PC World Forums: what all is in, and not in, an image backup? - PC World Forums

Hello folks,

I have Vista Ultimate, with 169 items listed under All Programs.

I need to reinstall the OS: System Restore does not work; Explorer does not always work; etc.

I have DriveImage XML and Paragon Drive Backup software. Then there is "Complete" Vista backup that I would do on CD's

Now: will all my software applications (programs) also be backed up on any or all of these image backups, OR,

will I have to reinstall them, especially, e.g., AOL and Firefox and their lists of bookmarks and favorites?

Thank you for your assistance.

Mike Bell

Hey Mike !!



Welcome to PCWorld Community !



Here's a software provider that used to be expensive to buy but, as of

May of this year , they are giving away their backup software for Home

Users. I haven't personally tried this one as I use Acronis but it isn't free.

Scroll down a bit and you will find a free Trial.



I hear good things about this software. Maybe you should take a look

for yourself. GFI Backup Home Edition . (click on blue words)



FLASHORN.

If it is an true image/clone backup, it should be everything. An image backup is usually an exact duplicate of your hard drive as it is at the time of the backup. It can either be done in bootable (typically referred to as a cloned drive) or non-bootable version (this second one would be an image file rather than cloned drive). Once you restore the image, it should be EXACTLY like it was when you made the image.

The real question is does it do an image/clone of the partition or the whole drive. If you only have one partition, then it likely will not matter. If you have several partitions, then it could matter.

Hi, Mike.

An image backup is supposed to back up everything on the HDD or the partition (depending on what options you used in creating the backup). Restoring from one should restore Windows and your installed applications to their condition when the backup was made. The problem (assuming you don't have a separate data partition), is that your data will also be restored to what it was when you made the backup. Therefore, you need a separate backup of your data, which shouldn't be an image backup.

How accurately do they recreate your old drive? Some years ago, I needed to test defraggers for a PC World article. Using DriveImage (it no longer exists, but much of its code is now in Ghost), I found that I could accurately restore not only a drive's files and Windows configuration, but its fragmentation.

More recently, I have successfully restored Windows from a DriveImage XML backup.

Lincoln

Flashorn said:

Judging from the info on their site, it doesn't do image backups or any other form of disaster recovery.


Lincoln
Message was edited by: smax013 - cleaned out the extra spaces

Hey Lincoln !!



Thanks for the info. Like I said , I don't use that software but, since it's a free

back-up utility from a good company, I thought it would be useful to mention it.



One question that has been bothering me for a while. When you do a Image of a

HDD , you do copy the whole HDD along with any and all errors that are present

in the OS from that Image, right ?



FLASHORN.

Flashorn said:

Yes.

Hey smax !!



Thanks , that's what I thought . Just wanted to make sure.

This is why I think that you either Image right after a clean install

or do an incremental back up of your software.

The GFI software would probably be very handy for someone who

hasn't back-up after the initial install or on the first boot.



FLASHORN.

For my "main use" OS, I did one right after the OS install and the majority of applications and such...and then I have a second one that I update on a regular basis leaving the first for more "dire" situations when I want to roll "way back".

My recommendation is that when you're setting up a new computer, you remove the junk, set up Windows the way you want it, install the programs you want, set up the network and the users, make an image backup, then import your data from your old PC. Then, on a daily basis, backup your data with something other than an imaging program.

Should you ever need to reinstall Windows, do one last, complete data backup just to be safe,restore the image, then restore the data. Quick and simple.

Lincoln

LincolnSpector said:

That is basically what I do...but I maintain a second "updated" clone for when I inevitability install additional programs, install OS updates, etc.

smax013 said:

Good idea, smax. I just let System Restore handle that end of it, or use ERUNT to back up the Registry, but what you're doing offers better protection.

What I'd like to see is a Permanent System Restore program that backed up everything that System Restore backs up, but backs up everything each time it runs (SR does it incrementally) and backs up to the target of your choice. One more thing: It should be restorable via a bootable CD. That would solve a lot of the problems that force people to reformat.

(Of course, better tech support would stop a lot of unneccisary reformats, but don't get me started on that one.)

Lincoln

I don't find it expeditious to load all my applications before the image backup.

Applications that I download like firefox and itunes tend to have many upgrades and patches and I would prefer to load the latest copy than to retore an older one and upgrade it. Upgrading often leaves a lot of crap that is no longer used. There are also a lot of programs that I simply no longer use. I'm just lazy enough to leave them on my system after I stop using them and when I am restoring the hard drive I may as well decide what I want and don't want (I only recently got around to uninstalling MusicMatch).

I will, however, load more static applications like Word or Excel since the upgrades andpatches tend to eventually get lumped together anyway.