Recovering a multi-partition full back-up onto a single partition
Ti 2013 build 6514 Win 7 Pro 64 bit-with only one drive in the system
After booting TI from CD, and using that recovery method ONLY (Tuttle-thanks for previous advice on recovery!!!!), is there a simplest way to recover a full system back-up (located on external USB hard-drive) that contains 2-4 separate partitions, including the OS and 100MB system reserve partitions, onto a drive that only has a single partition? Looking to avoid booting from either the Win 7 install disk or other utility software, to create a mirror image of clean formatted partitions on the destination drive, that match the order, size and number of partitions, in the original full back-up. Or having to connect the drive in another computer as drive #2, and use Windows Manage to create mirror images of the partitions in the back-up. The destination drive has much more than enough room.
Thank you!!!
Thanks for your reply. Yesterday after booting from the TI CD, I attempted to recover a validated full image with two partitions, 100MB system reserved and the C partition, onto a destination disk with a single partition. During the recovery process, the software took me through two requests, asking me where each of the backed up partitions should go. 1-1 (the 100MB) and then the much larger C drive. At that point I became confused (no problems if the destination disk has similar order, size and number of partitions). I didn't see any "just recover the full image" or any option like that, like I think exists in the console, which I will no longer use. Maybe I selected the wrong option during recovery?
Thanks.
Maybe I selected the wrong option during recovery?
Instead, I think you selected the wrong option during backup.
I keep preaching that users should create a full disk mode Backup. I think you made a partition backup, in which you selected each partition.
Create a full disk mode Backup. Select the checkbox for the entire disk (not just individual partitions). For this option, switch to disk mode (upper right blue link) until you see disks and not partitions to select. Select the disk. That ensures that you have everything you need, and you won't need to understand how the disk is laid out with possible hidden partitions. A full disk mode Backup captures everything, and is the simplest, safest backup method.
A full disk backup ensures that you have everything, without needing to understand how the disk is laid out. It also ensures that the MBR and disk signature are included.
The other big difference is when you restore. A disk mode backup allows you to restore in disk mode, making a single selection for the entire disk. A partition backup requires the individual process you described.
Grover described it this way:
The disk mode backup can be restored by user checking marking the disk option and the restore will bypass partition selection/configuration; wheres, the backup created via partition mode is forced into individual partition configurations of each and every partition.
For the experienced user, the difference between the two type restores may not matter, but to the less experienced user, the disk mode backup/restore is much easier, much less chance of a user error and eliminates many of the configuration or partition decisions needed during the restore.
It was a full disk back-up-that's all that I ever do. When that happens, the name of the hard drive appears in the saved file, and I just noticed the file has "full" on it. I'll do a screen capture and attach. Also, later today or tomorrow I'll repeat what I did, using that full back-up image, and take another look at the options during recovery, after booting from the TI CD. I have to open up my SFF computer and attach and install my older 3.5 inch drive so it takes a while.
Thanks.
PS-after reading your replies again, maybe I did not do a "disk-mode recovery" during the recovery process. I'll look for that option also. That's exactly what I would like to do.
My PS addition was it!!! Thanks for leading me in the right direction. In the recovery process, until now, in the boot from CD recovery section, I never understood that "Disk 1" was more than a heading. That it could be checked to activate the restore in "disk mode" as you indicated. What I did, always, was to individually check the three boxes corresponding to the 100 MB reserved partition, the C drive partition and the MBR. Now I can see that doing that forces the recovery into the more complicated back-up by partitions process. I ran into the same problem when at first I tried to recover my HDD full back-up image onto my single partition brand new SSD. After getting frustrated at the time, I just used the software console after booting the OS to do a clone disk.
Oh well, hind site and 20-20. As long as I touched upon the topic, I've never really understood when it was better to NOT restore the MBR. Any link referrals that you suggest or are there simple rules of thumb? My prior long time usage of back-up software, was with Norton Ghost 9 and Windows XP, and only a single partition on the C drive. They left the restore the MBR as a non-default option in the disk recovery.
Thanks again!!!
If restoring a full disk image to a new drive, such as when you replace a failing drive with a new drive, you would want to restore the MBR and disk signature. If you're just "rolling back" by restoring a particular partition to the existing drive, you wouldn't need to restore the MBR if there is no problem with it, but there's no harm in restoring it. I often "roll back" after testing out a new software installation if I decide not to keep it, or if some glitch has cropped up on my system that I can't quickly fix.
And, when restoring to a new drive that is smaller or larger than the original, you'd restore a partition at a time so you could choose a size for each, and you'd restore MBR last.