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Any recommendation for W8 backup image creator utility is appreciated. Please exclude Acronis and EaseUS which I already tried.

Macrium Reflect Free

Macrium and/or the built in "Windows 7" full system backup built into W8
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... -whole-pc/

Thank you all for your replies.

frumper15 wrote:

Macrium and/or the built in "Windows 7" full system backup built into W8
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... -whole-pc/

I assume that the image has to be created on the W8 whose image is to be created. Can the image be restored on any primary partition?

churin wrote:

frumper15 wrote:

Macrium and/or the built in "Windows 7" full system backup built into W8
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... -whole-pc/

I assume that the image has to be created on the W8 whose image is to be created. Can the image be restored on any primary partition?

From what I hear - not personal experience - you have to be careful when restoring after using Windows 8's Windows 7 (ugh, the absurdity) image backup. It is apparently a file-based restore and will not automatically reformat the partitions for you. Do your reformatting manually ahead of time.

But really, the availability of Macrium Reflect Free (this is what I use) should make anything else a moot point. In my opinion. It's an excellent solution with many features, reliable, easy to use, very straightforward. And free.

flip-mode wrote:

churin wrote:

frumper15 wrote:

Macrium and/or the built in "Windows 7" full system backup built into W8
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... -whole-pc/

I assume that the image has to be created on the W8 whose image is to be created. Can the image be restored on any primary partition?

From what I hear - not personal experience - you have to be careful when restoring after using Windows 8's Windows 7 (ugh, the absurdity) image backup. It is apparently a file-based restore and will not automatically reformat the partitions for you. Do your reformatting manually ahead of time.

But really, the availability of Macrium Reflect Free (this is what I use) should make anything else a moot point. In my opinion. It's an excellent solution with many features, reliable, easy to use, very straightforward. And free.

OK, I will go for Macrium Reflect. Thanks.

flip-mode wrote:

churin wrote:

frumper15 wrote:

Macrium and/or the built in "Windows 7" full system backup built into W8
http://arstechnica.com/information-tech ... -whole-pc/

I assume that the image has to be created on the W8 whose image is to be created. Can the image be restored on any primary partition?

From what I hear - not personal experience - you have to be careful when restoring after using Windows 8's Windows 7 (ugh, the absurdity) image backup. It is apparently a file-based restore and will not automatically reformat the partitions for you. Do your reformatting manually ahead of time.

That's how .wim restore works. OTOH, the advantage is you can restore to any sized partition as long as it is large enough to hold all the files. No need to worry about alignment and all that going from HDD <-> SSD (since you format beforehand with a proper OS, at least that is the assumption).

Flying Fox wrote:

That's how .wim restore works. OTOH, the advantage is you can restore to any sized partition as long as it is large enough to hold all the files. No need to worry about alignment and all that going from HDD <-> SSD (since you format beforehand with a proper OS, at least that is the assumption).

Ah, well, that's an advantage, then. Good to know.

I downloaded the trial version of Macrium Reflect 5 Professional and tried restoring an image to a dissimilar hardware but this functionality appeared removed from the trial version.

Is there Anyone who used the Macrium Reflect to move an installed W7 system from one motherboard to a dissimilar motherboard?

Just sysprep the system before you image it.

You don't need Macrium to get that feature.

Ryu Connor wrote:

Just sysprep the system before you image it.

You don't need Macrium to get that feature.

Thank you very much for your help. I am aware of the sysprep but never tried. I will certainly try it finally.

When I tried to launch the sysprep the following is returned. This W7 installation was a clean install. What could be wrong about it.

Ryu Connor wrote:

http://tsmithjr-it.blogspot.com/2011/01/sysprep-cannot-run-on-computer-that-has.html

This is my life saver. Thank you very much again for your help.