Windows System Images

[Ed Cryer]

I take a system image to an external HD. It works with a fixed name, and
just overwrites if one already exists. So I have to remember to cut and
paste the previous one into a folder. But that creates a situation
where, if I were to restore with a bootable Win7 Repair disk then it
would only detect the latest one.

I can't but feel that I'm missing something here since the repair option
goes looking for image files before telling you what it's found; and it
only finds my latest one.

Ed

 

[Bob Hatch]

I take a system image to an external HD. It works with a fixed name, and
just overwrites if one already exists. So I have to remember to cut and
paste the previous one into a folder. But that creates a situation
where, if I were to restore with a bootable Win7 Repair disk then it
would only detect the latest one.

I can't but feel that I'm missing something here since the repair option
goes looking for image files before telling you what it's found; and it
only finds my latest one.

Ed

I don't know why you would want an older version, but could the best
solution be to put multiple partitions onto the backup disk?

I use clones, so I'm not a lot of help on this one.

--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Jeff Layman]

I don't know why you would want an older version

Because of (effectively) impossible-to-remove malware which exists on
one or more previous images. You'd need to be able to go back to an
image before infection to be sure of getting rid of it.

 

[Char Jackson]

Because of (effectively) impossible-to-remove malware which exists on
one or more previous images. You'd need to be able to go back to an
image before infection to be sure of getting rid of it.

Agreed. Having only a single backup is just one step away from having
no backup at all. I care about my data, so that's way too risky for
me. I have multiple full disk images that go back to April of this
year.

 

[Bob Hatch]

Agreed. Having only a single backup is just one step away from having
no backup at all. I care about my data, so that's way too risky for
me. I have multiple full disk images that go back to April of this
year.

My data is "never" on my C: drive. C: is for OS and programs only. D: is
for data. H: is a double back up of D: done every 12 hours. All pictures
are copied to my wife's laptop every time I upload new images.


--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

My data is "never" on my C: drive. C: is for OS and programs only. D: is
for data. H: is a double back up of D: done every 12 hours. All pictures
are copied to my wife's laptop every time I upload new images.

That does not in any way invalidate what Jeff Layman and Char Jackson
said, except, of course, for you alone. Oh, maybe a few other people
too, but *not* for everyone.

 

[SC Tom]

Because of (effectively) impossible-to-remove malware which exists on one or more previous images. You'd need to be
able to go back to an image before infection to be sure of getting rid of it.

I totally agree.
I've never had it happen to me, and have never heard of it happening to anyone else, but. . .
I create images with ATI, booting from the ATI-created boot CD and use a couple of different drives for these images. If
I inadvertently created an image of an already-infected system, what are the chances of that virus infecting my back-up
drive, thus invalidating all the other images? Since I'm not in Windows when creating this image, is the virus
automatically isolated from the rest of the external drive and its other images?
Like I said, I've never heard of it happening, but was just curious if maybe you had.

 

[Bob Hatch]

That does not in any way invalidate what Jeff Layman and Char Jackson
said, except, of course, for you alone. Oh, maybe a few other people
too, but *not* for everyone.

I never said it did. My point in was to give an additional, and safer
option for data storage than on drive C:. No matter what happens to my
C: drive, my data is safe. I have data that has followed my OS's from
before Windows 98 all the way up to Windows 7, and across several
computers. True, I've had to move the data to larger drives, but when I
buy a new computer all I have to do is move the D: drive from the old
computer to the new one.

--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Ken Blake]

I never said it did. My point in was to give an additional, and safer
option for data storage than on drive C:. No matter what happens to my
C: drive, my data is safe. I have data that has followed my OS's from
before Windows 98 all the way up to Windows 7, and across several
computers. True, I've had to move the data to larger drives, but when I
buy a new computer all I have to do is move the D: drive from the old
computer to the new one.

You are kidding yourself and flirting with danger. It is always
possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning strike,
virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss of
everything on all your drives. As has often been said, it's not a
matter of whether you will have such a problem, but when.

The only really safe way to protect yourself against loss is backup to
external media.

If you have never lost everything, consider yourself lucky. But your
comment "No matter what happens to my C: drive, my data is safe. I
have data that has followed my OS's from before Windows 98 all the way
up to Windows 7, and across several computers." is like saying "I've
always driven without a seatbelt on and never had a problem."

 

[Gene E. Bloch]

I never said it did. My point in was to give an additional, and safer
option for data storage than on drive C:. No matter what happens to my
C: drive, my data is safe. I have data that has followed my OS's from
before Windows 98 all the way up to Windows 7, and across several
computers. True, I've had to move the data to larger drives, but when I
buy a new computer all I have to do is move the D: drive from the old
computer to the new one.

OK, got it.

I confess that I read your reply as an attempt to contradict the post
you replied to, so although you never *said* that it invalidated what
Jeff Layman and Char Jackson said, I interpreted it that you meant to
*imply* as much.

Thanks for setting me straight.

Although I did have a bit of fun composing my slightly sarcastic reply

 

[Bob Hatch]

You are kidding yourself and flirting with danger. It is always
possible that a hard drive crash, user error, nearby lightning strike,
virus attack, even theft of the computer, can cause the loss of
everything on all your drives. As has often been said, it's not a
matter of whether you will have such a problem, but when.

The only really safe way to protect yourself against loss is backup to
external media.

If you have never lost everything, consider yourself lucky. But your
comment "No matter what happens to my C: drive, my data is safe. I
have data that has followed my OS's from before Windows 98 all the way
up to Windows 7, and across several computers." is like saying "I've
always driven without a seatbelt on and never had a problem."

Did you miss where I posted that my D: drive was backed up to an
external drive 2 different ways, every 12 hours, and that all my images
were copied to my wife's laptop as well?

--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Jeff Layman]

My data is "never" on my C: drive. C: is for OS and programs only. D: is
for data. H: is a double back up of D: done every 12 hours. All pictures
are copied to my wife's laptop every time I upload new images.

Is there some confusion here about the use of the term "images"? The OP
was about system images. Not just data, but everything - OS, programs,
utilities, what have you. Your comment here refers to uploading new
images - ie picture files.

Yes, data files are the most important, but IME if you don't have a
system image, you are in for a l-o-n-g day's work reinstalling the OS,
and all the progs the way you had them before. Got all those Word
macros with your data? Or are they with the program files? You seem to
have your data files well covered, but it isn't clear from your reply if
you have an image of the C: drive, too.

 

[Bob Hatch]

Is there some confusion here about the use of the term "images"? The OP
was about system images. Not just data, but everything - OS, programs,
utilities, what have you. Your comment here refers to uploading new
images - ie picture files.

My comment(s) about data started in response to Char's statement that "
I care about my data". That's when I posted how I back up my data.

Yes, data files are the most important, but IME if you don't have a
system image, you are in for a l-o-n-g day's work reinstalling the OS,
and all the progs the way you had them before. Got all those Word macros
with your data? Or are they with the program files? You seem to have
your data files well covered, but it isn't clear from your reply if you
have an image of the C: drive, too.

I use clones. It's the method I prefer, at least for now. If my C: drive
crashes, I open the drawer, pull the clone out and install it in the
computer and I'm back up and running in less than 10 minutes, OS,
programs, macros, all of it. Then at some point in the next few days
I'll run to Best Buy and get a new disk and do a new clone of drive C:

However, this thread has got me to thinking that I might try images as
well. I have lots of drive space on D: and the H: external, so why not?

A few days ago my backup drive failed. It was an older 750 GB PATA in a
USB case, and my system is all SATA. Went to BB and bought a 2 TB SATA
drive for $89.99. From my history that's like free. My first hard drive
was a 20 MB and cost me $1500.00. Storage is ultra cheap.



--
Rumors are carried by haters, spread by fools,
and accepted by idiots.
"Anon"
http://www.bobhatch.com
http://www.tdsrvresort.com

 

[Jeff Layman]

On 11/4/2011 3:36 AM, Jeff Layman wrote: (snip)

I use clones. It's the method I prefer, at least for now. If my C: drive
crashes, I open the drawer, pull the clone out and install it in the
computer and I'm back up and running in less than 10 minutes, OS,
programs, macros, all of it. Then at some point in the next few days
I'll run to Best Buy and get a new disk and do a new clone of drive C:

Well, I guess if you /have/ to be up and running in the shortest time a
clone is the way to go. Can't be long until they design an external SSD
plug-in to do the job like a memory card. Then you could be
up-and-running in 30 seconds!

However, this thread has got me to thinking that I might try images as
well. I have lots of drive space on D: and the H: external, so why not?

I assume that D: is a separate HD rather than a partition. Even so, I
think it's always best to store the image well away from the original
computer - preferably in a fireproof safe.

A few days ago my backup drive failed. It was an older 750 GB PATA in a
USB case, and my system is all SATA. Went to BB and bought a 2 TB SATA
drive for $89.99. From my history that's like free. My first hard drive
was a 20 MB and cost me $1500.00. Storage is ultra cheap.

Not only storage. 10 years ago I bought a 17" Samsung LCD monitor to go
with my new XP computer. The monitor cost nearly £1400! And that's for
a 1024 x 768 display. But the price was high because the distributors
guaranteed no bad pixels, having to test (and reject) many monitors
beforehand. I continue to use it with my old XP machine, and it _still_
has no bad pixels.

 

[Ken Blake]

Did you miss where I posted that my D: drive was backed up to an
external drive 2 different ways, every 12 hours, and that all my images
were copied to my wife's laptop as well?

I guess I did. Sorry.