Author Topic: Computer backup/clone software  (Read 503 times)

Hawkmoon

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Computer backup/clone software
« on: July 03, 2022, 04:00:29 PM »
I want to install some new software on a tablet computer but there's no guarantee it's going to work, so I need to be certain I can restore things to the way there are now before I commence mucking things up.

It's a small tablet running 32-bit Windows 10. But the built-in memory is only 32 GB, so I installed a 64 GB microSD card, set up a \Programs directory on that, and I have major programs installed on the SD card. But the Windows registry is somewhere on the C: drive, so I need to clone or mirror both the C: and D: drives.

I have EaseUS ToDo Backup, Macrium Reflect (Free Edition), and AOMEI Backupper available. Which of the three is best? Which is the easiest to use? For a computer klutz like me, which would be the best to use?
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HeroHog

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Re: Computer backup/clone software
« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2022, 12:31:57 AM »
My go-to backup/cloner is Macrium Reflect! AOMEI Partition Assistant Pro (Lifetime) is my go-to Partition manager.
I might not last very long or be very effective but I'll be a real pain in the ass for a minute!
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Hawkmoon

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Re: Computer backup/clone software
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2022, 09:22:39 PM »
Sitrep:

Disaster.

The goal was to see if I could install Microsoft Office 2021 on a no-name brand 8" Windows tablet. The tablet's connection through WiFi was too slow and the installation kept timing out. I eventually copied the image file onto a USB thumb drive that has both a standard USB-A connector and a microUSB connector, and installed from that. It took a VERY long time, and I had to re-start the installation once, but Office Pro 2021 did finally install. Alongside Office 2010.

BUT ...

When I entered my product key, it spit out an error message asking for the product key associated with the Microsoft account through which I made the purchase. But I didn't buy it through a Microsoft account, I bought it from a third-party vendor.

The other issue is that the installation didn't ask me where I wanted to install it, so it went onto the C:\ drive -- leaving me almost no space on that. I want it on the D:\ drive, which is a 64 GB microSD card that has plenty of headroom left.

So I decided to just undo the whole mess. I called up my restore utility, only to find that the restore point I had just created ... does not exist. And, of course, I hadn't been able to clone the drives, so that left me with the only recourse being to use the Windows Programs > Uninstall utility to get rid of the newly-installed Office 2021. I ran that, and it left me with a huge mess of stuff in the Windows registry, which I used CCleaner to remove.

Office 2010 was (and is) still on the computer but, when I went to start Word, it had to reconfigure itself, and then I received a half dozen alerts about some font (identified only by a number, not a name) not being "registered." I skipped those, and Word finally opened and seems to be running. The same thing happened with Excel and Powerpoint.

I am now (I think ... and hope) back to where I was before embarking on this journey of discovery. I think this is my clue that I should be content just to leave Office 2010 on the tablet. If I need something newer, I'll install SoftMaker Office. But I will have to contact the vendor and ask why Microsoft wouldn't accept my product key.
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lee n. field

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Re: Computer backup/clone software
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2022, 10:02:41 PM »
Sitrep:

Disaster.

The goal was to see if I could install Microsoft Office 2021 on a no-name brand 8" Windows tablet. The tablet's connection through WiFi was too slow and the installation kept timing out. I eventually copied the image file onto a USB thumb drive that has both a standard USB-A connector and a microUSB connector, and installed from that. It took a VERY long time, and I had to re-start the installation once, but Office Pro 2021 did finally install. Alongside Office 2010.

BUT ...

When I entered my product key, it spit out an error message asking for the product key associated with the Microsoft account through which I made the purchase. But I didn't buy it through a Microsoft account, I bought it from a third-party vendor.

One of these sketchy but very cheap vendors?   Call them.

Quote
The other issue is that the installation didn't ask me where I wanted to install it, so it went onto the C:\ drive -- leaving me almost no space on that. I want it on the D:\ drive, which is a 64 GB microSD card that has plenty of headroom left.

You're probably out of luck on that part.

32GB is really, really small for a boot drive anymore.

Quote
So I decided to just undo the whole mess. I called up my restore utility, only to find that the restore point I had just created ... does not exist. And, of course, I hadn't been able to clone the drives, so that left me with the only recourse being to use the Windows Programs > Uninstall utility to get rid of the newly-installed Office 2021. I ran that, and it left me with a huge mess of stuff in the Windows registry, which I used CCleaner to remove.

Office 2010 was (and is) still on the computer but, when I went to start Word, it had to reconfigure itself, and then I received a half dozen alerts about some font (identified only by a number, not a name) not being "registered." I skipped those, and Word finally opened and seems to be running. The same thing happened with Excel and Powerpoint.

I am now (I think ... and hope) back to where I was before embarking on this journey of discovery. I think this is my clue that I should be content just to leave Office 2010 on the tablet. If I need something newer, I'll install SoftMaker Office. But I will have to contact the vendor and ask why Microsoft wouldn't accept my product key.
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