Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore

[wayneP]

The subject is available on my Vista Ultimate machines. Is it the same as
Acronis True Image?

My wife's computer has a smaller, older PATA hard drive and a very small (20
GB), old PATA drive that she uses for data. If I buy a new, large capacity
SATA hard drive (the mobo and pws support SATA), can I use the subject Vista
feature to image the PATA drive to the SATA drive, boot from the SATA drive
and then use the PATA drive as a data / backup drive?

If so, what are the steps?

TIA,

Wayne

 

[Richie Hardwick]

The subject is available on my Vista Ultimate machines. Is it the same as
Acronis True Image?

Not even close. ATI is far superior in all respects except that you
have to pay for it ;-)

My wife's computer has a smaller, older PATA hard drive and a very small (20
GB), old PATA drive that she uses for data. If I buy a new, large capacity
SATA hard drive (the mobo and pws support SATA), can I use the subject Vista
feature to image the PATA drive to the SATA drive, boot from the SATA drive
and then use the PATA drive as a data / backup drive?

The correct term isn't "image", it's CLONE. You need to CLONE your
old drive to the new drive. You can use a cloned drive as your boot
drive. An image is a backup, and is not bootable.

If so, what are the steps?

They are all nicely spelled out in the ATI help section.

Richie Hardwick

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

No, you cannot do that. The tool in Vista creates a proprietary data backup
file, not an image.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

 

[John Barnett MVP]

No it isn't the same as Acronis True Image. I've used Complete PC Backup and
it worked fine until one day when it went completely wrong. Since that day I
have never been able to image my hard drive to my removable drive, simply
because Complete PC Backup tells me that there is not enough room on the
drive. Strange considering the damn drives empty.

I've also used, and still do, Acronis True Image. To be frank there is
simply no comparison between Complete PC Backup and Acronis. Acronis will
win every time.

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Richie Hardwick]

Thanx, Rich and Richie,

I guess I'm confused because this is what I saw on a Windows site

[snip]

In the words of Tony Soprano in cable re-runs: "FORGET that!"

What we told you is absolutely correct.

Richie Hardwick

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

If you possess the full version, then it creates a backup file that can be
restored. The image itself is not usable in the fashion you inquired about.
In addition, the sata drive will require drivers that are built into the
hardware layer of the installation, these will not exist in the current pata
install. You would need to install to the sata drive after connecting it.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
My thoughts http://rick-mvp.blogspot.com

Thanx, Rich and Richie,

I guess I'm confused because this is what I saw on a Windows site (
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windows-vista/features/backup.aspx):

Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore
Available in Windows Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions,
Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is a comprehensive, image-based
backup tool that will help you out of a tight spot if you need to recover
your entire system.

While file restore is useful in cases of file loss and data corruption,
Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is most useful for disaster recovery
when your PC malfunctions. This feature helps you create complete PC
backups, and then in the event of a serious system issue or data loss,
Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can restore your entire PC
environment, including the operating system, installed programs, user
settings, and data files.

You can restore your PC back to its original state or onto another PC.
Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore can be initiated from within Windows
Vista or from the Windows Vista installation CD, if the PC is not able to
start up normally from the hard disk.

This is available in the Ultimate edition and appears to be different than
the backup and restore feature in Home Basic and Premium. It sounds similar
to ATI even if not the same or as robust. Am I misinterpreting what is
represented in red?

Wayne

 

[wayneP]

Thank you all for your input.

I thought about reinstalling Vista on the new drive except I'd like not to
have to go through all the updates again; so I guess I'll get a copy of ATI.
It isn't expensive and it's not like we can't afford to purchase the
software.

Wayne

 

[John Barnett MVP]

You're Welcome

--

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com

The information in this mail/post is supplied "as is". No warranty of any
kind, either expressed or implied, is made in relation to the accuracy,
reliability or content of this mail/post. The Author shall not be liable for
any direct, indirect, incidental or consequential damages arising out of the
use of, or inability to use, information or opinions expressed in this
mail/post..

 

[Chuck]

While this is sort of piggybacking, I apologize.
Tried to install ATIHome2009 on an HP9650 Laptop running Vista Ultimate SP-1
with all updates as of yesterday.
The install process gets very close to the end, then backs out the install.
the windows log shows installer error 1603.
The program is actually installed, and if you are fast enough, you can start
ATIH from the installed icon before the installer errors out, and removes
the installed files. (Not that it will run correctly, as the installer is
uninstalling behind it.)
A look at the registry shows that there are Acronis entries, even after the
installer uninstalls, and after running the windows install cleanup utility.
Windows uninstall does not see ATIH 09 at all.

(advice from acronis tech support to delete temp files, etc. does not help.)

It may be that the Acronis install has some unusual dependencies that are
not present in other install situations.

I'm currently using the Install CD based version to try backing things up.

 

[Kotuku]

No it isn't the same as Acronis True Image. I've used Complete PC Backup
and it worked fine until one day when it went completely wrong. Since
that day I have never been able to image my hard drive to my removable
drive, simply because Complete PC Backup tells me that there is not
enough room on the drive. Strange considering the damn drives empty.

I've also used, and still do, Acronis True Image. To be frank there is
simply no comparison between Complete PC Backup and Acronis. Acronis
will win every time.

So did you never solve the Vista Backup problem? Or stop trying? I to
had/have an identical problem to you and that happened 12-13 months ago
and again never solved and I now use Rollback Rx, as I also have an
unable to Create a Restore Point problem using Vista Restore.

I would be interested if you ever found a solution to your "not enough
room" to make the back up.

Frenchy