Backup Partition Or Drive

Pebble · Nov 16, 2024

On a HDD i would only need to backup the C:\ partition and restore it if thing's went wrong.
When an SSD drive 'dies' and is replaced would i have to restore the OS from an
image of the complete drive... Partitions etc... Or just image the C:\ partition,
Install W11, Then install the image to the C;\ Partition.

This is my first SSD so not much experience but when it fail's i'd like to do a
complete restore from an imge.

Bree · Nov 16, 2024

Pebble said:
On a HDD i would only need to backup the C:\ partition and restore it if thing's went wrong.
When an SSD drive 'dies' and is replaced would i have to restore the OS from an image of the complete drive... Partitions etc... Or just image the C:\ partition,
Install W11, Then install the image to the C;\ Partition.

This is my first SSD so not much experience but when it fail's i'd like to do a complete restore from an image.

Usually more that just the C:\ partition needs to be restored to get a working boot-able system. For a standard MBR install there's a System Reserved partition that's Active and required for booting. For a UEFI/GPT system there's an EFI partition that performs the same task. The Recovery partition is also useful to include in the image, but not strictly necessary to be able to boot. Here are examples of both types:

Either way, it makes no difference whether you have an HDD or an SSD, the partitions are the same on both. The partitions with ticked boxes are the ones that Macrium Reflect says are my required partitions for my UEFI/GPT system (it includes the Recovery partition).

allan · Nov 16, 2024

First, don't treat ssd's any differently from hd's when it comes to backing up & restoring.

Second, it depends on what you mean by "if things went wrong"

Last, it depends on whether or not the SSD is the only drive. If it is, simply image the entire drive (including any partitions).

Josey Wales · Nov 16, 2024

allan said:
First, don't treat ssd's any differently from hd's when it comes to backing up & restoring.

Second, it depends on what you mean by "if things went wrong"

Last, it depends on whether or not the SSD is the only drive. If it is, simply image the entire drive (including any partitions).

Sometimes Windows add stuff into The UEFI Partition.

hsehestedt · Nov 16, 2024

Pebble said:
On a HDD i would only need to backup the C:\ partition and restore it if thing's went wrong.
When an SSD drive 'dies' and is replaced would i have to restore the OS from an
image of the complete drive... Partitions etc... Or just image the C:\ partition,
Install W11, Then install the image to the C;\ Partition.

This is my first SSD so not much experience but when it fail's i'd like to do a
complete restore from an imge.

Even if you were to try to restore just the C: partition, it would still be a good idea to backup the other partitions (MSR, EFI, and Recovery partitions) in your backups. First, these are small partitions so they won't take long to backup, nor will they consume large amounts of space. Secondly, why artificially limit your options in the event of a failure? If you backup on C:, what happens if the whole drive fails?

Yes, you can definitely recover from such a scenario, but why make things purposely more complex than they need to be?

Pebble · Nov 16, 2024

When windows was trashed on HDD i had no problem just restoring C:\
On my new computer, I've got a 2Tb HDD i use as a Data drive with plenty of space to backup
the SSD.
My question should have been if the whole drive fail's.
If i replace the drive with a new SSD, Would the image from my current SSD,
still work on the new one?

Also which software would you recommend to backup with free or paid,
which is bootable from USB or DVD.

Bree · Nov 16, 2024

Pebble said:
When windows was trashed on HDD i had no problem just restoring C:\
On my new computer, I've got a 2Tb HDD i use as a Data drive with plenty of space to backup
the SSD.
My question should have been if the whole drive fail's.
If i replace the drive with a new SSD, Would the image from my current SSD,
still work on the new one?

Also which software would you recommend to backup with free or paid,
which is bootable from USB or DVD.

It is possible, but not conventional, to install Windows on an MBR disk in such a way that there is only a C:\ partition and that it is also the Active boot partition. Please post a screenshot of your Windows drive in Disk Management so that we can see the partition(s) it contains and advise.

As for imaging software, there's plenty of choice. My personal choice is Macrium Reflect, either paid for, or the (now retired) Reflect Free v8.0 which is still available direct from Macrium. I use both. See the bottom of Post #1 here for the link. Another free offering that's gaining popularity is Hasleo Backup Suite, if you don't mind using Chinese software.

Hasleo Backup Suite

I've been following some extensive testing of Hasleo Backup Suite over the past months, and it's looking very promising. It might be a good option for anyone looking for a free alternative to Macrium Reflect. Hasleo Backup Suite | Completely Free Windows Backup Software Helps You Protect...

www.elevenforum.com

Stigg · Nov 17, 2024

Always backup the entire system drive. That will include all partitions.

Ghot · Nov 17, 2024

Pebble said:
If i replace the drive with a new SSD, Would the image from my current SSD,
still work on the new one?

Yes.
And welcome to Eleven Forums.

Here's some other things that you may find useful...

Quickie Eleven Forum Setup Guide for new Members

Quickie Interface tour... Quickie set up... At the top right, click on your name, then choose "Preferences". Then go through everything on the left side. Quickie navigation... Click Forums and choose a subforum, OR... Click Forums, then New Posts or What's New Ranks, Trophies...

www.elevenforum.com

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES

How to use backup software... 1. When everything is working perfectly... make a full Windows backup. 2. Then, if something breaks... restore from the latest backup. 3. Then... try "whatever you were doing" a different way. If it still breaks Windows, then... go to step #2. 4. Repeat...

www.elevenforum.com

Windows 11 Tweaks - Leader Board.

These are tweaks I've seen asked for... many times. They are collected here for easy access. All of these and more can be found in the Eleven Forum Tutorials section. Make sure to read the "notes" in the various tutorials. At the bottom of the first post in all the "tutorials", there are...

www.elevenforum.com

And here's ten cookies, just for filling out your computer specs...

Pebble · Nov 17, 2024

I'v found a bootable copy of Acronis Disk Image 2021.

Not interested in keeping the recovery partition. What's the safe way of removing it?

Bree · Nov 17, 2024

Pebble said:
Not interested in keeping the recovery partition. What's the safe way of removing it?

Thanks for the screenshot. Your Disk 1, the smaller one, is the boot disk for a UEFI/GPT system.

At a minimum to recreate it on a new disk as a bootable drive should the old one die you need the first two partitions, the EFI and C:\ partitions. I would include the Recovery partition too, it's only 700MB. But if you don't want it then you should disable the Recovery Environment before making your image. Open Terminal (or a Command Prompt) as admin and type the command reagentc /disable. Failure to do so means you will loose your system's only copy of WinRE.wim which, while enabled, is in the Recovery Partition. Disabling the recovery environment moves it to the C:\ partition.

JAM83 · Nov 17, 2024

Pebble said:
On a HDD i would only need to backup the C:\ partition and restore it if thing's went wrong.
When an SSD drive 'dies' and is replaced would i have to restore the OS from an
image of the complete drive... Partitions etc... Or just image the C:\ partition,
Install W11, Then install the image to the C;\ Partition.

This is my first SSD so not much experience but when it fail's i'd like to do a
complete restore from an imge.

Things do happen, yes, but SSDs are more reliable than HDDs. . . I've had my SSD since 2011. Manufacturer software says it's still 99% good

cereberus · Nov 17, 2024

JAM83 said:
Things do happen, yes, but SSDs are more reliable than HDDs. . . I've had my SSD since 2011. Manufacturer software says it's still 99% good

That figure is often misunderstood and really means diddly squat.

Vendors specify a NOMINAL write life for an SSD e.g. 600 TB. All 99% means is you have only written 1% of the nominal writes. It does not mean only 99% of the drive is still usable!

Moreover, the NOMINAL vendor specified write life is always less than the ACTUAL write life - this is basically a scam so you buy a new drive long before you really need to, and also if you go over nominal writes in warranty, you cannot claim if drive starts to be a problem.

Ghot · Nov 17, 2024

Berton · Nov 17, 2024

Stigg said:
Always backup the entire system drive. That will include all partitions.

The only way I've been able to get a full clone is by having both drives in a dock not connected to a computer, hardware cloning. Only time it failed was when I failed to run error checking first.

Pebble · Nov 18, 2024

Bree said:
Thanks for the screenshot. Your Disk 1, the smaller one, is the boot disk for a UEFI/GPT system.

At a minimum to recreate it on a new disk as a bootable drive should the old one die you need the first two partitions, the EFI and C:\ partitions. I would include the Recovery partition too, it's only 700MB. But if you don't want it then you should disable the Recovery Environment before making your image. Open Terminal (or a Command Prompt) as admin and type the command reagentc /disable. Failure to do so means you will loose your system's only copy of WinRE.wim which, while enabled, is in the Recovery Partition. Disabling the recovery environment moves it to the C:\ partition.

I ran the command reagentc /disable successfully/
I hoping to delete the Recovery partition and add the space to the C:\ Partition, When i right clicked on it
The only option i had was `Help`.
Is there a way to do this?

cereberus · Nov 18, 2024

You can delete the partition using diskpart commands or use of a partition tool like minitool partition wizard free.

JAM83 · Nov 20, 2024

cereberus said:
That figure is often misunderstood and really means diddly squat.

Vendors specify a NOMINAL write life for an SSD e.g. 600 TB. All 99% means is you have only written 1% of the nominal writes. It does not mean only 99% of the drive is still usable!

Moreover, the NOMINAL vendor specified write life is always less than the ACTUAL write life - this is basically a scam so you buy a new drive long before you really need to, and also if you go over nominal writes in warranty, you cannot claim if drive starts to be a problem.

Sorry but i disagree with you on that. I've even talked to the manufacturer of my SSD and they told me exactly what I posted.

Bree · Nov 20, 2024

cereberus said:
That figure is often misunderstood and really means diddly squat.

Vendors specify a NOMINAL write life for an SSD e.g. 600 TB. All 99% means is you have only written 1% of the nominal writes. It does not mean only 99% of the drive is still usable!

Moreover, the NOMINAL vendor specified write life is always less than the ACTUAL write life - this is basically a scam so you buy a new drive long before you really need to, and also if you go over nominal writes in warranty, you cannot claim if drive starts to be a problem.

JAM83 said:
Sorry but i disagree with you on that. I've even talked to the manufacturer of my SSD and they told me exactly what I posted.

SSDs have for a long time been capable of far exceeding their manufacturer's specified TBW life, which is always a conservative estimate.

I never thought this whole tech journalism gig would turn me into a mass murderer. Yet here I am, with the blood of six SSDs on my hands, and that’s not even the half of it. You see, these were not crimes of passion or rage, nor were they products of accident. More than 18 months ago, I vowed to push all six drives to their bitter ends. I didn’t do so in the name of god or country or even self-defense, either. I did it just to watch them die.

Technically, I’m also a torturer—or at least an enhanced interrogator. Instead of offering a quick and painless death, I slowly squeezed out every last drop of life with a relentless stream of writes far more demanding than anything the SSDs would face in a typical PC. To make matters worse, I exploited their suffering by chronicling the entire process online.

Today, that story draws to a close with the final chapter in the SSD Endurance Experiment. The last two survivors met their doom on the road to 2.5PB, joining four fallen comrades who expired earlier. It’s time to honor the dead and reflect on what we’ve learned from all the carnage.....

...Corsair’s Neutron GTX was practically flawless through 1.1PB—that’s petabytes....

....The remaining two SSDs carried on past the 2PB threshold before meeting their ultimate ends.

The SSD Endurance Experiment: They're all dead

techreport.com

Backup Partition Or Drive

Member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Endeavor to Persevere

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Member

Attachments

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

iRacing Broadcaster for MaxspeedTV

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computers

Ret. ATC

My Computers

Member

My Computer

Well-known member

My Computer

iRacing Broadcaster for MaxspeedTV

My Computers

Well-known member

My Computers

Similar threads