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Windows 7 Backup Problem - Dual Booting Linux

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by blegs38552, 2009/09/30.

  1. 2009/09/30
    blegs38552

    blegs38552 Inactive Thread Starter

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    I had a problem when creating a backup image to an external USB drive, and to a networked HDD.. I always got a message that the backup failed because of a bad cluster of 512K. It advised me to run CHKDSK /R but this never returned any errors or fixed anything. I tried to perform a restore but it failed because the source drive was smaller than the target drive (it told me this before it started anything, so no damage was done). I posted the problem on Tech Net in the Win 7 forum.

    After a lot of back and forth, I finally mentioned that my PC has a dual boot with Ubuntu 9.04, which is a Linux O/S.

    The MS MVP told me "Which hard drive is the active drive that contains the boot engine for Windows 7 and Ubuntu? If it is the C drive, that may be the problem. Because the Ubuntu MBR is 512 byte. Windows 7 system should not be able to back up the MBR to an external drive. "

    After hearing this, I downloaded and installed the latest version of Acronis True Image Home (2010). I created an image of my C:\ drive on my USB drive successfully, and was able to restore it without a problem (talk about a risk, but I figured that it would warn me before trying anything of it found a problem. Also, all of my data is on a separate partition, and all of these files are separately backed up to my external drive and to my networked HDD, so I wasn't too worried).

    Unless someone can tell me a way to make Win 7 backup work properly, it would seem that own only option is to use a third party backup program.
     
    blegs38552,
    #1
  2. 2009/10/01
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    If have 2 hard drives, yank the Ubuntu drive and boot from the Windows dvd. Access recovery console and install a standard windows MBR, removing GRUB. You can do the same thing using a boot floppy with the free utility MBRWork. You'll now have a standard Windows bootable drive.

    Next, yank the Windows drive, put back the Ubuntu drive. Boot with the Ubuntu CD and install GRUB on that drive.

    Next, edit the /boot/grub/menu/lst file and add Windows 7 to it.

    Put back the windpws drive...
     
    TonyT,
    #2


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  4. 2009/10/01
    blegs38552

    blegs38552 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Sounds great - this is a single HDD laptop.
     
    blegs38552,
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  5. 2009/10/02
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    TonyT,
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  6. 2009/10/02
    blegs38552

    blegs38552 Inactive Thread Starter

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    Not sure what this will accomplish.

    I only put my post up to warn people who are dual booting that they may experience problems using Windows 7 backup and restore app as a result of having the Ubuntu MBR on their system. My dual boot setup works fine otherwise, and using Acronis to backup my system works fine too (there may be other backup and image programs that work equally well - I am just reporting what I found).
     
    blegs38552,
    #5
  7. 2009/10/02
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    The point being:

    When installing Linux, one need not install GRUB in the MBR. The standard MBR can remain and then GRUB loads via an MBR pointer to the linux /boot files on the other partition. During a linux install one is usually prompted "do you wish to install GRUB in the MBR" and one can select "no ". GRUB still gets installed, just not in the MBR area of the disk. Thus one can avoid that "512 kb error" from Windows Backup oir any other imaging software. Older versions of Norton Ghost were not compatable with GRUB for the same reasons.

    Thanks for clarifying the point re why you put up the post. Others may benefit fro your research & workaround.
     
    TonyT,
    #6
  8. 2009/10/02
    blegs38552

    blegs38552 Inactive Thread Starter

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    I am using Ubuntu 9.04. I am reasonably sure that I was not asked "do you wish to install GRUB in the MBR" during the installation process.

    This being the case, is there any (hopefully simple) was to get the same result - I can try re-installing Ubuntu if you think that I will see this question.
     
    blegs38552,
    #7
  9. 2009/10/02
    TonyT

    TonyT SuperGeek Staff

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    That promp might not be included in the ubuntu live cd installer, that installer is a "no brainer" method. For more control, use the ubuntu alternate iso to make your install cd, which uses the older "text" installer, a graphical dos-like screen.
     
    TonyT,
    #8
  10. 2009/10/17
    wjburl

    wjburl Well-Known Member

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    Instead of dual booting with Ubuntu, I run Ubuntu in Sun's Virtual Box under Windows 7. Virtual Box is free from Sun. The only problem I've had is that Virtual Box doesn't support firewire.
     
    wjburl,
    #9
  11. 2009/10/18
    blegs38552

    blegs38552 Inactive Thread Starter

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    For whatever reason, the backup in Windows 7 is now working.

    Go figure...........
     
    blegs38552,
    #10

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