How to Do a One-Click Backup/Restore of Windows

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rcrsn51
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Joined: Tue 05 Sep 2006, 13:50
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How to Do a One-Click Backup/Restore of Windows

#1 Post by rcrsn51 »

This how-to is based on the more general backup procedure here. If you have been modifying the partition structure or bootloader of your computer, you should use the full Gnost procedure instead of this one.

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You may know people with Windows installs who need a simple, free backup solution. Their setup could consist of a dual-boot configuration with a Puppy partition large enough to hold the backup image files. Or they might have an external hard drive and a Puppy Live CD. You can even back up to a network share if it's visible to Puppy.

Download and unpack the attachment below. It contains two clickable scripts named win-backup and win-restore. Copy them into the folder where you plan to save the backup files. Note that this package is not an installable PET.

If you need to back up several machines, make a folder for each one on the destination drive using descriptive names.

To make things simple, this system assumes that Windows is located in the first NTFS partition of the hard drive. If Windows is elsewhere or in a FAT32 partition, use full Gnost.

To back up Windows, mount and open the destination folder. Then click the win-backup icon. Before the procedure starts, it tells you how much hard drive space is available for backups and the size of the last backup file you made.

The backup file is automatically assigned a name based on the current date.

To restore Windows, click on the win-restore icon. It shows you a list of the current backup image files in the folder. Type in the name of the desired file.

After the NTFS partition is restored, the script will schedule a Windows disk check. Make sure you let Windows perform it on the next reboot.
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one-click-backup.tar.gz
Updated 2012-04-21
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Last edited by rcrsn51 on Sat 21 Apr 2012, 16:11, edited 10 times in total.

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8-bit
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#2 Post by 8-bit »

A few questions.
Source and destination partitions mounted or unmounted?
Also, is the MBR and bootcode backed up?

In other words, if I do a backup of a NTFS partition containing windows, can I restore it to a blank NTFS partition?

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rcrsn51
Posts: 13096
Joined: Tue 05 Sep 2006, 13:50
Location: Stratford, Ontario

#3 Post by rcrsn51 »

8-bit wrote:Source and destination partitions mounted or unmounted?
The source partition must be unmounted. The script will check for this. The destination partition must be mounted as stated in the instructions.
Also, is the MBR and bootcode backed up?
The MBR is not backed up. This not meant to be a cloning tool.
In other words, if I do a backup of a NTFS partition containing windows, can I restore it to a blank NTFS partition?
The larger gnost package can restore a partition to a different location. But there is no guarantee that Windows will boot from the new location.

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