Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious

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  1. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #11

    baumgrenze said:
    Thank you simrick and Cliff S!

    What a complicated process....How many questions to answer before I can create and save the image file.

    I have a BlacX Duet ST0014U. In it I have one of my original boot drives, a Western Digital Raptor 74GB 10,000 RPM OEM. It is connected to the eSATA port on my desktop. If I boot, then turn it on, it spins up but Windows Explorer does not recognize it. If I reboot, I can see the disk, but during the boot process I get a 'disk needs to be checked for consistency' warning ending in the error code 766f6c756d652e63_3f1.

    1) Is it 'expected behavior' for a drive in this external bay to require a reboot to be found by Windows Explorer? (It is advertised as capable of hot-swapping, but I realize that this might be seen as different.)
    I have a similar unit (different manufacturer), and have no problem plugging in a drive and it shows in Explorer. But I don't put bootable OS drives in there, so, I don't know if that makes a difference. I would use Passmark Diskcheckup to make sure the drive is completely healthy before trusting my image to it. Let it run for 30 minutes or so, to let the values settle in. Also, the verify option in Macrium will tell you if you have a good image too, so that will help.

    baumgrenze said:
    2) What is the 'orderly' way to prepare this disk to store the backup image?
    All I do is make a folder called Macrium-images, and that's where I put mine. You'd probably want to identify yours as Macrium-images-W7. Then make another one for Macrium-images-W10, for future.

    baumgrenze said:
    3) Once this is sorted out, my OS/Programs SDD is 75% full (30 GB vs 97 GB of 128 GB.) Different tools, WE, ZtreeWin, and TreeSizeFree give different numbers. It is clear that I could do some pruning. Do I create a backup, then prune and check to see that I can still boot and backup again?
    If you have enough room on the external drive, I would do an image, then make changes, then do another image - can't hurt. Ideally, once you are done, Macrium can be set to auto-image on a schedule, and you should keep at least 3 images at all times, so please make sure your drive has enough room. Images are approximately 2/3's the size of what's being imaged.

    baumgrenze said:
    4) I checked on the GigaByte website and the most recent drivers for my MOBO are for Win7. Is it probable that the drivers I used in March 2014 will also serve well for Win10?

    I will stop here and await answers.

    thanks

    baumgrenze
    Probably should be fine then. :)
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  2. Posts : 187
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Ver. 22H2 Build 19045.3448
    Thread Starter
       #12

    Thank you, simrick, for your kind attention!

    Just to be clear, what I tried was booting, then turning on and connecting the external drive bay. Does it need to be connected and on before the boot for it to be recognized?

    Since you say, "Images are approximately 2/3's the size of what's being imaged," it the drive is probably on the small side for the purpose. I make 2/3 of 97 GB to be 65 GB.

    If I go shopping, I see that a 1 TB internal HDD goes for <$70. That ought to be big enough, no, or am I being 'penny-wise-and-pound foolish?' Is there good reason to avoid some brands over others?

    Do I understand correctly that my MOBO is SATA-II so that the data transfer rates for a SATA-III drive will not improve performance for me?

    thanks

    baumgrenze

    I was prepared to clean and reformat the drive, but I will need a link to 'best practices' for that process. I certainly do not want to risk inadvertently wipe a data and/or boot/programs drive.
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  3. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #13

    baumgrenze said:
    Thank you, simrick, for your kind attention!

    Just to be clear, what I tried was booting, then turning on and connecting the external drive bay. Does it need to be connected and on before the boot for it to be recognized?
    Mine works either way. I have a Kingwin brand. It's not a hot-swap type, but an external drive is seen as soon as I plug it in, or if it is in at boot. If I remember correctly, the docking bay itself is not seen if there is no drive in it. Not sure why yours is acting different?

    baumgrenze said:
    Since you say, "Images are approximately 2/3's the size of what's being imaged," it the drive is probably on the small side for the purpose. I make 2/3 of 97 GB to be 65 GB.
    Correct.

    baumgrenze said:
    If I go shopping, I see that a 1 TB internal HDD goes for <$70. That ought to be big enough, no, or am I being 'penny-wise-and-pound foolish?' Is there good reason to avoid some brands over others?
    I usually recommend a 2TB (the prices are so close, for double the size!); multiple images + redundant data backup + drivers backup. they're all pretty much made in (you-know-where), but I do tend to stay away from Western Digital, now that their cost-save includes soldering the internal drive directly to the internal PCBoard. So, if the PCB fails (which is usually what fails), you can no longer open it up and take out your drive to get your data. I have had good luck with Toshiba, and even Seagate.

    baumgrenze said:
    Do I understand correctly that my MOBO is SATA-II so that the data transfer rates for a SATA-III drive will not improve performance for me?

    thanks

    baumgrenze
    Correct.

    baumgrenze said:
    I was prepared to clean and reformat the drive, but I will need a link to 'best practices' for that process. I certainly do not want to risk inadvertently wipe a data and/or boot/programs drive.
    No problem. We can cover that as well, later. :)
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  4. Posts : 187
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Ver. 22H2 Build 19045.3448
    Thread Starter
       #14

    I followed your 'suggestion' and bought a 2TB Toshiba at Fry's yesterday evening. I thought I was getting "HDWD120XZSTA" but ended up withTOS-HDD-3B0. I ended up paying $79.99. What I got is described as an "enterprise drive for 24 operation." There is no warranty information. It seems 'noisy' to me, although once I put some shelf-liner under the BlacX box is was reasonably quiet. The hum frequency was ~330 Hz (B♭ below Middle C). CrystalDiskInfo showed no previous use before me.
    Form Factor: 3.5
    Interface: SATA/300
    Capacity: 2TB
    Packaging: Bare Drive
    Spindle Speed: 7200
    Buffer: 64
    Condition: New

    Here's the boxed version (first product number) info from Fry's website:

    High Performance and Reliability for everyday computing

    Toshiba's P300 Desktop internal hard drives provide a convenient and reliable way to upgrade every major brand of desktop computer. We combine our reliable hard drive technology with a Serial ATA interface to provide increased performance, capacity and compatibility2.

    Compatible with every major brand of Serial ATA enabled desktop computer, our hard drives use state of the art Perpendicular Magnetic Recording (PMR) technology, Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and TMR Head Recording technology for increased capacity, reliability and performance.

    Product Features

    High performance drive upgrade for desktop computers

    7,200 RPM speed with 64MB data buffer deliver improved performance for your aging computers.
    Supports SATA 3.0 interface with up to 6 Gbit/sec transfer rate.
    Wide capacity range up to 3TB1 for your storage needs.
    Native Command Queuing (NCQ) support
    Optimizes the order in which received read and write commands are executed, resulting in increased performance and reduced mechanical workload from the drive.

    Data Protection Technology

    Ramp loading technology reduces wear to the recording head and media for improved drive reliability. Built-in shock sensors detect impact, shielding adjacent track data.
    Ideal for everyday computing needs
    2-Year Limited Warranty

    I never know if the staff at Fry's is just uninformed (incompetent) or borderline unethical.

    Should I consider what I bought to be a 'better deal?' Have you encountered noise in Toshiba drives?

    I noticed, too, that the version of Macrium that I downloaded is 6 whereas the tutorial (Imaging with free Macrium - Windows 7 Help Forums) still work? At 101 posts, with comments, it is hard to wade through with my failing vision.

    thanks,

    baumgrenze
      My Computers


  5. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #15

    I have not encountered noise in Toshiba drives in the past, but then, I don't have any enterprise/24 hr drives either. :) Sounds to me like you got a decent deal. I don't have a Fry's near me (wish I did), but I do have a Microcenter. Just keep an eye on it every so often with your Crystal Disk Info program, or PassMark's DiskCheckup.

    Give me a few and I'll put some instructions together for you on Macrium...that thread is way too long.
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  6. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #16

    First, please make sure your backup HDD is formatted to NTFS. Then, make a folder for W7-images.

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium02.png

    Start Macrium, locate your OS disk (usually the first one), make sure all partitions are selected, and click Image this disk.

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium03.png

    Point the image to the new folder you have made in your backup drive, for W7 images.
    Then, click on Advanced Options:
    Compression = Medium (Recommended)
    File Size = Automatic
    Password = (enter only if you want to password-protect the image)
    Auto Verify Image = check the box so it will verify after creation
    Comments = put some specific notes in here so you can identify this particular backup, should you need to find it exactly in a batch of backups.
    Shutdown = gives the option to shut down the computer or hibernate after completing (handy if you set this up to run at night in the future).



    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium04.png

    Uncheck Full and Differential, as we're only making one image right now.
    No schedule on this one - it's a one-off.


    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium05.png

    Uncheck Save backup and schedules as an XML....you won't have to give it a name then.

    Click OK. The image will run, and give you an estimated amount of time it will take. The verification will take just about as long. So if it says 30 minutes for the backup, you can guess it will be about another 30 minutes for the verification.

    When it's complete, please post the screenshot for us to see.


    Then, go back to the main screen, to make your rescue media.


    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium01.png

    Macrium will create the rescue media based on the installed OS, so this will be your W7 rescue media.

    Click Next and Next again. If Macrium tells you there's an update, please take it.

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macrium01a.png

    Select how to create the media: CD/DVD, ISO or Flash drive.
    The multiboot option should not be available for your W7 system, I think.

    Create your rescue media. Then, be sure to boot your system to it, to make sure it's good. Should you need to restore an image, you boot to the Macrium rescue media, navigate to the image and restore your system.

    Once this is done, you can go ahead and make all the updates/changes to the system, verify everything's working correctly, then make another image for posterity.

    Hope that's clear. Please ask if any questions.
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  7. Posts : 187
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Ver. 22H2 Build 19045.3448
    Thread Starter
       #17

    Busy day. Had to buy 7 yards of navy silk velvet for daughter's wedding dress and ship in a Priority Fixed Rate box to wife in Charlottesville (daughter's home) where they plan to sew the dress...

    I got a rescue disk made (documented all the steps with screen dumps.)

    It is approaching bedtime, but I tried the disk imaging and got into trouble. I took 3 screen dumps and aborted. There are 5 drives in the tower plus the eSATA. In the first screen I unchecked all of them but the Crucial that is my OS/boot & Programs drive. This I want to image to the eSATA (Toshiba). Here are the images:
    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_1.jpgShould I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_2.jpgShould I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_3.jpg
    The first 2 show all the drives. The third shows that Macrium thought I wanted to image my Data drive (1TB - WDC) and it shows the target as that same drive. This drive is the one at the bottom of Image 2 with the last 2 drives.

    I've not used may images in posts. These look very small in the draft. I will Post Quick and see what I get. They are all 6 inches wide at 180 ppi and show 1080 x 640 in Irfanview.

    thanks

    baumgrenze
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_1.jpg  
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #18

    Hi.

    If you click just about where I show here in red, the Clone this disk and Image this disk commands will appear for that disk.

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-click-here.png



    shown here:

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-clone-image-appears.png


    Then click on Image this disk.
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  9. Posts : 16,325
    W10Prox64
       #19

    Hope that makes sense. Maybe you can get the image running and completed while you sleep.
    It's really late here, so I am calling it a night. Congrats on your daughter's wedding! :)
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 187
    Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Ver. 22H2 Build 19045.3448
    Thread Starter
       #20

    One more try...


    I noticed something strange in the images so I started again.

    I unchecked the C: disk and the "Image this disk" icon dropped below it. I managed to select the right one, but how it is intended to work is 'murky' to me. I plugged along. I found my destination folder in Windows Explorer and copied the path to NotePad (it is always in 2 parts, file and folder) and pasted it in as a destination. The process seemed to be working.

    Here's an image of the last screen where I felt I was getting somewhere.

    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_lastgoodstep.jpg

    The next screen looked 'wrong' so I canceled.
    Should I Be Concerned and Extra Cautious-macriumreflectimagedisk_stoppedhere.jpg

    Perhaps I should have just put in the path that I'd supplied near the beginning and I would have finished? I thought I wanted it to go here:

    G:\SystemDiskBackups\Win7_072516_Win10UpgradePrep

    Tomorrow is another day....

    thanks again

    baumgrenze
      My Computers


 

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