Vista Forums - View Single Post - Vista Ultimate Complete PC Restore from external USB drive

**GINTER** · 01-20-2008

Quote: Originally Posted by andyc83

Here's how I've done it.

I managed to repair my RAID volume on which Vista is installed - well, "repaired" sufficiently for Vista to start up with all the necessary system files in place.

I then moved the Complete PC Backup image onto a local (RAID 0+1 again) volume and did the restore from there. I could've probably moved the image with Knoppix but I had a feeling it might not recognise the RAID volumes.

So, in short - still no solution for the missing USB support for Vista Complete PC Restore (unless you've bought the PC from a vendor such as Dell and they've done the hard work for you on their rescue DVD). Can't wait to see that resolved in SP1 as MS has promised in a couple of press releases - would make Complete PC Backup a bit more useful and straightforward!

Andy, I didn't buy my pc through a vendor. It's a home-brew pc. Each part is from a different manufacturer, water cooled, 4-Raptoir raid, etc.. Somehow my USB works from the restore part of the Vista DVD. Perhaps some USB drivers / mobo combinations just don't like the Vista DVD (or, rather, the other way around). In either case, what I would try next, is to see whether Acronis works for you (True Image that is). You can download a trial for free, and although you might not be able to do a full restore with the trial, you will be able to tell whether USB works or not. I actually like True Image, it has many more options than the built-in Vista backup/restore, but right now it's overkill for me.

01-20-2008	#8 (permalink)
GINTER Vista Ultimate x64 63 posts	Re: Vista Ultimate Complete PC Restore from external USB drive Quote: Originally Posted by andyc83 Here's how I've done it. I managed to repair my RAID volume on which Vista is installed - well, "repaired" sufficiently for Vista to start up with all the necessary system files in place. I then moved the Complete PC Backup image onto a local (RAID 0+1 again) volume and did the restore from there. I could've probably moved the image with Knoppix but I had a feeling it might not recognise the RAID volumes. So, in short - still no solution for the missing USB support for Vista Complete PC Restore (unless you've bought the PC from a vendor such as Dell and they've done the hard work for you on their rescue DVD). Can't wait to see that resolved in SP1 as MS has promised in a couple of press releases - would make Complete PC Backup a bit more useful and straightforward! Andy, I didn't buy my pc through a vendor. It's a home-brew pc. Each part is from a different manufacturer, water cooled, 4-Raptoir raid, etc.. Somehow my USB works from the restore part of the Vista DVD. Perhaps some USB drivers / mobo combinations just don't like the Vista DVD (or, rather, the other way around). In either case, what I would try next, is to see whether Acronis works for you (True Image that is). You can download a trial for free, and although you might not be able to do a full restore with the trial, you will be able to tell whether USB works or not. I actually like True Image, it has many more options than the built-in Vista backup/restore, but right now it's overkill for me.
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