Paragon Partition Manager - 11 Server Owner's Guide

PARAGON Technologie GmbH, Systemprogrammierung

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

Partition Manager™ Server

User Manual

Contents

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 4

What’s New in Partition Manager Server ..................................................................................................... 4

Product Components ............................................................................................................. 5

Features Overview ................................................................................................................. 5

Key Features ............................................................................................................................................... 5

Supported Technologies .............................................................................................................................. 7

Supported File Systems ............................................................................................................................... 8

Supported Media ........................................................................................................................................ 8

Getting Started ...................................................................................................................... 8

Distribution ................................................................................................................................................ 9

Contacting Paragon Technology GmbH ....................................................................................................... 10

System Requirements ................................................................................................................................ 11

Installation ................................................................................................................................................ 12

First Start ................................................................................................................................................... 13

Building Recovery Media ............................................................................................................................ 14

Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery Media ............................................................................................. 15

Booting from the WinPE Recovery Media ................................................................................................... 18

Basic Concepts ..................................................................................................................... 20

System and Data Protection ....................................................................................................................... 20

Paragon Hot Processing & Volume Shadow Copy Service ............................................................................ 21

Dynamic Disks ............................................................................................................................................ 23

GPT versus MBR ......................................................................................................................................... 23

Apple Boot Camp ....................................................................................................................................... 24

64-bit Support ............................................................................................................................................ 24

Copy Operations ........................................................................................................................................ 24

Drive Partitioning ....................................................................................................................................... 25

Windows Components ........................................................................................................ 25

Interface Overview .................................................................................................................................... 25

Settings Overview ...................................................................................................................................... 37

Getting Information on Disks and Backup Images ....................................................................................... 47

Data Backup and Rescue ............................................................................................................................ 50

Copy Tasks ................................................................................................................................................. 55

Boot Management ..................................................................................................................................... 59

Partition Management ............................................................................................................................... 61

Hard Disk Management ............................................................................................................................. 86

Extra Functionality ..................................................................................................................................... 89

Typical Scenarios ................................................................................................................. 99

Backup Scenarios ....................................................................................................................................... 99

Recovery Scenarios .................................................................................................................................. 105

Resize Scenarios ....................................................................................................................................... 138

Creating Dual Boot Systems ..................................................................................................................... 152

System Migration Scenarios ..................................................................................................................... 162

Hard Disk Optimization ............................................................................................................................ 166

Extra Scenarios for WinPE ........................................................................................................................ 167

Troubleshooter .................................................................................................................. 170

Glossary ............................................................................................................................. 172

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 Partition Manager™ Server is an integrated set of powerful tools that is specially designed to tackle most of the problems the user might face while using PC. A highly intelligent program engine together with built-in advanced recovery facilities make it possible to securely carry out partitioning operations of any complexity, optimize performance of NTFS and FAT file systems, migrate the system to another hard disk, etc. without fear to lose precious data.

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 Partition Manager Server

 Next generation Adaptive Restore™ (P2P Adjust OS) to successfully migrate a Win2K+ 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.

 Smart Driver Injector to make the process of adding new drivers for P2P operations smooth and easy.  Selective Restore to easily extract files and folders from a backup image with the Restore Wizard without the

need to restore the whole image.

 Boot Corrector for WinPE to fix most of the system boot problems not only with the Linux and PTS DOS

bootable recovery environments, but WinPE 3.0 as well.

 The latest Linux kernel to enjoy support of a wider range of hardware configurations, including the brand new

Intel ICH9 chipset.

 WinPE 3.0 based bootable recovery environment to enjoy support of a wider range of hardware configurations

with the option to add drivers for specific hardware on-the-fly.

 More flexibility for online data processing techniques to provide for easier configuration for both, Paragon Hot

Processing and Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS).

 Better support for 64-bit platforms to reboot your computer to one of the three special modes (Windows

native, Linux, or DOS) to automatically complete operations, which cannot be accomplished under 64-bit Windows.

 Better support for GUID Partition Table (GPT) to back up and restore not only single GPT volumes but entire

disks, including the option of resize during the restore operation.

 Better support for the Apple Boot Camp Configuration with the option not only to back up and restore this kind

of configurations, but to copy single volumes or entire disks with resize.

 Better support for Linux ExtFS starting from Ext2FS up to the brand new Ext4FS.

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 disks. However there can be some difficulties with detecting new hardware. 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 also offers 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.

Key Features

Let us list some of the key 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

 Support of major techniques to store backup images:

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

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

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

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 Win2K+ 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 Facilities

 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.

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.

 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.

 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, change serial number, partition ID, volume

label, 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.

Boot Corrector is only available for the WinPE 3.0 or Linux/DOS bootable recovery environment.

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.

Auxiliary Facilities

 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 based on Linux/DOS or WinPE 3.0 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 under Linux or WinPE 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 Adaptive Restore™ technology to successfully migrate a Win2K+ 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.

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 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 in the Windows blue screen mode, thus saving from the

need to use a bootable media when modifying system partitions.

 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 File Systems

 Full read/write access to FAT16/FAT32 partitions.  Full read/write access to NTFS (Basic and all five types of Dynamic Disks) under Windows 95/98/ME, Linux and

PTS DOS. Compressed NTFS files are also supported.

 Full read/write access to Ext2FS/Ext3FS/Ext4FS partitions under all versions of Windows, DOS 5.0 and later.  Limited read/write access to Apple HFS+ partitions.

Supported Media

 Support of both MBR and GPT hard disks (up to 1,5 TB tested)  IDE, SCSI and SATA hard disks  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 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.

The WinPE recovery environment can only be obtained through the company’s web service. You will get the required download link after the product has been purchased.

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

Distribution

Paragon Partition Manager Server is distributed in two ways:

 Boxed package from Paragon Technology 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 Linux/DOS recovery environment with auto-run of the Windows installation, thus it can be used as a ready-made solution (see Booting from the Linux/DOS Recovery

Media). 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

Partition Manager Server purchased over the Internet will be in form of an MSI package. After installing the product you can launch the Recovery Media Builder to build the Linux/DOS or WinPE recovery media.

Registration

Paragon Technology 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/;

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

3. Fill out a registration form;

Service

Contact

Visit Paragon GmbH web site

www.paragon-software.com

Registration & updates web-service

www.paragonsoftware.com/support

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 Partition Manager Server, 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 Technology GmbH

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

Knowledge Base & Technical Support

kb.paragon-software.com

Pre-sale information

sales@paragon-software.com

System Requirements

Windows based set of utilities

To use the Windows utilities, you should install them first. But before that, please make sure your computer meets the following minimum system requirements:

 Operating systems: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7/Server 2000/2003/2008 and XP SP2/Vista/7/Server 2003/2008

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 460 MB of available space  SVGA video adapter and monitor  Mouse

Linux/DOS based recovery environment

To use the Linux/DOS recovery environment on your computer (it doesn’t matter what operating system is installed),

please make sure that it meets the following minimum system requirements:

 IBM AT compatible computer with i486 or higher CPU  256 MB of RAM  SVGA-compatible monitor  Mouse (recommended)

WinPE based recovery environment

To use the WinPE based recovery environment on your computer, (it doesn’t matter what operating system is installed),

please make sure that it meets the following minimum system requirements:

 Intel Pentium III CPU or its equivalent, with 1000 MHz processor clock speed  At least 512 MB of RAM  SVGA-compatible monitor  Mouse (recommended)

Additional requirements

There may be additional requirements if you want to use advanced features:

 Network card to send/retrieve data to/from a network computer

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.

 Recordable CD/DVD drive to burn data to compact discs  External USB hard drive to store backup data.

Installation

As we have already mentioned only Windows components of the product require installation. So to install Paragon Partition Manager Server under Windows, 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 Software\Paragon Partition Manager Server. 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.

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.

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 start up the traditional Launcher, please click the Partition Manager button and then Partition Manager.

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

First Start

To start Paragon Partition Manager Server under Windows, please click the Windows Start button and then select Programs > Paragon Partition Manager™ Server > Paragon Partition Manager™.

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.

please consult the Windows Components chapter.

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;  Prepare a bootable recovery environment from any ISO image, including our WinPE 3.0 image (strongly

recommended);

 Create from the master CD the Linux/DOS or WinPE recovery environment on a CD/DVD disc, or flash memory.

Below you can find how to build our WinPE 3.0 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. Launch the Recovery Media Builder. There are several ways to do it:

 In the Main Menu: select Tools > Recovery Media Builder…  On the Common Tasks Bar: click the Recovery Media Builder item of the Wizards menu.

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

4. Select the Flash Memory option.

5. Select the User specified CD/DVD image (.iso file) option, then browse for an ISO image of our WinPE 3.0

recovery environment or manually type in a full path to it. By selecting the Typical option you can build our Linux/DOS recovery environment, which we highly recommend you to do as well.

You can get an ISO image of our WinPE 3.0 recovery environment through the company’s web service.

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare the Linux/DOS or WinPE 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.

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.

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:

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.

 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;

 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:

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.

 Partition Manager (enables to copy and back up separate partitions or entire hard disks, carry out partitioning

operations, etc.);

 Simple Restore Wizard (allows restoring hard disks and partitions);  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);

 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;

Recovery Media Builder can help you prepare the Linux/DOS or WinPE 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.

 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 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.

Startup

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

1. Start up the computer from our 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.

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.

Our 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.

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?

Backup Storage

Our program supports major present day 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 mounted or unmounted (without drive letter assigned) 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 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.

Adaptive Restore

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.

With our technology (available in the P2P Adjust OS Wizard) you can make your Windows bootable on some other computer by allowing automatic injection of all required drivers and the other actions crucial for a migration of this kind. Actually, this operation for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003 and Windows Vista/7/Server 2008 differs a bit, so does the wizard’s work algorithm.

Adaptive Restore for Windows 2000/XP/Server 2003

It actually implies three operations:

 Providing the ability to change the Windows kernel settings to the most suitable for your new configuration.

The program will automatically add all available Windows HAL and kernels to the boot menu (the boot.ini file) to choose the required platform in case your system fails to boot (Uniprocessor, Multiprocessor, or Old legacy PC without ACPI). You can later remove them from the menu either under Windows or with Boot Corrector.

If you’ve got a 64-bit operating system, no options will be added to the boot menu.

 Automatic replacement of the boot critical drivers (HDD controller, PS/2 and USB mouse and keyboard) to the

default Windows drivers to provide the maximum level of compatibility. Once your Windows starts up, it will initiate reconfiguration of all Plug'n'Play devices, so we do recommend you to provide the latest drivers for your motherboard and processor at this step, as it can considerably improve the overall performance of your system.

 The option to inject 3rd party drivers to guarantee your system will start up on the new hardware. Actually

you’ve got two options, either provide a path to your own driver repository (collection of all drivers to your hardware devices located in one folder) for the program automatically pick and install only those drivers required for your OS (recommended), or manually specify drivers critical for the guaranteed startup of your system on the new hardware.

Adaptive Restore for Windows Vista/7/Server 2008

It is based on the fact that these operating systems do not delete their distributive driver repositories after the setup, but simply make them inactive in the Windows Registry. So thanks to our technology these driver repositories can be made available during the restore procedure to let Windows Vista/7 or 2008 Server automatically find and install any lacking driver with no action from your side required, what is very convenient.

Anyway, not all drivers can be found in the built-in driver repositories, especially when you’ve got to do with specific

SCSI or Serial ATA controllers. For situations of this kind you’ve got the option to inject any 3rd party driver, either by

providing a path to your own driver repository (collection of all drivers to your hardware devices located in one folder) for the program automatically pick and install only those drivers required for your OS (recommended), or manually specifying drivers critical for the guaranteed startup of your system on the new hardware.

Adaptive Restore Application

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

 If you need to upgrade to newer hardware while keeping all your programs and settings intact;  If you need to replace failed hardware and cannot find an exact match for your 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.

Paragon Hot Processing & Volume Shadow Copy Service

Offline versus Online Data Processing

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

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

As the name infers, offline data processing 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 or data cloning, since software can obtain an exclusive right to process data that guaranties high level of operating efficiency. However, the offline data processing is absolutely out of question when dealing with 24/7 production environments.

In contrast, online data processing enables to create a consistent snapshot even as the data is currently modified. It is particularly useful for systems with high availability requirements, but it 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 process, taking into account that applications may still keep writing to disks. As a result an online data processing cannot boast high operating speed.

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

Paragon Hot Processing Technology

Paragon Hot Processing is an online copy/backup technology for Windows NT+ family operating systems. Developed back in 2001, nowadays it is integrated with all copy/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 copy/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 copy/backup of locked partitions and hard disks under Windows NT+ family operating systems providing both high operating efficiency as well as low hardware requirements.

Volume Shadow Copy Service

Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) is designed to provide the copy/backup infrastructure for the Microsoft Windows XP/Vista/Server 2003/2008 operating systems. It offers a reliable mechanism to create consistent point-intime 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.

Initiated by a VSS aware copy/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 copy/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.

Dynamic Disks

As you probably know, MS-DOS, Microsoft Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista/Server 2003/2008 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, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003/2008 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:

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

GPT versus MBR

GUID Partition Table (GPT) is the next generation of a hard disk partitioning scheme developed to lift restrictions of the old MBR. Being a part of the Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI) standard proposed by Intel to replace the outdated PC BIOS, it offers a number of crucial benefits:

 Up to 128 primary partitions for the Windows implementation (only 4 in MBR);  The maximum allowed partition size is 18 exabytes (only 2 terabytes in MBR);

It is strongly recommended not to modify the hard disk configuration with Windows Disk Manager. Otherwise it may lead to unexpected consequences, right up to BSOD and inability to boot in Windows XP/Vista. Please use our program to correctly update both MBR and GPT.

 More reliable thanks to replication and cyclic redundancy check (CRC) protection of the partition table;  A well defined and fully self-identifying partition format (data critical to the platform operation is located in

partitions, but not in un-partitioned or hidden sectors as this is the case with MBR).

Apple Boot Camp

Boot Camp is a special utility to help you set up a dual boot system (Mac OS X and 32-bit Windows XP/Vista) on Intelbased Macs. It enables to securely re-partition your hard disk (resize an existing HFS+ partition to create a separate partition for Windows) and then launch the installation process. With Boot Camp all the necessary drivers will be at your disposal. Moreover after Windows has been installed it will serve as a boot manager to choose what operating system to start up.

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, systemlevel 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.

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 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.

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 an operating system. Until recently most PCs used to have just one partition, which filled the entire hard disk and contained an 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 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.

Windows Components

In the given section you can find all the information necessary to successfully work with the Windows version of the product.

Interface Overview

This chapter introduces the graphical interface of the program. 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.

General Layout

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

1. Main Menu

2. Tool Bar

3. Virtual Operations Bar

4. Common Tasks Bar

5. Explorer Bar

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

functionality:

6. Disk Map

7. Partition List

8. Properties Bar

9. Legend Bar

10. Status Bar

MENU ITEM

FUNCTIONALITY

Tools

View Log Files

View logs on the carried out operations

Send Log Files

Compress and send the log to the Paragon Support Team

Setup Boot Manager…

Manage several operating systems on one computer

Recovery Media Builder…

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

File Transfer Wizard…

Transfer data from any media

Settings...

Edit the general settings of the program

Exit

Exit the program

Changes

Undo `the last virtual operation`

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

Redo `the last virtual operation`

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

A number of panels offer similar functionality with a synchronized layout. The program enables to conceal some of them to simplify the interface management.

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

Main Menu

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

Express Create Partition…

Create an NTFS partition and make it ready for work

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

Express Resize Partitions…

Increase free space on one partition by up-taking the unused space of an adjacent partition

Undelete Partitions…

Recover an accidentally deleted partition

Merge Partitions…

Merge adjacent partitions of NTFS, FAT or FAT32 file systems

Redistribute Free Space…

Redistribute available disk space of existed partitions

Install New OS…

Make your system ready to install a new operating system

Back up Disk or Partition…

Create a sector-based archive of an entire hard disk or separate partitions

Restore…

Restore an entire hard disk or separate partitions from the backup image

P2P Adjust OS…

Make your system bootable on different hardware

Copy Hard Disk…

Create a hard disk copy

Copy Partition…

Create a partition copy

Hard Disk

Convert to Basic…

Convert a dynamic MBR disk containing simple volume(s) into a basic MBR disk

Convert to Basic MBR…

Convert a basic or a dynamic GPT disk containing simple volume(s) into a basic MBR 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

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

Format Partition…

Format a partition

Delete Partition…

Delete a partition

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 Volume Label…

Change volume label of the selected partition

Change Serial Number…

Change serial number of the selected partition

Downgrade NTFS version…

Decrease version of the selected NTFS partition

Change Partition ID…

Change identifier of the selected partition

Make Partition Primary…

Make the selected partition Primary

Make Partition Logical…

Make the selected partition Logical

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

View

Layouts

Manage the Launcher layout with several predefined profiles

Toolbar

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

Help

Open the Help system (you can also do it by pressing F1)

About

Open the dialog with information about the program

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

BUTTON

FUNCTIONALITY

Create an image of a hard disk or partition

Resize two adjacent partitions

Copy a hard disk

Defragment the selected partition

Open the Help system

BUTTON

FUNCTIONALITY

Cancel the last virtual operation on the List of Pending Operations

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

Tool Bar

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

Virtual Operations Bar

The program supports previewing the resulting layout of hard disks before actually executing operations (so-called virtual mode of execution). In fact, when the virtual mode is enabled, the program does not accomplish operations immediately, but places them on the List of Pending Operations for later execution.

The Virtual Operations Bar enables to manage pending operations.

+ 144 hidden pages

Paragon Partition Manager - 11 Server Owner's Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual