What partitions is it necessary to back up on Windows 10 x64 (UEFI system with GPT disk)?
Hi guys:
When I used Windows 7 x64 (old PC with BIOS and MBR disk) I just made backups of C: partition. In effect, I first made a full backup at the end of installing Window 7. And then, I made incremental backups as I was installing the other programs (MS Office, Chrome, VLC, etc).
Now that I have Windows 10 x64 on an UEFI system with GPT disk, I do not know when the EFI system partition (100Mb) changes. If it does, should I back those changes when incremental backup? Otherwise, I just have to back up the C: partition, because the EFI system partition never changes. Or, actually, that partition changes, but those changes do not affect at all if I only backup the EFI system partition the first time, and then never again in any incremental backup.
Is something similar happening with the recovery partition (450Mb)?
Thank you very much and Greetings.


- Accedi per poter commentare

Hello Everyone....
We have 3 machines running Win10/64 under Bios/MBR, One machine with TIH2017, the other two TIH2016.
The time is nearing when we will replace each machine. All Win10/64 OS's are licensed and not OEM.
We currently run partition backups for OS and Data disks that are separate SSD & HDD. We have tested restores to new disks and all is well. We do not use any cloning methods. All backups are created using the partition/differential method. It is time for us to consider purchasing faster machines.
Question: Is there an existing forum thread that "best" explains the how to and caveats of restoring image backups created from a Bios/MBR machine to a UEFI/GPT setup ? Something we can test and test before we move our actual OS and Data to new machines.
Thank you for your time !
Steve F.
- Accedi per poter commentare

Steve, I am not aware of any specific best practice thread in response to your question but I haven't trawled through the Best Practices Forum to look for one either.
The key point that you need to be aware of is the requirement to use Acronis Universal Restore (AUR) as part of your migration process to take your existing backup images to new computer hardware.
In principle, the process is very similar to the one you have been following with your current hardware but with a noteable key difference.
When you boot the Acronis Rescue Media on the new computer hardware, then boot this for UEFI/GPT mode and when you restore your backup (made for BIOS/MBR) this will be converted for UEFI/GPT as part of the restore process. This conversion is documented in the ATIH 2017 User Guide - Migration method where it shows all the various different migration scenarios.
After restoring the backup and doing the conversion, then AUR is required to prepare the restored OS to work with the new hardware it will now find. This is actioned by booting from the AUR media as you did for the restore. You may need to provide additional device drivers required for the new hardware, specifically those for the motherboard and disk controller but you should try using AUR 'as is' to start with and see if it asks for drivers?
See KB 58579: Acronis True Image 2017: Restoring to Dissimilar Hardware with Acronis Universal Restore
- Accedi per poter commentare

Steve,
The subject of conversion of Bios/MBR to UEFI/GPT has been discussed in this Forum however, I am not aware of any thread that contains a how to as you are looking for.
In reading your question I think your caveat is that a conversion from MBR to GPT cannot be done at the partition level but rather must encompass the entire disk. Reason is that the disk must be wiped and then formatted into the GPT format. Fortunately TI does this for you.
Your main concern here beyond having a complete or full disk image backup to restore is that when you boot the target machine to the TI Recovery media you do so in UEFI mode. This is necessary for a couple of reasons. UEFI is the only method possible to boot a GPT format disk. MBR formatted system disk can work with GPT data disks but an Bios/MBR system will not boot to a GPT formatted disk. As I am sure you know already to accomplish this you need to set your target machine to boot UEFI either first with Legacy second or UEFI only. I would recommend UEFI only as that leaves less to go wrong here.
After setting the machine to boot UEFI only Save and Exit the bios setup. If you do not have the boot media attached or inserted into the machine at this point press the machine power button and hold down until machine shuts off. If you are using CD media you should insert the boot media into the drive prior to power off. Now attach or insert the boot media and start the machine and using the keyboard key enter the bios again and go directly to the Boot tab which you should be able to find in the Advanced mode of the bios. Once there scroll down to the Boot Order or Boot Priority section and look at the device listed there. You will likely see the name of a CD/DVD drive there if your machine has one and if you are using a CD based boot media this name should be preceded by the letters UEFI. This is a good sign as this mean the bios recognizes that a bootable media is inserted into the CD/DVD drive and will attempt to boot to it upon startup. If you are using a USB thumb drive for your boot media then expand the list entry you see and look for that media which also needs to have UEFI first in the name and select it as the first boot device. If you have set the bios to boot as UEFI only then you will only see devices that contain UEFI bootable media in the boot order list.
From here on it is pretty simple. Boot to the Recovery media, once TI is open and running select restore, select the image file you wish to restore, select the destination disk. Once you select the destination disk you should see a warning message that the destination disk will be converted to a GPT disk. That means that TI will convert the target disk to GPT format and restore the selected image as a UEFI bootable device.
All done :)
- Accedi per poter commentare

Enchant...
Thank you for taking the time to point me in the right direction.
I really appreciate that !
When we purchase a new case, MB, CPU, Mem etc..., I'll be using a TIH DVD Boot Media with Universal Restore created from a Bios/MBR machine. I just wanted to get the process in my head so that I do not have to spend hours and hours or days trying to get the old system re-created on a new hardware base. And.. I sure do not want to go through all the installation needed to re-install Win10 and all my apps. As I mentioned earlier, my data disk is a separate hdd and the OS drive is a SSD. I intend to keep the same configuration when building the new system but will use New disks and keep the old system running until the hardware upgrade is proven good.
Thank You !!
Steve F.
- Accedi per poter commentare

Steve,
Understood. Steve Smith brings up some good points however, I have found that Windows 10 is very good at changes of hardware. I would say that since you are already on Win 10 X64 drivers will be in place already for most peripherals, MB chipset drivers can and should be installed after OS is up and running, vanilla Windows SATA drivers are fine for the most part as well so, I bet the use of UR will not be required in your case. If so then UR run as is should suffice to get you up and running.
- Accedi per poter commentare

Steve S and Enchantech,
Thank you both very much for the migration details. Although we may not purchase new hardware for a couple of months, I like to be prepared. I feel a lot better now that I have read all of your comments and suggestions. This may not be as nerve wracking as I envisioned.. big smile.... Thank you both so very much for your time !
I'll follow up with you after the migration...
Steve F.
- Accedi per poter commentare

Thanks Steve, we will look forward to hearing news when the migration is done!
- Accedi per poter commentare

I checked the partitions and found that:
- Partition recovery only contains recovery tools and has not changed these days.
- System partition EFI has changed the date of some files.
So, I decided to make a first full backup that includes these partitions and Windows (C: drive). And then, make only incremental backups of the EFI system partitions and the partition that contains Windows, as needed.
Even so, I experienced recovering only the Windows partition (C :) and I have not had any problems.
Thank you very much.
- Accedi per poter commentare