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Windows Backup

D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
 
S

Shenan Stanley

Flightless Bird
Dennis wrote:
> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?


Maybe.

Probably not the way you think.

How to move a Windows installation to different hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/249694


I'd personally suggest using a disk imaging/cloning utility (sometimes you
can get one from the hard disk drive manufacturer.)

--
Shenan Stanley
MS-MVP
--
How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
"Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?


I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with native
Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post again if you
need further details.
 
T

Twayne

Flightless Bird
In news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net,
Dennis <den942@bright.net> typed:
> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?


YES, as long as you created the requisite ASR floppie. To work on a
replacement drive, you need to boot from something other than that drive -
namely the ASR floppy.

HTH,

Twayne



--
--
Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered
through personal experience does not become a
part of the moral tissue.
 
T

Twayne

Flightless Bird
In news:64B369BC-C941-4351-8114-9618AFD2C6F8@microsoft.com,
Pegasus [MVP] <news@microsoft.com> typed:
> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>
> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with native
> Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post again if
> you need further details.


You should read the ntbackup.exe's Help. All it takes is to make the ASR
floppy at the time the backup is made.

--
--
Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered
through personal experience does not become a
part of the moral tissue.
 
J

John John - MVP

Flightless Bird
Twayne wrote:
> In news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net,
> Dennis <den942@bright.net> typed:
>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>
> YES, as long as you created the requisite ASR floppie. To work on a
> replacement drive, you need to boot from something other than that drive
> - namely the ASR floppy.


You need XP Pro for this (ASR isn't available with XP Home) and you
don't boot with the ASR floppy, you boot with the Windows XP CD (the ASR
floppy isn't a bootable diskette).

John
 
T

Twayne

Flightless Bird
In news:-Oc0LiuYrKHA.1800@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl,
John John - MVP <audetweld@nbnot.nb.ca> typed:
> Twayne wrote:
>> In news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net,
>> Dennis <den942@bright.net> typed:
>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>>
>> YES, as long as you created the requisite ASR floppie. To work on a
>> replacement drive, you need to boot from something other than that
>> drive - namely the ASR floppy.

>
> You need XP Pro for this (ASR isn't available with XP Home) and you
> don't boot with the ASR floppy, you boot with the Windows XP CD (the
> ASR floppy isn't a bootable diskette).
>
> John


Ouch! Yes, you're right; my mis-speak! Fortunately Help and the program
itself do a decent job of explaining it too.

Regards,

Twayne`





--
--
Life is the only real counselor; wisdom unfiltered
through personal experience does not become a
part of the moral tissue.
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
I definitely would like to know more on doing that.

Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>
>
>
> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>
> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with native
> Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post again if you
> need further details.
>
>
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
I have XP Pro that I'd like to do this with.

John John - MVP wrote:
> Twayne wrote:
>> In news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net,
>> Dennis <den942@bright.net> typed:
>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>>
>> YES, as long as you created the requisite ASR floppie. To work on a
>> replacement drive, you need to boot from something other than that
>> drive - namely the ASR floppy.

>
> You need XP Pro for this (ASR isn't available with XP Home) and you
> don't boot with the ASR floppy, you boot with the Windows XP CD (the ASR
> floppy isn't a bootable diskette).
>
> John
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
Can the replacement drive be a different size that the original drive
that the back up was made from? I want to go from a 10 gig partition
to a 20 gig hard drive.

John John - MVP wrote:
> Twayne wrote:
>> In news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net,
>> Dennis <den942@bright.net> typed:
>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>>
>> YES, as long as you created the requisite ASR floppie. To work on a
>> replacement drive, you need to boot from something other than that
>> drive - namely the ASR floppy.

>
> You need XP Pro for this (ASR isn't available with XP Home) and you
> don't boot with the ASR floppy, you boot with the Windows XP CD (the ASR
> floppy isn't a bootable diskette).
>
> John
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
disk.
2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
(http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=

To restore your disk:
1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
2. Mark the System partition active.
3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
disk.
4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.

Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging tools and
the backup process will not compress your data.


"Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>
> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?

>>
>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
>> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with native
>> Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post again if you
>> need further details.
>>
>>
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
You use a Windows 7 Repair CD even with restoring a Windows XP
installation? Does the back up disk need to be blank other than
the back up copied to it? I want to get it right the first try...

Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
> Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
> 1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
> disk.
> 2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
> (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
> 3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=
>
>
> To restore your disk:
> 1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
> 2. Mark the System partition active.
> 3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
> disk.
> 4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
> 5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
> 6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.
>
> Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging tools
> and the backup process will not compress your data.
>
>
> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
> news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
>> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>>
>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
>>>
>>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
>>> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with
>>> native Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post
>>> again if you need further details.
>>>
>>>
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
There are two reasons why I use a Windows 7 Repair CD:
- It gives me full and unrestricted access to all NTFS permissions.
- It will happily execute many console commands such as robocopy or xcopy.
The fact that it belongs to Windows 7 is irrelevant.

It does not matter whether the target disk is blank or not, as long as you
follow Steps 1 and 2 and as long as there is sufficient free space. And
about getting it right first try - this process is highly tolerant. You're
not modifying the source disk in any way and you're free to play with the
various robocopy switches until you get them just right.


"Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
news:pfudnfPvB8KUQefWnZ2dnUVZ_g2dnZ2d@bright.net...
> You use a Windows 7 Repair CD even with restoring a Windows XP
> installation? Does the back up disk need to be blank other than
> the back up copied to it? I want to get it right the first try...
>
> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>> Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
>> 1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
>> disk.
>> 2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
>> (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
>> 3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
>> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=
>> To restore your disk:
>> 1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
>> 2. Mark the System partition active.
>> 3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an external USB
>> disk.
>> 4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
>> 5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
>> 6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.
>>
>> Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging tools and
>> the backup process will not compress your data.
>>
>>
>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>> news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
>>> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>>>
>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
>>>>
>>>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
>>>> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with native
>>>> Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post again if
>>>> you need further details.
>>>>
>>>>
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
Just so I know if I'm asked, will this work with FAT 32 or only NTFS?

Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
> There are two reasons why I use a Windows 7 Repair CD:
> - It gives me full and unrestricted access to all NTFS permissions.
> - It will happily execute many console commands such as robocopy or xcopy.
> The fact that it belongs to Windows 7 is irrelevant.
>
> It does not matter whether the target disk is blank or not, as long as
> you follow Steps 1 and 2 and as long as there is sufficient free space.
> And about getting it right first try - this process is highly tolerant.
> You're not modifying the source disk in any way and you're free to play
> with the various robocopy switches until you get them just right.
>
>
> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
> news:pfudnfPvB8KUQefWnZ2dnUVZ_g2dnZ2d@bright.net...
>> You use a Windows 7 Repair CD even with restoring a Windows XP
>> installation? Does the back up disk need to be blank other than
>> the back up copied to it? I want to get it right the first try...
>>
>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>> Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
>>> 1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an external
>>> USB disk.
>>> 2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
>>> (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
>>> 3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
>>> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=
>>> To restore your disk:
>>> 1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
>>> 2. Mark the System partition active.
>>> 3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an external
>>> USB disk.
>>> 4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
>>> 5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
>>> 6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.
>>>
>>> Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging tools
>>> and the backup process will not compress your data.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>> news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
>>>> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>>>>
>>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>>>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>>>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing
>>>>> Windows installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it
>>>>> with native Windows tools, without using any third-party software.
>>>>> Post again if you need further details.
>>>>>
>>>>>
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
All new versions of Windows support all file systems of the older versions.
Windows 7 is no exception - but why won't you try it for yourself? It will
take you less than five minutes to create a FAT32 partition on your new
disk, then checking it with your Windows 7 repair disk!

"Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
news:wp-dnQiWXNR90-HWnZ2dnUVZ_q1i4p2d@bright.net...
> Just so I know if I'm asked, will this work with FAT 32 or only NTFS?
>
> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>> There are two reasons why I use a Windows 7 Repair CD:
>> - It gives me full and unrestricted access to all NTFS permissions.
>> - It will happily execute many console commands such as robocopy or
>> xcopy.
>> The fact that it belongs to Windows 7 is irrelevant.
>>
>> It does not matter whether the target disk is blank or not, as long as
>> you follow Steps 1 and 2 and as long as there is sufficient free space.
>> And about getting it right first try - this process is highly tolerant.
>> You're not modifying the source disk in any way and you're free to play
>> with the various robocopy switches until you get them just right.
>>
>>
>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>> news:pfudnfPvB8KUQefWnZ2dnUVZ_g2dnZ2d@bright.net...
>>> You use a Windows 7 Repair CD even with restoring a Windows XP
>>> installation? Does the back up disk need to be blank other than
>>> the back up copied to it? I want to get it right the first try...
>>>
>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>> Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
>>>> 1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an external
>>>> USB disk.
>>>> 2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
>>>> (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
>>>> 3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
>>>> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=
>>>> To restore your disk:
>>>> 1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
>>>> 2. Mark the System partition active.
>>>> 3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an external
>>>> USB disk.
>>>> 4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
>>>> 5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
>>>> 6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.
>>>>
>>>> Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging tools
>>>> and the backup process will not compress your data.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>> news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
>>>>> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>>>>>
>>>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
>>>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>>>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>>>>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>>>>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
>>>>>>
>>>>>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing Windows
>>>>>> installation to a new disk then there are methods to do it with
>>>>>> native Windows tools, without using any third-party software. Post
>>>>>> again if you need further details.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>
 
D

Dennis

Flightless Bird
I'll take your word for it but I know how things go when I try it... lol
"If it weren't fer bad luck, I'd have no luck at all."

Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
> All new versions of Windows support all file systems of the older
> versions. Windows 7 is no exception - but why won't you try it for
> yourself? It will take you less than five minutes to create a FAT32
> partition on your new disk, then checking it with your Windows 7 repair
> disk!
>
> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
> news:wp-dnQiWXNR90-HWnZ2dnUVZ_q1i4p2d@bright.net...
>> Just so I know if I'm asked, will this work with FAT 32 or only NTFS?
>>
>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>> There are two reasons why I use a Windows 7 Repair CD:
>>> - It gives me full and unrestricted access to all NTFS permissions.
>>> - It will happily execute many console commands such as robocopy or
>>> xcopy.
>>> The fact that it belongs to Windows 7 is irrelevant.
>>>
>>> It does not matter whether the target disk is blank or not, as long
>>> as you follow Steps 1 and 2 and as long as there is sufficient free
>>> space. And about getting it right first try - this process is highly
>>> tolerant. You're not modifying the source disk in any way and you're
>>> free to play with the various robocopy switches until you get them
>>> just right.
>>>
>>>
>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>> news:pfudnfPvB8KUQefWnZ2dnUVZ_g2dnZ2d@bright.net...
>>>> You use a Windows 7 Repair CD even with restoring a Windows XP
>>>> installation? Does the back up disk need to be blank other than
>>>> the back up copied to it? I want to get it right the first try...
>>>>
>>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>>> Here you go. To back up your installation, do this:
>>>>> 1. Connect a formatted disk either as a slave disk or as an
>>>>> external USB disk.
>>>>> 2. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD
>>>>> (http://neosmart.net/blog/2009/windows-7-system-repair-discs/)
>>>>> 3. Use robocopy.exe to copy the System drive to the backup disk
>>>>> (http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/...9-57FF-4AE7-96EE-B18C4790CFFD&displaylang=en=
>>>>> To restore your disk:
>>>>> 1. Partition and format the new disk under Windows 2000 or higher.
>>>>> 2. Mark the System partition active.
>>>>> 3. Connect your backup disk either as a slave disk or as an
>>>>> external USB disk.
>>>>> 4. Boot the machine with a Windows 7 Repair CD.
>>>>> 5 Use robocopy.exe to copy backup disk back to the System disk.
>>>>> 6. Make sure to disconnect the backup disk before booting up.
>>>>>
>>>>> Both copy processes will be much slower than commercial imaging
>>>>> tools and the backup process will not compress your data.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>>> news:24-dnVlDGLloKOTWnZ2dnUVZ_tBi4p2d@bright.net...
>>>>>> I definitely would like to know more on doing that.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Pegasus [MVP] wrote:
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> "Dennis" <den942@bright.net> said this in news item
>>>>>>> news:fIadnTog27VfeuvWnZ2dnUVZ_vednZ2d@bright.net...
>>>>>>>> Can a complete back up, made with Windows back up, be used to
>>>>>>>> restore Windows on a new replacement hard drive?
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>> I don't think so but if you just want to transfer an existing
>>>>>>> Windows installation to a new disk then there are methods to do
>>>>>>> it with native Windows tools, without using any third-party
>>>>>>> software. Post again if you need further details.
>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>
 
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