cloning multiple computers.

[bobkfloyd]

Hello, I have two questions.

May I put multiple files on a hard drive that I am using as a back up clone of my primary SSD drive. (The clone file sits on the root of 2nd internal drive, along with multiple other folders with media etc.)

May I keep several backup clones of multiple computers on one hdd, which is being used externally?(assume that I have them properly labeled to specific pc/laptop)
Or should I stick to using one HDD per PC, run the clone, leave them the way they are, and store them away?

It is simple enough to clone, but I have not ever attempted to recover a windows pc with clone. I am assuming that I can chose the file that I want to recover from for specific laptop, or desktop once I am in recovery. For that matter, I could make several "restore point clones'' of same PC on one HDD(like using cwm/twrp on rooted android) Or do I have it wrong?

Oh, #3. Once I have run the system image/clone. Can I drag it to another HDD, and expect it to work just as the hdd that I transfered the image to in the first place, or should we run backup process again.

 

[bobkfloyd]

Thank you wonderful people in advance!

 

[giantbucket]

i use a single 500G HDD to store system images for my 4-5 machines. i create an image, and then move it to a properly labelled folder, just in case Windows decides to overwrite something or try to restore the wrong one. i think the folder that Win creates is WindowsImageBackup, so once it's done i drag the newly made folder that is inside of that and shove it into a separate folder labelled "work pc" or "game pc", just to force a barrier for Windows.

when restoring, i usually COPY the image that i want into the otherwise empty WindowsImageBackup folder and pray that it finds the right one. copy so as not to lose the original. but obviously you need to restore it onto a drive that's going to be used on the same machine (same hardware) as what was there when you first made the image.

 

[bobkfloyd]

i use a single 500G HDD to store system images for my 4-5 machines. i create an image, and then move it to a properly labelled folder, just in case Windows decides to overwrite something or try to restore the wrong one. i think the folder that Win creates is WindowsImageBackup, so once it's done i drag the newly made folder that is inside of that and shove it into a separate folder labelled "work pc" or "game pc", just to force a barrier for Windows.

when restoring, i usually COPY the image that i want into the otherwise empty WindowsImageBackup folder and pray that it finds the right one. copy so as not to lose the original. but obviously you need to restore it onto a drive that's going to be used on the same machine (same hardware) as what was there when you first made the image.

Thanks, very useful info. So you can therefore take your specific windowsbackupimage for specific device, and drag it to another hdd at time of recovery (if need be), and it should work just the same! (if i am understanding correct.) So I can even back up my backup.
( I bought cheap sata to usb kit, used hard drives 100-250 gig are going pretty cheap online. Cloning windows 10 os may prevent future purchase on top of the hassle of destructive restoration for those who may be interested)

 

[giantbucket]

yeah, you should be fine. just don't alter the folder structure when it comes to restoring, cuz Win is very picky about how the file is laid out. but other than that, sure make a copy of the image onto yet another drive.

 

[ArtPog]

Let me say at the outset that I use the Casper disk-cloning program (http://www/fssdev.com) nearly exclusively so my response pertains to that specific program although it's likely that other disk-cloning programs would (at least in some cases) perform identically. You didn't indicate the disk-cloning program you're working with (or possibly intend to utilize) so I have the impression you're not particularly familiar with these programs.

You can clone the contents of multiple PCs onto a single HDD (or SSD) provided that the "destination" disk (the recipient of the clones) contains sufficient disk-space capacity to house the clones, i.e., the total contents of the cloned data. So, for example, if one of your source disks contained the Vista OS, another disk Windows 7, and a third disk Windows 8.1, you could clone the contents of those three disks onto a single HDD that contained sufficient total disk-space to receive the total data. In this example you would simply multi-partition the destination disk into three partitions, each partition being large enough to contain the contents of the data you are cloning from each of the source disks.

From the manner in which you worded your query I get the feeling that you may not completely understand the disk-cloning process. When you clone the contents of one disk to another disk (or partition), you are (in effect) creating a bit for bit copy of the source disk onto the destination disk. It is not a disk-image (one or more files) that you are creating. I trust you understand this.

So you are not creating "restore point clones". In effect the clone you create is a mirror image of the disk that you copied. You can access the clone and manipulate files in precisely that same way that you would with the "original" (source) disk. When the time comes for "recovery", e.g., your source disk has become defective or corrupt, you simply clone the contents of the clone back to the source disk. Again, there is no "system image" to contend with - no dragging of data contents from one disk to another disk.

Now there are programs that create system images for comprehensive backup purposes. The Acronis True Image program is one of those (in addition to its disk-cloning capability) and you might want to look into that program.

 

[bobkfloyd]

yeah, you should be fine. just don't alter the folder structure when it comes to restoring, cuz Win is very picky about how the file is laid out. but other than that, sure make a copy of the image onto yet another drive.

Got it! As I have done: Create folder, name it for my specific pc, or kids laptop, open it, store designated windowsimagebackup folder into the designated folder.
At restore time: open folder, drag windowsimagebackup file out to root of another hard drive to avoid confusion in recovery environment, and hopefully recover!
I was wondering about that picky part myself.

Much appreciated, may this blog help many!

 

[bobkfloyd]

Let me say at the outset that I use the Casper disk-cloning program (http://www/fssdev.com) nearly exclusively so my response pertains to that specific program although it's likely that other disk-cloning programs would (at least in some cases) perform identically. You didn't indicate the disk-cloning program you're working with (or possibly intend to utilize) so I have the impression you're not particularly familiar with these programs.

You can clone the contents of multiple PCs onto a single HDD (or SSD) provided that the "destination" disk (the recipient of the clones) contains sufficient disk-space capacity to house the clones, i.e., the total contents of the cloned data. So, for example, if one of your source disks contained the Vista OS, another disk Windows 7, and a third disk Windows 8.1, you could clone the contents of those three disks onto a single HDD that contained sufficient total disk-space to receive the total data. In this example you would simply multi-partition the destination disk into three partitions, each partition being large enough to contain the contents of the data you are cloning from each of the source disks.

From the manner in which you worded your query I get the feeling that you may not completely understand the disk-cloning process. When you clone the contents of one disk to another disk (or partition), you are (in effect) creating a bit for bit copy of the source disk onto the destination disk. It is not a disk-image (one or more files) that you are creating. I trust you understand this.

So you are not creating "restore point clones". In effect the clone you create is a mirror image of the disk that you copied. You can access the clone and manipulate files in precisely that same way that you would with the "original" (source) disk. When the time comes for "recovery", e.g., your source disk has become defective or corrupt, you simply clone the contents of the clone back to the source disk. Again, there is no "system image" to contend with - no dragging of data contents from one disk to another disk.

Now there are programs that create system images for comprehensive backup purposes. The Acronis True Image program is one of those (in addition to its disk-cloning capability) and you might want to look into that program.

Thank you for response, I later realized that I did not mention this: I am not using any third party software. What I am doing is going to control panel / backup and restore / create system image. Perhaps the word clone is inappropriate. (also gives option to make system repair disk)
You are right. I tried to use norton ghost some years ago, but failed. I got frustrated and did not want to waste any more time on it.

Maybe using third party software clone would be a more reliable option, than what windows has to offer. Perhaps that is another thread.