Imaging software thoughts

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Hi Guys: 1.) Need a little help, would like to ask what you guys use to create an image of a windows 7 ultimate x64 install with fsx running decent with my pmdg 747 products on a 1 terabyte barracuda sata, so sick of rebuilding over and over to get fsx running properly and would like to have it backed up the way it is now, I guess any ideas on a software program that will do a good job at doing an image in case something gets messed up lol also would you use a separate dvd or is it ok to put it on a clean 1 terabyte barracuda sata internal drive, speaking of drives all I have loaded on my new build is windows 7 x64 on a 1 terabyte hard drive, and fsx with REX – GEX – FSGENESIS 2.) My properties on the c: drive reads I have used 400gb all ready could that be because I cranked up the restore available space ? that’s why I would like to create a reliable image so I can turn that down if that’s what’s taking up a ton of space, thanks guys Regards, Rich

[Tabs 2,790]

Rich,I've always used Acronis True Image.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Hi Ryan:Hope all is well, thank you for the help, so would you image it to another free hard drive, dont want to mess it up never tried this before.Regards, Rich

[ronzie 21]

I suggest you visit the Acronis Forums. Any deviation from standard drive raw formatting it may not handle.In Win XP I used their Migrate Easy for as is image cloning drive to drive and Disk Director 10 for raw hard drive operations. Those worked fine.I then purchased the upgrade to Disk Director Home 11 which has a drive to drive cloning feature. It was not after several support tries unable to create a proper boot for my XP sector arrangement and it insisted on padding out the clusters which I suspect is part of the problem. I went through at least one service patch but still no luck. I have worked extensively with their elevated tech support staff and they have duplicated the problem. This was several months ago and the ticket has been reassigned to a few lead techs a couple of times. The latest response was (again) that I would be notified if a solution was available. I prefer the raw disk to disk clone method (my disk drives are in cartridge nests for easy swapping) rotating disks after each cloning session to distribute wear and insure the clone works. It also does not require a compressed image to decompressed image restore operation saving lots of time. If the user has a fresh standard install, then a drive to compressed file (True Image) might be OK. I have to say though that an earlier version of True Image in 2007 failed to restore an XP two disk stripe of RAID 0 until regressing an upgrade at my former employment. Fortunately it was mainly a client workstation with mainly executables and fixed data so a reinstallation was the solution.quote name='Tabs' timestamp='1302114053' post='1958051']Rich,I've always used Acronis True Image.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Hi Ron:Disk to disk clone sounds great but what happens if I loose my c: drive how do I retrieve the data from lets say the e: drive do I need a boot disk, will visit the forums but you guys seem to really know your stuff :)Regards, Rich

[Stephen Howarth 0]

Hi Rich, I second Acronis as Ryan says. Once installed there is an option to create a boot disk for occasions where C: fails and you cannot boot.

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Hi Stephan:Sounds good, thats what I thought on the boot disk, lets hope I dont have to use it for a while, thank you guys.Regards, Rich

[dazz 69]

+1 for Acronis, but you can do that with Win 7 itself. Backup & restore -> create a system imageThen with a Win 7 CD, you can restore the system from the image you created

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

I can always depend on you Dazz, I will give that a go first, your the best :( take care buddy.Regards, Rich

[dazz 69]

LOL, actually not too long ago there was a similar thread somewhere and I suggested Acronis, then another guy pointed this out to me that Win 7 could do it (I had no idea and it's really nothing new, it's there in Vista too :()

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

:( lol :( :( Regards, Rich

[MindYerBeak 73]

I suggest you take a look at shadow protect desktop edition.It's probably the fastest and most reliable imaging software out there. It's expensive but well worth it imo. You can download the trial version and see if you like it. ->>Shadow protectVic

[Richard Sennett 2,499]

Hi Vic:Great stuff, have to check it out, thank you.Regards, Rich

[qnh 70]

Do a search on Clonezilla - it is based on a Debian live CD and can save the image on an external drive or another internal drive. Oh and it's free :(

[Barthandelus 1]

+1000000 for Acronis.