Backup of systen HDD inside windows

If you properly specify the backup task it will work as you want. When you create the task, you click on source (default is whole PC) and select the HDD/SSD on which the OS is installed. Make sure all partitions are selected. You can create the backup from within widows, you do not need to use the recovery media.

While it is possible to recover from within Windows, to do so shuts down Windows and boots using the Linux recover. This process can result is an unbootable system. It is best to recover OS drive using the recovery media. The default recovery media work well in most cases, but if your system uses RAID drivers (often used with SSD to maxamise performance) you will need to create a custom WinPE recovery media. The best way to do this is using the MVP tool. Once created, test it to make sure that it works with your system.

Ian

Thank you Ian,

I've restored to SSD previusly witohut issue using the Boot Media, and i've set mine up in the same way so it should work.

When i backedup i selected Disk & partitions and selected my SSD as that has the OS on, would this work or do i need to select the whole PC option?

Thomas

Disk and partitions is what you want. Whole PC is only recomended (by the MVPs) for PC with one HDD/SSD. You can accidentally include USB storage that is connected at the time.

While in most cases resoring the OS disk from within Windows works, things can go wrong. The same sort of things that can go wrong when cloning from within Windows. Unbootable system.

If you wish to take the risk of something going wrong, it is up to you. But, test your recovery media first. I have been know to recover OS disk from within Windows, using both local and cloud backup. In most, if not all cases, it has worked without problems. The same goes for cloning.

Ian

I second the use of "disks and partions" and selecting the option to select the entire disk (specifically picking the disk you intend to backup) - there are no limitations to using this method, but there are with "entire pc".  Even if you intend to backup multiple drives, keeping each drive separate can avoid a lot of headaches and simplifies restores when you only need to restore a certain disk or parition.

http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATI2017/#29559.html

When you select Entire PC as a backup type, Acronis True Image backs up all your internal hard drives in disk mode (however, it seems like some USB drives are backed up at times too - I suspect eSATA drives which may be interprted as internal drives which can result in unwanted disks being backed up). The backup contains the operating system, installed programs, system settings, and all your personal data including your photos, music, and documents.

The recovery from an Entire PC backup is also simplified (not my opinion unless you want to recover multiple disks at the same time). You only need to choose the date to which you want to revert your data. Acronis True Image recovers all data from the backup to the original location. Note that you cannot select specific disks or partitions to recover and you cannot change the default destination. If you need to avoid these limitations, we recommend that you back up your data with an ordinary disk-level backup method. Refer to Backing up disks and partitions for details.

Thank you,

I don't indend to do the restore from inside windows, that will be done via the boot media if i ever need to use it. just the inital backup it's self I've done in windows, and from the answers it looks like i've done that the right way.

also just adding, the main reason I've done the backup is so i can restore the PC to a fresh state without having to reinstall driver & updates as my PC is a custom build & finding the driver each time is time consuming.

Thomas

Thomas,

You're welcome.  I think you're doing it correctly.  I too, backup in Windows (with automated schedules) and only and always use recovery media to start a full disk backup - that's the MVP recommendation as it's safer for your OS and maintaining bootability (if you start a recovery from Windows, it has to reboot, replaces the bootloader with one from Acronis, but if the bios has secureboot enabled or the necessary drivers are not in the LInux recovery media that Acronis uses when it makes this change, it may fail to load and not restore the bootloader in some cases).

I also suggest an occassional offline backup - at least before you do anything major.  Online backups are fine - and pretty reliable, but they do rely on Microsoft VSS snapshots as the OS and many files are in use.  As a precaution, or at least an extra layer of protection, an occassional backup, outside of Windows is a good idea.  At the very least, if you only use that drive for offline backups and only attach it for offline backup/restore, you also have an extra layer of protection against malware/rasnsomeware.  

Plus, after 6 months, you may not want to go restore back that far, and may like stepping back to a monthly offline image, or weekly, or whenever your last offline backup us.  I used to do the fresh system state backup, but after 6 months or more, that's still a lot of Windows and application updates to run to get back in order.  I still take that image though - just in case.  I just have never had to go back to square 1 as I usually end up rebuilding with a newer OS version now that Microsft is releasing them at least annually.