Vista Tutorial - Restore Complete Computer

Thanks shawn for taking time to reply me
I didn't make out you reply clearly
Still in darkness how do i get the option to select the different backup, Any alternative methods
Hope you could help me!!!

No problem Samayam,

You will not see that option unless you have made other complete PC backups in the same location listed (Ex: D: ) to choose from instead. If you have a backup from another location that you want to choose from (Ex: external USB drive), then it will need to be connected to the computer before step 1.

Hi,

Nice tutorial.

I have a problem with completion of the backup.

I get to step 10 of your tutorial (given permission to overwrite etc.) and it just starts the restoration process, and then gives an internal error:
"The backup target volume does not match target shadow copy's original volume"

Any ideas what caused that?? as it won't go any further in the backup restoration. The c: drive remains as it was. In this instance I have saved a couple of backups and I am trying to replace the c: drive with the first backup.

Any help appreciated. As I have just done a new computer build and saved complete backups at a few key spots along the way of reinstalling drivers/apps etc but would like to get back to a previous point. (without using system restore as the restore point doesn't exist any more)

regards,

Harry 230.

Hello Harry,

Is the backup from that specific C: drive and not from another one? It will not work from a backup of another computer or hard drive.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hi, Shawn,

Exactly the same c: drive, same computer. Had the backup "WindowsImageBackup" on another drive (z: BACKUP) on the same computer. I was quite surprised it didn't work and alarmed me a little as to how valid this image backup is. I am glad I did this early in my new computer build as I now have doubts as whether it will be useful if I am in a more desperate situation. Still would be nice to get back to the backup I have from a few days ago without having to do a complete reload. Any other pc image programs you can recommend.

Also when doing the complete pc backup I only selected the c:\ partition to ensure backup of the OS and applications. My plan is to use the file backup for my docs,pics,music etc. My understanding is that it complete pc backup should restore the complete c:\ partition, correct?

I have four other partitions on the same 750gb drive that the c:\ OS partition is on, and they should not be affected by restoration??

I was a little surprised with the message "The backup target volume does not match target shadow copy's original volume" as it should be just overwriting the c:\, is that true ? Also I did not change size of any partitions etc, it was all the same as when backed up.

I am a little annoyed with the product as I bought the Ultimate 64 thinking the backup options would be good value.

thanks for any help.

Harry

When you do a Complete PC Backup, it will backup the entire C: partition. When you restore it, it will only format and restore to the C: partition leaving all of your other partitions untouched.

Is your Z: Backup a separate hard drive or another partition? I'm not sure why it had failed on you, but you might try using another drive letter other than Z to see how it works after another backup as a test.

Drive Letter - Add, Change, or Remove


Another good backup program is Acronis True Image. You can try a 15 day trial version from this link below.

Complete hard disk recovery solution, backup, drive copy, clone and image computer software

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks Shawn,

I think I may have discovered the cause of the problem. I had moved the original file from another partition (had been backed up on the partition on a drive different from the OS) to the z: backup which is a separate partition on same hard drive (separate to the OS drive but within the same computer). I then added another increment by pointing the complete pc backup to the new drive (by drive pick list), it appeared to find the previous backup and actually incremented the backup and changed the date/time reference but when used obviously caused the error I mentioned.

I have since tried some other backups making sure the complete restore app uses the same backup each time.

For just a single backup of the OS and selected apps (approx 15gb), backup and restore worked fine, tried it a couple of times, worked just like your tute!

Problem: I then built a new backup file, installed/added some more apps and files to the C:\ OS partition and did a new backup file (even reset to "no previous backup found") it appeared to increment the original build, changed time/date file name etc and file size increased about 1.5gb (approx size of change to OS partition). BUT when I went to restore and booted from the vista install disk all that could be found was the original build (filename, time/date) but nothing of the incremental builds (2) that had been added. I further proved this by actually restoring and observing it only restored the original backup, none of the incremental additions (files/applications) had been included.

Does this mean one should perform a seperate complete backup at any given stage of populating a computer and saving as complete images. I thought that further "complete pc backups" would increment the original backup and allow a full restoration which doesn't seem to happen in my case (I tried 3 different rebuilds/backups/restores with no joy).

Also should it be possible to see each incremental addition to the original and be able to restore to any of the incremental stages.

OR is it just better to use Acronis.

thanks for any help and the delay in replying to you was because I was testing, building, testing etc...

regards,

Harry.

Harry,

What did you mean when you said, "(even reset to "no previous backup found") " ?

When you do another Complete PC Backup to the same location, it does is by increments and only backups the differences between the last backup and the new one to save space. When you do a Restore, you will have the option (step 8b in tutorial) to select a different Complete PC Backup date (increment) to restore from or restore the entire computer again from the most current backup.

The only drawback to this is all these incremented backups must be intact to use it. If you clear or delete one incremenatal backup, then you will lose all backups dated after it.

You should only do Complete PC Backups on separate drives or media if you want to be separate from another one. For example, a clean slate backup instead of a backup that includes everything else you have installed.

Acronis is a fine backup program, but I find this free one with Vista works very well once you get use to how it works.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks,

I meant I reset the last backup listing for complete pc Backup and Restore as per your tute deleting registry values.. With my testing I thought it best to strart fresh again to ensure the base backup and subsequent increments were clean.

As I said I didn't see any of the increments in restoration, just showed me the base (first iteration) of the backup. Even though I had performed two increments (with OS partition file/app changes) AND it showed up as the increments occurred in the windowsupdate file with changed size, date, time and size when I actually went to restore via install disk couldn't see the increments as you say in 8b. Not sure what I am doing wrong (if anything) as I am doing everything exactly to the letter of MS instruction and your tutorials (which are all quite simple and straightforward).

Any clues let me know.

I am off to bed, it is just after midnight here in Western Australia.

regards,

Harry...

Harry,

Deleting the last backup listing was probably the cause of it. You would only want to do that if you deleted all of the old Complete PC Backup and increments completely and created a new one.