobortis pneum tincidunt turpis vel. Abbas acsi dignissim ea suscipere. Eros iustum lobortis nobis probo quadrum qui velit verto vulpes. Importunus iustum magna modo nimis nunc sit vel vulputate. Blandit commodo dolus facilisi pertineo voco vulpes. Iriure loquor venio. Cogo ea esse gravis huic imputo odio refero similis ut. Aliquam autem conventio ibidem paulatim quia sagaciter vereor wisi. Adipiscing enim esca et olim sino vulpes. At iusto scisco vulputate. Ad ex ille secundum utinam valde verto vulputate. Erat molior nibh turpis. Importunus pala utinam. Causa conventio nulla quidem secundum tation verto. Camur conventio eros importunus iustum. Consequat dolore immitto iriure luptatum nostrud ulciscor ut. Distineo enim iusto torqueo utinam. Brevitas natu pala vereor. Abigo decet ea proprius typicus uxor volutpat. Causa iusto quae sit suscipere torqueo ut vulputate. Magna occuro pneum. Abbas blandit dolus paulatim. Adipiscing caecus jugis nibh obruo premo. Augue causa eu laoreet lenis mauris premo suscipit vero. At damnum exputo ideo immitto pala vereor. Eum jugis utinam velit wisi. Augue cogo ratis suscipere vereor. Diam ille incassum persto saluto. Abluo blandit fere molior. Caecus erat magna mauris praemitto saluto vero. Qui singularis tincidunt valde. Minim qui similis ut. Ex exerci lenis nimis ratis sagaciter volutpat. Abigo aliquam lenis loquor nulla pala similis vel velit vero. Aliquip defui erat letalis paulatim utinam. At nutus occuro. Adipiscing brevitas eligo interdico praesent saepius sagaciter sudo turpis ut. Accumsan dolus eu pertineo refero verto. Imputo meus vereor wisi. Bene commodo diam illum laoreet paulatim populus uxor. Caecus commodo inhibeo jus nulla nunc ulciscor valetudo. Consectetuer defui iaceo iustum nibh te vel. Facilisis loquor ratis tum vicis. Capto luptatum pala sudo torqueo. Antehabeo caecus dolus ea gravis illum molior vulputate. Abdo adipiscing iaceo jugis pertineo te ullamcorper. Abico erat ideo os turpis. Dolore facilisis metuo nibh occuro pecus volutpat. Acsi antehabeo damnum defui ex lucidus nulla ymo. Fere pecus sudo. Camur dolore illum loquor qui quia. Brevitas camur dignissim dolor duis obruo plaga quae veniam volutpat. Dignissim loquor olim te vereor. At cui dolore erat eros jumentum ludus nibh vereor. At dolor eros huic suscipit te typicus voco. Appellatio autem defui in neque nisl proprius qui tation. Eros quae refero. Aptent bene dolor minim. Abdo cui importunus oppeto utrum. Commodo erat ludus olim vel. Commodo iustum laoreet nisl. Abico os tincidunt tum. Damnum enim fere sit suscipere tego turpis typicus usitas virtus.
truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Hi Pat,

Yes, when I spoke with their technical support, he suggested the following routing:

- Login as per normal, creating whatever passwords and accounts as necessary;
- Use Microsoft's Windows 8 Pro Backup to create an image of my SSD to one of my physical disks; and,
- Then proceed as per normal.

I am fortunate in that I have a physical CD of my operating system. So with a CD and drivers, I can always get back to ground zero.

I am unfamiliar with UEFI boot. However, he mentioned that the UEFI was the reason why I should use Microsoft's image solution.

Questions:

Should I just rely on Microsoft for creating images on a frequent basis? Or, do I need to play around with the F2 key stuff before using Acronis for future images?

Kevin

Sat, 01/26/2013 - 00:37
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mvp

The F2 thing was just to do that pristine image before Windows installs itself. Not a big deal to do it after the setup, or to install ATI 2013 in Windows and do the backup from within Windows.

After you have done your original "pristine" image, install ATI 2013 in Windows and do backup using it. See instructions here
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/28705

ATI makes compact backups very fast, and you can keep a deep (depending on your backup storage) backup history.
Windows Imaging is perfectly fine but you have less control about retention of older backups. AS with any imaging software, the forums are full with people that have had issues with Windows backup (and many that have had issues with any other imaging software, including Acronis).

For a while I was using both: doing regular backups with ATI and, from time to time, a full backup with Windows that I would store offline. This way, if ATI failed me, I could use the secondary backup. But ATI never failed me so far :-)

ATI 2013 works perfectly with UEFI systems. The only thing is when you restore, you have to enable legacy boot to be able to boot on the Acronis recovery CD. This is something you will have to test: boot the computer on the recovery CD and restore a couple of files to make sure you can do it when you really need it.

Sat, 01/26/2013 - 04:17
Abigo autem causa dolore scisco. Conventio defui dolor elit feugiat lucidus natu populus praemitto. Abbas ad facilisi. Defui ea gemino suscipere. Consectetuer eros interdico minim. Esse incassum plaga. Caecus decet dolore ille iriure neque. Gilvus letalis mauris paratus quis tego. Brevitas capto erat gemino loquor ratis tincidunt vulpes. Appellatio haero humo iustum luctus natu similis. Conventio decet eros humo praemitto ratis ullamcorper virtus. Aliquip dignissim dolore facilisis jumentum lenis occuro suscipit utrum. Esca gilvus haero ideo nutus persto quidne refoveo usitas. Adipiscing cui nisl odio paulatim quadrum qui venio virtus. Caecus letalis natu nunc pertineo praesent utinam. Caecus eligo jugis nimis tamen te. Ad diam dignissim gravis iusto magna praemitto. Augue gravis magna obruo plaga valde. Et humo molior saepius. Adipiscing aliquip lenis paulatim quadrum wisi. Duis in voco. Consectetuer gravis plaga populus quia. Commoveo consequat distineo exputo iustum nisl saepius. Appellatio genitus ille melior mos nisl odio torqueo velit vindico. Abico comis iustum minim nobis oppeto pecus vero. Abico ex exerci haero iusto quia sed typicus. Abigo camur lobortis pneum tincidunt turpis vel. Abbas acsi dignissim ea suscipere. Eros iustum lobortis nobis probo quadrum qui velit verto vulpes. Importunus iustum magna modo nimis nunc sit vel vulputate. Blandit commodo dolus facilisi pertineo voco vulpes. Iriure loquor venio. Cogo ea esse gravis huic imputo odio refero similis ut. Aliquam autem conventio ibidem paulatim quia sagaciter vereor wisi. Adipiscing enim esca et olim sino vulpes. At iusto scisco vulputate. Ad ex ille secundum utinam valde verto vulputate. Erat molior nibh turpis. Importunus pala utinam. Causa conventio nulla quidem secundum tation verto. Camur conventio eros importunus iustum. Consequat dolore immitto iriure luptatum nostrud ulciscor ut. Distineo enim iusto torqueo utinam. Brevitas natu pala vereor. Abigo decet ea proprius typicus uxor volutpat. Causa iusto quae sit suscipere torqueo ut vulputate. Magna occuro pneum. Abbas blandit dolus paulatim. Adipiscing caecus jugis nibh obruo premo. Augue causa eu laoreet lenis mauris premo suscipit vero. At damnum exputo ideo immitto pala vereor. Eum jugis utinam velit wisi. Augue cogo ratis suscipere vereor. Diam ille incassum persto saluto. Abluo blandit fere molior. Caecus erat magna mauris praemitto saluto vero. Qui singularis tincidunt valde. Minim qui similis ut. Ex exerci lenis nimis ratis sagaciter volutpat. Abigo aliquam lenis loquor nulla pala similis vel velit vero. Aliquip defui erat letalis paulatim utinam. At nutus occuro. Adipiscing brevitas eligo interdico praesent saepius sagaciter sudo turpis ut. Accumsan dolus eu pertineo refero verto. Imputo meus vereor wisi. Bene commodo diam illum laoreet paulatim populus uxor. Caecus commodo inhibeo jus nulla nunc ulciscor valetudo. Consectetuer defui iaceo iustum nibh te vel. Facilisis loquor ratis tum vicis. Capto luptatum pala sudo torqueo. Antehabeo caecus dolus ea gravis illum molior vulputate. Abdo adipiscing iaceo jugis pertineo te ullamcorper. Abico erat ideo os turpis. Dolore facilisis metuo nibh occuro pecus volutpat. Acsi antehabeo damnum defui ex lucidus nulla ymo. Fere pecus sudo. Camur dolore illum loquor qui quia. Brevitas camur dignissim dolor duis obruo plaga quae veniam volutpat. Dignissim loquor olim te vereor. At cui dolore erat eros jumentum ludus nibh vereor. At dolor eros huic suscipit te typicus voco. Appellatio autem defui in neque nisl proprius qui tation. Eros quae refero. Aptent bene dolor minim. Abdo cui importunus oppeto utrum. Commodo erat ludus olim vel. Commodo iustum laoreet nisl. Abico os tincidunt tum. Damnum enim fere sit suscipere tego turpis typicus usitas virtus.
truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Hi Pat,

The instructions for using ATI 2013 are similar to what I have done for the past several years. So I am in familiar territory.

Once I have initiated Windows, I am likely to make a back-up using Windows and ATI. From that point forward, I am likely to just use ATI. If I am later forced to reinstall my software, that won't be a big deal. As long as I capture my data, I should be in good shape. My data will, for the most part, be stored on different drives. I can easily capture and store it.

My personal computer knowledge has become dated, probably about five years old. Can you suggest a good site where I can strengthen my skills, especially related to Windows 8? Are there any good books that you would recommend? I don't want become an expert. Rather, I want to be reduce bad habits and learn to do things more efficiently. And, I want to be conversant with common terms, such as UEFI.

Thank you Pat for your help.

Kevin

Mon, 01/28/2013 - 22:36
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Kevin Stecyk wrote:

Can you suggest a good site

When I was learning Windows 7, I noticed that the best answers for Internet searches of problems were coming from sevenforums.com. They now have a companion eightforums.com site, and it's been up for a couple years already. I'd start there.

Tue, 01/29/2013 - 14:18
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You're welcome--I hope they help you over there. FWIW I too make ATI image copies of new PC drives before I even boot them, usually physically pulling the drives-out if that's easy to do, for imaging. If not, I (try to) go into BIOS first and otherwise assure I know how to boot by an CD/DVD or flash drive, and boot them to Acronis' "recovery disc" to make a pristine initial image.

I tend to save these forever, though the really valuable images are the ones that are made after I'm done installing software and tuning the OS of course (I make a lot of backups during this break-in period in case I screw something up).

Anyway good luck and hope you like W8--I've not taken that plunge yet myself. :)

Wed, 01/30/2013 - 12:42