As noted in one of my other threads, I've been using Macrium Reflect for backups now for over a week. I think it's top-notch, but before I purchase it, I need to be able to prove that I can recover the system if my SSD boot drive were to die.
My critical need comprises two possible scenarios:
I. I take clone backups about every 3-to-6 weeks. I need to verify that cloned disks can be installed and immediately booted from.
II. I have daily, weekly, and monthly backup scripts running. I need to verify that I can re-assemble any of my hard drive partitions from any full+incremental backup set that I might have laying around, including the SSD boot drive.
I am concerned that doing the actual tests, even for the clone test in "I" above and then replacing it with my production drive, I could get tripped up with Microsoft's authorization/activation methodology and that a simple "disaster recovery" test could end up screwing up my Windows 8 Pro license on this machine, or at least on this machine with the original SSD that I installed it to.
Here's what I want to do for my first two tests:
Test #1 - Boot from a clone:
1. Clone my current "production SSD" to a blank SSD of same or different size
2. Pull the production SSD out of the system and boot from the test SSD
3. Test for basic functionality of Windows and some apps
4. Shut down; remove and wipe the test SSD
5. Boot from production SSD and confirm functionality
Test #2 - Boot from images recovered to a blank SSD:
1. Recover a "-1" or "-2" full+incremental backup set to a blank SSD
2. Boot from test SSD
3. Test for functionality of Windows and some apps
4. Shut down; remove and wipe the test SSD
5. Boot from procuction SSD and confirm functionality
This plan entails swapping boot drives that contain the same Windows 8 "build". Can anybody tell me if there's anything I need to do to be sure I don't invalidate my Windows 8 Pro license or otherwise cause myself a hassle with Redmond?