Windows 8.1 startup failure after disk restore by Backupper v3.2 WinPE
I installed Backupper v3.2 on my new Asus laptop with 64-bit Windows 8.1 and created the WinPE boot CD. I then did a Windows reset, rebooted to the CD and performed a disk backup using intelligent-sector and high-compression options. The following GPT partitions are factory-installed:
100MB FAT32 EFI system partition (active, boot)
128MB unformatted Microsoft reserved
95GB NTFS OS (system)
128GB NTFS Data
15GB NTFS Recovery
During backup, Backupper threw errors about the VSS service not being available, but proceeded OK. Then I rebooted and went through the initial Windows installation. As a test, I rebooted to the Backupper CD and restored the OS partition. After reboot, Windows indicated that it was repairing and diagnosing, and then I went through initial Windows installation successfully again.
The problem occurred when I rebooted to the Backupper CD and did a disk restore (all partitions). Windows indicated that there was a problem and would not start, even after another reboot. Therefore, I gave up on Aomei Backupper, and I restored my disk to factory defaults using the backup I created with Asus Backtracker instead.
Some questions:
1. Did the problem occur because I did not perform a sector-by-sector backup of the first two partitions, and that Microsoft is changing data in them?
2. Is there a way in Backupper to do a sector-by-sector backup of the first two partitions and intelligent-sector backup of the last three partitions when performing a disk backup?
3. Can I achieve the same goal with separate partition backups? If so, is the order of the restore important?
4. Do all partition backups contain starting and ending sector info so they can be restored to the same location?
5. Does only the backup of the active boot partition contain the partition table?
I need to understand these things better before I reformat the disk and install Windows using different partitioning. After that, I can only use Asus Backtracker to restore to factory defaults. I would like to learn how to use Aomei Backupper to restore my own backups.
Comments
Did you make a 'Disk backup' or a 'System Backup'?
I find that a 'Disk backup' of the HDD which actually boots Windows (typically the 'C' drive) causes lots of problems, whereas a 'System Backup' of 'C' will restore without problems.
I performed a 'Disk Backup' using intelligent-sector and high-compression options.
Good to know you are having the same problem. If I perform a 'System Backup' of C: instead, how can I also backup my
(data) and Recovery partitions in a way that a restore to a reformatted disk will put them back to the same locations?
Sorry, I've never partitioned my drives (use separate drives) or had a PC with a recovery partition.
Someone elese will have to chime in.
I had read in this forum that Aomei Backupper doesn't backup track 1:
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/threads/aomei-backupper-aomei-partition-assistant.361543/
Does 'System Backup' work better than 'Disk Backup' because 'System Backup' saves track 1?
I plan to reformat my drive and install 64-bit Windows 8.1 Pro without the extra data or recovery partitions. If Windows 8.1 is activated, I do a 'System Backup', reformat the drive (as GPT), and 'System Restore' to the same PC and drive, will I have to activate Windows 8.1 again? And will Windows report that it repairs and diagnoses before restarting? These are good indications of whether Aomei Backupper is saving and restoring all the important disk data.
sidrick - have you tried the test above?
I took an existing 1TB Seagate HDD that had Win 10 system on the single boot partition.
Modified HDD to shrink 'C' and made a new partition 'L'.
'C' drive (boots W10).
New partition 'L' a data drive.
Made a system backup of 'C'.
Made a partition backup of 'L'.
Booted with PE disk.
System restore of 'C' to Seagate OK.
Located the 'L' partition backup and restored it onto the original Seagate.
Got back 'C' and 'L' with no problems apparent.
Verified bootup on 'C'.
Verified data on 'L'.
Deleted 'L' partition and expanded 'C'.
@sidrick - thanks for doing that test. Since the HDD was not formatted between the backup and the restore operations (a bare metal test), the test doesn't show whether Aomei backupper backed up all the info Windows needs to avoid repair, diagnosis or re-activation.
I would be very interested if you or anyone reports the results from a bare metal test with activated Windows 8.1 or Windows 10 on a GPT disk.
I took the Win 10 1TB Seagate drive and formatted it.
Deleted the volume making the full drive space unallocated with no drive letter.
Booted with the PE stick.
Did a Win 10 system restore to the disk OK.
Restored the second partition image .
Rebooted the disk to Win 10 OK and checked that I could access the second partition drive OK.
I don't know anything about GPT, sorry.
@sidrick - thanks for doing another test. When you formatted the drive, did you format as MBR or GPT? If you are not sure, you could use the AOMEI Partition Assistant or AOMEI PE Builder to check. I think GPT is needed for secure boot. If it was GPT, then Aomei Backupper passes the test!
It's MBR at present, how would I change it?
My suggestion is reformat the disk with the GPT option, then do the restores again. The free AOMEI Partition Assistant supports reformat as GPT:
http://www.disk-partition.com/help/initialize-disk.html
AOMEI PE builder includes Backupper and Partition Assistant:
http://www.aomeitech.com/pe-builder.html
Reading about my motherboard (ASUS P7P55D-E) it doesn't support this - thus the drive would not be bootable?
I can try the conversion and restore etc if you wish, but would that answer the original question since the drive (even if it was readable) would not be bootable?
Let me know.
After restoring my disk using Asus Backtracker, I used the Aomei Backupper v3.2 WinPE to do a 'System Backup' and 'Partition Backup' for each partition other than the EFI System partition. Next, I used the Partition Wizard Bootable CD Free Edition (http://www.partitionwizard.com/download.html) to wipe the disk with zeros and then initialize the disk as GPT, leaving all space unallocated.
The partitions from the factory included a 128MB Microsoft Reserved Partition (MSR), which was between the EFI System partition and the OS partition. The first problem I noticed with the Backupper PE is that the MSR was excluded from both the 'System Backup' image and the partions restored by 'System Restore'. A serious bug.
Next, I used 'Partition Restore' to restore the Data and Recovery partitions. The second problem I noticed with the Backupper PE is that Windows 8.1 Boot Manager reported that it could not boot and the disk needs to be repaired. Another serious bug.
I used Asus Backtracker to return my disk to the factory settings, so I don't need to send my PC back to Asus for repair. However, Aomei Backupper v3.2 proved to be a complete failure for me. Perhaps other Backupper have not seen this problem yet because they are restoring to the same drive without wiping the data first.
@sidrick - Thanks for all your effort and help. I hope my information has been also helpful to you.
I am now looking to other companies for disk backup software...
In my last post, where I said 'initialize the disk as GPT', 'Convert MBR Disk to GPT Disk' is actually what I did. 'initialize the disk as GPT', on the other hand, creates a partition, and I wanted all space unallocated in preparation for the Backupper restore.
Out of curiosity, I did a 'Disk Backup' from the WinPE with VSS disabled and verification enabled. No errors during backup, but 'Disk Restore' had the same problems as before.
I also did a 'Disk Backup' from within Windows with VSS and verification enabled. No errors during backup, but 'Disk Restore' from the WinPE had the same problems as before.
I also used WinPE to do a 'Partition Restore' of just C: from the backup made within Windows. Same problems.
I did a Windows reset between each of these tests to ensure that everything was back to normal. I should note that Macrium Reflect Free 'Disk Backup' from the WinPE passes my test of restore after wiping the disk.
One thing I notice is that Macrium restores the disk GUID of the original, while Aomei does not.