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2 partitions on disk (1 with OS), is it possible to backup and restore OS?

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I have 2 partitions on my 1TB disk: the first 500GB with Win 8.1 OS (also there is hidden 350MB partition that was created during installation) and the second one just normal partition with files. I want to backup only the OS partitions and be able to restore it to the same disk (and without erasing the second partition).

Is it possible? As I understood MBR is included only in disk mode backups.

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Yes, it is possible to restore a backup of a single partiton overtop the existing partition. This is routine. See my signature link 3 below and item #3, "Restoring only C".

What are your recovery plans if the hard drive fails. Without the hidden partiton, a restore of C only to a new disk will not boot.

Do you have other backups being performed on the partition which just contains files?
It is possible to include all partions within the backup (disk mode image);
of if storage space is an issue, include all partitions but exclude the files on the last partition so the partitions markers are included but no data of the files partitons is included. On a restore to a new disk, a restore could be make which restore all patitions and then you would need to use some other method to update the empty partition of the files only partition if the files were not included within the primary disk image backup.

GroverH wrote:
What are your recovery plans if the hard drive fails. Without the hidden partiton, a restore of C only to a new disk will not boot.

Yes, but I don't see any reason why I wouldn't backup the hidden partition, it is just 300MB.
But I thought there still could be problems if I select to backup only partitions instead of full disk because as I understood some information (MBR) is included only in disk mode?

if storage space is an issue, include all partitions but exclude the files on the last partition so the partitions markers are included but no data of the files partitons is included.

You mean in "File backup" mode? I thought it backups only files, without information about the partition, even if I select whole partition.

The best and most preferred type backup is the full "disk image" or "disk mode" backup as its contents include everything (all partitions) on the disk. Having this type backups provides the most restore options

Acronis backs up "used disk sectors" whether the backup is partition/disk mode or if in "files and recovery" mode.

If you have the storage room, by far, your best choice for a backup is the full and complete disk (all partitions) including the files storage partiton.
This is illustrated in my signature link 2-A.

Yeah, I understand. The problem is that I don't have enough space to backup full disk. And also I do not really want to backup the second partition, at least not as frequent as OS.

As Grover said, you can save space with a full disk backup by excluding contents of some partitions. Or, do as I do and exclude large files by file type: I regularly exclude 500 GB of music files by excluding the file types .m4a, .flac, .mp3, and I back those up separately using Robocopy mirroring.

A full disk mode Backup captures everything, and is the simplest, safest backup method. Then you needn't worry about whether you have MBR, full partition structure, etc. You can always restore just a single partition as needed from the full disk mode Backup. I do that often, restoring just the OS partition on my multi-partition drive.

tuttle wrote:
As Grover said, you can save space with a full disk backup by excluding contents of some partitions.

Oh, looks like I got it.:) You mean I can add folder/partition path on the Exclusions tab of task settings?
I thought that I can add only file name/type masks there.:)