Backup/Restore from one PC to another. How ?

[JesperMP]

Hi all.

Maybe someone here knows.

We are thinking about how we can quickly restore the complete software installation on a new PC, in case the other PC is broken, stolen, or lost in any other way.
The problem is that all the various software installations takes days to complete. And we cannot wait for that. And we also cannot make a raw binary image as the new PC will probably be different. Our IT department refuses to keep several unused PCs of the same type as our current ones in stock for only this purpose.

Maybe there is some kind of backup software that will backup all the installed software, registry values, special drivers etc.
And then we can restore all the software in one go.
Windows itself do not need to be backed up and restored. We assume we get a new blank PC, but with Windows already installed.
Licenses will be recovered one by one afterwards by the procedure of the various software vendors.

Any ideas ?

 

[rdrast]

My current favorite solution, is to use a Virtual Machine, then you just back up the VM. If you have to load on another computer in an emergency, just copy the VM file over. Even better, if you run VMWare Sphere, you can continuously backup live machines, and then restore them later if needed.

My second option is to use Acronis True Image.

The problem with full standalone backup solutions, is that there is no guarantee that the image will run when loaded onto new hardware (Video card, motherboard, disk configurations, etc). At least with a VM, you know, that now and in the future, the virtual hardware platform will be identical. Plus, you can run on different host OS's if you only have a Linux box hanging around for example.

There is no solution for 'Partial backups' of Windows, as the applications tie themselves in to intimately to the OS. You must use the installers.

 

[JesperMP]

Yes, running entirely in VMs has been discussed. But we have some business software that must run in native windows.
And we dont want to switch back and forth between the host and the guest OS all the time.

A regular image as you say needs an identical PC in order to ensure that the restore will work. It has been discussed to buy at least one extra PC and just keep it in stock until it is needed. Not a great solution either.

 

[JesperMP]

I get an idea.

Will it be possible to create a simple basic Windows installation without any special drivers, and then install the various software, and finally make an image of that ?
Restoring this image on a blank PC will then work, and the specific drivers can then be installed after this.
Could that work ?

I know that there is a problem with restoring an image from a PC with Intel CPU on a PC with AMD CPU (and vice-versa) because Windows does some low-level adaptations when it installs. But I asume that we will keep it to either Intel only or AMD only.

edit: Seems there is something called "hardware independent imaging". Could look like it is the ticket. Problem is how to persuade our IT go this route.

 

[gryskop]

Jasper,

I have found that loading an image back onto another machine you most often get a clash with one of the drivers. NIC, video, sound you name it.

My solution works by simply making sure that you have the new PC’s drivers for all peripherals. (Usually the motherboard has a driver CD included for all onboard functions) and obviously all additional devices added should have their own driver software.

I usually restore the image, and then re-install ALL drivers for all peripherals.

I’ve once had a problem though where the Administrator password did not work. An error somewhere in the UUID string that caused the whole installation application to halt. That was a costly exercise and it resulted in a 3 day complete system reload.

Regards,

Jacques

 

[Ron Beaufort]

the little IBM ThinkPads that I use make it easy to swap out a hard drive (just one screw that you could turn with a dime in an emergency) ... I keep a couple of "fully loaded" spare hard drives handy just in case a student does bad things to one of my lab computers part way through a class ...

as long as the laptop isn't physically damaged, then less than five minutes can have me back up and running again ...

but then again, I don't have an IT department to contend with ... still – maybe just swapping out the hard drive might be an idea for you to think about ...

 

[Christoff84]

I've done backups/restores to different hardware using Symantec's BackupExec. It worked fairly well for me, only minor issues but that was with server OSes (Win 2k3, Windows 2008). I'll second the call for VMWare, it's truely portable if you can get everything you need to run on it; with the way thin clients are going I find it much better for shop floor environments when you can use a computer with no moving parts to host everything.

I know with windows XP taking the HD from one machine to a different one was a shot in the dark, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I haven't tried this with Windows 7 yet, it may be more forgiving then past versions of windows.

I guess one option would be to install windows and the basic software loadout then run Microsoft's Sysprep to strip the drivers out of the system. Once you image that and boot it back up again, it goes through basically a repair install and reloads drivers.

 

[Ron Beaufort]

I know with windows XP taking the HD from one machine to a different one was a shot in the dark, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

sorry if I was misunderstood ... my suggestion was to swap the hard drive from one machine back to the SAME machine ...

in other words, fully load a hard drive and have it "ready to go" ... then store that hard drive on the shelf as a spare ...

now put in another hard drive and get it "ready to go" ... use this one until it drops – and at that point you could swap in the "spare" ...

this would be something along the lines of a "total brain transplant" ... as long as nothing in the rest of the computer hardware has been damaged, then this should be pretty much seamless – and probably about the quickest way to get back into business ...

 

[mellis]

The VMWare solution is fine, but I also have issues with switching back and forth. I still haven't found a really elegant way to share data from the host os to the virtual. As a couple people have mentioned, you can image the pc, then restore it on your new hardware. If it doesn't work, repair the install of Windows and you should be back up and running. It's the Windows drivers to match the hardware that are the issue, and you should be able to fix them after the image is restored. Your applications are still installed, that's what eats up the time reloading manually.

 

[The Plc Kid]

A regular image as you say needs an identical PC in order to ensure that the restore will work.

That's not exactly correct. Many imaging systemns have what is called HIR or hardware independant restore. You can do this with acronis but I like shadow protect better as it works best http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

You can also boot the shadowprotect images to a virtual machine using virtual pc / Hyper V, Vm Ware,Or Virtual Box

 

[The Plc Kid]

You could also create a slipstream that contains the OS with the setting you need and all applications.

N Lite and Autostreamer are good for this.

 

[The Plc Kid]

The best way to combat the driver issue others have mentioned is before you push your image to the new pc backup the drivers from the new pc then if there are conflicts after the image is installed all you need to do is restore the drives.

Drivermax is the best tool to backup and restore the driver core files.inf.

Drivermax can be downloaded here and is free. http://www.drivermax.com/

 

[JesperMP]

Thanks for all the comments and ideas.

I should have explained the background a bit more. Right now we have both a stationary PC for office work, and a laptop for traveling. In order to avoid the hassle with maintaining 2 PCs, the idea is to have a potent laptop with Win7 64 bit for everything. Then the worry is, what if this super laptop gets busted or stolen ? In that case we need to get up and running reasonably fast. A clean install takes a couple of days.
Due to issues with some business software, the VMware route is closed, depsite that it sounds as the easiest solution.

Many imaging systemns have what is called HIR or hardware independant restore. You can do this with acronis but I like shadow protect better as it works best http://www.storagecraft.com/shadow_protect_desktop.php

Sounds as a candidate for me. How much does it cost ?

u could also create a slipstream that contains the OS with the setting you need and all applications.
N Lite and Autostreamer are good for this.

Is that something a noob can figure out ?

The best way to combat the driver issue others have mentioned is before you push your image to the new pc backup the drivers from the new pc then if there are conflicts after the image is installed all you need to do is restore the drives.

Yes. That is what I figured.

 

[dskohio]

I wouldn't rule out the VM solution. One way I get around this is using a laptop and an additional monitor while I am in the office. I have Windows 7 on my laptop screen, and my VMware Workstation opened on my second monitor. This way, all you have to do to switch between VM and host is drag your mouse and click. I don't tend to need both the business software and the programming software at the same time when I am in the field. At this point, you would have to install the software that was resident on your host OS when you change to a new computer, but at least you don't have to install the programming software again.

 

[TurpoUrpo]

Thanks for all the comments and ideas.

I should have explained the background a bit more. Right now we have both a stationary PC for office work, and a laptop for traveling. In order to avoid the hassle with maintaining 2 PCs, the idea is to have a potent laptop with Win7 64 bit for everything. Then the worry is, what if this super laptop gets busted or stolen ? In that case we need to get up and running reasonably fast. A clean install takes a couple of days.
Due to issues with some business software, the VMware route is closed, depsite that it sounds as the easiest solution.

How much do you work off office? How big laptop you prefer, do you need battery to last more than two hours of work? What is the burden in maintaining two pc's? Do you need licenses backed up too?