One Step Backup/Restore For "Dummies"?

I recently used EaseUS ToDo Backup to create a copy of my HDD incase of emergency. It was a decent program but not exactly what I was looking for. I'm sure it would work fine but it involves not only having Windows already up and running but a copy of the program inorder to restore your system from it.

I'm looking for more of a one-step, idiot proof solution.

Is there a program that will literally take a snapshot of your entire partition of your HDD and allow you to restore it from a wiped HDD without ever even needing to reinstall Windows?

Worse case scenario: my HDD fails and I have to swap it out and the only disc I have is the backup. Is there a way to just "clone" the current partition and just paste it onto the blank HDD so it would be complete copy restored as it was without having to do anything extra?

Thnx!

 

All of the major backup/imaging programs can clone a drive or partition directly to another disk, including the one you have been trying out - Easeus - but in many cases you do, as you say, have to install the program first in Windows. However if you buy Acronis True Image you can, without installing the program first, download the rescue CD, burn it to CD and boot to it, after which you can clone any drive or partition to a second drive. There may be other backup programs with which you can do the same - maybe someone else can advise about that. Of course your clone will only be as up-to-date as the last time you cloned your drive.

 

Acronis can also take incremental or differential image backups so you don't always need to do a full image backup, which can take a long time.

 

I've been taking a look at the program you were using - Easeus Todo - and if you create the emergency disk from within the program it will, when booted to, do exactly what you are wanting - clone one disk or partition to another disk or partition. You were there!!! ... and still could be if Easeus is still installed.

 

Another good program is Keriver 1-Click Restore Free (Keriver.com). You can create the backup image from inside or outside Windows, but you restore from outside of Windows. It does a complete rewrite of your system drive or partition.

Its saved my butt numerous times: download a rogue program or piece of malware, 10 minutes and 1 restore later and everything is all fixed. It also allows for differential or incremental backup imaging, though I do a full one each time because its so quick to do a full backup - 15 minutes to image your C:\ drive. And the "Free" stands for freeware.

 

I've been trying Keriver out in a VM and really like what I am seeing. As a missionary for imaging - Acronis et al - I have to admit to abysmal failure. Mostly the message just doesn't get through and for the minority that do try it I'm not convinced that many ever really get to grips with the undeniable complexity of such programs. But Keriver is so simple to use I'm going to start promoting it and hope to improve my hit rate

 

@Earthling: Glad you like Keriver. I agree its as simple as it gets to use. As I said, its saved my butt numerous times. One step backup, one step restore. Don't know what else one could ask for. I'm an advocate of the program. Good luck on your mission! :-D

 

Shouldn't really be hijacking this thread like this but it is all very relevant to the OP's question. So far I've only tested the program in an XP VM, and so haven't been able to test it in a system where the OS uses two partitions, as many OEM Win 7/8 systems do. Can you comment on that?

 

Sure. First, I know nothing about Windows 8 - it is not an accessible OS, and hence I don't / can't use it. Though according to the web site, the freeware version does support Windows 8.

As far as Win 7 goes, Keriver Free images your computer's entire system drive. So for example, on my laptop computer, which has the hidden recovery partition, it images both partitions because they are both part of the system's C:\Drive. I confirm this in EaseUSs' Partition Master program, which after a recovery operation, still shows my hidden partition as being there.

The paid version of Keriver also allows you to use the program to image individual partitions and folders / files, so you can use it as both an imaging program and a folder and file backup program. I hope this answers your question, if not, please post, and I'll try again.

 

Well, the recovery partition is not part of the C drive at all, it is a separate partition which, in your case, has no drive letter. It is not imaged when you image C and is unaffected when you restore C. That's why Partition Master still sees it.

But it wasn't the recovery partition I was asking about. Many OEM Win 7/8 systems have a small 100MB boot partition ahead of the main system partition which is required for the system to boot, and I'm unsure whether Keriver is clever enough to detect that setup and include it in the image. I can't test it either because my Win 7 Lenovo isn't set up that way.

 

Ah, now I understand what you're saying. I'm not aware of machines like that, but I certainly take your word for it. And it seems to me the answer depends on whether its part of the C:\Drive or not. If its separate from the C:\Drive, whether labeled with a drive letter or not, then no it wouldn't be imaged. But if its not separate, if its an integral part of the C:\Drive then it would be imaged. It would seem that it would depend on how each manufacturer setup the separate boot partition.

I think Keriver is clever enough to detect the separate partition, its solely a matter of how the partition is created. For example, if an OEM made a boot partition separate but part of the C:\Drive, in effect C:\=((C:\)+(C:\*)), then it would be included in the image. Conversely, if the boot partition is a separate entity on the C:\Drive, in effect C:\=(C:\) + (C`:\*) would not be included as it would be a separate drive.

What you can do however, is send a support request to Keriver and ask the question, as it would be an important piece to know. Support questions can be emailed to support@keriver.com . If you do, I'd suggest explaining that you're asking the question as part of a discussion in this support forum. Though I haven't asked a support question, I did email them a note of thanks for the free program and got a rather quick acknowledgment back.

 

The pic I have attached shows the sort of thing I mean, though in the case of my Lenovo it's a 1.5gb unlettered partition. As you can see it's a boot partition, separate from C, the Win 7 partition, and any system image must include it for the restored system to be bootable.

I could try out Keriver on the Lenovo to test the question but don't feel inclined to, even though I have an Acronis image I could recover with.

 

I said I believed you!

At any rate, I don't blame you for not wanting to go through the hassle of restoring your system if it doesn't work. Given what you're showing, I'm inclined to think the free version wouldn't image your boot partition, just the C:\Drive partition. I'm also inclined to think that the paid version of Keriver would take snapshots of both if you told it to.

You could verify these thoughts by sending the thumbnail along with your question to support@keriver.com. I'm sure they'd give you an honest answer. Their response would be good information to have.

 

OK, I've asked the question and I'll post the answer. Thanks

 

@BearPup - first response was 'don't understand the question'. I had another go, keeping it as simple as possible. No response to that but if I do get one I'll come back.

 

Still no response. I think that means that Keriver-1 Click Restore Free cannot successfully restore systems having an Active Boot partition as well as the C partition. As many, if not most systems now have such a partition it severely limits its usefulness.

 

@Earthling: I'm extremely disappointed that you haven't gotten a response. Hopefully its because they're doing some testing at their end. Regardless, if you don't hear back in another day or so, I think I'll try asking the question. Just in case they're thinking its just one person's issue.

 

@BearPup - just had a reply confirming it only backs up the Windows partition, not the preceding boot partition. I hope they address that, as it's a nice simple backup solution for those who don't want any bells or whistles. As it stands though it's not safe to recommend its use without checking the partition situation beforehand.

 

@Earthling: I'm glad you got an honest response. I would disagree with you that it rules out Keriver. It rules them out for those with a setup like yours, but I honestly don't know how many that is.

I would think it could still be recommended for those who have a setup like mine where there is no separate boot partition. And not recommended for those who have a separate partition and those who don't know if they have a separate partition.

The paid version of the software could still be recommended for both users as the paid version allows you to specify what partitions to image, i.e., both the boot partition and the C:\System Drive.

It seems like such a good program, I'd hate to see it lose any recommendation; as I keep saying, its saved my butt on numerous occasions.

 

It's just that if you have to pay to be able to include more than one partition in the backup then you are at a substantial disadvantage to Macrium Reflect and Easeus Todo Backup, both of which are proven and have this feature in the free version. I believe there are others that also have this capability, though they may not be quite so straightforward to use.

I think you will also find that the majority of Win 7/Win 8 OEM systems do have a separate boot partition.

 

I don't know about EaseUS Todo Backup (though I like their Partition Manager software), but though I use Macrium Reflect for my Data Drive imaging, I don't trust my System Drive to it after it failed to do a restore when I needed one and I had to manually reinstall Windows and all my applications (24 hours worth over 2 days!). Keriver has never let me down. This may be a case of different people / different strokes.

 

Yep, we all have our trusted favorites. I've been using Acronis for donkey's years and although after Lord knows how many tries, imo they have still not got the UI properly sorted, I'd trust it with my life when it comes to reliability.

Wonder whatever happened to the OP

 

Hopefully they, whoever they are, have been following our discussion with keen interest and have benefited from our endeavors! Though re-reading their initial post, I'm not sure any of the programs we've mentioned so far would do what they want!

Based on what they were talking about, a HDD failure and the need to simply swap one drive for another, I would recommend Paragon's Backup & Copy Free. It quite simply can clone a hard drive in a single step, from the volume's original name to the complete hard drive (all partitions). I have used it to make a back copy of my system drive to be used as just such a replacement drive, and it was simple and easy to use.

 

@Earthling: Had occasion to clone my system drive yesterday (3/14/13) and tried out EaseUS ToDo Backup Free. Worked much Beartter and easier than the Paragon software I had been using. So its now my cloning software of choice. Thanks for the heads up on that software. Hope the OP gets this message as well!

 

Pleased it worked for you BearPup. It works well whenever I try it too, but ten or more years with never a failed restore with Acronis makes it hard for me to abandon it, even though it means shelling out for new versions from time to time :eek