[DaComboMan]

Coming in from Windows XP (and previous!), i find it rather awkward that Microsoft no longer provides a system restore disk with purchase of a computer that is loaded with its' platform.

Many people are not informed about this and the sales rep isn't always there to tell you either.

What happens if you lose the disk you created?
Do you need to buy another copy of Windows 7? :)

[marko]

DaComboMan, I've been wondering about this myself for a while and while I am able to see the options for creating a restore disk, etc, I'm wondering what happens when it all goes wrong. For instance, the preferred method nowadays is simply to have a recovery partition built in to the disk which can be kicked off either from a restore disk (external CD/DVD, etc) or can be started by hitting a particular key on your keyboard at startup. This then gives you a few options to basically restore the machine back to it's original state (often wiping all your data with it!).

If you've been saving your data, then problem solved, but for me the burning question is what do you do when the hard drive fails?. You can't access the recovery partition and you don't have a Windows 7 installation disk to use?.

Maybe someone with a little more exposure on how this all works can advise :)
Cheers
Marko

[DaComboMan]

It's a tough one Marko and some expertise is needed.

To be quite honest with you, i made the mistake of installing Ubuntu without making the initial backup copy.
I was unable to bring the computer back to initial state because of some "Grub" by Ubuntu installation.

Was saved by the bell because the company i bought the computer from new i wanted English version installed instead of French. Had this not been the case, i'm sure the company would have charged me for a new copy.

[James (Jim) Hillier]

Hey Guys - I'm certainly no expert on this subject but my educated guess would be that it all comes down to the mighty dollar.

Personally, I think the current practice of not supplying an operating system installation disc with new computers is a bad one but I can appreciate the underlying logic. Including an installation disc would add $$$ to the cost of the average home computer and I guess, in such a competitive arena, the manufacturers wish to keep their products as inexpensive as possible.

Most manufacturers provide a means for restoration; my wife's HP machine for example includes software to create 'restore discs'.

If only more 'average' users were aware of and more familiar with imaging software, that is the ultimate solution. Create a full system image, which automatically includes the operating system, all installed programs plus all personal data, and keep that stored on external media. That is a much better option than any other; including Restore to Factory Settings or clean install.

Macrium Reflect imaging software is terrific for just that purpose, it's great software and is available in a free version too!

Check out Macrium Reflect Free HERE.

BTW Marko: The information on the download page for Macrium Reflect needs to be updated mate....latest version also supports Windows 7.

[marko]

Had my fair share of disastrous installations too DaComboMan, usually at the direction of the company I used to work for despite everyone's objections but then again they obviously knew better than us :)

Jim, I think rather than cost, the preference was to avoid distributing disks to hopefully curb the amount of piracy, especially avoiding more than one installation per household which I guess was becoming an issue, they would still have the cost of the license for the operating system but without the disk there isn't really the option anymore to pass it around and try installing it with other product keys.

Imaging software can be great and I dare say it's moved on considerably from what I remember of the old Norton Ghost days when a whole load of issues existed, but unless the image is kept on a seperate drive I reckon the same issue would exist for those with recovery partitions, if the disk dies so does the image. I guess the preferred method here would be to invest in an external hard drive and have the image stored there ready for restore should the worst happen :)

Will update Macrium Reflect also, thanks for the note Jim :)

[James (Jim) Hillier]

Hmm...yep Marko you may well be right. :)

And yes, you would always save any image to external media...I think I said that in my initial post. :)

As a matter of fact, I'm pretty certain most imaging software will not let you save an image to the main drive....I know Acronis True Image won't allow that.

Cheers mate....Jim

[marko]

Personally, I'd like to see home computers employ RAID technology a lot better, basically 2 disks running side by side mirroring everything between themselves, then when one hard drive fails the other keeps things going until such time you replace the faulty hard drive. Once a new hard drive is installed, this then starts pulling a copy of the existing hard drive back onto itself thus creating the mirror again - speeds access time up considerably also and with the price of hardware being what it is I reckon manufacturers could stick a couple of quality SATA drives in there for a few quid extra :)

This would theoretically replace the need for backups, system restore, imaging and all manner of other backup solutions - obviously it's still wise to backup your data just in case the worse does happen and both drives fail but I think the odds are in your favour to win the lottery rather than have 2 drives fail at the same time!.

[DaComboMan]

A bit late in the discussion, but if i were to create a new partition,
would i be able to use that partition as installation if i copied via Acronis True Image etc.?
This new partition would have all that it is necessary to run Windows 7 without installed programs and data right?

[w_williamson]

Not sure if you mean a new partition to install a clean Windows 7 or a new partition to restore an Acronis image. Either way, I reckon you should be able to do both as long as the partition has the required amount of space available.

[James (Jim) Hillier]

DaComboMan - I am just a little unclear on exactly what you are after. I'll answer based on my best guess, if I get it wrong please let me know and I'll try again. :)

Quote

would i be able to use that partition as installation if i copied via Acronis True Image etc.?

Yes, the procedure would be as follows (assuming the new partition is labeled 'D'):
1) Create a full image of the main drive 'C'.
2) Save that image to external media (preferably external hard drive).
3) Now restore that image and select drive 'D' as the destination drive.

Quote

This new partition would have all that it is necessary to run Windows 7 without installed programs and data right?

Almost right. The new partition would include all that is necessary to run Windows 7 including installed programs and personal data!! If you completed that procedure you would end up with an identical copy of your entire system on each partition.

Here are some relevant facts:

There is no way, using imaging software, to separate the operating system from other elements on the hard drive such as installed programs and personal data. The only options available are entire contents of disk or selected files and/or folders.

You cannot restore an image of a hard drive (or partition) back to that same hard drive (or partition) from within the operating system. You must use a bootable CD to perform that task.

You cannot use a full image of the hard drive for migration to a new computer....unless, the new computer's hardware is exactly identical to the old one (because of driver and activation issues).

Cheers.....Jim

[DaComboMan]

@James,

Thank you James.
I get the picture loud and clear now.

:)