How to repair unbootable Windows using Acronis bootable media true image 2016 from a previously created backup? Create a Windows backup with settings, drivers, installed programs and games - reliable way saving the system and data for further resuscitation in the event of a system failure, virus infection, deletion of important files and a host of other problems. Despite the presence in Windows of the regular functionality for backing up the system, for these purposes, in most cases, it is used third party software. And often users trust Windows resuscitation Acronis software True Image has been the market leader in data backup and recovery software for more than a decade. After backing up Windows with Acronis True Image, in case of problems with the system, it can be reanimated by rolling back to the state from this very backup. Even if Windows won't boot, True Image bootable media will come to the rescue.
We will discuss this entire process in detail below: we will create a backup copy of Windows in Acronis True Image 2016 and restore it using bootable media.
Free trial version of Acronis True Image 2016
IN latest versions 2015 and 2016, the True Image interface has become simpler and more intuitive than in its predecessor versions. Organization and appearance programs to match Windows 8.1 and 10: the design of the interface is dominated by simple lines and shapes, and large controls make it easier to touch. Acronis even claims superb backup and recovery performance, as much as 50% faster than the competition.
Acronis True Image in version 2016 is a paid software product. By purchasing the program, we get not only the functionality of Windows backup, but also a lot of other features:
- several ways Windows Recovery, including recovery at boot by pressing the F11 key;
- transferring Windows to a computer with another hardware;
- safe mode Windows work by the type of "sandbox";
- other useful features.
Acronis offers a free trial of True Image for a whole month with some functional limitations, which do not include Windows backup and recovery. As well as the possibility of creating bootable media is not limited. Let's take advantage of this free opportunity to the maximum, and first download this most free version of True Image 2016 on the official Acronis True Image website.
To receive a link to download the trial version, you must provide Acronis with your email address. Subsequently, it will occasionally receive letters informing about Acronis products, promotions, discounts, etc.
After installing and launching the program, we can close the login to the Acronis cloud storage account offered from the start and confirm the use of True Image in trial mode.
Create a Windows backup
In the True Image window, we need the first section. click "Entire computer".
In our case, it creates backup copy only the system partition with Windows, so the next choice will be, respectively, "Disks and Partitions".
In the backup source selection window, check only system partition FROM. Click "OK".
In the window for choosing a backup destination, you must specify the location where the copy of Windows will be stored. The program provides for saving a copy in the process of its creation on:
- local space of the computer,
- removable media (USB-HDD),
- network resources, in particular, in Acronis cloud storage.
What's better? Cloud storage from the creator of the program is practically imposed on users, since this pleasure is paid. However, what cloud service from Acronis that any other web resource is not the most reliable place to store data, if not high speed internet. And how, in some cases, inoperable Windows can connect to the Internet? There may also be problems connecting to local network resources. The most reliable backup storage location is an additional internal or external HDD. A non-system partition on the same hard drive that hosts the system partition with Windows is not the best place to store it, because if this drive fails, you will be left without backups.
In our case external hard there is no disk, but there is a connected internal HDD, therefore, in the backup destination window, select "Browse".
One of the partitions on the second internal HDD will be specially allocated for storing Windows backups and we will call this partition Backup to make it easier to navigate when restoring. If, when choosing a backup location in the tree structure of the computer, disk partitions are not opened, a specific path to the folder of the storage directory can be written in the column at the top with the inscription "Save copy to:". After selecting the location for storing the copy, click "OK".
Next, we will see a window for starting the backup process. In the lower left corner of the window there is the “Settings” option, this is the Acronis True Image configuration functionality that allows you to set flexible options - for example, set periodic scheduled backups or select an incremental backup method when only changes are made to each subsequent copy. Also, in the settings, you can exclude certain types of files or directories from the backup, set up duplication of the copy in an alternative location, select low priority Acronis works True Image for allocating computer resources in parallel with ongoing operations, etc.
In our case, resort to additional settings We will not, but immediately proceed to create a backup copy. Click the "Create a copy" button. By the way, Acronis True Image allows you to delay this moment for several hours in the drop-down list of this button.
During the creation of a backup, at any time you can check the box to turn off the computer and go about your business.
After the operation is completed, the backup copy will appear in the window of the first section of the program. In the same section, you can also start the recovery process from a backup - even Windows, even individual files.
In our case, we will not start the Windows recovery process inside the installed program. Let's complicate the task and create bootable Acronis True Image media in order to consider the process of restoring an unbootable Windows.
Create bootable media
To create bootable media, go to the "Tools" tab of the program and select "Bootable Media Builder".
Since the free trial version of Acronis True Image 2016 is limited to a month of testing, this process should not be shelved. By the way, bootable media will allow you to restore Windows, but being created as part of the free trial version of the program, it will not allow you to create a backup copy, as is provided in the full version of Acronis True Image 2016.
Choose the first type of bootable media.
In the next window, you need to select the media itself directly - a DVD, flash drive or ISO file for storage and subsequent recording on any of the media. If you select a DVD or flash drive, Acronis True Image will carry out the burning process itself. Keeping an entire flash drive for a rainy day is probably an excessive luxury for many. It would be much more practical to allocate a DVD for these purposes or create an ISO file that can, for example, be stored on another computer and written to a USB flash drive at the right time. Plus, Acronis True Image cannot create UEFI flash drives, and for computers with UEFI BIOS, in any case, you will need software with the ability to create bootable UEFI flash drives.
In our case, select the ISO file and specify the path to save it.
Click the "Get Started" button.
The bootable media has been created.
Windows recovery
Suppose that black day has come, and Windows does not boot. We go into the BIOS and set the computer to boot from a DVD or flash drive created in Acronis True Image. The start window of the bootable media will offer several options for further actions, from which you need to select the launch Acronis True Image 2016 with the appropriate bit depth.
In the recovery window, click either "Update Backups" to have Acronis True Image find files of its own format, or use the button "Search Backup" specify the path to the desired file.
As soon as the backups appear in the Acronis True Image window, call on the desired context menu and click "Restore".
The choice of recovery method: in our case, we are talking about Windows resuscitation, not folders and files, so choose "Recover disks and partitions". Click "Next".
Selecting items to restore: in this window, check both the system partition C and the MBR boot record. Click "Next".
In the window for setting recovery settings, in our case, no changes will be made, and, in principle, you will have to change something only if you transfer Windows as a separate partition to another connected hard drive. Click "Next".
If more than one internal hard drives, then Acronis True Image will ask you to specify one of them to restore the MBR boot record. Specify and click "Next".
The preparation is completed, we can proceed directly to the Windows recovery process.
The recovery operation progress window is equipped with options to automatically restart and shut down the computer after the process is completed. You can use them if necessary.
Recovery completed successfully.
Now we can exhibit again in BIOS boot from hard drive and test reanimated Windows.
Have a great day!
Have you ever wanted to use a system that you made a copy of with Acronis in a virtual machine? There are cases when it is not always convenient to completely destroy the current system. And the file with the system image stubbornly does not want to be mounted in any virtual machine.
There is a way out, to mount the Acronis image into a virtual machine you will need:
- Acronis True Image;
- StarWind V2V Image Converter;
- VMware Workstation.
You already have an image or several of its parts in the format .tib, which contains the snapshot of the system you need. Install Acronis True Image, the version for working in the system, not the boot! I’ll make a reservation right away, it’s paid, you can try out the trial version, you can purchase it or just swipe it - it’s up to you.
Open True Image and enter the section Tools and Utilities- Convert Acronis backup
I used Acronis True Image 2013 with the crack installed on top, in other versions the location may be different, but in general - this function is present.
Here you select your copy of the system, specify the path where the converted system should go. If your cast consists of several parts - do not despair, specify the last part and the program will pick up all the parts that were before.
You received an image in the format .vhd. But it also cannot be used in your virtual machine. Now you will need the StarWind V2V Image Converter utility, it is free and can be downloaded from .
Choose a storage location for your vhd image and convert it to the format VMWare growable image(I recommend). The process will be long, and the transcoding speed will depend on the file size and the power of your computer.
And finally, you got the coveted image .vmdk, now it is one, regardless of how many parts it was originally. It is this image that will be further mounted into a virtual machine.
Create new virtual machine in VMware Workstation, select custom installation, indicate the version of the OS, RAM and cores you will allocate for it, do not forget to indicate in the system installation selection menu that you install the system later and what you want select an existing hard drive. (see screenshots below) When specifying an existing image, you may be offered to re-route the image into a newer format, I recommend not to do this, because the system does not always remain operational after this. I used VMware Workstation 9.0 with localization.
Creating a fully customized image operating system from installed applications often necessary in a corporate environment, and home users will not give up installation disk, in which a favorite set of programs and tweaks is embedded. In modern Windows operating systems, creating such an image is much easier than in Windows XP, and you can get by with the help of an automatic installation package.
This article explains how to prepare and deploy a fully customized system image, and covers how to back up an operating system to a WIM image.
On this page
You will need
- Deployment Tools from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)
Of course, you will need a computer to install and configure the OS, as well as a place to save the system image. The installation computer can be a virtual machine (for example, Hyper-V from Windows or VirtualBox). You can save the customized image to the non-system partition of this computer.
For example, during system installation, you can create two partitions - install the OS on one, and subsequently save the image on the second. Also, in a virtual machine, you can always connect one more virtual disk. Finally, the customized image can be saved to a network share or a USB drive. As you can see, there are many options - there are plenty to choose from.
Advantages and disadvantages of using a customized image
In my opinion, the advantages of a fully customized image seem to outweigh the disadvantages.
Advantages
- Quick installation of a system with a set of applications, since it does not take time to install them. However, compared to the standard image, it takes slightly longer to unpack the customized image.
- You can further customize the operating system by using an answer file that is used in conjunction with the customized image.
- It becomes possible to deploy the image using the utility ImageX. The default image can only be used in conjunction with the installer because not all options (such as language) are configured.
disadvantages
- Increasing the size of the image. The final size depends on the number and volume of installed applications. If you plan to install further from DVD, be aware of the 32-bit version's .wim file size limit of 4 GB (2^32 bytes).
- The versions of the applications included in the image may be out of date. To support current versions applications, you will have to rebuild the image. Applications that are updated regularly probably don't make sense to include in an image. They can be installed separately, automating this process.
Steps to create a customized image
Creating your own WIM image can be divided into the following steps:
- Application installation and system setup
- Preparing the system using the utility sysprep
- Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using a utility ImageX
The resulting image can then be included on the installation disk, installed from a network share, or deployed using ImageX.
A note about setting user parameters
In addition to installing applications, audit mode allows you to configure custom settings. There are two ways to apply settings to an image.
You can:
- Configure only system settings, and import user settings using REG files into the configured WIM image (or into the original image before starting the installation described here).
- Configure both user and system settings, and then ensure that the answer file copies the built-in account profile Administrator to the standard user profile.
Import registry settings
The principle itself is discussed in detail in the article Applying registry tweaks. I believe that you have read it and have a complete understanding of importing user and system settings.
Copying a profile using a response file
To copy a customized account profile to a standard user profile, you can use an answer file that contains the setting
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | CopyProfile
If this setting is set to true, the profile is copied.
You need to use this opportunity when installing a customized image by including in the answer file given parameter. In this case, profile copying will occur on the pass 4 Specialize.
Example universal file answers for 32-bit and 64-bit OS
Why does this article recommend copying the profile during installation instead of pointing to the sysprep answer file when generalizing the image?
Copying the profile in any case occurs during installation at the Specialize stage. If you use the /unattend option of the sysprep utility, the answer file is cached and then used during installation. At the time of writing the first version of the article, this did not work, despite the documentation.
If you are using MDT or SCCM, the method described in the article is required for reasons stated in KB973289:
Now about everything in order.
Starting the installation of the operating system from the installation disk and entering the audit mode
The first step in preparing a customized image is to start the OS from the installation disk. Installation can be done manually, or you can automate this process using a response file.
Manual installation
Manual installation is not fraught with any tricks. If you plan to save a customized image on a non-system disk partition, use the program Windows installation to create partitions.
Advice. When installing the system on a virtual machine, you can connect a second virtual disk and later use it to save the image. This will make it easier to copy the image to your production environment, since VHD(X) can always be mounted on a physical machine.
Continue with the installation up to the OOBE stage. It is easy to recognize by the offer to choose an account name and a picture for it.
At this stage, not when choosing an account name, press CTRL+SHIFT+F3. This key combination will put the system into audit mode with the rights of the built-in account Administrator.
Automatic installation
With an answer file, you can automate all steps of a Windows installation, including managing hard disk partitions, entering audit mode, and even installing applications in it, as described in the article. You can follow the instructions in it up to the section "Putting the system into oobe mode" (this article covers fully automated installation).
Install updates, applications and system setup
After entering audit mode, you can start installing updates, applications, and configuring operating system settings. Do not close the utility window sysprep- you will need it at the end of the setup phase.
If a system restart is required to install an application or update, you can do so. After a reboot, the system will return to audit mode. As mentioned above, the process of installing applications can be automated using a response file. You can configure any system and user settings in the Windows GUI. You can also import registry settings from pre-prepared .reg files.
On Windows 8 and later, do not update apps from the Windows Store as this will cause problems when generalizing the image. You also need to delete modern applications according to science. See the warning in the TechNet Library and KB2769827 .
Once you have finished installing applications and setting up your system, you should prepare it for future use.
Preparing the system with the sysprep utility
After the installation of applications and system setup is completed, preparation is performed using the utility sysprep. Depending on which installation method you choose, the steps will be slightly different.
Manual installation
When manually installing the system, the utility sysprep runs when you enter audit mode. To prepare the system for further use (in this case, to create a customized image), you need to set the utility parameters, as shown in the figure below.
With the specified options, the following is done (in parentheses are the equivalent sysprep command-line options):
- Prepare the system (/generalize) - remove unique system settings, clear event logs, reset the security identifier (SID), etc. This setting is absolutely necessary to create a customized image.
- Putting the system into OOBE mode (/oobe) - this mode will be activated the next time the system starts.
- Shutdown the system (/shutdown).
Sample Universal Answer File for Saving 32-bit and 64-bit OS Drivers
Automatic installation
If you are automating audit mode entry and application installation using a response file, as described in Installing applications in audit mode, you need to add the following synchronous command with the highest sequence number. This command can also be used during manual installation, after closing the utility window sysperp.
%SystemRoot%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown /quiet
The first three command line options are listed in the same order as the utility GUI options described above. Parameter /quiet- provides quiet operation and is necessary for automation.
After sysprep finishes, the system will shut down. Now it is fully configured, and you can create its image using the utility ImageX.
Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the ImageX utility
Note. Image size install.wim, included in the installation disk of a 32-bit operating system, must not exceed 4 GB (2 ^ 32 bytes). Otherwise, the installation will fail. This limitation does not apply to deploying an image using the utility imagex.
If the installation Windows files hosted on a network share, you can copy the customized image and answer file there, and then boot into Windows PE and connect to the network share and run the installation from the command line.
Net use y: \\network_share\distrib y:\setup.exe /unattend:unattend.xml
Deploying a customized image using the ImageX utility
Using Windows PE and the utility ImageX, you can deploy the customized image to your computer.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
Note. Deploying an image with ImageX only possible on a volume that has the same drive letter as the volume saved in the image. In addition, with the help ImageX cannot deploy standard (source) image Install.wim.
Let's look at an example of deploying a customized image. It is assumed that the computer's hard drive is not formatted. After booting into Windows PE, you need to use the utility diskpart create a partition on the hard drive and format it. I will demonstrate the creation of a single partition on a disk.
Diskpart select disk 0 create partition primary select partition 1 active format fs=NTFS label="System" quick assign letter=c exit
Additional information about utility commands diskpart you can get it by running it with the key /? , or from the article Diskpart CLI Description . If desired, the process of creating a section can be automated.
It remains only to apply the image.
Imagex /apply E:\custom.wim 1 c:
In this command:
- /apply- application of the image
- E:\custom.wim- the way to the image. When placed on network drive first you need to connect it with the command net use E:\\network_share\images.
- 1 is the index of the image saved in the .wim file.
- c: is the letter of the volume to which the image is applied.
By applying the image, you can make sure (with the command dir) that is on the section C there were files unpacked from the image. This partition now hosts the operating system in the state it was in when the image was created. If the image was saved after the settings were made in audit mode, the next time the computer is turned on, the system will enter OOBE mode, allowing the user to perform initial setup parameters.
If the configured account profile was copied during image preparation, all new Accounts will have exactly the same parameters.
Deploying a customized image using WDS
As with a standard image, you can use Windows Deployment Services (WDS) to deploy a customized image. A detailed account of this method is beyond the scope of the article, so I will limit myself to a link to the WDS manual posted on Microsoft Technet.
Backing up the operating system to a WIM image
The article focuses on installing applications and configuring the system in audit mode and saving the image at this stage of the installation. The advantage of this approach is that the saved image is neutral - it does not contain any accounts (other than built-in), personal files, and sensitive data.
You may be wondering if it is possible to save the system image after complete installation, i.e. after the OOBE stage, the first login and subsequent configuration. This question is relevant if you want to install the system, work in it for a while - install applications, configure various settings, etc., and then create an image.
Mention that imagex does not know how to use hard links (I checked - it can).
So, after applying the image:
- File extended attributes are lost. These are NTFS attributes that are only needed for backward compatibility with applications… OS/2.
- Sparse files (sparse files) are captured, but after application they are no longer such.
- Symbolic links and connections are automatically updated. In some scenarios (eg SIS) this causes links to go to the wrong place.
In my opinion, in typical scenarios for using a client OS at home, these restrictions can be neglected. But restoring such an image on another PC (even with the same hardware configuration) can lead to serious hardware conflicts.
However, there are several points to which I would like to draw your attention.
- Installed programs and personal files can take up a lot of disk space, which will affect the size of the backup WIM image. You may need a dual-layer DVD or high capacity USB to store the image.
- You can reduce the size of a WIM image by excluding files and folders from its composition when capturing a volume with a utility ImageX. The file is used for this. wimscript.ini, which is briefly discussed in the article on creating boot disk Windows PE. His detailed description is in the help file "Manual Windows user PE", which is part of the ADK.
Recovery
Restoring from a backup WIM image is performed as described in the article section. However, the sequence of utility commands given there diskpart needs to be corrected.
For example, if there are several partitions on the disk, and the system is installed on the first one, the sequence of commands to prepare this partition for recovery will be as follows:
Diskpart select disk 0 select partition 1 active format fs=NTFS label="System" quick assign letter=c exit
You can include a customized WIM image as part of the Windows PE boot disk, thereby creating a one-stop system recovery solution - recovery environment and backup image.
Conclusion
Create and deploy a fully configured system Windows image using the tools included in the ADK is a fairly simple task. Such an image can be made neutral (that is, it does not contain personal files and personal data) by installing applications and configuring settings in audit mode.
This approach allows for further customization of the image during installation using a response file, and also retains the end user's ability to set personal options during the OOBE phase when the system is first started. You can also use WIM imaging technology to back up your operating system.
One of the main tasks of the IT service is to ensure continuity information processes the whole enterprise and each of its divisions separately. When new systems are purchased or PCs fail, jobs are usually idle - a loss for the business. Therefore, it is very important to learn how to deploy OS and applications, restore their performance and restore damaged (stolen) data as soon as possible.
Purpose of Acronis Snap Deploy
Depending on the structure of the organization and the number of client/server systems, deploying the OS, drivers, and applications can be quite complex and time consuming. To facilitate the work of system administrators, a number of special tools are being developed in the depths of Microsoft (Windows Deployment Services, Microsoft Deployment Toolkit and System Center Configuration Manager), which provide the ability to install the OS and then roll everything you need using ready-made settings. At the same time, it is proposed to create a WIM image (Windows Imaging Format) with all patches and a response file that automates the installation using WAIK (Windows Automated Installation Kit, see the article "Self-assembled windows", ][_01_2009). The only difficulty is that setting up the environment will take some time, and in the future the configuration will have to be refined as needed. The main advantage of this method is the ability to take into account the features of the equipment of each computer and the future workplace. Another approach to automating the deployment procedure is to clone systems from the created disk image. The principle is very simple: install the OS on a template PC and that's it desired applications, then we clone the system partition and propagate it to the rest of the PCs. A great way to deploy or restore the health of many systems of a standard configuration, including in a virtual environment. This option is simpler and clearer to implement and faster to deploy, although not as flexible as the previous one, since when changing the composition of the software or using different equipment, you need to create a new image (by the way, no one bothers to prepare several casts to cover all situations).
Acronis Snap Deploy uses the second option, but with its own nuances. In general, the process is as follows. The administrator creates a master image of the reference PC with preinstalled Windows or Linux and sends it to the server. The new PC, using PXE, boots a special agent that downloads and deploys the image. If the computer's BIOS does not support network booting, the agent can be started using a bootable CD/DVD, USB, or floppy disk that is created using the ASD itself. Individual (for a specific MAC) or multicast transmission (IP - 239.255.219.45) is supported, allowing you to deploy multiple systems at the same time, thereby reducing network load and speeding up the PC commissioning process. It is also possible to set the TTL value for multicast, which will limit the distribution network packets through gateways. All actions are logged, so it is not at all difficult to track events.
You can deploy a template image manually or on a schedule. There is a so-called "live" image creation, which is performed on a running system. To do this, an agent must be installed on the PC, which will also get on the disk, which is not always desirable. Therefore, it is more rational to create an image offline when the computer is booted using Acronis bootable media. If the computer contains several disks and partitions, the Image Creation Wizard allows you to select the necessary ones (not supported). dynamic disks and disks with GPT).
WARNING
- Acronis Universal Deploy needs to open TCP/445, TCP/9876, UDP/9876, UDP/9877, TCP/25001 and for PXE - UDP/67-69.
- To prevent the user from inadvertently initiating a PXE installation, it is best to password protect the settings.
Images, images
It is very convenient that an image created by Acronis True Image or Acronis Backup & Recovery can be used as a reference image. Due to this, when organizing periodic backups, all questions about the relevance of the software and the availability of all patches for each host are removed. ASD version 4 also supports Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) created by Win7 Backup, Virtual PC or Acronis. Therefore, such a scheme is convenient not only for deploying the OS on bare metal, but also for quickly restoring or returning the system to the initial state. The latter may be needed during training or when several people use the computer (for example, in an Internet cafe). The so-called custom deployment is also provided, when it is initiated by the user himself, who has selected the appropriate item in the OS boot menu.
The image can be saved to the server's hard disk (recommended), network resource, CD/DVD/Blu-ray or USB device. If the image does not fit on one CD/DVD, the next one will be requested. Several compression levels are supported, but this will require more time and resources.
ASD supports installation of Windows operating systems starting from NT/98 and Linux, image capture from FAT, NTFS, ext2/3/4, ReiserFS, Reiser4, XFS, JFS and Linux Swap file systems. Sector-by-sector image removal and OS deployment from officially unsupported file systems is provided.
Clonezilla - open source alternative
To clone the OS, it is not necessary to buy proprietary Acronis, you can choose one of the projects with open source license. The most popular is Clonezilla, which allows you to create and restore an OS from an image. Officially Supported a large number of FS used in Linux (including LVM), Windows, *BSD, Mac OS X, and VMware products that back up only used blocks (using Partclone, Partimage, or ntfsclone). The rest can be "removed" sector by sector, dd is used for these purposes. Therefore, there are no OS restrictions. The result is saved locally, to removable media and a remote server (SSH, SMB, NFS). A special version of Clonezilla SE (Server Edition) allows you to clone images to multiple systems using PXE, including using multicast. Of course, all DHCP, PXE, TFTP and NFS settings will need to be done manually, but they are well documented, so there should be no problems.
Useful features
During the deployment process of modern Windows versions, ASD allows you to change some parameters - name, network settings, domain membership / working group, security identifier SID (Security Identifier), license. This distinguishes ASD from other similar OS cloning systems, which, as a rule, do not know how to manage the SID, and to make it unique, you have to use an additional tool - Sysprep (System Preparation Tool).
You can also run an application or script on the target machine, copy files. For convenience, you can create deployment templates and use them later. Another important point - the program can change the size of volumes depending on the availability free space on the target disk, adjusting the resulting size (stretching) or leaving it as is (with unallocated space).
The problem of installing the OS on hardware other than the master PC is solved by the optional Acronis Universal Deploy (AUD) module, which is available for a fee and is able to automatically configure Windows drivers.
ASD components
To solve the tasks, ASD uses several components: a deployment server (Deploy Server), a management console, a PXE server, a management agent, and a license server that can be installed on a PC under Windows control XP and up. Another component - Wake-on-LAN Proxy - allows you to turn on computers located on a different subnet where the Wake-on-LAN signal does not pass. Components can be installed on the same or different machines. Considering that Deploy Server usually stores all images, a large capacity hard drive may be needed. For the management console, a regular PC running a desktop is suitable. Windows versions. You can also use the console to install on remote systems other ASD components, for which you need to go to "Tools -> Install components remotely", then select the one you need in %ProgramFiles%\Common Files\Acronis\SnapDeploy\RemoteInstall and specify the IP or PC name. This will require administrator rights. If the remote PC is running Win7, be sure to disable UAC.
Bootable media can be of two types, both have a similar GUI, but differ in the set of components. Thus, the Acronis bootable media is based on Linux and is recommended in most cases. If the hardware is not recognized correctly, you should use PXE bootable media built in WinPE (requires WAIK). After the boot components are assembled, they should be transferred to the selected PXE server.
For management, a graphical console and command line tools are used. The process of installing ASD components and subsequent work in the console are carried out using clear wizards that minimize the risk of incorrect setting of parameters. The names of the menu items are clear and specific, and the product is well documented and localized, so there are usually no problems using it. After starting, the console connects to local server; if you need to manage a component (server, license server, PXE server, and management agent) located on another machine, select the "Connect" menu item and specify the IP address. Creating and configuring an image is done from the "Welcome Screen" menu.
All connections between the agent and the server are secure, which allows you to avoid interception of information. There is one danger when using PXE to install the OS: if network boot is left in the BIOS by mistake, the user can initiate the installation. Therefore, it is better to protect the installer with a password by entering it in the corresponding window of the wizard. A DHCP server must be active on the network for PXE to work.
ASD licenses are required for each machine deployed: for any number of installations on a particular machine, or one successful installation on any machine (tracked by MAC address). The license can be of two types - server or PC, as they are installed, they are usually distributed automatically. However, if the Deployment Wizard does not know which type of license to apply to the current installation, it will prompt you.
Data backup with Acronis Backup & Recovery
ASD can capture a partition image, but cannot replace specialized backup applications. Full copies of hard, including user data, will take up significant space, load the network and require large processing resources. In addition, find and restore separate file using it is problematic, you have to deploy the entire image. Therefore, in this case, you should pay attention to more flexible specialized solutions, such as Acronis Backup & Recovery (ABR), which is a continuation of the popular Acronis True Image line. ABR is designed to backup and restore data on desktops, servers and virtual machines Oh(VMware, Hyper-V, XenServer, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization and Parallels Server). The necessary functions are implemented respectively in the Workstation, Server and Virtual Edition versions. With ABR, you can back up the entire hard disk, partition (block and sector-by-sector copy) or individual folders and files at the user's choice. The backup wizard allows you to specify file patterns to exclude, so the result will contain only what is really important. The created image can be viewed in Explorer as a regular folder or connected to the system as a disk and work with it in read/write or read-only mode. At the same time, there is no need to stop the system to create a copy.
Compared to ASD supported large quantity disk types: MBR and GPT, basic and dynamic. MS Exchange data is recognized and SQL Server, so the administrator can find and restore a copy of an email or any file. The possibility of encrypting and compressing the resulting image, limiting the load on the network, automatically splitting the copy into parts, executing commands before and after the operation is provided. A new backup can be created once, according to a schedule, and when a certain event occurs (for example, a user logs out). In addition, presets contain several ready-made schemes. All this gives the administrator flexible control over the process.
Backup can be performed to SAN/NAS storage devices, optical drives and tape devices network folders and FTP server. Moreover, the backup wizard allows you to specify up to five file storage locations, thereby increasing redundancy. During retention, you can move outdated copies from one vault to another. For computers that are often outside the local area, you can set a backup to a special hard section Acronis Secure Zone disk (ASZ, in fact, it is FAT32 with the ACRONIS SZ label and partition type 0xBC code), protected from viruses and hidden from the user. It is convenient that you can recover data from ASZ very quickly, but this does not help in case of failure of the hard drive itself.
The deduplication module saves disk space, eliminating duplication of identical data: if the repository already has a file to be archived, then a link is simply created. To ensure data integrity at the application level, Windows VSS (Volume Shadow Copy Service) technology is used. For storage, we offer our own online storage Acronis Backup & Recovery Online, which can be used both together with the solution from Acronis, and separately. The data in such a storage is available from anywhere, which allows you to protect yourself from force majeure circumstances such as a natural disaster or theft of equipment. To reduce traffic, you can fill the storage with a full copy once, and subsequently send only the changed data.
When backing up data from virtual machines, you can install an agent and control its operation in the same way as when working with a physical server. For VMware vSphere or MS Hyper-V, it is possible to use a single agent for the host machine, which allows you to control all VMs at once.
Snapshots allow you to quickly restore the operating system on a similar or different hardware, in the latter case you will need Acronis Universal Restore. Its functions are similar to AUD and allow you to easily transfer the server to other equipment during the upgrade, perform P2V, V2P and V2V migration or OS clone. Including automatic change of identifier is supported Windows Security SID (Security ID).
If the computer does not start due to an OS crash or the destructive action of viruses, the OS can be restored from boot menu or using a special disk.
As befits a backup program, full, incremental and differential backups are supported, which allows you to reduce the size of the saved data. The incremental backup algorithm uses NTFS data, rather than rescanning the entire disk, so necessary files are found quickly and such a copy is created as soon as possible.
Supported by x86/x64 Windows OS starting from 2kSP4, and file systems FAT16/32, NTFS. The Linux version will run on any distribution of Linux 2.4.20+ and glibc 2.3.2 or later. RHEL/CentOS, Fedora, SLES, Ubuntu, Debian and ext2/3/4, ReiserFS, XFS and JFS file systems are officially supported. It is worth noting that when using the last three FS, you cannot restore individual files.
For small groups of computers, versions of ABR are intended that do not have centralized management, while tasks are installed locally. For large organizations, you should choose the option with the prefix Advanced. Licensed by ABR per machine, but Virtual Edition allows unlimited P2V, V2P, or V2V migrations to and from a host machine.