Jump to content

Image Restoration?


Mike 1025

Recommended Posts

Imaging software???depends on how good & exact the restoration is & not how fast the image is created that's the whole logic.....ATI vs. NG vs. MR??.I have tried restoration with the first two but never with MR???..MR cannot even create a bootable rescues CD??..??

 

Whats a BartPE....how does one create it & its utility & functionality??

 

I apologize about my ignorance am a noob..... just started to learn computers when life is ending. :(

 

Hoping to hear from you,

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BartPE is basically a bootable copy of Windows on a CD which allows you run basic applications with LAN networking and USB flash drive support.

It's designed as a maintenance tool, e.g. fixing file system errors, defragging files which would have been locked by the OS e.g pagefile.sys, editing the System Registry or for crippling malware (delete / rename).

To create a BartPE image you will need an XP install CD with at least SP1 or Windows 2003.

Alternatively there's Hiren's Tools "Mini XP" which provides similar functionality to BartPE and available for download as pre-complied ISO.

 

Richard S.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BartPE is basically a bootable copy of Windows on a CD which allows you run basic applications with LAN networking and USB flash drive support.

It's designed as a maintenance tool, e.g. fixing file system errors, defragging files which would have been locked by the OS e.g pagefile.sys, editing the System Registry or for crippling malware (delete / rename).

To create a BartPE image you will need an XP install CD with at least SP1 or Windows 2003.

Alternatively there's Hiren's Tools "Mini XP" which provides similar functionality to BartPE and available for download as pre-complied ISO.

 

Richard S.

 

 

Thanks for the info......how does one create a BartPE on a media using windows bootable DVD.......just XP or Vista too?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go to http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and download the latest version of PE Builder

Run PE builder it will then ask you to locate an XP install CD because it needs to extract certain files from it.

After the process is complete it creates an ISO file you just simply burn this as an image file (do not burn as a file) using suitable software such as Nero.

 

Richard S.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Go to http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and download the latest version of PE Builder

Run PE builder it will then ask you to locate an XP install CD because it needs to extract certain files from it.

After the process is complete it creates and ISO file you just simply burn this as an image file (do not burn as a file) using suitable software such as Nero.

 

Richard S.

 

Thanks Richard.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Imaging software???depends on how good & exact the restoration is & not how fast the image is created that's the whole logic.....ATI vs. NG vs. MR??.I have tried restoration with the first two but never with MR???..MR cannot even create a bootable rescues CD??..??

 

Whats a BartPE....how does one create it & its utility & functionality??

 

I apologize about my ignorance am a noob..... just started to learn computers when life is ending. :(

 

Hoping to hear from you,

 

Thanks.

Beg to differ Mike 1025 but MR (Macrium Reflect) does allow you, even reminds you to create a "bootable CD rescue" disc. I have had to use it twice now.

I now have MR scheduled to back-up weekly on 2 Units both having their own bootable CD rescue disc's

 

PS: check out DennisD response and link.

Always With Kind Regards

Tasgandy

"one is never too old to listen & learn"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

It is if you have faith in it, or more importantly, if you have personal experience of it's reliability.

 

The only way to know that is to try these programs out, otherwise you have a huge file sitting there which is an unknown quantity, and you have no idea if it will save your backside or let you down.

 

Quite some time back, while I still had a "Recovery Partition" to reinstall Windows, I decided to restore my Macrium Image just to see if it worked as it should.

 

It did, and I've restored a number of Images since, again with no problems.

 

I'm not suggesting everyone bangs away and restores a backup Image just to see if it works, but that was my choice and it was reassuring to know that if I needed it, it was odds on that it wouldn't let me down.

 

And I'll add yet once more the importance of verifying the backup after making it, after defragging, and definitely before restoring.

 

All that said, I would still go ahead with the BartPE suggestion above, as you may be able to easily recover a situation without having to restore a back up Image.

 

And there is a Macrium Plugin for BartPE which means if you can't rescue a situation, you can restore your back up Image from within BartPE.

 

You can't have too many options of recovering from a screwed up Operating System.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is MR Rescue CD bootable & able to perform COLD IMAGING........... image creation & restoration?

 

Thanks.

Bootable: Yes

Perform Cold imaging: Sorry I am not sure exactly just what cold imaging is. Perhaps DennisD can help

Always With Kind Regards

Tasgandy

"one is never too old to listen & learn"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Is MR Rescue CD bootable & able to perform COLD IMAGING........... image creation & restoration?

Without booting into the OS?

 

You can certainly do cold restore. And you can do a hot back up including the system volume. I'm on the move and don't have a boot CD to check whether you can do cold back ups but I don't see why not.

 

Re rescue discs, Reflect allows you to create a Linux or a BartPE based CD.

 

I also endorse everything that's being said about Reflect. They have their own forum if you want to ask anything there.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Without booting into the OS?

 

You can certainly do cold restore. And you can do a hot back up including the system volume. I'm on the move and don't have a boot CD to check whether you can do cold back ups but I don't see why not.

 

Re rescue discs, Reflect allows you to create a Linux or a BartPE based CD.

 

I also endorse everything that's being said about Reflect. They have their own forum if you want to ask anything there.

 

 

Linux based CD isnt bootable........BartPE CD doesnt function with Vista or 7........so i'll stick with Acronis linux bootable that works with XP, Vista & 7.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

Hi Mike.

 

No, AFAIA Macrium doesn't support Cold Imaging, although according to Macrium Support, it will be introduced at some stage.

 

Your Rescue CD problem is probably more down to your hardware than a Macrium issue. Quite a few people encounter this, which is why Macrium has the option of burning the CD in "Compatibility Mode" or "Debug" mode, which I believe solved a problem for another member.

 

And Macrium itself burns the CD as part of the "Create Rescue CD Wizard".

 

The point here Mike isn't whether you opt for Macrium or any other Disk Image creating program, the point is to get people to make some sort of reliable Rescue Package to avoid the disaster of a corrupt Operating System, which usually goes hand in hand with losing personal stuff like music and irreplaceable photographs.

 

So whichever program you choose to use is the right one for you. Using it is the important thing.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
Dennis what do you mean by 'Cold Imaging' here ... taking a back up using the boot CD?

 

Being able to boot with a CD and make an Image ...

 

a: before the system is loaded, and

 

b: without having the Imaging program installed on the partition you are Imaging.

 

I've never gone into it myself in any great detail, but the Imaging software will be on the Rescue CD, or possibly, programs that can do this can run the Imaging Program from another source.

 

The main benefit I would think is less chance of errors during the Imaging process, but verifying after doing an Image in the usual way pretty much negates that, and I would carry out a verify if I did the Cold Image thing anyway.

 

There're probably other differences between the two methods which may or may not be claimed as "better", but if you end up with a reliable verified back up, then you're getting to the same destination but by a different route.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Being able to boot with a CD and make an Image ...

Yep, just checking ... that was my interpretation and the bit I was unsure about in my earlier post in terms of existing functionality ... though you've since confirmed that Reflect can't do it ... yet.

 

Like you I'm perfectly happy with Reflect's existing hot back up and verify.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators
Linux based CD isnt bootable.

In Macrium Reflect just before you commit to burning the Rescue CD there's a button that lets you change the compatibility modes. Using a re-writable CR-RW disc or DVD-RW/DVD+RW you can enable the compatibility modes to see if they'll work on your system. If they work via the re-writable disc you can then make a permanent read-only disc using CD-R or DVD-R/DVD+R so it can't be erased. I personally make two rescue discs just in case one fails.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.