Paragon Hard Disk Manager - 12 Professional Instruction Manual

PARAGON Software GmbH

Heinrich-von-Stephan-Str. 5c  79100 Freiburg, Germany

Tel. +49 (0) 761 59018201  Fax +49 (0) 761 59018130

Internet www.paragon-software.com  Email sales@paragon-software.com

Hard Disk Manager™ 12 Professional

User Manual

Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 8

What’s New in Hard Disk Manager 12 ......................................................................................................... 8

Product Components ............................................................................................................. 8

Features Overview ................................................................................................................. 9

Features ..................................................................................................................................................... 9

User Friendly Fault Minimizing Interface ................................................................................................................................ 9

Backup Facilities ...................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Restore Facilities ................................................................................................................................................................... 10

Copy Facilities ....................................................................................................................................................................... 11

Virtualization Facilities .......................................................................................................................................................... 11

Boot Management Facilities ................................................................................................................................................. 11

Partition/Hard Disk Management Facilities .......................................................................................................................... 11

File System Optimization Facilities ....................................................................................................................................... 12

Wipe Facilities ....................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Automatization Facilities ...................................................................................................................................................... 12

Auxiliary Facilities ................................................................................................................................................................. 12

Supported Technologies ............................................................................................................................. 13

Supported Virtual Machines ....................................................................................................................... 14

Supported File Systems .............................................................................................................................. 14

Supported Media ....................................................................................................................................... 14

Getting Started .................................................................................................................... 15

Distribution ............................................................................................................................................... 15

Distributive CD ...................................................................................................................................................................... 15

Online Distribution................................................................................................................................................................ 15

Registration ........................................................................................................................................................................... 15

How to Download Updates/Upgrades .................................................................................................................................. 16

Contacting Paragon Software GmbH .......................................................................................................... 16

System Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 17

Installation ................................................................................................................................................ 18

First Start ................................................................................................................................................... 18

Building Recovery Media ............................................................................................................................ 19

Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery Media ............................................................................................. 21

Startup .................................................................................................................................................................................. 21

Boot menu ............................................................................................................................................................................ 21

Booting from the WinPE Recovery Media ................................................................................................... 23

Startup .................................................................................................................................................................................. 24

Basic Concepts ..................................................................................................................... 25

System and Data Protection ....................................................................................................................... 25

File Backup versus Sector Backup ......................................................................................................................................... 26

Backup Types ........................................................................................................................................................................ 26

Backup Storage ..................................................................................................................................................................... 28

Adaptive Restore .................................................................................................................................................................. 29

System Virtualization ................................................................................................................................. 30

Paragon Hot Processing & Volume Shadow Copy Service ............................................................................ 31

Offline versus Online Data Processing .................................................................................................................................. 31

Paragon Hot Processing Technology .................................................................................................................................... 31

Volume Shadow Copy Service .............................................................................................................................................. 32

Dynamic Disks ............................................................................................................................................ 32

GPT versus MBR ......................................................................................................................................... 33

Apple Boot Camp ....................................................................................................................................... 33

64-bit Support ............................................................................................................................................ 33

Copy Operations ........................................................................................................................................ 34

Drive Partitioning ....................................................................................................................................... 34

Data Sanitization........................................................................................................................................ 35

Data Security Standards ............................................................................................................................. 35

Scheduling ................................................................................................................................................. 36

Windows Components ........................................................................................................ 36

Interface Overview .................................................................................................................................... 36

General Layout ...................................................................................................................................................................... 37

Main Menu ........................................................................................................................................................................... 38

Tool Bar ................................................................................................................................................................................. 42

Virtual Operations Bar .......................................................................................................................................................... 42

Common Tasks Bar ............................................................................................................................................................... 43

Disk Map ............................................................................................................................................................................... 45

Explorer Bar .......................................................................................................................................................................... 46

Partition List .......................................................................................................................................................................... 47

Properties Bar ....................................................................................................................................................................... 48

Legend Bar ............................................................................................................................................................................ 49

Status Bar .............................................................................................................................................................................. 49

Settings Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 49

General Options .................................................................................................................................................................... 49

Backup Image Options .......................................................................................................................................................... 51

General Copy and Backup Options ....................................................................................................................................... 51

CD/DVD/BD Recording Options ............................................................................................................................................ 52

Hot Processing Options ......................................................................................................................................................... 53

Run during Backup Options .................................................................................................................................................. 54

Wipe Options ........................................................................................................................................................................ 55

Wipe Report Options ............................................................................................................................................................ 56

Partitioning Options .............................................................................................................................................................. 56

E-Mail Options ...................................................................................................................................................................... 57

Operation Dependency Options ........................................................................................................................................... 58

Virtual Mode Options ........................................................................................................................................................... 58

File System Conversion Options ........................................................................................................................................... 59

Copy/Backup Exclude Options .............................................................................................................................................. 60

File Backup Exclude Options ................................................................................................................................................. 61

File Backup Include Options.................................................................................................................................................. 62

Log Files Options ................................................................................................................................................................... 63

FTP Sites Options .................................................................................................................................................................. 63

Viewing Disk Properties ............................................................................................................................. 64

Viewing Image Properties .......................................................................................................................... 65

Using the Restore Wizard ..................................................................................................................................................... 65

Using the Archive Database .................................................................................................................................................. 69

Data Backup and Rescue ............................................................................................................................ 70

Creating Backup Images ........................................................................................................................................................ 70

Restoring System and Data ................................................................................................................................................... 73

Copy Tasks ................................................................................................................................................. 77

Cloning Hard Disks ................................................................................................................................................................ 77

Cloning Partitions .................................................................................................................................................................. 79

Boot Management ..................................................................................................................................... 81

Partition Management ............................................................................................................................... 82

Basic Partitioning Operations ............................................................................................................................................... 82

Advanced Partitioning Operations........................................................................................................................................ 92

Changing Partition Attributes ............................................................................................................................................. 103

Hard Disk Management ........................................................................................................................... 106

Converting Dynamic MBR to Basic ..................................................................................................................................... 106

Converting GPT to Basic MBR ............................................................................................................................................. 107

Converting Basic MBR to GPT ............................................................................................................................................. 108

Updating MBR ..................................................................................................................................................................... 108

Changing Primary Slot ......................................................................................................................................................... 109

Wipe Tasks .............................................................................................................................................. 110

Task Scheduling ....................................................................................................................................... 114

Setting a Timetable ............................................................................................................................................................. 114

Managing Tasks .................................................................................................................................................................. 115

Creating a Scheduled Task .................................................................................................................................................. 116

Scripting .................................................................................................................................................. 117

Extra Functionality ................................................................................................................................... 118

View Partition/Hard Disk Properties ................................................................................................................................... 119

Volume Explorer ................................................................................................................................................................. 119

File Transfer Wizard ............................................................................................................................................................ 120

Mount Partition .................................................................................................................................................................. 122

Downgrade NTFS Version ................................................................................................................................................... 123

Mount Archive .................................................................................................................................................................... 124

Test Surface ........................................................................................................................................................................ 125

Check File System Integrity ................................................................................................................................................. 125

Check Archive Integrity ....................................................................................................................................................... 126

Check Recovery Discs .......................................................................................................................................................... 127

Edit/View Sectors ................................................................................................................................................................ 128

Send Log Files ...................................................................................................................................................................... 129

View Logs ............................................................................................................................................................................ 130

Typical Scenarios ............................................................................................................... 131

Backup Scenarios ..................................................................................................................................... 131

Creating the Backup Capsule .............................................................................................................................................. 131

Backing up a hard disk or partition to the Backup Capsule ................................................................................................ 133

Backing up a hard disk or partition to external media (CD/DVD) ....................................................................................... 135

Backing up a hard disk or partition to a network drive ...................................................................................................... 137

Backing up files to an FTP/SFTP server ............................................................................................................................... 139

Backing up a dual boot Mac to an external USB drive........................................................................................................ 142

Backing up files to a local mounted/unmounted (without drive letter assigned) partition .............................................. 144

Creating a differential to a full partition backup ................................................................................................................ 147

Creating a file increment to a full partition backup ............................................................................................................ 150

Creating an increment to a full file backup ........................................................................................................................ 153

Creating a cyclic partition backup ....................................................................................................................................... 155

Merging a full partition backup with one of its differentials .............................................................................................. 157

Recovery Scenarios .................................................................................................................................. 159

Fixing MBR after a boot virus attack ................................................................................................................................... 159

Correcting BCD (Boot Configuration Data) ......................................................................................................................... 161

Fixing Windows startup ability ........................................................................................................................................... 162

Restoring a hard disk from the bootable Backup Capsule .................................................................................................. 165

Restoring a system partition from external media (CD/DVD) ............................................................................................ 167

Restoring a system partition from a network drive ............................................................................................................ 170

Restoring a system partition from a local drive .................................................................................................................. 173

Restoring a dual boot Mac from an external USB drive ..................................................................................................... 176

Restoring a file increment................................................................................................................................................... 178

Restoring a file increment to a partition backup ................................................................................................................ 180

Copying of data from the corrupted system disk to another hard disk ............................................................................. 183

Burning of data from the corrupted system disk to CD/DVD ............................................................................................. 185

Copying of data from a backup to the corrupted system partition .................................................................................... 187

Restoring separate files and folders from a backup ........................................................................................................... 190

Resize Scenarios ....................................................................................................................................... 195

Creating a new partition to detach operating system from the rest of data ..................................................................... 195

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space of an adjacent partition ..................................................... 197

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space from any other ................................................................... 198

Increasing size of a system partition by taking unused space of an adjacent logical partition .......................................... 202

Separating OS from media data .......................................................................................................................................... 203

Merging a system partition with an adjacent logical partition........................................................................................... 205

Shrinking a system partition to increase size of a data partition ....................................................................................... 207

Resizing partitions of Apple Boot Camp ............................................................................................................................. 209

Creating Dual Boot Systems ..................................................................................................................... 211

For Windows computers ..................................................................................................................................................... 211

System Migration Scenarios ..................................................................................................................... 221

Migrating Windows OS to a solid state drive (Migrate OS to SSD) .................................................................................... 221

Migrating system to a new HDD (up to 2.2TB in size) ........................................................................................................ 223

Using 2.2TB+ HDD as internal data storage in Windows XP ............................................................................................... 225

Making system bootable on different hardware (P2P Adjust OS) ...................................................................................... 228

Virtualizing the current system (P2V Copy) ........................................................................................................................ 235

Virtualizing system from its backup image (P2V Restore) .................................................................................................. 239

Creating an empty virtual disk (Create VD) ........................................................................................................................ 243

Making Windows Vista/7 backup bootable on virtual hardware (P2V Adjust OS) ............................................................. 244

Connecting a virtual disk (Connect VD) .............................................................................................................................. 246

Repartitioning a virtual disk ................................................................................................................................................ 248

Exchanging data between physical and virtual environments ........................................................................................... 251

Copying data from a parent virtual disk to one of its snapshots ........................................................................................ 252

Migrating from one virtual environment to another (V2V) ................................................................................................ 252

Migrating from a virtual environment to physical (V2P) .................................................................................................... 253

Migrating a Windows 7 vhd ................................................................................................................................................ 253

Hard Disk Optimization ............................................................................................................................ 253

Hard Disk Utilization ................................................................................................................................ 254

Extra Scenarios for WinPE ........................................................................................................................ 256

Adding specific drivers ........................................................................................................................................................ 256

Configuring network ........................................................................................................................................................... 257

Saving log files ..................................................................................................................................................................... 260

Troubleshooter .................................................................................................................. 262

Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 264

Our company is constantly releasing new versions and updates to its software, that's why images shown in this manual may be different from what you see on your screen.

Introduction

Paragon Hard Disk Manager™ 12 Professional is an integrated set of powerful tools that is specially designed to tackle most of the problems you might face while using PC. Its functionality covers all aspects of a computer life cycle beginning from carrying out all the necessary partitioning operations to install the system from scratch and providing its data reliable protection to secure utilization of an outdated hard disk.

In this manual you will find the answers to many of the technical questions, which might arise while using the program.

What’s New in Hard Disk Manager 12

 Split Partition Wizard helps you separate OS and data or different types of data by splitting one partition to two

different partitions of the same type and file system.

 Improved Connect VD to connect a virtual disk as if it’s an ordinary physical disk, thus opening up all

functionality available for physical disks to virtual. You’ve now got the option to:

- Mount Paragon’s backups (.pbf images).

- Mount a virtual disk in the read-only mode to make sure no data will be changed on the virtual disk during

copy or any other operation on it.

 Support of Oracle VirtualBox 4.0.  Better performance for backup operations by employing asynchronous data transfer.  Automatic backup/restore of ACL (Access Control List) for file backups to inherit access permissions for backup

contents when restoring to a different location.

 Password protection for file backups to prevent unauthorized access to your personal data.  WinPE traceroute/ping utility to get detailed information on particular routes and measure transit delays of

packets across an Internet Protocol (IP) network.

 Support of the restart-free installation.

Product Components

In order to cope with different tasks, the product contains several components:

 Windows based set of utilities is the crucial part of the product. With the help of an easy to use launcher you

may find and run tasks of any complexity in the field of data and system protection, hard disk partitioning and cloning, etc.

 Linux/DOS based recovery environment is a multi-platform bootable media that enables to run utilities under

Linux or PTS DOS, and that way to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes. Both platforms have their strong sides, for instance Linux can boast support of FireWire (i.e. IEEE1394) or USB devices. It enables to burn CD/DVD discs. However there can be some difficulties with detecting new hardware.

This feature is only available for the Windows installation of the program.

DOS in its turn has no problems of that kind but is limited in features. The Linux/DOS recovery environment requires no installation and can be of great help when the system fails to boot. Besides it offers a Windows XP like environment.

 WinPE based recovery environment. Especially for keen followers of Windows, our product offers the option to

prepare a WinPE 3.0 based bootable media. Unlike the Linux/DOS recovery environment it can boast an excellent hardware support and the same interface as the Windows version can. However its system requirements are much tougher.

Features Overview

This chapter dwells upon key benefits and technical highlights of the product.

Features

Let us list some of the features:

User Friendly Fault Minimizing Interface

 Graphical representation of the data to gain a better understanding.  A handy Launcher to easily find and run the required tasks.  Comprehensive wizards to simplify even the most complex operations.  Resize partitions directly on the Disk Map with the drag-and-drop technique.  A context sensitive hint system for all functions of the program.  Previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (so-called virtual

operations).

Backup Facilities

 Archive Database to help the user easily manage backup images (get properties, add, delete, mount, etc.).

 Available location for backup images:

- Backup to local mounted partitions.

- Backup to local unmounted (without drive letter assigned) partitions.

- Backup to an external mounted storage to provide for a higher level of data protection and system independence.

- Backup to a special secured place on the hard disk called the Backup Capsule that has an independent system layout (e.g. a separate partition) and will stay operable should the active file system be damaged. To avoid an accidental removing or unauthorized access of the backup data, this partition is hidden and thus cannot be mounted in the operating system.

- Backup to external media (CD/DVD) to guarantee a high level of data protection as long as the backup media is kept secure.

- Backup to a network drive to stand a better chance of success in case of a hard disk failure.

This feature is only available for the Windows installation of the program.

This feature is only available for the bootable recovery environment.

- Backup to an FTP/SFTP server to provide a new level of system and data protection.

 Smart Backup Wizard to secure system and data with the minimal efforts possible. With a unique intelligent

work algorithm and a highly intuitive user interface, you can easily back up exactly what you need - the whole system, e-mail databases (MS Outlook, Express, Windows Mail) media files or office documents of the My Documents folder, or any other files and folders.

 Differential backup to a sector image to only archive changes since the last full sector-based image, thus

considerably saving the backup storage space. To restore this kind of backup you will require a full image and one of its differentials.

 Incremental backup to a file image to only archive changes since the last full or incremental file-based image.

An incremental image is smaller and takes less time to create, but you will require the initial full image and all of its incrementals to restore the latest point of this kind of backup.

 File backup to a sector image. It is a unique technology on the market so far that bridges two principally

different approaches of the data backup: the file-based backup and the disk imaging backup. With its help you can now create a sector-based backup of your system to get it back on track in minutes in case of a virus attack or a hardware malfunction and then just make file-based incremental images to the previously created sectorbased backup to keep updated only information that is critical for you. Thus you will considerably save your system resources.

 Cyclic backup to automate the backup of separate partitions. It is an ideal option if you want to establish a self-

acting data protection system.

 Synthetic backup to change any property (merge a given differential image with its full image, split/un-split,

compress/de-compress, etc.) of an existing backup image without carrying out a physical backup operation.

 Bootable Backup Capsule to get the choice to launch the Linux or PTS DOS recovery environment every time

you start up the computer. With its help you will be able to run utilities under Linux or PTS DOS, and that way to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes.

Restore Facilities

 Restore an entire disk, separate partitions or only files you need from the previously created backup image.  Restore with Shrink to restore a backup image to a free block of smaller size taking into account only the

amount of actual data of the image.

 Adaptive Restore to successfully migrate a Windows physical system to a different hardware platform (P2P) by

allowing automatic injection of all required drivers and the other actions crucial for a migration of this kind.

Copy functionality can also be used as an alternative way of data protection.

Virtualization is the latest trend in the system migration, protection, and evaluation.

Copy Facilities

 Migrate OS to SSD to move any Windows OS since XP from a regular hard disk to a fast SSD (Solid State Drive)

even of a smaller capacity, thanks to advanced data exclusion capabilities.

 Partition/hard disk copy to successfully transfer all on-disk information including standard bootstrap code and

other system service structures, thus maintaining the operating system’s working capability.

Virtualization Facilities

 Connect VD to connect a virtual disk as if it’s an ordinary physical disk, thus opening up all functionality available

for physical disks to virtual.

 P2V Copy to migrate a Windows physical system to a virtual environment in the online mode.  P2V Restore to migrate a Windows physical system backed up with a Paragon disaster recovery tool to a virtual

environment.

 P2V Adjust to recover the startup ability after unsuccessful virtualization with a 3rd party tool.  Create VD to create an empty virtual disk or with specific data of one of the supported virtualization vendors.

Boot Management Facilities

 Boot Manager Setup Wizard to easily manage several operating systems on one computer.

Partition/Hard Disk Management Facilities

 Basic functions for initializing, partitioning and formatting hard disks (create, format, delete). Instead of the

standard Windows disk tools, the program supports all popular file systems.

 Express Create Partition Wizard to create a new partition in the most appropriate place of a hard disk, format it

to NTFS and then make it available in the system by assigning a drive letter.

 Split Partition Wizard helps you separate OS and data or different types of data by splitting one partition to two

different partitions of the same type and file system.

 Merge Partitions Wizard to consolidate the disk space, which originally belongs to two adjacent partitions

(NTFS, FAT16/FAT32), into a single, larger partition.

 Redistribute Free Space Wizard to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the on-disk unallocated

space and the unused space of other partitions.

 Express Resize Partitions Wizard to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an

adjacent partition of a hard disk (including partitions of Apple Boot Camp).

 NTFS hot resize upward to enlarge an NTFS partition (system, locked) without rebooting Windows and

interrupting its work.

Defragmentation is accomplished with a separate component called Paragon Total Defrag. To know more on the subject, please consult its help.

Scheduling is only available for the Windows installation of the program.

 Convert a file system (FAT16/32, NTFS, Ext2/Ext3) without reformatting.  Mount a partition (assign a drive letter) of any file system type to make it available for your operating system.  Modify file system parameters (make active/inactive, hide/unhide, etc.).  Install New OS Wizard to make a system ready to install a new operating system.  Undelete Partitions Wizard to recover an accidentally deleted partition.

File System Optimization Facilities

 27 defragmentation strategies available to defragment FAT and NTFS file systems.  MFT defragmentation and shrinking to improve performance of NTFS.  Safe Defragmentation Mode to guarantee data loss free defragmentation of any version of NTFS and FAT.  Low free space defragmentation (less than 1% of the free space required) to successfully defragment almost full

disks.

Wipe Facilities

 Data wiping to successfully destroy all on-disk information including the standard bootstrap code and other

system service structures.

 Free space clearing to destroy any remnants of deleted files/directories left on disk without affecting the used

data.

Automatization Facilities

 Task scheduling to automate routine operations. It can be particularly effective when you have to repeat a

sequence of actions on a regular basis.

 Scripting to make the program create a script of any set of operations you need. Besides support of all

operations available in the interactive mode, the unattended mode provides some additional features, such as conditional execution, subroutines, repeatable iterations, disk/partition properties analysis, errors management, etc.

Auxiliary Facilities

 GPT Loader is a special system driver to allow use of all space of modern ultra high capacity drives (larger than

2.2TB) on systems that don't support it.

 Conversion of basic MBR disks to basic GPT to enjoy all benefits of the newest partitioning scheme with

minimal effort.

Boot Corrector is only available for the bootable recovery environment.

 File Transfer Wizard to make such operations as transferring of files/directories or burning of them to CD/DVD

as easy and convenient as possible. Providing access to Paragon backups as regular folders, it may also help to replace corrupted data from a previously created image in case of an operating system failure.

 Volume Explorer is a handy tool when you have different file systems on the disk, whether they contain an

operating system or just data. Volume Explorer will let you explore a file system of any type and provide access to the necessary files and directories regardless of their security attributes.

 Recovery Media Builder to create a bootable recovery media on a CD, DVD disc, or flash memory, which can

later be used to boot and recover your computer in case of an operating system failure. Moreover, with its help you can save data from partitions of your hard disk directly to compact discs or burn ISO-images. The utility supports various formats of laser discs: CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R, DVD+R double layer, Blu-ray and can handle multi-session burning.

 Network Configuration Wizard to establish a network connection on a bootable recovery media either to save a

backup of a partition/hard disk or just several files on a network computer or retrieve a previously made backup from a network computer for recovery purposes.

 Boot Corrector to fix most of the system boot problems that can be a result of a human factor, program error or

a boot virus activity.

Supported Technologies

Along with using innovative technologies from outside, Paragon has developed a number of its own original technologies that make its products unique and attractive for customers:

 Paragon Hot Backup™ technology to back up locked partitions and hard disks under Windows NT+ family

operating systems providing both high operating efficiency as well as low hardware requirements.

 Paragon Hot Copy™ technology to copy locked partitions and hard disks under Windows NT+ family operating

systems providing both high operating efficiency as well as low hardware requirements.

 Paragon Adaptive Restore™ technology to successfully migrate a Windows physical system to a different

hardware platform (P2P).

 Paragon Power Shield™ technology to provide data consistency in case of a hardware malfunction, power

outages or an operating system failure.

 Paragon UFSD™ technology to browse partitions of any file system including hidden and unmounted, modify

and copy files and folders, etc.

 Paragon Hot Resize™ technology to enlarge NTFS partitions (system, locked) without rebooting Windows and

interrupting its work.

 Paragon Restore with Shrink™ technology to restore a backup image to a free block of smaller size taking into

account only the amount of actual data of the image.

 Paragon Smart Partition™ technology to securely perform hard disk partitioning operations of any complexity.  Paragon BTE™ technology to set tasks for execution during the system restart, thus saving from the need to use

a bootable media when modifying system partitions.

Unfortunately, support of non-Roman characters for the HFS+ file system is unavailable at the moment. The company is about to implement it in the nearest future.

 Paragon VIM™ (Virtual Image Management) technology that enables Paragon products work with virtual disks

as though they are physical hard disks.

 Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to provide the copy/backup infrastructure for the Microsoft

Windows XP/Vista/7/Server 2003/2008 operating systems. It offers a reliable mechanism to create consistent point-in-time copies of data known as shadow copies. Developed by Microsoft in close cooperation with the leading copy/backup solution vendors on the market, it is based on a snapshot technology concept.

 Microsoft Dynamic Disk (simple, spanned, striped, mirrored, RAID-5) to offer more management flexibility

without the partition limitation of basic disks. Dynamic storage can be particularly beneficial for large-scale businesses when dealing with many physical hard disks involving complex setup.

 GUID Partition Table (GPT). It is the next generation of a hard disk partitioning scheme developed to lift

restrictions of the old MBR. GPT disks are now supported by Windows Vista/7, Server 2008, Mac OS X and Linux.

Supported Virtual Machines

 Microsoft Virtual PC  VMware Workstation  VMware Fusion  Oracle VirtualBox 4.0

Additionally for Connect VD and P2V Adjust OS only

 MS Windows backups (.vhd images)

Additionally for Connect VD only

 Paragon’s backups (.pbf images)  Parallels Workstation  XenServer (.vhd only)

Supported File Systems

 Full read/write access to FAT16/FAT32 partitions.  Full read/write access to NTFS (Basic Disks) under Windows, Linux and PTS DOS. Compressed NTFS files are also

supported.

 Full read/write access to Ext2FS/Ext3FS/Ext4FS partitions.  Limited read/write access to Apple HFS+ partitions.

Supported Media

 Support of both MBR and GPT hard disks (2.2TB+ disks included)  IDE, SCSI and SATA hard disks  SSD (Solid State Drive)

It is recommended to use Internet Explorer 5+ or any compatible browser.

 AFD (Advanced Format Drive)  Non-512B sector size drives  CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RW, DVD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R double layer and also Blu-ray discs  FireWire (i.e. IEEE1394), USB 1.0, USB 2.0, USB 3.0 hard disks  PC card storage devices (MBR and GPT flash memory, etc.)

Getting Started

In this chapter you will find all the information necessary to get the product ready to use.

Distribution

Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 is distributed in two ways:

 Boxed package from Paragon Software GmbH and resellers  Downloadable package over the Internet at the company’s web-site

Distributive CD

The boxed package includes a distributive CD that is in fact a bootable recovery environment with auto-run of the Windows installation, thus it can be used as a ready-made solution. But if you’re going to run the Windows components, you need to install them first (see Installation).

If you want to download an update/upgrade of the product, it will be in form of the downloadable installation package as described in Online Distribution).

Online Distribution

Hard Disk Manager 12 purchased over the Internet will be in form of an MSI package. After installing the product you can launch the Recovery Media Builder to prepare a recovery media.

Registration

Paragon Software GmbH provides a wide range of online services through its web-portal - www.paragon-

software.com/support/:

 Registration of new users;  Registration of purchased products for registered users;  Available around-the-clock downloading center, where registered users can get product updates/upgrades as

well as all the necessary documentation;

 Downloadable free demo versions and open documentation for all users.

To register as a new user

To register as a new user, please do the following:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

Service

Contact

Visit Paragon Software web site

www.paragon-software.com

Registration & updates web-service

www.paragon-software.com/support

Knowledge Base & Technical Support

kb.paragon-software.com

Pre-sale information

sales@paragon-software.com

2. Click Create of the Create a Paragon Account section;

3. Fill out a registration form;

4. Click Register.

The most important field in the form is an E-mail address, as it serves as a login to enter the system. Besides your access password will be sent to this address as well.

To register a new product

If you are a registered user and would like to register Hard Disk Manager 12, please do the following:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

2. In the Email field of the Authorization section, enter an E-mail used for registration;

3. In the Password field enter a password received after registration;

4. Click Sign in;

5. If the user name and password are valid, you will get to your account;

6. Click Register new product of the Products section;

7. Enter your product serial number in the Serial Number field. You can find it in the product box or obtain from

your reseller. Click Next;

8. On the next page you will be asked to provide some additional data. Also you will need to decide whether you

want to get confirmation on registering the product by E-mail or not. Click Next, and then click Finish.

That is all. The product is now registered.

How to Download Updates/Upgrades

Downloading of updates/upgrades can be fulfilled in the following way:

1. Run an Internet browser and visit the page: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/;

2. In the Email field of the Authorization section, enter an E-mail used for registration;

3. In the Password field enter a password received after registration;

4. Click Sign in;

5. If the user name and password are valid, you will get to your account;

6. Select My Downloads of the Products section to see what updates are available for you;

7. Select the desired update and click Download.

Contacting Paragon Software GmbH

If you have any questions about the company products, please do not hesitate to contact Paragon Software GmbH.

During the installation additional free space (up to 1GB) will be required.

System Requirements

For the Windows installation package

 Operating systems:

- Windows 2000 Professional (32 bit only)

- Windows XP (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows Vista (32 and 64 bit)

- Windows 7 (32 and 64 bit)

 Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher  Intel Pentium CPU or its equivalent, with 300 MHz processor clock speed  128 MB of RAM (256+ recommended)  Hard disk drive with 250 MB of available space  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

For the Linux bootable environment

 Intel Pentium CPU or its equivalent, with 300 MHz processor clock speed  256 MB of RAM  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

For the WinPE bootable environment

 Intel Pentium III CPU or its equivalent, with 1000 MHz processor clock speed  At least 512 MB of RAM  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Keyboard  Mouse

Additional requirements

 Network card to send/retrieve data to/from a network computer  Recordable CD/DVD drive to burn data to compact discs

In case there is some previous version of the program installed on the computer, the program will offer the user to uninstall it first.

Do not install the program on network drives. Do not use Terminal Server sessions to install and run the program. In both cases, the program functionality will be limited.

 External USB hard drive to store data.

Installation

To install Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12, please do the following:

1. Run Setup Application. Click on the *.MSI file. This application will guide you through the process of the

program installation. The setup utility is compiled with the InstallShield SDK, hence it contains the standard user interface and set of installation steps.

2. Starting Setup. The Welcome page informs that the application is being installed. Click the Next button to

continue.

3. Confirm License Agreement. The License Agreement page displays the Paragon License Agreement. Read the

agreement and then select the appropriate option to accept. If you do not agree with any conditions stated there, the installation process will be interrupted. By clicking the Print button, the License Agreement may also be printed out.

4. Provide Registration Information. On the Registration page you are to provide your product key and serial

number.

5. Provide Customer Information. On the Customer Information page you are to provide the standard

information, i.e. a user name and an organization. Besides you need to decide whether to make the program available for all users of this computer (if several) or only for the current one.

6. Select an Installation Folder. The Destination Folder page allows you to choose a folder where the program will

be installed. By default, the installation folder will be created as:

C:\Program Files\Paragon\Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12. To select another folder, click the Change… button.

After you have selected the required folder, click the Next button to continue.

7. Confirm Installation. On the Ready to Install the Program page click the Install button to start the installation or

the Back button to return to any of the previous pages and modify the installation settings.

8. Copying Files. The Copying Files page shows the overall progress of the installation. Click the Cancel button to

abort the setup.

9. Finishing the Installation. The Final page reports the end of the setup process. Click the Finish button to

complete the wizard.

First Start

To start Paragon Hard Disk Manager 12 under Windows, please click the Windows Start button and then select Programs > Paragon Hard Disk Manager™ 12 > Paragon Hard Disk Manager™.

The program provides wide opportunities in the field of hard disk structure modification, so just to be on the safe side, please make a backup of your data before carrying out any operation.

To know more on how to handle the product’s interface and accomplish typical operations,

please consult the Windows Components chapter.

The first component that will be displayed is called the Express Launcher. Thanks to a well thought-out categorization and hint system, it provides quick and easy access to wizards and utilities that we consider worth using on a regular basis. With its help you can also start up the traditional launcher, the help system or go to the program’s home page.

Building Recovery Media

Recovery Media Builder can help you accomplish the following operations:

 Prepare the Linux/DOS recovery environment (included in the installation package) on external media (CD, DVD,

or flash memory) to boot and run utilities under Linux or PTS DOS, and that way to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes (strongly recommended);

 Prepare a custom Linux/DOS recovery environment by adding any data you like to the standard image;

There are other ways to start up this function, please consult the Interface Overview chapter to know more on the subject.

Please use Boot Media Builder to prepare the WinPE 3.0 recovery environment, which you can get here: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/.

 Prepare a bootable recovery environment from any ISO image;  Create from the master CD the Linux/DOS recovery environment on a CD/DVD disc, or flash memory.

Below you can find how to build our Linux/DOS based recovery environment on a thumb drive:

1. Plug in a thumb drive of at least 250 MBs in size. Please note all data on that drive will be deleted.

2. In the Main Menu: select Tools > Recovery Media Builder…

3. On the Wizard's Welcome page, click the Next button.

4. Select the Flash Memory option.

5. Select the Typical option.

6. Select the required thumb drive from the list of flash memory devices available in the system at the moment (if

several).

7. You will have to confirm the operation.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare our recovery environment either on a

CD/DVD disc or a thumb drive.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

By default the Normal Mode will be automatically initiated after a 10 second idle period.

Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery Media

The Linux/DOS recovery environment can be used to boot your computer into Linux or PTS DOS to get access to your hard disk for maintenance or recovery purposes. It also has the PTS DOS safe mode, which may help in a number of nonstandard situations such as interfering hardware settings or serious problems on the hardware level. In this case, only basic files and drivers (such as hard disk drivers, a monitor driver, and a keyboard driver) will be loaded.

Startup

To start working with the Linux/DOS recovery environment, please take the following steps:

1. Start up the computer from our Linux/DOS recovery media.

2. Launch a boot mode you need (Normal, Safe, Low-Graphics Safe) in the Boot menu.

3. Click on the required operation to start. Hints on the selected at the moment item will help you make the right

choice.

4. Consult the help system by pressing ALT+F1 to know more on the subject.

Boot menu

The Boot menu contains the following commands:

 Normal Mode. Boot into the Linux normal mode. This mode uses the full set of drivers (recommended);  Safe Mode. Boot into the PTS DOS mode. This mode can be used as an alternative of the Linux normal mode if it

fails to work properly;

While working with the recovery environment you might experience some inconvenience caused by possible video artifacts. It is just a result of changing video modes and in no way will affect the program functionality. If this is the case, please wait a bit and everything will be OK.

 Low-Graphics Safe Mode. Boot into the PTS DOS safe mode. In this case, only the minimal set of drivers will be

included, like hard disk, monitor, and keyboard drivers. This mode has simple graphics and a simple menu;

 Floppy Disk. Reboot the computer from a system floppy disk;  Hard Disk 0. Boot from the primary hard disk;  Find OS(s) on your hard disks. The program will scan hard disks of your computer to find any bootable operating

system.

To move within the menu, please use the arrow keys of the computer keyboard.

Normal Mode

When the Normal mode is selected, the Linux launch menu appears:

 Hard Disk Manager (enables to run wizards and dialogs, to specify program settings, to visualize the operating

environment and the hard disk configuration);

 Simple Restore Wizard (allows restoring hard disks and partitions);  Disk Copy Wizard (helps to clone a hard disk);  Undelete Partition (allows recovery of accidentally deleted partitions);  Wipe Wizard (enables to destroy all on-disk information or only remnants of deleted files/directories);  Express Resize Wizard (enables to increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an

adjacent partition);

 File Transfer Wizard (allows coping files/folders to another disk or a partition as well as recording them to

CD/DVD);

If you are going to use network resources, first launch the Network Configuration Wizard to establish a network connection.

The Linux/DOS recovery environment assigns drive letters to partitions the way it is done in DOS, i.e. one after another, primary partitions at first. Thus mounted partitions may have different drive letters from Windows.

 Boot Corrector (helps to correct the Windows System Registry without Windows being loaded);  Network Configurator (enables to establish a network connection under Linux);

 Log Saver (helps to collect and send the necessary log files to the Technical Support);  View the mounted partitions (the list of all mounted partitions will be displayed);

 Eject CD/DVD;  Command Line (allows experienced users to execute any operation);  Reboot the computer;  Power off the computer.

To move within the menu, please use the arrow keys of the computer keyboard.

Safe Mode

When the Safe mode is selected, the PTS DOS launch menu appears. It has nearly the same functionality as for the Normal mode except for the Network Configurator and Log Saver commands. Besides due to certain limitations of the PTS DOS environment, there is no possibility to burn CD/DVD discs.

Low Graphics Safe Mode

When the Low Graphics mode is selected, the PTS DOS launch menu appears. It has the same functionality and looks similar to the Safe mode but graphically simpler.

Booting from the WinPE Recovery Media

The WinPE recovery environment can be a real alternative to the Linux/DOS recovery environment. Providing nearly the same level of functionality it offers an excellent hardware support and the same interface as the Windows version does.

Please use Boot Media Builder to prepare the WinPE 3.0 recovery environment, which you can get here: www.paragon-software.com/my-account/.

To automatically boot from the recovery media please make sure the on-board BIOS is set up to boot from CD/USB first.

Startup

To start working with the WinPE recovery environment, please take the following steps:

1. Start up the computer from the WinPE recovery media.

2. Once it has been loaded, you will see the License Agreement. Read the agreement and then mark the

appropriate checkbox to accept. If you do not agree with any conditions stated there, you won’t be able to use the program.

3. Once you accept the agreement, you will see the Universal Application Launcher. In general it enables to run

components of the product, load drivers for undefined hardware or establish a network connection.

The WinPE 3.0 based recovery environment offers excellent hardware support. However in

case it doesn’t have a driver for your disk controller, your hard disks will be unavailable.

Please consult the Adding specific drivers scenario to know how to tackle this issue.

4. Click on the required operation to start. Hints on the selected at the moment item will help you make the right

choice.

5. Consult the help system by pressing ALT+F1 to know more on the subject.

Basic Concepts

This chapter explains terms and ideas that show how the program works. To understand these helps to obtain a general notion of the operation performance and makes it easier for the user to operate the program.

System and Data Protection

The data protection issue is a growing cause of worrying for more and more people today. Indeed, it is hardly to find a person who will be particularly happy when all precious information on the hard disk is irreversible lost as a result of its malfunction. So how this tragedy can be prevented?

Sector-Based Backup

File-Based Backup

Merits

It does not dependent on a particular file system. Thus it can successfully process system or encrypted partitions of any file system type, no matter what kind of information they contain.

Functioning on a file/folder level, it is ideal for archiving separate files or folders.

It can create an exact image of a partition, including its service data. Thus it is ideal for a backup/restore of a system partition or a fast deployment to a bunch of identical computers.

It enables to automatically build up contents of the future backup image by using an advanced system of filters.

It allows archiving data of the same volume with different backup policies.

It is easy and efficient when creating backup chains.

Demerits

Resulted backup images may contain a lot of redundant data.

It depends on a file system structure, so you won’t be able to process unknown file systems.

It is ineffective when trying to maintain a backup chain, especially when little amount of data is being changed.

It cannot be used to back up a system partition. It is much slower when processing large amount of data.

File Backup versus Sector Backup

Since the advent of the computer age people were in the search of ways to guarantee data safety. As a result we’ve got

now two principal approaches: the file-based backup and the sector-based backup. The main difference between the two lies in the way data is treated.

A sector-based backup operates with an image (or a snapshot) of the whole disk system or its separate partitions. It not only includes the contents of all user-made files, but additionally contains the exact structure of directories, information about file allocation, file attributes and other related data. Thus it enables to successfully process system or encrypted partitions of any file system type, no matter what kind of information they contain.

In contrast, a file-based backup takes into account a file system structure and only functions on a file or folder level. So it is very efficient when archiving separate files or folders, but in no way will help you back up a system partition.

You should understand pretty well that each of the two approaches is only good when properly chosen. In the comparison table below you can see when this or that approach will suit you at most.

Backup Types

At the present moment the market is offering various types of backup imaging to meet the needs of any user. Besides supporting them all, our program offers a unique backup type, called File Increment to a Sector Backup.

This function is only available for single primary and logical partitions.

Full and Differential Sector Backups

A full sector-based backup image includes all contents of a partition or a hard disk at the moment of its creation. If you roll back your system to the initial state on a regular basis, that’s exactly what you’re looking for. But if you want to have multiple backup archives of the same partition reflecting certain time stamps, unchanged data will inevitable be duplicated in all archives and take additional space on backup media. To tackle this issue there has been developed a supplementary technique called Differential Sector Backup.

A differential archive only contains data changed since the time of creating a full archive, which forms a base (or a parental image) in this case, thus considerably saving your system resources. It is realized by the exact bit-wise comparison of the previous partition's data (saved in the parental image) with the current data (that is actually the partition itself). To restore this kind of backup you will require a full image and one of its differentials, what is very convenient.

Full and Incremental File Backups

A full file-based archive only contains files and folders. It is really efficient when backing up an e-mail database or particular documents, as no redundant data is processed. But if you care about maintaining a files history, you can benefit from one more supplementary technique called Incremental File Backup.

An incremental archive only contains data changed since the time of creating a full or incremental file-based archive. It is smaller and takes less time to create, but you will require the initial full image and all of its increments to restore the latest point of this kind of backup.

File Increment to a Sector Backup

File Increment to a Sector Backup is a unique technology on the market so far that bridges two principally different approaches of the data backup: the file-based backup and the sector-based backup. With its help you can now create a sector-based backup of your system to get it back on track in minutes in case of a virus attack or a hardware malfunction and then just make file-based incremental images to the previously created sector-based backup to keep updated only information that is critical for you. Thus you will considerably save your system resources.

Backup Storage

Our program supports several techniques of storing backup images. Let’s take a closer look at them all to understand what kind of storage is able to provide better security:

 You can place a backup image to a local partition. Despite the fact that it is the most convenient way, try not to

use it. You can delete your backup just by accident or lose it as a result of a hardware malfunction, or a virus attack;

 You can place a backup image to an external mounted storage to provide for a higher level of data protection

and system independence;

 You can place a backup image to a special secured place on the hard disk called the Backup Capsule that has an

independent system layout (e.g. a separate partition) and will stay operable should the active file system be damaged. To avoid an accidental removing or unauthorized access of the backup data, this partition is hidden and thus cannot be mounted in the operating system. However it won’t help you in case of a hardware malfunction;

 You can place a backup image to external media (CD/DVD) to guarantee a high level of data protection as long

as the backup media is kept secure;

 You can place a backup image to a network drive to stand a better chance of success in case of a hard disk

failure. Moreover, by storing it on a special-purpose server you may be pretty sure nothing will happen to it;

 Finally you can place a backup image to an FTP server to provide a new level of system and data protection.

Known Issues on FTP/SFTP

1. You need to check out yourself Windows Firewall or programs of this kind let our program work with the

required port (21 by default).

2. You cannot restore data selectively (with Restore Wizard) from an FTP/SFTP server.

3. You can browse an FTP server in the passive mode only.

4. Parallel access to several FTP/SFTP servers is limited - only one password for all servers is available.

Adaptive Restore

Technology Background

Windows family operating systems are notorious for their excessive sensibility to hardware, especially when it turns to replacement of such a crucial device as HDD controller or motherboard – actually Windows will most likely fail to boot as a result of this operation.

In 2008 our company came with an exclusive technology called Paragon Adaptive Restore™. Initially aimed at restore of Windows Vista or Server 2008 from a backup to a different hardware configuration, its current realization, available in the P2P Adjust OS Wizard, enables to make any Windows OS since XP bootable on dissimilar hardware by allowing automatic injection of all required drivers and the other actions crucial for this type of migration.

Technology Concept

Let’s take a closer look at how Paragon Adaptive Restore works.

As you see, successful migration of a Windows system to a different hardware platform involves several actions:

1. Change of the Windows kernel settings according to the new configuration. The program detects the given

hardware profile and automatically installs the appropriate Windows HAL and kernel.

2. Installation of drivers for boot critical devices. The program detects those without drivers and automatically

tries to install lacking drivers from the built-in Windows repository. If there’s no driver in the repository, it prompts the user to set a path to an additional driver repository, strongly recommending not to proceed until all drivers for the found boot critical devices are installed. In case drivers for these devices are installed, but disabled, they will be enabled.

3. Installation of drivers for a PS/2 mouse and keyboard. This action will only be accomplished for Windows

XP/Server 2003.

Though all Windows systems have built-in driver repositories, please be prepared to have additional drivers when dealing with Windows XP/Server 2003, because for these systems they are very modest.

4. Installation of drivers for network cards. The program detects those without drivers and automatically tries to

install lacking drivers from the built-in Windows repository. If there’s no driver in the repository, it prompts the user to set a path to an additional driver repository.

These actions guarantee a Windows system will start up on dissimilar hardware. After the startup, Windows will initiate

reconfiguration of all Plug'n'Play devices. It’s a standard procedure, so please don’t worry and prepare the latest drivers

at this step to get the most out of the system.

Technology Application

Let’s consider a number of situations when the Adaptive Restore technology can help you out:

 If you need to migrate to a different hardware platform with minimal effort  If you need to upgrade hardware while keeping all programs and settings intact  If you need to replace failed hardware and cannot find an exact match for original system specifications

Known Issues

1. After transferring Microsoft Vista and later versions to different hardware, you will need to re-activate license of

the system. It’s normal behavior as these systems keep tracking any change of hardware. Re-activation is legally justified in this case, as you transfer your system to another PC.

2. If you’ve installed several operating systems on one partition, we can only add drivers to the latest version of

OS. Microsoft highly recommends that you install an operating system on a separate partition.

3. Please note drivers are not cached during selection. That’s why if you select a driver to add to the system, but

it’s already unavailable during the operation, the program will end the operation with an error.

System Virtualization

With new powerful x86 computers, system virtualization has become extremely popular. It’s a software technology that

enables to run several virtual machines on one physical machine, providing resources of that single computer are shared across several environments. As a result one and the same physical computer can have multiple OSs and applications operating simultaneously, thus opening up enormous opportunities for both, business and home users, exactly:

 Avoid underutilization of up-to-date powerful computers;  Increase flexibility of a physical infrastructure;  Provide for increased availability of hardware and applications;  Cut expenses on hardware and energy;  Guarantee smooth and cost saving system migration;  Enjoy working with old applications you can’t launch on your current PC;  Take advantage of having multiple operating systems on one Windows PC, including Linux, Mac OS X, etc.;

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Paragon Hard Disk Manager - 12 Professional Instruction Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual