Paragon Hard Disk Manager - 8.5 User Guide

Hard Disk Manager 8.5™

User Manual

Hard Disk Manager 8.5™ 2 User Manual

CONTENTS

1 Introduction................................................................................................................... 4

2 Key Features.................................................................................................................. 4

3 Hard Disk Manager Editions....................................................................................... 5

4 Installation ..................................................................................................................... 6

4.1 Package Contents................................................................................................................................. 6

4.2 Minimum System Requirements ........................................................................................................ 6

4.3 Installation Procedure ......................................................................................................................... 7

5 Basic Concepts............................................................................................................... 8

5.1 Drive Partitioning ................................................................................................................................8

5.2 Backup Operations ..............................................................................................................................9

5.3 Differential Backup..............................................................................................................................9

5.4 Paragon Hot Processing & Volume Shadow Copy Service............................................................10

5.5 Dynamic Disks....................................................................................................................................11

5.6 64-bit Support.....................................................................................................................................12

5.7 Copy Operations ................................................................................................................................12

5.8 Scheduling...........................................................................................................................................13

6 Interface Overview...................................................................................................... 13

6.1 General Layout...................................................................................................................................13

6.2 Main Menu .........................................................................................................................................14

6.3 Tool Bar ..............................................................................................................................................17

6.4 Virtual Operations Bar......................................................................................................................18

6.5 Common Tasks Bar ...........................................................................................................................18

6.6 Disk Map............................................................................................................................................. 20

6.7 Explorer Bar.......................................................................................................................................21

6.8 List of Partitions.................................................................................................................................22

6.9 Legend Bar .........................................................................................................................................23

6.10 Status Bar ...........................................................................................................................................23

7 Settings Overview........................................................................................................ 24

7.1 General Options ................................................................................................................................. 24

7.2 Backup Image Options ...................................................................................................................... 25

7.3 Partitioning Options ..........................................................................................................................25

7.4 File System Conversion Options....................................................................................................... 26

7.5 General Copy and Backup Options .................................................................................................27

7.6 CD/DVD Recording Options.............................................................................................................28

7.7 Hot Processing Options .....................................................................................................................29

7.8 Virtual Mode Options........................................................................................................................ 30

7.9 E-Mail Options................................................................................................................................... 30

7.10 Password Protection Options............................................................................................................ 31

7.11 Operation Dependency Options........................................................................................................32

7.12 Run during Backup Options............................................................................................................. 33

8 How to Protect Data.................................................................................................... 34

8.1 Getting Information about Disks and their Images........................................................................ 34

8.2 Backup a Disk.....................................................................................................................................40

8.3 Differential Backup............................................................................................................................42

8.4 Cyclic Backup.....................................................................................................................................43

8.5 Backup a Dynamic Disk ....................................................................................................................44

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8.6 Synthetic Backup ...............................................................................................................................45

8.7 Storing Backup Images onto External Media ................................................................................. 46

8.8 Storing Backup Images on a Network Drive...................................................................................47

8.9 Using the Backup Capsule ................................................................................................................47

8.10 Backup Capsule on a Disk with only one Partition ........................................................................49

8.11 Restoring a Disk from the Image...................................................................................................... 50

8.12 Using the Simple Restore Wizard.....................................................................................................52

8.13 Restoring the System Disk.................................................................................................................53

8.14 Restoring Separate Files and Folders from an Image ....................................................................53

8.15 Restoring Dynamic Volumes.............................................................................................................54

8.16 Build Recovery Media .......................................................................................................................56

9 Copy Tasks................................................................................................................... 57

9.1 Copy Hard Disk..................................................................................................................................57

9.2 One Button Copy Wizard..................................................................................................................59

9.3 Copy Partition ....................................................................................................................................60

10 Scheduling Operations................................................................................................ 62

10.1 Save to Scheduler ...............................................................................................................................67

11 Scripting.......................................................................................................................68

12 Partition Management................................................................................................ 69

12.1 Basic Partitioning Operations...........................................................................................................69

12.2 Advanced Partitioning Operations...................................................................................................76

12.3 Changing Partition Attributes.......................................................................................................... 83

13 Hard Disk Management ............................................................................................. 87

13.1 Update MBR.......................................................................................................................................87

13.2 Convert to Basic .................................................................................................................................88

13.3 Change Primary Slot .........................................................................................................................89

14 Extra Functionality ..................................................................................................... 90

14.1 View Partition/Hard Disk Properties............................................................................................... 90

14.2 Volume Explorer................................................................................................................................91

14.3 Mount Partition..................................................................................................................................92

14.4 Mount Archive ...................................................................................................................................93

14.5 Partition Defragmentation ................................................................................................................94

14.6 MFT Defragmentation.......................................................................................................................95

14.7 Downgrade NTFS Version ................................................................................................................ 95

14.8 Test Surface ........................................................................................................................................96

14.9 Check File System Integrity.............................................................................................................. 96

14.10 Check Archive Integrity ....................................................................................................................97

14.11 Check Recovery Disks .......................................................................................................................98

14.12 Edit/View Sectors............................................................................................................................... 98

14.13 Send Log Files ....................................................................................................................................99

15 Glossary...................................................................................................................... 100

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1 Introduction

Information that is stored on our disks can be much more valuable than the computer being used together with its software. –Then again, to what extent is something regarded as valuable? How much money would you ask for your favorite music collection, which you have been collecting your entire life? Or your disk may contain important financial data or results of scientific research. There are many things that are unique and therefore one has to be certain about security.

Our program provides the user with the most reliable data protection for the hard disk – the ability to create archive duplications (i.e. backup images). By storing such an archive onto external media the user is able to restore the data at any time it is required. The program assists planning a schedule in case the user’s disk needs a backup on a regular basis. The operation will be performed automatically at the specified time.

The second crucial function of the program is the ability to modify the hard disk structure. One day you realize that your hard drive cannot meet your requirements any more. Either its capacity is insufficient and it is time to think about a little upgrade, or you are to carry out some partitioning operations. Whatever the problem is, it requires solution. Our program provides a wide-range functionality in the field of managing disk layout structures. The key features of the program are listed in the special chapter

Setting up any operation is accomplished by using practical wizards. Each step of the wizard includes indepth information in order to allow the user to make the right choice. Graphical representations of the data help the user to gain a better understanding.

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

Some features may be unavailable in the version of the product you have. To learn more about it please consult the Hard Disk Manager Editions chapter.

2 Key Features

Let us list some of the key features:

 User friendly interface. Easily understood icons accompany all functions of the program.  Previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (so-called virtual

operations).

 Backup an entire disk including service data of the file system.  Backup of dynamic disks. The user can back up all five types of dynamic volumes (simple, spanned,

striped, mirrored, RAID-5).

 Cyclic Backup to automate the backup of separate partitions.  Archive database helps the user to easily manage backup images (get properties, add, delete, mount,

etc.).

 Create and manage the backup capsule. This is a special secured place on the disk where backup

archives are stored.

 Start up the computer from the image contained in the backup capsule in case of the operating

system corruption.

 Restore an entire disk or separate files from the disk archive (image).  Restore with Shrink function provides the possibility to restore a backup image to a free block of

smaller size taking into account only the amount of actual data of the image.

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 Copy Partition/Hard Disk Wizards that enable to successfully transfer all on-disk information

including standard bootstrap code and other system service structures, thus maintaining the operating system’s working capability, and that even beginners may understand.

 Easy-to-use One Button Copy Wizard provides a unique possibility to carry out such a technically

complicated operation as cloning of hard disks just by pressing one button.

 Basic functions for initializing, partitioning and formatting hard disks. Instead of the standard

Windows disk tools, the program supports all file systems.

 Carrying out advanced partitioning operations such as redistribution of available disk space or

merging of adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT or FAT32 file systems

with the help of easy-to-use

wizards.

 Hot Resize NTFS upward allows the user to enlarge NTFS partitions (system, locked) without

rebooting Windows and interrupting its work.

 Non-destructive modification of partitions parameters, providing the ability to successfully migrate

operating systems to larger hard disks.

 Effective tools for file system optimization. Defragmentation of FAT and NTFS file systems will

help improve the hard disk performance while working with these systems.

 Conversion of FAT and NTFS file systems without reformatting.  Recovering of any accidentally deleted partition by using the Undelete Partitions Wizard.  Schedule the operation. The user can set a convenient time for the program to perform the operation

automatically.

 Shutdown After Apply function enables to set the computer to automatically switch off on the

successful accomplishment of any scheduled operation.

 Volume Explorer utility allows the user to browse and export contents of the local

mounted/unmounted volumes of any file system as well as Paragon backups.

 Build external recovery media that help the user to restore the system even when the current

operating system cannot boot anymore.

Some features may be unavailable in the version of the product you have. To learn more about it please consult the Hard Disk Manager Editions chapter.

3 Hard Disk Manager Editions

The product is being released in several editions, Personal, Professional and Server, which vary in price and provided functionality:

 The Personal edition does not support scripting, i.e. it cannot perform batch tasks in the unattended

mode.

 The Personal edition does not support dynamic disks:

- It cannot perform any operations on dynamic disks, but entire deletion;

- It cannot convert dynamic disks back to basic;

- However, it can recognize the layout of dynamic disks.

 There are no Synthetic Backup Wizard and Cyclic Backup Wizard in the Personal edition.  Generate Script and Convert to Basic program’s dialogs are unavailable in the Personal edition.  There is no possibility to send notifications by e-mail on the carried out operations in the Personal

edition.

 Additional to the features supported by the Personal version of the Recovery CD, the Professional

and Server versions provide the following advanced functionality:

- Ability to map network shares to place or retrieve backup images over LAN;

- Backup/Restore of dynamic volumes;

- UFSD LDM module to mount complex dynamic volumes (spanned, striped, mirrored and RAID-5).

Supported Operating Systems

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Windows 95

Windows 98

Windows Me

Windows NT

Windows NT Server Family

Windows 2000 Professional

Windows XP Home Edition

Windows XP Professional

Windows XP Professional 64-bit

Windows 2000 Server Family

Windows Storage Server 2003

Windows Server 2003 Web

Windows Server 2003 Standard/ 64-bit

Windows Server 2003 Enterprise/ 64bit/ Itanium

Windows Server 2003 Datacenter/ 64bit/ Itanium

Windows Small Business Server 2003 Standard/ Premium

Windows Vista

Personal Professional Server

No No No

Yes Yes No

No No No

Yes Yes No

No No Yes

Yes Yes Yes

No Yes Yes

No No Yes

Yes Yes Yes

Please take into consideration the mentioned above peculiarities of the certain versions when working with the program.

4 Installation

This chapter provides information which is needed to perform the correct installation of the program, and in addition, checks if the current installation is working correctly.

4.1 Package Contents

The installation package includes the following components:

 Launcher (with an embedded HTML browser)  Partition Management  Hard Disk Management  Copy Partition/Hard Disk Facilities  Backup/Restore Facilities  Scheduler with Task Editor  Recovery Media Builder  Extra Functionality

4.2 Minimum System Requirements

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To use the program on a computer satisfactorily, ensure that it meets the following minimum system requirements:

 Operating systems: Windows 98/NT/2000/XP/2003 Server/Vista and XP/2003 64-bit  Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher  Intel Pentium CPU or its equivalent, with 300 MHz processor clock speed  128 MB of RAM  Hard disk drive with 40 MB of available space  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Mouse

4.3 Installation Procedure

The installation process consists of the following steps:

1. Run Setup Application From the folder, where the setup files are kept, run the SETUP.EXE file. This application will guide the user 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.

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

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 click the Yes button to accept. If the user does not agree with any conditions stated there, the installation process will be interrupted.

4. Select an Installation Folder The Destination Location page allows the user to choose the folder where the program will be installed. By default, the installation folder will be created as:

C:\Program Files\Paragon Software\Paragon Hard Disk Manager. To select another folder, click the Browse button.

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

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

5. Select a Program Group

The Program Folder page enables the user to select the application's program group for the Start Menu. By default, it will be the program group:

Start > Programs > Paragon Hard Disk Manager.

Click the Next button to continue.

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6. Verify Setup Settings

The Start Copying page allows the user to verify settings, which have already been made and correct them if necessary. Press the Back button to return to the previous page and modify the installation settings. Click the Next button to complete the installation process.

7. Copying Files

The Setup Status page shows the overall progress of the installation. Click the Cancel button to abort the setup.

8. Finishing the Installation

The Final page reports the end of the setup process.

To accomplish online backup/copy of locked partitions/hard disks the program uses a kernel

mode hotcore driver, thus the system reboot is required to complete the installation

procedure.

5 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.

5.1 Drive Partitioning

As you probably know a hard drive is to be split into one or more partitions, since it cannot hold data until it is carved up and space is set aside for the operating system. Until recently most PCs used to have just one partition, which filled the entire hard disk and contained the OS. The situation has changed however, thanks to new cost-effective high capacity hard drives, thus opening up numerous possibilities for PC users, such as editing video, archiving music, backing up CD images, etc. Huge increase in space is great, but it poses a number of problems, most important of which are effective data organization and speed.

Large drives are always going to take longer to search than smaller volumes, and an operating system is going to have its work cut out both finding and organizing files. It is for this reason that many people decide to invest in multiple hard drives, but there is an easy solution – drive partitioning. Partitioning lets you divide a single physical drive into a number of logical drives, each of which servers as a container with its own drive letter and volume label, thus enabling the operating system to process data more efficiently. Besides partitioning makes it possible to organize data so that it is easy to find and manage. You can set aside, for instance, 40 GB of a 160 GB hard drive for the OS, 70 GB for storing video and another 50 GB for your favorite music collections to provide transparent data storage.

It is also worth mentioning to that with a hard drive properly partitioned, such routine operations as files defragmentation or consistency check will not be that annoying and time-consuming any more.

By detaching the OS from the rest of the data you can tackle one more crucial issue – in case of a system malfunction, you can get the system back on track in minutes by recovering it from a backup image located on the other partition of the hard drive.

But that is not all drive partitioning may be used for. If you are willing to play games in Windows while browsing the Internet in Linux, 100-percent sure that no virus will attack your PC, drive partitioning is a

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necessity. In order to run several OSs on a single hard drive you are to create a corresponding number of partitions to effectively delineate the boundaries of each OS.

5.2 Backup Operations

Since the advent of the computer age the best way to protect valuable information was to store it in form of archives on external media. In case of hard disk malfunction, its contents could be restored from the archive. Then backup soon became a common term to mean making duplications of data for protection purposes.

Nowadays backup has become an essential routine operation for any serious information work. A modern backup archive uses the so-called image, 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. A backup image can be copied or moved like any ordinary file.

The user can store backup images on external media protection as long as the backup media is kept secure. It is possible to store backup images on a local network drive as well. Special server-side software enables to secure and store backup images for the entire network. For this purpose computers named backup servers are used. Such a backup server provides nearly the same level of protection as external media.

However, should the user not have a local network and/or it is inconvenient to record data onto external media, then the backup images can be stored in a specially secured place on the hard disk. This place is referred to as the backup capsule, which has an independent system layout (e.g. a separate partition) that 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. A single hard disk may contain only one backup capsule. However, the user can attach another hard disk with an existing backup capsule to the computer and restore from that as well without any problems.

It is only possible to browse the contents of the backup capsule by using special software. The system of wizards that is implemented into the program is designed to work with the backup capsule. Thus, by storing disk images in the backup capsule the user obtains a reliable level of data protection.

The above-mentioned methods of storing backup images are implemented in the program. And all the necessary actions are performed by using the system of convenient wizards. This means that the user simply has to follow easy step-by-step instructions to make the appropriate settings.

(CD/DVDs). This guarantees a high level of data

5.3 Differential Backup

As you probably know a regular backup image includes all contents of a partition. In case the user needs to create multiple backup archives of the same partition, unchanged data is duplicated in all archives and takes additional space on backup media.

Our program enables to archive only changes in the partition’s contents with respect to a complete archive. The creation of a differential archive usually takes more time than the creation of an ordinary one. However, a differential archive requires much less space than the appropriate number of ordinary full archives or backup images, thus considerably saving your system resources.

Once the complete image of the partition is created, it can be used as a base or parental image for the differential backup. The program verifies whether the parental image corresponds to the partition being imaged or not. To distinguish between partitions, the program uses such partition's attributes as: location, capacity, file system type, and the serial number.

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The program performs 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). The difference in contents is saved in the new volume of differential backup archive. The volumes of the archive can be stored in different locations.

This function is only available for single primary and logical partitions

5.4 Paragon Hot Processing & Volume Shadow Copy Service

5.4.1 Offline versus Online Backup

In the course of time there have been developed various methods of backing up data. Despite different work concept, all of them can be divided into two principal groups: offline (cold) and online (hot) backup techniques.

As the name infers, offline backup can only be accomplished when the data is in consistent state (the operating system and all the applications are completely shut down). Actually it is the most preferable way of image creation, since backup software obtains an exclusive right to process data that guaranties high level of operating efficiency. However an offline backup is absolutely out of question when dealing with 24/7 production environments.

In contrast, online backup enables to create a consistent snapshot even as the data is currently modified. Online backups are particularly useful for systems with high availability requirements, but they won’t be accomplished until all active transactions are complete. The point is to provide a coherent state of all open files and databases involved in a backup, taking into account that applications may still keep writing to disks. As a result an online backup cannot boast high operating speed.

Our program supports both offline and online methods of image creation. As far as online backup is concerned it offers its own hot processing algorithm together with the possibility to use snapshot technologies provided by the Microsoft VSS framework.

5.4.2 Paragon Hot Processing Technology

Paragon Hot Processing is an online backup technology for Windows NT+ family operating systems. Developed back in 2001, nowadays it is integrated with all backup solutions offered by the company.

Paragon Hot Processing is not exactly a snapshot technology, though it has much in common with it. During an online backup, the program uses the kernel mode driver HOTCORE.SYS to intercept and control disk write activity of applications and the operating system. The hotcore driver as an integral part of the program is installed during the setup procedure (that’s why the system reboot is required to complete the setup procedure). For the most part the driver is in the idle mode until it is activated with the program. While in this mode it bypasses any calls having no effect on the overall system performance, but a few kilobytes of the system memory.

Paragon Hot Processing technology offers backup of locked partitions and hard disks under Windows NT+ family operating systems providing both high operating efficiency as well as low hardware requirements.

It is not recommended to use Paragon Hot Processing with active SQL Server 2003, Exchange 2003 or Oracle databases since the backup image contents may be corrupted.

5.4.3 Volume Shadow Copy Service

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Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is designed to provide the backup infrastructure for the Microsoft Windows XP/Server 2003 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 backup solution vendors on the market, it is based on a snapshot technology concept.

Initiated by a VSS aware backup utility, VSS creates snapshots for the selected volumes and represents them as virtual read-only devices, called volume shadow copies. Once the shadow copies are created, the backup utility starts processing the data while applications keep writing to original volumes.

Unlike Paragon Hot Processing the VSS technology provides a unique possibility to make a synchronous snapshot of multiple volumes. This very feature can be particularly beneficial when backing up active SQL Server 2003, Exchange 2003 or Oracle databases located on multiple volumes the way it is recommended by Microsoft to improve the level of database performance and reliability, thus providing 100-percent data consistency.

To use VSS it is necessary to have a mounted 300 MB+ NTFS partition.

5.5 Dynamic Disks

One of the key features of our program is the possibility to back up dynamic disks. As you probably know, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Server 2003 support four primary partitions per physical hard disk, one of which can be extended. Certainly there is the possibility to create logical drives within the extended partition. Such types of disks are called basic. Windows XP Professional, Windows 2000 and Windows Server 2003 follow the same strategy: You can have a maximum of four primary partitions, one of which can be an extended partition with logical drives. However, these operating systems also introduce a new disk configuration type - dynamic disk - which must be understood to effectively configure and manage hard disks.

Dynamic disk is a physical disk that doesn't use partitions or logical drives. Instead, it contains only dynamic volumes. Regardless of what format you use for the file system, only Win2K computers can access dynamic volumes directly. However, computers that aren't running Win2K can access the dynamic volumes remotely when connected to the shared folders over the network.

Dynamic disks can co-exist on a system with basic disks. The only limitation is that you cannot mix Basic and Dynamic disks on the same hard drive.

There are five types of dynamic volumes: simple (uses free space from a single disk), spanned (created from free disk space that is linked together from multiple disks), striped (a volume the data of which is interleaved across two or more physical disks), mirrored (a fault-tolerant volume the data of which is duplicated on two physical disks, and RAID-5 volumes (a fault-tolerant volume the data of which is striped across an array of three or more disks).

With dynamic storage, you can perform disk and volume management without the need to restart Windows.

Limitations:

1. Dynamic disks are not supported on portable computers.

2. Dynamic disks are not supported on Windows XP Home Edition-based computers.

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3. You cannot create mirrored volumes or RAID-5 volumes on Windows XP Home Edition, Windows XP Professional, or Windows XP 64-Bit Edition-based computers.

Thus, the dynamic disk is a new way of looking at hard disk configuration. Dynamic disks offer you more management flexibility without the partition limitation of basic disks. Dynamic disks can contain an unlimited number of volumes, but they cannot contain partitions or logical drives. Dynamic storage can be particularly beneficial for large-scale businesses when dealing with many physical hard disks involving complex setup.

Some features may be unavailable in the version of the product you have. To learn more about it please consult the Hard Disk Manager Editions chapter.

5.6 64-bit Support

The bulk of software today is written for a 32-bit processor. It can meet the requirements of almost any end user. However that is not the case when dealing with servers processing large amounts of data with complex calculations of very large numbers. That is where 64-bit architecture comes into play.

It can boast improved scalability for business applications that enables to support more customer databases and more simultaneous users on each server. Besides a 64-bit kernel can access more system resources, such as memory allocation per user. A 64-bit processor can handle over 4 billion times more memory addresses than a 32-bit processor. With these resources, even a very large database can be cached in memory.

Although many business applications run without problems on 32-bit systems, others have grown so complex that they use up the 4 GB memory limitation of a 32-bit address space. With this large amount of data, fewer memory resources are available to meet memory needs. On a 64-bit server, most queries are able to perform in the buffers available to the database.

Some 32-bit applications make the transition to the 64-bit environment seamlessly others do not. For instance, system-level utilities and programs that provide direct hardware access are likely to fail. Our program offers a full-fledged support of the 64-bit architecture providing fault-tolerant work for such system dependent modules as Hot Processing.

Some features may be unavailable in the version of the product you have. To learn more about it please consult the Hard Disk Manager Editions chapter.

5.7 Copy Operations

Hard drive duplication nowadays is becoming highly popular among PC users. That is due to some definite advantages it can offer. First of all, many people clone hard disks just to back up data for security reasons. The present day copy utilities enable to successfully transfer all on-disk information including standard bootstrap code and other system service structures, thus maintaining the operating system’s working capability. In case of a system malfunction, the user can get the system back on track in minutes. No additional configuration is required, what is very convenient.

The second possible application is the upgrade of a hard disk to a new one. The capacity of a modern hard drive doubles every two years, thus opening up new possibilities for software developers. As a result programs become more complicated and require considerable amount of free space. One day the user realizes that there is no more free space left on the hard disk and the only way out is to upgrade. Usually that means that besides purchasing a new hard disk, the user is to face a large re-installation procedure spanning

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several days of tedious work. But all of this can be avoided just by copying the contents of the old hard disk to a new one proportionally resizing the partitions.

And the last but not least is the copying of hard disks for cloning purposes. It may be of great use when setting up similar computers. There is no need for a system administrator to install an operating system from scratch on every one of them. It is enough just to configure one and then clone it to the others.

5.8 Scheduling

The automation of the program’s operations is particularly effective when the user has to repeat a sequence of actions on a regular basis. For example, when a specific project is being developed on a computer on a day-to-day basis and a backup copy is made every evening so as not to lose the valuable data, it should be possible to simplify certain routine operations. Certain operations really need to be automated to facilitate the task of multiple executions and setting a precise time for its completion.

Another aspect of any automation process is that it runs automatically without the user having to be present. The program is able to execute operations without the user being involved. In addition, it allows an optimization of your computer’s work-load. This is especially important when operations require a considerable amount of computer resources – processor time, memory and more. A number of operations, which can decrease the performance, can be run during the night or whenever the computer has the least work-load to perform.

The program has a special tool for scheduling operations. For example, some operations may be performed daily, others - weekly and so on. The scheduled operation starts at a specified time without interrupting the user's current activity (due to using Hot

Processing technology).

. The user can set out a timetable for various backup/copy

6 Interface Overview

This chapter introduces the graphical interface of the program to the user. The design of the interface precludes any mistake being made on the part of the user. Most operations are performed through the system of wizards. Buttons and menus are accompanied by easy understandable icons. Nevertheless, any problems that might occur while managing the program can be tackled by reading this very chapter.

6.1 General Layout

When the user starts the program, the first component that is displayed is called the Launcher. It enables the user to run wizards and utilities, to specify program settings, to visualize the operating environment and the hard disk configuration.

The Launcher’s window can be conditionally subdivided into several sections that differ in their purpose and functionality:

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1. Main Menu

2. Tool Bar

3. Virtual Operations Bar

4. Common Tasks Bar

5. Explorer Bar

6. List of Partitions

7. Disk Map

8. Legend Bar

9. Status Bar

Some of the panels have similar functionality with a synchronized layout. The program enables the user to conceal some of the panels to simplify the interface management.

All panels are separated by vertical and horizontal expandable sliders, allowing the user to customize the screen layout.

6.2 Main Menu

The Main Menu provides access to the entire functionality of the program. The available functions are as listed below:

MENU ITEM FUNCTIONALITY

Tools

Generate Script… Generate a script for the task

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Save to Scheduler… Schedule pending operations

Send Log Files Compress and send the log to the Paragon Support Team

Recovery Media Builder…

Restore the system even when the current operating system cannot boot anymore

Check Recovery Disks… Verify the recovery media for integrity and ability to boot from

Settings... Edit the general settings of the program

Exit Exit the program

Changes

Undo "the last virtual operation"

Redo "the last virtual operation"

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Cancel the last undo virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

View Changes… Display the List of Pending Operations

Apply Changes Launch the real execution of virtual operations

Discard All Changes Cancel all virtual operations on the List of Pending Operations

Reload Disk Info Refresh the current information about disks

Wizards

Create Partition… Create a partition of any file system

Format Partition… Format a partition of any file system

Delete Partition… Delete a partition of any file system

Back Up Disk or Partition…

Create a new backup archive

Schedule Backup… Schedule a backup operation

Differential Backup… Create a differential backup of the selected partition

Restore Disk or Partition… Restore a disk from the backup image

Manage Backup Capsule… Create or manage a backup capsule

Synthesize a new property modified archive based on the existed backup

Synthetic Backup…

image (splitting, password protection, compression level, etc.) as well as rearrange its location

Check Archive Integrity… Perform integrity check for the required backup image

Cyclic Backup… Automate the backup of separate partitions

One Button Copy Wizard Create a hard disk copy just by pressing one button

Copy Hard Disk… Create a hard disk copy

Schedule Hard Disk Copy…

Schedule a hard disk copy

Copy Partition… Create a partition copy

Schedule Partition Copy… Schedule a partition copy

Merge Partitions… Merge adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT or FAT32 file systems

Redistribute Free Space… Redistribute available disk space of existed partitions

Undelete Partitions… Recover any of accidentally deleted partition

Hard Disk

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Back Up Hard Disk… Create a new backup archive of the selected hard disk

Update MBR Update MBR (Master Boot Record) of the selected hard disk

Change Primary Slots… Modify the primary partitions enumeration for the selected hard disk

Convert to Basic… Convert a dynamic disk containing simple volume(s) into basic

Edit/View Sectors… View/edit sectors of the selected hard disk

Properties… Get in-depth information on the properties of selected hard disk

Partition

Create Partition… Create a partition of any file system with the Create Partition dialog

Format Partition… Format a partition of any file system Format Partition dialog

Delete Partition… Delete a partition of any file system Delete Partition dialog

Move/Resize… Move/Resize the selected partition

Convert File System… Convert file system of the selected partition

Assign Drive Letter… Assign drive letter to the selected partition

Remove Drive Letter… Remove drive letter for the selected partition

Hide Partition… Make the selected partition unavailable for the operating system

Unhide Partition… Make the selected partition available for the operating system

Mark Partition as Active Make the selected partition bootable by default

Mark Partition as Inactive Make the selected partition non-bootable by default

Change Cluster Size… Change cluster size of the selected partition

Change Boot Size… Change boot size of the selected partition

Change Root Size… Change root size of the selected partition

Change Volume Label… Change volume label of the selected partition

Change Serial Number… Change serial number of the selected partition

Change Partition ID… Change identifier of the selected partition

Downgrade NTFS version…

Decrease version of the selected NTFS partition

Make Partition Primary… Make the selected partition Primary

Make Partition Logical… Make the selected partition Logical

Defragment Partition… Defragment the selected partition

Defragment MFT… Defragment MFT (Master File Table) of the selected partition

Test Surface… Test surface of the selected partition/block of free space

Check File System Integrity…

Check the selected partition for possible file system errors

Edit/View Sectors… View/edit sectors of the selected partition

Properties… Get in-depth information on the properties of selected partition

Archives

Add an Archive to the Database…

Delete the Archive from the Database…

Add a backup image to the Archive database

Remove the selected backup image from the Archive database

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Restore from the Selected Archive…

Restore a disk from the selected backup image

Check Archive Integrity… Perform integrity check for the required backup image

Differential Backup… Create a differential backup of the selected partition

Synthesize a new property modified archive based on the existed backup

Synthetic Backup…

image (splitting, password protection, compression level, etc.) as well as rearrange its location

Mount the Selected Archive…

Unmount the Selected Archive…

View

Toolbar

Assign drive letter to the selected backup image

Remove drive letter for the selected backup image

Manage the Tool Bar representation: show / hide standard and navigation buttons, text labels and large icons.

Status Bar Display the Status bar

Common Tasks Bar Display the Common tasks bar

Disk Map Legend Display the Disk map legend

Properties and Commands Display the Explorer bar

Disk Map Location

Select whether the Disk map will be located on the top of the main window or at the bottom

Choose Columns… Select properties to display on the List of partitions

Help

Help Open the Help system

About Open the dialog with information about the program

The Main Menu contents available at the moment may vary depending on the selected object.

Some features may be unavailable in the version of the product you have. To learn more about it please consult the Hard Disk Manager Editions chapter.

6.3 Tool Bar

The Toolbar provides fast access to the most frequently used operations:

BUTTON FUNCTIONALITY

Create a new backup archive

Restore a disk from the backup image

Copy a hard disk

Copy a partition

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Open the Help system

6.4 Virtual Operations Bar

The program supports previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (socalled virtual mode of execution). In fact, when the virtual mode is enabled accomplish operations immediately, but places them on the List of Pending Operations for later accomplishment.

The Virtual Operations Bar enables to manage pending operations.

BUTTON FUNCTIONALITY

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

, the program does not

Cancel the last undo virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Display the List of Pending Operations

Launch the real execution of virtual operations

Cancel all virtual operations on the List of Pending Operations

Virtual mode is an effective way of protection from any troubles, since no operations will be executed until clicking the Apply button for confirmation, thus giving a second chance to weigh all pros and cons of this or that particular operation. The program politely reminds the user that there are unsaved changes by showing the following window:

6.5 Common Tasks Bar

The Common Tasks Bar is located on the left side of the main window. It is intended for easy access to the program's wizards that provide all the functionality needed to manage copy operations.

The bar contains six tabs named Basic Partitioning Tasks, Advanced Partitioning Tasks, Backup/Restore Tasks, Copy Tasks, Tools and News and Documentation. Each of these contains a separate button bar which can be folded by clicking it.

Basic Partitioning Tasks

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Starting the Create Partition Wizard. The Create Partition Wizard assists the user to create partitions of any file system.

Starting the Format Partition Wizard. The Format Partition Wizard allows formatting existing partitions to one of the file systems supported by the program.

Starting the Delete Partition Wizard that enables to delete partitions of any file system.

Advanced Partitioning Tasks

Backup/Restore Tasks

Starting the Merge Partitions Wizard. The Merge Partitions Wizard allows merging adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT, FAT32 file systems.

Starting the Redistribute Free Space Wizard that enables to redistribute available disk space of existed partitions.

Starting the Undelete Partitions Wizard that helps to recover accidentally deleted partitions.

Starting the Backup Wizard. The Backup Wizard assists the user with the backup of the hard disk’s data.

Starting the Backup Wizard with the preset scheduling option.

Starting the Differential Backup Wizard. The Differential Backup Wizard enables to create a differential backup of a partition.

Starting the Cyclic Backup Wizard. The Cyclic Backup Wizard allows the user to automate the backup procedure.

Copy Tasks

Starting the Restore Wizard. The Restore Wizard helps to restore data from a previously made backup image.

Starting the Manage Backup Capsule Wizard. The Manage Backup Capsule Wizard helps to create, resize or delete the backup capsule.

Starting the One Button Copy Wizard. The One Button Copy Wizard assists the user with cloning of hard disks just by pressing one button.

Starting the Copy Hard Disk Wizard that helps to make an exact copy of a hard disk.

Starting the Schedule Hard Disk Copy Wizard with the preset scheduling option.

Starting the Copy Partition Wizard that helps to make an exact copy of a partition.

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Starting the Schedule Partition Copy Wizard with the preset scheduling option.

Tools

News and Documentation

Starting the Synthetic Backup Wizard. The Synthetic Backup Wizard enables to synthesize a new property modified archive based on the existed backup images (splitting, password protection, compression level, etc.) as well as rearrange its location.

Starting the Recovery Media Wizard. The Recovery Media Wizard helps to create media which can be used for recovery purposes.

Starting the Check Archive Integrity Wizard. The Check Archive Integrity Wizard helps to verify whether the backup archive is valid or not.

Starting the Check Recovery Disk Wizard. The Check Recovery Disk Wizard assists the user with verifying the recovery media for integrity and ability to boot from.

Opening the page which contains information about the program. This page will be displayed in the Explorer bar.

Launching the Help system.

Opening a brief review on the Paragon Scripting Language.

6.6 Disk Map

The Disk Map is displayed in the Explorer bar when the Disk View tab is selected. It is located either at the top or at the bottom of the window, depending on the state of the Disk Map Location option (Main menu: View > Disk Map Location). The user can change the current location of the map with this option.

As the name infers, the Disk Map displays the layout of physical and logical disks. Physical disks are represented with rectangle bars that contain small-sized bars. These small-sized bars represent logical disks. Their color depends on the file system of the appropriate partition.

Large-sized bars display the following information about physical disks:

 Manufacturer,  Model.

Small-sized bars display the following information about logical disks:

 Serial number,  Drive letter,

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 Total size,  File system.

Furthermore, it is possible to estimate the used disk space by looking at the size of the bar’s shaded area.

Disk Map is synchronized with the Explorer bar

. When the user selects a disk on the Disk Map the Explorer

bar displays detailed information of the selected disk.

The user can click a large-sized bar to display information about the appropriate physical disk in the Explorer bar. A click on a small-sized bar will lead to displaying information about the appropriate logical disk.

6.7 Explorer Bar

The Explorer Bar is located in the center of the main window which emphasizes its importance. The bar displays reference information including:

 User Manual,  Information about the program consisting of the product's name, the version of the program and a list

of helpful links,

 Detailed information about disks selected on the Disk Map,  List of scheduled operations,  List of archives,  Volume Explorer utility.

According to these categories the Explorer bar has five tabs:

 Disk View, which allows the user to view detailed information about any of the disks.  Volume Explorer, which enables to browse and export contents of the local volumes.  Scheduled Tasks, which gives the user the possibility of browsing and editing scheduled operations.  Archives, which enables to manage the Archive database.  Help System, which contains the User Manual and information about the program.

The user is able to access the desired information by clicking on the appropriate tab.

The Explorer Bar is a fully-functional embedded HTML browser, which enables the user to address, for example, our company's website to look through important technical notes or download the latest updates without having to close the program. The Help System of the program is HTML-oriented. The user can read the user manual and follow external links from to get additional information.

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To easily navigate through browsed pages, the program provides the following functionality:

BUTTON FUNCTIONALITY

Return to the previously browsed page

Open the next browsed page

Stop loading the current page

Refresh the contents of the current page

Key word search

6.8 List of Partitions

The List of Partitions is another helpful tool that enables the user to get a clear-cut picture of the current state of the system hard disks/partitions. Partitions are sorted according to their starting position. For every item of the list there is the possibility to call the context-sensitive popup menu with available operations. Besides, the program provides detailed information on all hard disks/partitions found in the system including the following properties:

- Name,

- Volume label (if exists),

- Partition type (Primary/Extended /Logical),

- File system type,

- Size,

- Amount of used and unused (free) space,

- Start/End cylinder,

- Start/End head,

- Start/End sector

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- Free size in sectors/bytes

- Active/Inactive attribute

- Hidden/Unhidden attribute

The user may customize the outlook of the List of Partitions with the appropriate Main menu item: View > Choose Columns…

By marking checkboxes the user can choose whether the required item will be displayed or not.

Furthermore, the List of Partitions is synchronized with the Explorer bar

and the Disk Map.

6.9 Legend Bar

The Legend Bar explains the color scheme used for disk and partition presentation. The user can hide (or show) the bar with the appropriate Main menu item: View > Disk Map Legend. When it is activated it can be found at the bottom of the Explorer bar.

The program distinguishes between the following types of known file systems:

- FAT16/32,

- NTFS,

- Linux Ext2/3,

- Linux ReiserFS.

6.10 Status Bar

This is the bottom part of the main window. The status bar displays menu hints, for each item the cursor points to.

The user can hide (or show) the bar with the appropriate Main menu item: View > Status bar.

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7 Settings Overview

The Settings dialog is available from the Main menu: Tools > Settings. All the settings are grouped into several sections of which the functions are described in the following paragraphs. The list of sections is placed on the left side of the dialog. By selecting a section from the list, the user opens a set of options.

7.1 General Options

This section contains a set of general options that will be taken into account during all the operations carried out with the program. The user can switch between the following modes:

 Verify data written. If this option is marked, every write-to-disk action is followed by the

read-and-compare action. This feature may be helpful in case of running an unstable hard disk, however it will negatively affect the overall performance.

 Enable data loss protection. Activate the option to force the program to work in the fail-safe

mode (also referred to as data-loss protection mode), which ensures more safety for

operations by maintaining the special journal of operations’ progress. In case of hardware malfunction, power outages or operating system failure, the modified partition may become corrupted and non-operable. However, the program will be able to complete the interrupted operation, thus "reviving" the partition.

If the system has crashed during the operation in the fail-safe mode, insert the bootable Recovery CD and restart the computer. The program will automatically detect the journal of the interrupted operation and complete the operation.

It is strongly recommended to enable this option.

 Try to access non-BIOS disk cylinders. The option works only under Windows 95, 98, ME.

When activated, the program performs a special procedure to define the disk capacity and does not use the value that is returned by BIOS.

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7.2 Backup Image Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during the creating backup images and restoring disks from them. The user can activate the following modes:

 Controlling archive integrity,

Checking archive integrity enables to guarantee that all backup images created with the program are 100 percent flawless. Nevertheless if you decided not to control the archive integrity, the backup operation would take about 3-5% less time.

 Automatic setting file names in case of complex archives,  Splitting images to several files,  Compressing a backup image. The user can also define the compression level.

7.3 Partitioning Options

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This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during partitioning operations. The user can activate the following modes:

 64 KB cluster size for FAT16 partitions. Only Windows NT 4.0/2000/XP/2003 support 64 KB

clusters.

 Request confirmation before partition deletion.  Request confirmation when converting FAT16 to FAT32 during such partitioning operations as

copy disk/partition, restore disk/partition.

 Surface test level. The option affects the following operations: format partition, copy partition,

restore partition, retest the surface. While performing the surface test, the program detects corrupted sectors and marks them as unusable.

7.4 File System Conversion Options

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This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account while converting file systems. By default, the program takes locale (regional) settings from the system. However, the user can customize default locale settings such as: time zone and language of file names.

These parameters affect the conversion of file systems "FATxx ->NTFS" and "NTFS -> FATxx". The problem lies in the use of different standards for file names and file time stamps (Created, Modified and Last access time) of NTFS and FATxx file systems.

Initially, the program displays the default locale settings, which may be changed:

 Time zone. Specify the time zone to use during a file system conversion. NTFS keeps file

timestamps in GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) while FAT uses the unadjusted local date and time. The program takes proper account of the difference between internal formats of file timestamps and enables to use the time zone information to adjust the timestamp values.

In some cases incorrect use of the time zone may lead to inability to run certain software.

 Language for file names. Choose the correct code page value. NTFS stores file names in

Unicode while FAT/FAT32 file systems use ANSI encoding for saving short filenames (also called DOS aliases). The code page information is required for correct conversion of nonEnglish filenames from Unicode to ANSI and vice versa.

Incorrect settings will result in corruption of non-English filenames.

 Request confirmation of settings before NTFS < - > FAT/FAT32 conversion. Mark the

option to automatically display the dialog of the locale settings confirmation every time the Convert file system operation is performed.

7.5 General Copy and Backup Options

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This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during copy and backup operations. The user can switch between the following modes:

 Copying all sectors of the disk.  Perform incremental copy. Once the complete copy of a hard disk is created, it can be used as a

base for the incremental copy. Mark the option to make the program perform the exact bit-wise comparison of the previous data (saved in the parental copy) with the current data (that is actually the hard disk itself). After that only most recent information will be processed. It considerably decreases the amount of data written.

 Skipping OS auxiliary files during backup operation.

In order to activate an option the user should mark the appropriate checkbox.

7.6 CD/DVD Recording Options

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This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account during the CD/DVD burning operation. The user can define:

 Recording speed  Folder where the ISO image is to be placed.

7.7 Hot Processing Options

This section contains a set of options that will be taken into account in case the Hot Processing mode is enabled. The Hot Processing mode is a part of the backup/copy operation that allows the program to process a disk without restarting the computer. The program forces the system to restart to obtain exclusive access to

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the processing data. The Hot Processing mode may be used to process locked partitions or any backup/copy operation. The user defines the method in this section.

The user can also set a Temporary drive. This option defines a partition (by default – C:) for the Hot Processing temporary file. The temporary file will be deleted when the hot backup/copy is performed which may require a large amount of disk space. Should there not be enough space on drive C:, then another drive needs to be selected.

7.8 Virtual Mode Options

 Allow virtual mode. In this section the user can choose whether to allow operations to carry out

immediately or to place them on the List of Pending Operations for later execution. Just mark the option to enable virtual operations.

 Close progress dialog automatically. Mark the option to automatically close the progress dialog

when the required operation(s) is completed.

Virtual mode can be particularly beneficial for such operations as Generate script… or Save to scheduler…

7.9 E-Mail Options

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Paragon Hard Disk Manager - 8.5 User Guide

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Frequently Asked Questions

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