Why don't more people image their OS Hard drive

[waycoolgal]

So many many problems could be resolved if people only backed up there system with an image. I use to be what I called the reformat queen until I descovered hard drive imaging. I have now gone 5 years without reformating. Anytime something goes wrong which seems to be often I just reinstall my current image and all is well. My favorite software for this is Acronis True Image but there are others. Please please do yourself a favor and invest in software of this type.

Sincerely,
Waycoolgal

[katzdvd]

way to go, waycool!

Hi waycool!

So many many problems could be resolved if people only backed up there system with an image.

I agree completely! I recently started using Acronis, & I must say I am very satisfied with it. I had used drive image in the past, which was dos (ugh), & this Acronis is now much easier & faster now!

And best of all, I don't have to sit here for 2 days & reinstall endless software, drivers, etc.

Cheers for Acronis!

Regards, katzdvd

[drfsupercenter]

My school does that all the time, but then again they just do that because students like me save huge files to the C drive that we are not supposed to be able to save to

[RFBurns]

The average computer user understands two things....power on and power off.

Unless some program or helping hand comes down the pike that follows this "one button wonder"...most computer users will not go through the steps needed to create an image of the HD. The "one button wonder" factor would have to be incorporated into the program, which is what your average user of anything wants. Make it very easy and with as few steps needed.

[katzdvd]

RFBurns...

Unless some program or helping hand comes down the pike that follows this "one button wonder"...most computer users will not go through the steps needed to create an image of the HD.

Don't I know it! I know lots of users like that - problem is, if they don't take the time to learn a (simple)? backup program, then they end up doing it the hard way by reformatting -or paying the local pc shop 100 + to do it for them!

not to mention, losing all their data in the process

katz

[vw56german]

I have been thinking about this topic lately. What all is required to do it? I would need the Acronis program and what else? 40-50 Dvd's?? lols Seriously though what kind of a process is it to create an image of your drive?

[Dan]

So many many problems could be resolved if people only backed up there system with an image. I use to be what I called the reformat queen until I descovered hard drive imaging. I have now gone 5 years without reformating. Anytime something goes wrong which seems to be often I just reinstall my current image and all is well. My favorite software for this is Acronis True Image but there are others. Please please do yourself a favor and invest in software of this type.

Sincerely,
Waycoolgal

Do you have much experience/knowledge with this process? Sounds like a simple guideline could really help some of us if you or anyone else knows the best process.

[jm1647]

I have been imaging my OS partition and other partitions also. I have been using ghost, a good guide for it is here

[Chewy]

I have been thinking about this topic lately. What all is required to do it? I would need the Acronis program and what else? 40-50 Dvd's?? lols Seriously though what kind of a process is it to create an image of your drive?

do you just have one hard drive with one partition?

[katzdvd]

Hi vw,

I would need the Acronis program and what else?

Just the Acronis pgm... and another HD, or at least a 2nd partition. Or maybe DVD's if you want to. My current backups are around 1 to 5 gb. each. They get larger as you go along & add more programs/data, etc.

You can also do incremental backups of just certain files as well. I generally keep a barebones clean install w/ all drivers as one backup file (on a 2nd HD). then, I make sev. backup files as I go along; i.e. after I get "all" my programs installed that I use on a regular basis.

Makes life soooo much easier that the time consuming reformat...

katz

[waycoolgal]

Acronis True image guide.

First step is to put your OS on its own partition or hard drive to keep

the size manageable.

Install Acronis and create the boot cd.

Boot with the cd and follow the instructions. Very easy to follow.

You can put your image on a hard drive or onto cdrs and dvdrs.

When your image is needed boot again from the boot cd and follow the

simple instructions.

If you like that clean install feeling which I do I handle my images in

just that way.

Example:

I reformat and install my OS. I then put on all my trusted programs

which I know do not mess with my system. At that point I put an image

on my hard drive. I then go get the ms updates. I create another image

on my hard drive. I also write that image to cdrs. I figure at that

point it is set up the way I like it. I don't delete those other images

off my hard drive until I have reinstalled that last image so I know

all is well with it. At this time play all you want with your pc. When

the time comes that you have some programs that you want to add to your

image collection go back to your last image created and put it back on.

then install your new programs and image again. I bet in five years I

have used my images 50 or more times. I play around with alot of

programs and it never fails that something goes wrong.

PS

I for years have used cdrs and created my images at 650mb size so when I am ready I can use nero to put them onto cdrs. When I got my dvd burner I thought cool this will make it easier. I created an image on dvdrs and when I went to reinstall it it would not go. I did not play with this much and went back to cdrs. Remember to keep it on your hard drive until your sure all is well.

[blutach]

Darn good S'ware and well worth the $$$.

Every now and then I image my boot drive (IDE) to a SATA drive.

Great tip waycoolgal.

Regards

[ed klein]

I use Acronis Home Edition 9.0, version 3677, and it has an option setting for you to backup the entire hard drive with the operating system with one file which Acronis calls an image file.

I have one hard drive with two partitions. The secret is to create a new restore point and delete all the previous restore points BEFORE you create the one backup image file from Acronis, and use the normal setting or default setting in Acronis for compression level. This way you have your entire hard drive with operating system, and one restore point on your hard drive and usually only need ONE DVD-5 disk for your entire drive backup.

Also, it is not an ISO image file, it is an Acronis image file, and CAN NOT be burned using Imageburn. You have to burn the Acronis image file using the standard VIDEO_TS folder burn route.


Depending on how you lost your hard drive, you can restore your hard drive using Acronis Secure Zone, the one image file you created, or from the re-bootable disk you created each time a new version of Acronis comes out.

[blutach]

Hopefully, LUK! will implement a burn function for Acronis. It has been suggested on IBF before. Not sure why you'd put it in VIDEO_TS folder - it's just a data disk.

Regards

[Dan]

Thank you for the tips/ideas all. This is something I have neglected for some reason. Never had a major problem where I lost everything. Recently installed new HDD and pulled the old one, that got me thinking about all this.
Thanks!