Restore an Image with a pc having different number of partitions from the last backup
I just want to ask before I try restoring an earlier image on my client's pc.
when i first created the base image there is only 1 partition in my client's pc. Now , I want to restore it to that earlier image but now my client's pc have 4 partitions. Won't it cause any error like the mbr?
Actually i deleted the existing partition where the image was created.Then I created 4 partitions,
so the partition of the current windows installation is not actually the same partition when i created the image. The last 3 are logical partitions. Will it be ok to restore mbr+partition?
It should be okay. However, you should probably restore them separately. Otherwise, the three Logical partitions may be lost. For example, restore just the Windows partition. Then restore just the MBR & Track 0.
Thanks, I will try your advice MudCrab. But can you please explain a bit more what exactly happens when i restore the mbr + partition at the same time.Why will the 3 logical partitions might be lost. What is the difference in restoring them separately and at the same time.
If there was only one partition on the drive when you created the "1 partition image" it will be considered an Entire Disk Image. When you restore an Entire Disk Image, the contents of the entire drive are replaced with the contents of the image. Any existing partitions will be lost. For example, if your image has two partitions and the drive has six partitions, restoring the image will place the two partitions on the drive and the six "old" partitions will be lost.
When you restore a single partition, TI places it in the destination of your choice -- an existing partition or unallocated space.
Are you sure you need to restore the MBR? This is usually only necessary if the MBR is corrupted or empty.
Say the original drive looked like this: [Windows 100GB]
A backup image was created with this configuration. Since there is only one partition on the drive, selecting it results in an Entire Disk Image backup (the Disk # checkbox is checked).
Now, that backup image of Windows needs restored. However, the client has change the drive and/or layout. Now it looks like this: [Windows 60GB][Data 10GB][Backups 20GB][Downloads 10GB]
You would want to restore just the Windows partition from the original backup image to the 60GB Windows partition. You wouldn't need to restore the MBR since the system is still booting correctly.
If you restore the Entire Disk Image (check the Disk # checkbox), the drive will look like this after the restore: [Windows 100GB]
The Data, Backups, and Downloads partitions will be lost.
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TI might behave a little differently depending on the version being used. What version are you using?
I'm using version 2011, I really don't need to restore the mbr right now I just wanted to know what i must do under certain conditions. The lasting i wanted to do is to make my client(s) angry because i messed it up. Although there is still an option of recovering those data, even i messed up.