Does one-click backup include hidden partitions
I am running XP SP3. I have one system disk and no partitions other than the two Dell hidden partitions that came on the system disk.
I have read the entire backup section of the "Home True Image 2010 Users Guide" and do not have a clear understanding of what the one-click backup does. I do know that it includes the MBR and system partition but I am confused about the hidden partitions. Are they included and if I restore from a one-click backup will the partitions be restored in the correct order?
I am only interested in the one-click because I am hoping it will take care of everything and give me a bootable drive after a catastrophic system disk failure?
I tried to do a disk backup but when I tried to restore it to my second internal sata drive I never did get the see the screen that allowed me to select the partitions to restore.
I am creating my images on an external USB2 drive. My second internal drive is larger than my original but I think I have a grasp on how to locate my hidden partition on the drive but have not yet ran across the window that allows me to manipulate the partitions.
Thanks for your help. This is not nearly as intuitive as I thought it would be :)
Hello Charles,
Let me shed some light on your concern.
Acronis One-Click Backup tool will automatically back up your system partition (C drive) and the Master Boot Record (MBR) to a location it considers the optimum place for backups. Unfortunately, it won't back up any hidden partitions on you hard drive, so you need to back it up manually.
Please reply to this thread if you have any additional questions.
Thank you.
Thanks for the reply Ilya. That is how I interpreted the one-click backup.
Let me further expand on what I am seeing with the manual /disk/partition backup/restore operation
When I run the Windows Disk Management utility. It shows that I have a 55MB FAT hidden partition that appears to be at the start of the system drive. I have 131.6GB system(C:) NTFS partition in the middle. I have a 17.32 FAT32 Partition at the end of the drive. I believe this is the dell system restore partition.
In section 10.2.2 ( Recovering a disk with a hidden partition ) of the Home 2010 documentation it says I can see the partition layout by choosing Recovery -> Disk and Partition Recovery then selecting my the backup of the system disk and clicking Details on the toolbar. When I do this, it displays a graphical image of the system and the FAT32 partitions but does not show the EISA Configuration partition.
I am assuming this is because the partition is less than a GB.
My next question is this. Will all three partitions show up during the recovery process? Since I am restoring to a larger spare internal disk I will need to get the hidden partitions correct and then expand the system partition to make use of the extra storage.
If everything shows up during the recovery procedure and I am able to resize the system partition how do I do the actual restore?
Do I just select the MBR and restore the disk or do I need to restore each partition sequentially and how do I compensate for the master boot record at track 0 if I do it this way?
I am hoping I am making this much more complicated than it is and ATI will do most of the work for me but I want to make sure.
One more question? If I want to use my spare drive to test recovery on an on-going basis, do I to open my computer and disconnect/reconnect my primary and spare drives each time or is there an easier way to do this?
That was a lot of questions for one post. I apologize but I have been reading the documentation and searching the forum for a couple of days now and some things just weren't clear to me.
Thanks, Charles
Hello Charles,
1. Actually you should be able to see all the partitions you've backed up. So in your case I may assume that you haven't backed up that EISA partition.
2. I may recommend you to have a look at GroverH's Restore Guide (Section 7), it contains very detailed step-by-step instructions on how to restore your drive.
3. Yes, you'll need to disconnect/reconnect your spare drive after every recovery.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance.
Thank you.
One more question? If I want to use my spare drive to test recovery on an on-going basis, do I to open my computer and disconnect/reconnect my primary and spare drives each time or is there an easier way to do this?
I don't. I leave both of mine connected, but leave the spare drive turned off in the BIOS. When I want to test the spare without risking any changes to the primary, I go into the BIOS and turn the spare drive on and turn the other drive off. No need to open the case or disconnect anything. I'm assuming that your backups are being saved to an external drive.
Just be careful not to operate both internal drives at the same time. If I understand it right, if both are 'live' and they are both set to be bootable (as the spare would be after a restore) then they may conflict with each other and one may alter the other and render it unbootable.
You may find this posting helpful regarding one-click backups.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/7400
Suggest you read all postings in the above thread.
As Ilya suggested, you may also find my guides helpful. Click on my signature link below and look at items in the #7 and #2 listing as well as any others of interest.
Hidden partitions should appear when viewed in Windows Disk Management. Adjusts the program settings to display the partitions all the same width--rather than display width controlled by size as illustrated by this screen attachment.
Also check the items in this posting.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/11063#comment-31992
When attempting a recovery, it the partitions you want to restore do not appear, it means the backup you are using did not include the missing partitions. You need a backup which includes all partitions-- as per this example:
http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/Disk-op…
http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/disk-op…
There are many questions being asked above. The guides will answer many. I will also try to answer some as time passes but no time now.
One more question? If I want to use my spare drive to test recovery on an on-going basis, do I to open my computer and disconnect/reconnect my primary and spare drives each time or is there an easier way to do this?
I don't. I leave both of mine connected, but leave the spare drive turned off in the BIOS. When I want to test the spare without risking any changes to the primary, I go into the BIOS and turn the spare drive on and turn the other drive off. No need to open the case or disconnect anything. I'm assuming that your backups are being saved to an external drive.
Just be careful not to operate both internal drives at the same time. If I understand it right, if both are 'live' and they are both set to be bootable (as the spare would be after a restore) then they may conflict with each other and one may alter the other and render it unbootable.
Thanks Dogma. This all makes sense
Hello Charles,
1. Actually you should be able to see all the partitions you've backed up. So in your case I may assume that you haven't backed up that EISA partition.
2. I may recommend you to have a look at GroverH's Restore Guide (Section 7), it contains very detailed step-by-step instructions on how to restore your drive.
3. Yes, you'll need to disconnect/reconnect your spare drive after every recovery.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance.
Thank you.
Hello Charles,
1. Actually you should be able to see all the partitions you've backed up. So in your case I may assume that you haven't backed up that EISA partition.
I apologize. I can see my 3rd partition. It was difficult to see because it was just a small light green highlighted rectangle with a 5... beneath it. The manual is incorrect when it says you can hover the mouse pointer over partitions ( too small for accommodating the information ) in order to see the information. Section 10.2.2 page 88. Several steps beyond this the mouse hovering feature does work but not in the window created by clicking details after selecting your backup.
2. I may recommend you to have a look at GroverH's Restore Guide (Section 7), it contains very detailed step-by-step instructions on how to restore your drive.
Thanks for the advice. I have already read most everything in Grover's bits of wisdom posts and especially the backup and restore documents in section 7. I really appreciate all the work he has done putting all this information easy to get to.
3. Yes, you'll need to disconnect/reconnect your spare drive after every recovery.
Please see Dogma's reply below about using the bios to disconnect/reconnect the master and secondary drives for testing purposes and understand the extreme risks of having both drives active at the same time.
Please let me know if you need any further assistance.
Thank you.
I do appreciate your assistance and patience. It is because of your comments that I further pursued looking for the tiny partition. I am learning all the time.
[/quote]
You may find this posting helpful regarding one-click backups.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/7400Suggest you read all postings in the above thread.
As Ilya suggested, you may also find my guides helpful. Click on my signature link below and look at items in the #7 and #2 listing as well as any others of interest.
Hidden partitions should appear when viewed in Windows Disk Management. Adjusts the program settings to display the partitions all the same width--rather than display width controlled by size as illustrated by this screen attachment.
Also check the items in this posting.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/11063#comment-31992When attempting a recovery, it the partitions you want to restore do not appear, it means the backup you are using did not include the missing partitions. You need a backup which includes all partitions-- as per this example:
http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/Disk-op…
http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/disk-op…There are many questions being asked above. The guides will answer many. I will also try to answer some as time passes but no time now.
You may find this posting helpful regarding one-click backups.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/7400Suggest you read all postings in the above thread.
As Ilya suggested, you may also find my guides helpful. Click on my signature link below and look at items in the #7 and #2 listing as well as any others of interest. Hidden partitions should appear when viewed in Windows Disk Management. Adjusts the program settings to display the partitions all the same width--rather than display width controlled by size as illustrated by this screen attachment. Also check the items in this posting. http://forum.acronis.com/forum/11063#comment-31992 When attempting a recovery, it the partitions you want to restore do not appear, it means the backup you are using did not include the missing partitions. You need a backup which includes all partitions-- as per this example: http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/Disk-op… http://forum.acronis.com/sites/default/files/forum/2009/12/7027/disk-op… There are many questions being asked above. The guides will answer many. I will also try to answer some as time passes but no time now.
Thank you for your reply Grover. Your hard work and knowledge make this an outstanding forum. I am slowly making it though all you "Bits of Wisdom"