System Backup Clone Image

egydarceyes

New Member
Hello guys,


I have an HP laptop that came with Vista Home Premium installed.
Two drivers, the C: driver as usual and a 'D:' driver also known as "HP_RECOVERY".

Now my question is very simple and basic yet I'm baffled not figuring out a way to do it.

Is it possible to clone the image of the OS I'm running currently to that D: drive? What software do I use to do that?

I will also need to mention that the drive size is ~8GB so it's very small. If there is a way to clone the current image to that drive, i will have to extend it and make it bigger, how would you do that also?


Thanks ahead of time.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    1.5G Intel Centrino Core2 Duo
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics X3100 w/ 251MB
    Hard Drives
    160GB (5400RPM) serial ATA hard drive
You can, but it is a very very bad Idea. Unless the D drive is a seperate hard disk drive (HDD). If it is just a partition, and the drive fails you will lose all backups on the D Partition. Most likely the D partition is small (10GB), and is solely for the recovery partion factory Image.

[edit]
In your case it is 8GB in size, and It is not recommended to store anything else in there. Delete it if you want, repartition the HDD, create a "data" drive and store the Paragon Image. But keep in mind, if the drive fails, is corrupted, etc., you may lose all the data on the entire drive.

Vista also includes a file backup Utility-but it will not allow backups to partitions on the same HDD as the source.

Now you can modify the partitions, but by doing so you will prevent the recovery image (if you keep it) from being used, as the Main O/S drive will then be smaller that the image, and any recovery will fail.

Partitioner (bootable) must be burned to cd/dvd:
Paragon Partitioner
BURNCDCC


Free drive imaging software:
Free Drive Backup Express - disk backup software
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
Now a suggestion-

I would image both partitions (entire HDD), store the backup on an external HDD, or use Multiple DVD's.

then partition the drive as you see fit. In the event of catastrophic failure, you can simply re-image the drive as it was. I suggest weekly file data backups also.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
Rive, thanks for the reply.

The partition drive 'D' is extremely usefull in case I would like to recover to factory default, because it literally takes 15 minutes or even less to recover.

Now you provided few installation programs to me.

Let's start with the paragon partitioner, how do I use this? Do you know if there is a tutorial around? If not, bare with me please as I understand how it functions. I downloaded it and I'm currently rippin it into a DVD. I'm guessing this program is usefull for only partionining correct?


For the other program, drive backup express, that's the one I'll use to save the image I need in the end, also if there is a tutorial, it would be appreciated.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    1.5G Intel Centrino Core2 Duo
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics X3100 w/ 251MB
    Hard Drives
    160GB (5400RPM) serial ATA hard drive

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
Any other takes on this issue would be welcome as well.
Thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    1.5G Intel Centrino Core2 Duo
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 SDRAM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Graphics X3100 w/ 251MB
    Hard Drives
    160GB (5400RPM) serial ATA hard drive
Leave that recovery partition in tact...very handy thing to have and like you said it takes no time to set the PC back up.

The Vista "complete PC backup" is a very sweet feature if you have a second hard drive because it restores your PC to exactly the state it was saved at with all programs installed as it was when it was created but this method does require a good amount of space depending on how much is installed on your PC. This backup is an option when installing Vista accessed via the installation disk, not sure if it can be done from within Vista like system restore does.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Amd Athlon X2 6400+ BE
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair 590 SLI
    Memory
    Corsair XMS2 X 4 (8 gigs)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 G92(SLI'd)
    Sound Card
    Soundmax
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung Syncmaster 2053BW 20"
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    WD 320, WD 500
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower 850 watt
    Case
    Raidmax Smilodon
    Cooling
    Air cooled,5 case fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX400
    Internet Speed
    16mbps
Leave that recovery partition in tact...very handy thing to have and like you said it takes no time to set the PC back up.

The Vista "complete PC backup" is a very sweet feature if you have a second hard drive because it restores your PC to exactly the state it was saved at with all programs installed as it was when it was created but this method does require a good amount of space depending on how much is installed on your PC. This backup is an option when installing Vista accessed via the installation disk, not sure if it can be done from within Vista like system restore does.

The OP doesnt have Complete PC backup and restore (not in Premium/Basic), and It cannot be restored from within Vista. You must boot in Vista RE. (If the image is on Disk you also must put the last disk in first)

3rd party imaging is what the OP will have to use, but it is similiar to Complete PC backup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • CPU
    T7600G Core2Duo 2.66 Ghz
    Motherboard
    Intel 945PM + ICH7 Chipset
    Memory
    4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Mobility Radeon x1900 256MB
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD
    Monitor(s) Displays
    WUXGA 17"
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    640GB 7200RPM SATA/RAID 0 (2x320GB)
    and 320GB 7200RPM External
    Mouse
    Wireless Microsoft 3000
    Internet Speed
    10 mbps/2 mbps
    Other Info
    Optical Drive:
    Panasonic UJ-220 DL BD-RE (Blu-Ray)
I forgot it was not in premium/basic...great feature though.

It can be restored from a secondary drive...I did it a few months back when I got a nasty nasty virus. From the Vista Install disk it searched for a backup and located the image file on my second hard drive and restored it on the main drive. My drives are SATA so not sure if that made a difference...might work different for IDE drives.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Amd Athlon X2 6400+ BE
    Motherboard
    ASUS Crosshair 590 SLI
    Memory
    Corsair XMS2 X 4 (8 gigs)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia 8800 GTS 512 G92(SLI'd)
    Sound Card
    Soundmax
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung Syncmaster 2053BW 20"
    Screen Resolution
    1680X1050
    Hard Drives
    WD 320, WD 500
    PSU
    Thermaltake Toughpower 850 watt
    Case
    Raidmax Smilodon
    Cooling
    Air cooled,5 case fans
    Keyboard
    Microsoft
    Mouse
    Logitech MX400
    Internet Speed
    16mbps
It's a really bad idea to re-partition the recovery drive. I once had a bad virus nagging on to my laptop, thanks to hp, they had created a recovery (bootable) partition so I recovered my laptop to the first state when I had bought it. Still if you want to re-partition it and use recovery DISKS, then use this software- Acronis True Image Home 2009 Very useful software.

Cheers..
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Compaq Presario C700
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo 1.67 GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel GM965
    Memory
    2.5 GB (2 GB Transcend + 512MB Hyundai)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Intergrated 965 Express Graphics
    Sound Card
    Conexant High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Compaq
    Screen Resolution
    1280x800
    Hard Drives
    160 GB Compaq
    Keyboard
    Compaq
    Mouse
    Alps Pointing Device Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    2 Mbps Download, 512 Kbps Upload
    Other Info
    Integrated Web-Camera
    (P.S. Have another custom-built PC with Win7 x64)

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    gateway/m6881
    CPU
    centrino core 2 duo 2.2ghz T7500
    Memory
    3GB
    Hard Drives
    500GB WD
    Mouse
    logitech
    Internet Speed
    fios 35MB not!!!!
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