If you have arrived at this page please read part 1 of this article before proceeding.
Was I still doing something wrong? Why can’t I perform a simple restore using the image backups I created in part 1 of this article? Was the failure to read each products User’s Manual the cause? At this point I had more questions than answers.
You will recall in part #1 I created a simple single boot Windows 7 configuration expecting that restoring Windows 7 (after deleting the System and Windows partitions) would be piece of cake. No such luck. This time around I’ll read the user’s guides and do things according to the instructions.
Backup and Restore after a major crash of a user’s hard drive may not be able to recover your Windows operating system and applications.
The Windows 7 help information was of no value as it simply mentioned the same steps I had already tried. Microsoft Knowledge Base (Now powered by Bing) was a bong and what was once a good source of information has gone down hill. Refining my search results found a few hits but they were of little value. Googled for information which returned a couple of good articles with screen shots but merely confirmed the very same steps I had already tried.
Is there some value to be had in using this tool? For simple restoration of your computer after accidentally deleting some important data files, a failed software installation or returning Windows back to a state prior to a problem with a particular Windows Update, possibly. I tried it for this purposed and the restore did work.
However for a total recovery of your backup to a new hard drive, I can’t recommend relying on this tool as it may not work. I said ‘may not work’ as I did not test every possible recovery scenario.
The Ghost 15 User’s Manual lacks some detail on restoring an Image Backup using the ‘Recovery CD’, and I recommend that you take the time to carefully read everything in the user’s manual at least twice in order to determine the correct path of action.
First I created a fresh Image Backup of the System (100MB) and Windows partitions.
Next I attached a second hard drive which also had Windows 7 installed and booted from this drive. I then use ‘Disk Management’ to delete both the System and Windows partitions on the original drive. I then disconnected the second drive.
I then booted using the Recovery CD and carefully following the set of instruction as defined in the User’s Guide performed a restore. When I reached Step #11 and Clicked ‘Finish’ Ghost never made it to the next step which is to start the recovery process. Instead I was greeted with an Error EC950006: The destination is not valid.
Improved instructions would have easily eliminated this error but sadly while the Ghost User’s Guide does list the options you have available, it never really puts them together is such a way as to help a user make use of the options properly.
When performing an restore using the image backup you created, Ghost will automatically recreate (This is the root cause of the failure) the System partition when you click on the ‘Finish’ button and you will as a result get an Error EC950006 message when the recovery process starts.
1) Click on the ‘Recover My Computer’ option and from the ‘Recover My Computer Wizard’ click ‘Next’.
2) From the ‘Select a Recovery Point to Restore’ window set the ‘View recovery points by:’ to the by ‘Filename’ option. Use the ‘Browse’ button to locate the image backup folder from a list of possible locations (Internal or Removable storage). Click on the drive containing your Image Backups and click ‘Open’ and double click on the folder containing the backup you want to restore.
3) Next set the ‘View By’ option (upper right of explorer window) to ‘List’.
5) Click on the ‘_System Reserved0_1_Drive.v2i’ file and click ‘Open’.
6) In the ‘Select a Recovery Point to Restore’ window the ‘Recovery point details box should list the “Drive:” as ‘System Reserved’. Click ‘Next’.
7) In the ‘Drive to Recover’ window click the ‘Edit’ button.
8) If you see the ‘System Reserved’ Partition listed, click on it and select ‘Delete Drive’.
9) Click on the unallocated space, it should now be highlighted in gray.
10) In the lower left, set the ‘Partition Type:’ to Primary partition. Next uncheck all the boxes and then only place a checkmark in the ‘Set drive active’ (for booting OS) option. Click the ‘OK’ button and review the settings. Note that it is a good idea to have the ‘Verify recovery point before recovery’ option box checked. Now click the ‘Next’ button.
11) At the ‘Completing the Recovery My Computer Wizard’ window, you can once again review your settings (click the ‘Back’ button if you need to make any changes).
12) DO NOT place a check mark in the ‘Reboot when finished’ box as after the System partition has been restore you still need to restore the Windows partition.
13) Click the ‘Finish’ button and click ‘Yes’ to start the recovery. The recovery process should start without any error message this time. Since you are only recovering the System partition it should only take about 1 minute to complete. Click the ‘Close’ button when the recovery has completed.
Now the Windows partition must be restored.
14) Click on the ‘Recover My Computer’ option and from the ‘Recover My Computer Wizard’ click ‘Next’.
15) From the ‘Select a Recovery Point to Restore’ window set the ‘View recovery points by:’ to by ‘Filename’. Use the ‘Browse’ button to locate the image backup folder, Ghost will remember the folder you choose in step 2.
16) You should once again see same two recovery files.
17) This time around click on the ‘_C_Drive.v2i’ file and click ‘Open’.
19) In the ‘Select a Recovery Point to Restore’ window the ‘Recovery point details’ box should list the “Drive:” as the C: or the Windows drive letter. Click ‘Next’.
Here’s the second and final secret to success.
20) In the ‘Drive to Recover’ window click the ‘Edit’ button.
21) If you see the ‘Windows’ partition list just beneath the ‘System Reserved’ Partition, click on the Windows partition (leave the System partition untouched) and select ‘Delete Drive’.
22) Click on the unallocated space, it should now be highlighted in gray.
23) In the lower left set the ‘Partition Type:’ to Primary partition. Next uncheck “ALL” four boxes. Click the ‘OK’ button and review the settings. Once again place a check mark in the ‘Verify recovery point before recovery’ option box if it is not already checked, this should be the only option selected and there should be no ‘Additional options’ with check marks. Now click the ‘Next’ button.
24) At the ‘Completing the Recovery My Computer Wizard’ windows you can once again review your setting (click the ‘Back’ button if you need to make any changes).
25) DO NOT place a check mark in the ‘Reboot when finished’ box.
26) Click the ‘Finish’ button and click ‘Yes’ to start the recovery. The recovery process should start without any error message this time. Recovering the Windows partition will take considerable longer to restore than the System partition. Click the ‘Close’ button when the recovery has completed.
27) Remove the Recovery CD and click the ‘Exit’ button to reboot to Windows.
Is there some value to be had in using this tool? Absolutely, especially for restoration of your computer after accidentally deleting some important data files, a failed software installation or returning Windows back to a state prior to evaluating software trials that didn’t meet your expectations and on occasions when problems occur with a particular hardware driver or Microsoft Windows Update. I’ve used Ghost version 14 and 15 many times for these purposes and the Image restores do work.
However for a total recovery of your backup to a new hard drive, or in this particular test when the ‘System’ and ‘Windows’ partition have been badly corrupted or deleted, it not a simple point and click operation, to bad the User's Guide doesn't adequately document the power behind the ‘Edit’ option.
One other point I should mention is that unlike Acronis True Image Home, the Ghost 15 trial version does not allow the user to create a ‘Recovery’ CD.
To their credit Acronis does provide a detailed User’s Manual in Adobe Reader (.pdf) format. There is an extensive section on restoring an Image Backup using the ‘Rescue Media’, and I recommend that you take the time to carefully read everything at least twice in order to determine the correct path of action.
First I created a fresh Image Backup of the System (100MB) and Windows partitions. Also created a ‘Rescue’ CD after the backup had completed.
I then booted Acronis Rescue CD and carefully following the set of instruction as defined in the User’s Guide performed a restore. The computer failed to boot to Windows, BOOTMGR error.
Inserted the Windows 7 System Repair Disk and booted from it in an attempt to repair the system.
After verifying the keyboard option was correct I proceeded with the automatic repair (my only option) which reported errors and click to fix. This did not work as after rebooting I had the same BOOTMGR error.
I rebooted from the System Repair Disk again and unlike the first attempt I had a choice of recovery tools to pick from. Clicked on the ‘Startup Repair’ option and waited until the repair was completed. Removed the repair disk and rebooted, this time Windows 7 did boot and the recovery was complete. Not a good solution as I had to use the Acronis Rescue media and the Windows 7 System Repair Disk twice in order to recovery my PC.
So I decided to use the same solution when using Norton Ghost and adapting it to Acronis.
Boot from the Rescue CD and choose Acronis, and from the main True Image Home 2010 display locate the Menu bar at the top of the Window.
1) Click on the ‘Recovery’ pull down and choose ‘Disk and Partition Recovery’.
2) From the ‘Recovery Wizard’ click ‘Archive selection’ and use the ‘Browse’ button to locate the image backup folder, click on the backup (.tib) file and click ‘OK’.
3) Click on the ‘Recovery method’ option and choose ‘Recover whole disks and partitions’.
5) Settings of Partition 1-2 option: In the ‘Specify recover settings of Partition 1-2’ you must set a partition location so click on ‘New Location’. In the ‘Partition Destination’ window you should see the current partition information for the disk you are going to recover to. Place a checkmark in the ‘Unallocated’ box and click ‘Accept’.
6) Click ‘Finish’ and review the details listed in the ‘Summary’ and click proceed.
7) After the Recovery operation has successfully completed repeat step 1 through 6 and recover the Windows partition.
Now remove the Acronis Rescue media and reboot to Windows 7.
I also checked the Acronis forum and found a number of user’s report the bootmgr error but no solution. Googled for information on this error, which returned a number of hits but no solution.
Now that I have two workable solutions for restoring Windows 7, its time to test both Ghost 15 and Acronis True Image Home 2010 to see if I can restore a Windows XP and Windows 7 Dual Boot computer.