Partition Manager 8.5

In the Basic concepts chapter we mentioned that the most prevalent way to protect valuable data is to create backup copies (backup images in terms of the program) of it. This operation can be accomplished with the Backup Wizard. The wizard is so well designed that the user simply needs to follow its easy instructions to make an exact image of the disk.

Starting

There are several ways to start the Backup Wizard:

   In the Main menu: select Wizards > Back Up Disk or Partition…

   On the Common Tasks bar: click the Backup item of the Wizards menu.

After following one of the above mentioned actions, the Welcome page of the wizard is displayed.

Settings

The Backup Wizard allows the user to configure the settings and then start the operation in accordance with the entered parameters. Here the user sets the parameters of the backup operation defining:

   The disk to archive. The user can backup either an entire disk or separate partitions of the disk (primary, extended or logical). In case of backing up an entire disk, the user has the possibility to include into the image such disk elements as the Master Boot Record (MBR) and the first track of the hard disk. This can be very helpful for serious disk recovery procedures.

   The destination where the future backup image Backup Image is an archive of the disk, which includes all the on-disk files and service information on the disk layout. To restore disks from such an archive means retrieving all informational components of the disk (e.g. a hard disk image consists of its partitions, the Partition Table and even bootstrap code). will be stored. The Backup Wizard allows saving backup archives to local or network drives, to physical partitions (without drive letters assigned), or burning them to CD/DVDs. It is also possible to place the archives in the Backup Capsule. The user needs to select a destination, taking the estimated archive size and available space on the backup destination into account.

   The method of the operation performance. By default the program suggests the user to start the operation immediately.

In addition, there is the possibility to make further detailed settings (although the default values will do in most cases). To activate the advance mode, the user needs to mark the appropriate option on the second page of the wizard (i.e. the What to back up page). The checkbox is to be found at the foot of the page. When it is marked, the next page allows the user to define:

   Whether the selected disk (or the selected partition) will be copied in the sector-to-sector mode (including unused sectors as well).

   Whether the OS auxiliary files (pagefile.sys, hyberfil.sys) will be included in the backup image.

   Whether the operation will be performed without rebooting the system. The program needs to reboot the system in order to have exclusive access to processing data. In a Windows environment this is difficult to achieve because even when all the other applications are closed, the system service programs are still running. However, there is a way to avoid rebooting. The mode of processing the backup operation without rebooting is named Hot Processing. The user is also able to define specific parameters for the Hot Processing mode.

   Whether the archive integrity will be controlled.

   Compression level for the backup image (including the No compression variant)

   Whether the archive will be protected by password.

   Whether the archive will be split (if this is the case the user can set the maximum size for the archive files).

   Recording speed when the user wants to burn the backup image onto CD/DVDs.

   ISO image folder where the archive that is to be recorded on a disc, is placed.

Results

Depending on the user’s choice the Backup wizard:

   starts the backup operation

   schedules it

   or records the planned actions in form of a script.

After the backup operation is completed the user receives an image of the selected disk (or the selected partition). This image is placed into the specified destination (a local or network disk, or a CD/DVD disc), its features defined by the wizard.