Cloning Industrial PC
I have an industrial PC running a Human-Machine Interface (HMI). It runs Windows 7 and an overlay software. This is installed in a panel inside a remote site with absolutely no internet access. Can Acronis be installed on this PC? I already have about 20 Acronis licenses under my control for my departmental PCs. All of these have internet access and were activated accordingly.
What are my options for this remote PC? If worse came to worst, I guess I could do a hotspot on my cellular, but I'd need about a 10 meter cable to take the phone outside the all-metal building to get a signal. Since we're in the middle of nowhere, I don't even know if this would work.
Thanks in advance for any assistance.
It would be possible to activate the product from another computer.
Enchantech wrote: "It would be possible to activate the product from another computer. "
I thought activations were tied to the computer that you were using it on. My intention is to make a clone of the hard drive inside this industrial computer. I have full access to everything to do with Windows, just like a "normal" PC. The difference is that this PC is mounted in a rack, has no keyboard or mouse, and is operated solely by its touchscreen. I can connect a keyboard and mouse, but there is normally none in normal operation. For all intents, it is a "normal" PC, but in reality, it has a lot of communications functions to allow me to "talk" to different industrial equipment.
For security purposes, I think you can understand why we would not want to connect (for example) a nuclear reactor controller to the internet. This isn't quite so dangerous, but the concept is the same. We don't want our controllers connected to the internet, so there is no provision to do so. In fact, we intentionally make it hard to do so.
Now, it is possible this HMI can fail eventually. If that happens, I want to install a new HMI, and make an EXACT copy of the hard drive as it is when I finish setting it up. This backup is what I want Acronis to do. There are hidden software keys that won't be copied with a normal or compressed backup. ONLY a clone backup will function once the new hardware is installed and restored.
So, can I activate Acronis from say, my laptop, and then transfer this activation to the HMI to make its clone? Remember, the HMI - the one that needs to be cloned - has no easy internet access.
Yes you can activate an installation without Internet access. A Clone function is best performed however using the user created Recovery Media. Is it possible to boot the machine from a thumb drive? If so then you can run the clone from the thumb drive, no activation required.
Thanks. I'll try it tomorrow using the Acronis thumb drive from my present machine. Do I need to install Acronis on the target machine first, or just boot from the thumb drive?
I will post a detailed reply shortly.
Donald,
Sorry for the delay in response, I was answering using my cell phone in a remote area with limited net access.
No, you do not need to install the True Image app on your machine to perform this clone procedure.
There are basically 2 issues that cause failures in a clone process they are power loss to the device or machine and mistaken source/target drive. So I suspect that because you are working with a critical piece of equipment here that power loss has already been addressed and you have standby backup power to the machine in question. If not this is something that should be at least considered before you attempt to clone. A good steady power source/supply is a must! As for mistaken source/target drives the best way to avoid that is to create volume labels on the drives so that they can be easily identified. Do not depend on drive letters as those can change when the Recovery Media is used.
After you have completed the setup of the machine and you are ready to perform the clone do the following:
1. Using Windows Disk Management create unique Volume Labels for both drives. Let's assume that Volume Labels are HMI Main (the source/original drive being cloned from) and HMI Clone (the target/new drive being cloned to). You can use your laptop to access and create a volume label for the target disk using a USB enclosure.
2. Make certain that you can boot the HMI machine using the Recovery Media. I assume you do not need instruction on how to go about that.
3. Once booted navigate through the interface a bit just so you have some confidence that things are working as they should. Making sure you can view the installed disk is a good idea.
4. Shutdown the HMI machine. What you want to accomplish here is to connect your new target drive in the HMI machine to the same connector that is connected to the original source disk. Your current existing source disk is then attached to a spare connector on the HMI machine. You can use a USB connection if need be to attach the source drive to the HMI machine.
5. After attaching the target and source drives as outlined above boot the HMI machine to the Recovery Media. On the sidebar of the True Image app click on Tools, click Clone disk, on the Clone mode choose Automatic.
6. On the Source Disk step select the disk labeled HMI Main as assumed above.
7. On the Destination Disk step select the disk labeled HMI Clone as assumed above.
8. On the Finish step, ensure that the configured settings suit your needs, and then click Proceed.
If you will be cloning to a different sized disk the Manual mode should be used to perform the procedure which will require a few more steps. I am attaching some links for your review that cover this and some other points that you should review. Please note: I would not think this would apply here but True Image 2015 does not support cloning of dynamic disks. If you have additional questions post back. Would also appreciate a post back with your results as well.
http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATI2015/index.html#3…
http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATI2015/index.html#2…
First try making bootable media failed. No boot record found (but at least the failure screen showed Acronis on it). I will follow your instructions once I get the HD for backup. I'm making two clones, one for the site, and one to carry with me back to my office, for use when the site loses theirs.
Thank you for your assistance. I truly appreciate it.
I am somewhat confused about your statement that your attempt to create bootable media failed with error No boot record found. The thumb drive used needs to be of FAT 32 format and no larger than 32GB. What app are you using to create the media? I recommend downloading the boot media iso file from your account on the Acronis Support site and using a third party image burning app capable of creating USB media. If you still have issues post back.
I got a different thumb drive, and the boot media created fine from it. I tried a cheap "trade show" usb drive the first time. I haven't received the HDs yet, so I haven't been able to do the clone, but I will post here again once I make the attempt.
I used the Acronis boot media creation software to try to make the bootable drive. I think that the USB drive was just a cheapo. When I tried a name brand drive, it worked without a hitch.
Yep, that is fairly common, you get what you pay for!