Trouble Making Image Backup with Acronia True Image 2016 -- apparent misread of space

Hi,

The stuff for the image and CD are found in "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)" in Control Panel..

If the CD boots, all the needed files would be there, and should work.. Everything on the CD is in fact available on the Installation Media "Repair" function...

If your Recovery partition is not functional, you will get an error message to that effect when you make the attempt and will not even be able to burn a CD..

I don't have a clue as to how to test the Push Button Reset... I would think you might risk damaging your installation if you tried it and it does work..

You are welcome. You have a way of answering many of your own questions.

(1)  But it's still here in our 2004. Right-click the Taskbar, & select "Taskbar settings" for...

Turn yours off to get the Command Prompt back in the menu. I stubbornly leave it as is anticipating the day I will know what to do in a PowerShell.

(2) If we find Win 8 to be on that partition, you may put a letter (say, E:) on it & wipe it. Then put at least one Win 10 system image on it. (You won't be able to include E:partition in the image.) If the Windows installation (EFI, MSR, Windows, Recovery) dies, you'll be able to restore it on the road from the image on E:partition. You'll have to have Acronis's Bootable Media around, is all, I guess.

Of course, you lose everything between the date you made the image & the date you restore it -- except for stuff on OneDrive. That survives. Also, any partitions that are not in the image will survive, if they are not in the way. They can get in the way, if you make or move them after you've already made an image. The image wants to go back to where it came from.

But -- if the whole HDD dies -- you'll have to use an image on external media to recover, not to mention another HDD. Definitely you'll still want external images.

(3) WinRE.wim is the file expected in a Windows Recovery partition. I want to know whether one is in partition 5. Here is mine in 2004...

C:\WINDOWS\system32>DIR R:\WinRE.wim /a /s

 Volume in drive R is WinRE 2004

 Volume Serial Number is 9AB3-01BA

 Directory of R:\Recovery\WindowsRE

07/09/2020  11:23 PM       525,321,603 Winre.wim       <<< Note the size & date

               1 File(s)    525,321,603 bytes                                   That's the date of my upgrade

Your partition 6 will have one too. But it also has an Install.esd (or an Install.wim). Let's examine that one. That's what it would restore Windows to.

(4) "BUT, if Windows has put it on another partition, isn't it best to leave it where Windows wants to put it? What gain is there in moving it someplace else?"

I think 2004 might have put its WinRE.wim into that Push Button partition because ReagentC points to it. But I'd be astounded, if it upgraded the Install.esd as well. If you find the new WinRE.wim is in partition 5, it won't also be in partition 6. Otherwise, look for it there too.

But, in the end, I think...

(a) We will want WinRE.wim to be in partition 5.

(b) We will repurpose partition 6 to hold Win 10 system images.

(c) Partition 2 (the old Win 8 Recovery partition of 400 MB) I'm sure is empty,

     but may be best to let it alone. Could be tough to delete.

Thanks for all that.

Actually, this laptop shipped with Win 8,.0. I upgraded to 8.1. And then later to the original Win 10, and allt he Win 10 updates since. So I think you would mean the partition would be Win 8.0, not 8.1. But same point. Yes, Slance has been saying that for a few years now.

Actually,now that you mention it, it is probably better to use my system images always anyway, no reason to go back to the early days of Win 10 even if it were in the partition instead of 8.0. But, I cna do that only if around my external drive. If, say, I were on the road for a while, Icouls at leat get function back with any Win version if I kept the partition. Better to have Win 8.0 than a dead computer. I can alwasy use my system image when I get back home. I certainly have enough disk space to keep the partition.

Is the code you just listed to check Part. 5 the same as the code rejected earlier, it did not know the s code in it? I can't get to that until tomorrow. I think we might have done it on partition 6 earlier.

BTW, I know what you're tlaking about when you say Command Prompt, but just FYI, the name has been changed to Power Shell a couple years ago. I guess there are a few differences, but Power Shell replaces Command Prompt. BUT, I don't know if that might affect what you are trying to find out, especially when you mention verison.

Oh, wait, now I see you making a difference between Command Prompt and Power Shell. Power Shell was released as the new "Command Prompt." At first they let you choose to use Command Prompt instead, but they said they were phasing it out. I don't even know if it's still on there. You're saying what we are doing will require Command Prompt, not Power Shell? I think you're saying thats why it didn't like the s command? Yes, I was in Power Shell. Odd.

Well, will get to those commands tomorrow. To get clear on what we're doing now, I think you are saying it might be better to move win(something, can't find it immediately in all that text) to another partition. We're now finding which partition has what on it. Then we can do something. BUT, if Windows has put it on another partition, isn't it best to leave it where Windows wants to put it? What gain is there in moving it someplace else?

(1) Your MSR partition is 128 MB. Its offset on the disk (where it begins) is 17 KB...

Partition ###  Type           Size       Offset

 -------------  ------------  --------  -------

 Partition 1     Reserved    128 MB   17 KB

It's best to let it alone. In a clean install that is a UEFI install onto a GPT disk, that partition will immediately precede the Windows partition. (I think a Legacy install onto an MBR disk has no MSR partition.) And these days it will be a tiny 16 MB in size. But my computer came with Win 8.1 (like yours) & also had the MSR located elsewhere (actually after C:).

Although Windows system image backup & restore does not show the MSR in any window -- it actually is included in the image into the C: partition, & it is separated out during a restore. Yeah, it's safest to have Acronis include it in its image. The MSR is visible in DiskPart & many 3rd-party tools, but it can only be deduced to exist in Disk Management.

(2) I'm glad to see you've brought partition 5 back down to a reasonable size. Your recent upgrade to 2004 was supposed to put the Recovery Environment (WinRE.wim file) into there. Then click any Power button, hold the Shift key, & click Restart would reboot to the Recovery Environment at the "Choose an Option" screen.

But you've got that Push Button thing, & I don't know what's going on...

(a) Did the 2004 upgrade put a WinRE.wim into partition 5?

(b) Did it put one into partition 6 instead?

(c) What version of Install.esd (or Install.wim) is in partition 6?

I think we will find it is version 8.1. Then -- you should delete partition 6 & use your own system images instead. I think you never will want to go back to Win 8.1. Also, we need to determine whether there is a WinRE.wim in partition 5...

Type CMD into Search, & click "Run as administrator", then enter...

DiskPart

Select  Disk  0

Select  Part  5

Assign  Letter=R

Exit

DIR  R:\WinRE.wim  /a  /s

DiskPart

Select  Disk  0

Select  Part  5

Remove  Letter=R

Exit

Show us the output. If it's there, maybe its size & date will say what version it is. Or -- if/when possible -- we'll boot to it (Shift+Restart), then click "Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Command Prompt". The version of the Command Prompt is close enough to the version of the Recovery Environment...

But right now, ReagentC is saying Shift+Restart goes to partition 6. (I know how to set it for partition 5, if there is a WinRE.wim in it.)

(3) Those commands needed to be done at an Administrator Command Prompt:  Type CMDinto Search, & click "Run as administrator". You were at a PowerShell (PS) prompt. Here is an illustration of what I meant.

I plugged in my Win 10 Installation USB drive, & it got letter E:. I did a search for Install.esd beginning in E:. /a means find it no matter what the attributes. /s means search the specified directory (E:) & all sub-directories.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.19041.388]

(c) 2020 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>DIR  E:\Install.esd  /a  /s

 Volume in drive E is ESD-USB2004

 Volume Serial Number is 1E0E-16D3

 Directory of E:\sources                                                <<< There is the Directory

07/03/2020  09:53 PM     3,482,988,958 install.esd      <<<There is the file

               1 File(s)  3,482,988,958 bytes

     Total Files Listed:

               1 File(s)  3,482,988,958 bytes

               0 Dir(s)  11,435,892,736 bytes free

So, I put "E:\Sources\Install.esd" into the DISM command. You will have to do it before removing your letter R: from the Recovery partition.

C:\WINDOWS\system32>DISM  /Get-WimInfo  /WimFile:E:\Sources\Install.esd  /Index:1

Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool

Version: 10.0.19041.329

Details for image : E:\Sources\Install.esd

Index : 1

Name : Windows 10 Home

Description : Windows 10 Home

Size : 14,212,376,596 bytes

WIM Bootable : No

Architecture : x64

Hal : <undefined>

Version : 10.0.19041                 <<< That's Win 10, version 2004

ServicePack Build : 264

ServicePack Level : 0

Edition : Core

Installation : Client

ProductType : WinNT

ProductSuite : Terminal Server

System Root : WINDOWS

Directories : 20255

Files : 87841

Created : 5/11/2020 - 1:49:13 AM

Modified : 7/3/2020 - 9:52:37 PM

Languages :

        en-US (Default)

The operation completed successfully.

Good idea. Where do Imake a System Imge -- in Windows Backup? I can look, I will probably find it. But I think it simply has what already ison the Install disk, right? That has access to Repair. But yes, if I make that disk and it works, then I know the repair partition works.

Well, I suppose I also could simply boot to the repair partition -- after all, I might make the disk, but if I don't run a repair, I won't know if I can. And I can already boot to the repair partitions and not run a repai. Or???