FAT16 backup?

Today I did my first full backup of my Windows XP SP3 hard drive with ATI. I noticed that Disk 1 was already marked to be backed up, as was the C:/ drive that is part (or all) of it. However, something labeled FAT16 was not marked for backup. Is this something I should have marked for backing up? I assumed at the time that ATI knew more than I did, and I left it unchecked.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

How big was the FAT16 partition?

It's most likely a diagnostic partition. If you want to include it in an Entire Disk Image backup, you can (usually those partitions aren't very large).

 

It was 39.19 MB. So maybe I should have included it, just for the sake of completeness. I can do it next time.

Thank you!

Jo-Anne

 

Sounds like a Dell. They put diagnostics on a FAT16 partition. Adding less than 40 MB to every backup won't increase its size significantly, but it will ensure that a restore to a new drive will boot and will also have the built-in diagnostics.

 

Thank you, John! It is indeed a Dell. I wish Acronis had checked that box along with the C:\ drive's. I'll just do it on my own when I make my next backup.

Jo-Anne

 

Joanne2, What he writes is important. You won't need it if your are restoring your existing C partition but it is important if you should need to replace the entire disk for whatever reason.

 

Don't select individual partitions. Check the box above that list, which will read "Disk 1" or "Disk 2" or whatever is appropriate to your system.

 

There is nothing wrong with backing up individual partitions. I do it all the time. I keep a "base" image and then backup the individual partitions as desired because they don't all need the same schedule. Also some are always Fulls and some are Incrementals.

The main point is to have at least one "base" image that does contain your entire drive (if possible). If your drive consists of only a Windows partition and a small diagnostic partition, then you might as well backup the entire drive. If your drive consists of a Windows partition and a 400GB data partition, you're not going to want to backup the entire drive every time.

In most cases, restoring just the Windows partition (or another partition) shouldn't cause a problem.

 

Hi Mudcrab:

Yes, I understand. My advice wasn't meant for experts such as you, but for the many newbies here who image just certain partitions and then have trouble restoring. For those folks, imaging the entire disk is simpler and safer.

 

Thank you all! I'm so glad I asked!

To my inexperienced eyes, it appeared that ATI itself had marked the full disk and then only one partition. It had filled the Disk 1 box with green (but not the Disk 2 box for the drive I was backing up to) and had checkmarked the C:\ drive. All that was unchecked was the FAT16 partition, I thought.

Today, I actually clicked on Disk 1, and a real checkmark appeared in the box to replace the filled area--and both partitions were checkmarked.

Thank you all again! I'm finding this program too complex at the start to handle on my own.

Jo-Anne

 

Joanne,
If you have not already done so, take a few minutes and study my guides listed on line 2 of my signature.

 

I figured that and it's no problem. I guess what I was trying to say is that even though it's a good idea to just do an Entire Disk Image backup, it's better to have the Windows partition backed up than nothing.

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That's the nice thing about this forum -- you're not on your own. If you have any questions or problems just ask for help. As Grover suggested, reading through his guides is a good start (as is reading the TI manual).

 

Thank you all again! Actually, I AM working my way through Grover's guides, and I thank him separately; they're perfect for getting started. (Reading through the TI manual at this point is simply too much for me.)

I think the problem is that I didn't understand ATI's user interface. After I had indicated that I wanted the entire disk and its partitions backed up, I saw that the Disk 1 box was filled and a checkmark was in the C:\ drive box (without my doing anything) but not in the FAT16 box. I assumed that ATI was telling me what should be backed up.

Until, then, by the way, I didn't even know that I HAD a FAT16 partition. It doesn't show up in Windows Explorer--at least not where I could see it.

I'll get it right this time.

Jo-Anne

 

Thank you Jo-Anne for showing a void in my guide. I am in the process of adding this as part of the updates.

-----------------------------------
14. User Awareness: It is important that the user be aware of the existence of all partitions that exist on their computer–especially their system disk. The Disk Management feature can provide a graphical display of all disks and their partitions (both hidden or diagnostic) that exist on the computer. This display will illustrate whether the computer has one or more partitions and whether any of the partitions are manufacturer recovery partitions. Please take the time to acquaint yourself with your own disk specifications as illustrated via image DM1 on page 10 of this guide..

There are multiple ways to open the Disk Management feature:
a. Click the Start menu button and Right click on the “My Computer” menu option (or desktop icon) and click the “Manage” option
b. Or, click on the Start/Run option and paste this command and press Enter
%windir%\system32\diskmgmt.msc
c. Or, open the Control Panel and select the Administrative Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management option.

 

using the bootable rescue CD

Wow! Thank you, Grover, for doing not only the manual but the updates.The new BR1 image is great too. (I notice more changes than I had commented on earlier.)

My only other initial trouble was that I didn't have the faintest idea of how to boot from a CD or what to expect when I did it. I posted separately about it and got a good response from DwnNdrty.

One new question, though: Why is it a bad idea to use a USB hub for backing up to external drives? I've been using a 7-port hub, and so far everything seems fine. ATI and Windows both recognize the drives I've connected to it.

Thank you again,

Jo-Anne

 

Re: using the bootable rescue CD

If it works properly for you, there's nothing wrong with it. However, when using TI (especially from the TI CD), it can have problems with hubs or extra-long cables. Removing the hub and connecting directly to a port on the computer is the first step to try in those cases.

Sometimes the backup/validation/restore will work just fine for a while through a hub and then fail. For example, you may have an 80GB image to restore and it errors out after 60%. You connect directly to the computer and it restores successfully. Drive detection alone isn't enough to tell you if it will work properly or not. Doing backup, validations and restores will.

 

Thank you, MudCrab! I'll definitely keep that in mind as I do the backups. It's good to know ahead of time what can go wrong. I don't like using the regular ports because in my setup they're next-to-impossible to reach.

Jo-Anne

 

Another thing to keep in mind is that True Image is very picky about hardware. Marginal memory which wouldn't faze Windows might make True Image falter. The same for bad clusters - which can be corrected by running chkdsk /r. But you don't have to cross that bridge unless it confronts you.

Let's hope that build 8101 makes an official appearance soon and that it is better than build 8035.

 

You could try a short USB extension cable (only as long as needed).

Another option (depending on your USB drive's connection) is to just detach the USB cable that goes to the hub and connect it to the drive. I've done that before on one of my computers as it was easier than getting behind the computer under the desk. It also gives it a direct connection. When finished, I just reconnected the hub.

 

Thank you both! What a great idea to use the hub cable on the drive!

Jo-Anne