Best way to backup and restore Bootcamp free?

Question

Level 1

14 points

Best way to backup and restore Bootcamp free?

I am looking for the best way to backup and restore my Windows 10 bootcamp partition for free (which rules out Winclone). Note the word “restore“. Making a clone of the bootcamp partition is fine, but I will need a way to restore that clone back to a bootcamp partition that is on my Mac’s internal SSD.

I have run across 2 ideas on my own (listed below). What do you guys think of them and how would I perform the process for each?

- Use Paragon Hard Disk manager

- Use Disk Utility to create a .dmg of the bootcamp partition

Ideally, I‘d love to be able to restore the backup without going through Bootcamp Assistant again or reinstalling Windows from scratch again. Meaning that the program used to restore the backup would create a new partition, format it accordingly, and copy everything over hmy files and system files included). I don’t know if this is possible, but try your best to find a solution like this.

I am using a 13 inch 2015 MacBook Pro with Retina display running macOS High Sierra 10.13.2. Thank you everyone for your help!!

MacBook Pro with Retina display, macOS High Sierra (10.13.2), Early 2015 model

Posted on Jan 11, 2018 5:39 PM

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Answer 1

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 11, 2018 8:14 PM in response to Capt Inc

Look at CloneZilla. Be aware, resizing during restore is problematic on a Mac. The DMG route is not recommended.

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Answer 2

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 12, 2018 10:36 AM in response to Capt Inc

Capt Inc wrote:

I am looking for the best way to backup and restore my Windows 10 bootcamp partition for free (which rules out Winclone).

I have run across 2 ideas on my own (listed below). What do you guys think of them and how would I perform the process for each?

- Use Paragon Hard Disk manager

Paragon HDM has two versions, a Free and a Commercial version. You should compare features between the two before you go down the 'free' path.

Also, look at Windows VHDs - About VHD (Windows) .

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Answer 3

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 12, 2018 10:32 AM in response to Capt Inc

Capt Inc wrote:

OK on the DMG. But what do you mean by ”Be aware, resizing during restore is problematic on a Mac”? Does that apply only to restoring a backup onto a smaller partition? Or does it also apply the other way around?

It applies both ways. Smaller partition will not work, if you use CloneZilla. Larger partitions make the Mac see a larger partition, but the Windows C: has it's own System Volume Information, which now has a conflict in this scenario.

Capt Inc wrote:

One more question - will Clonezilla create a backup that is the same file size as my whole Bootcamp partition, or will the backup be only the size of the files I have? E.g. If I have a 50gb bootcamp partition and only 20gb of that is in use, will the clonezilla backup be 50gb or 20gb?

CloneZilla creates a bit-copy, so it is the same size as the partition that you clone. However, you can compress the image. It can also be restored to a larger partition, but has the same issue as the discrepancy between partition size and System Volume information.

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Answer 4

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:27 PM in response to Capt Inc

See Using GParted to Resize Your Windows 7 or Vista Partition as an example. It also works on W8.x/W10.

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Answer 5

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 5:08 AM in response to Loner T

OK on the DMG. But what do you mean by ”Be aware, resizing during restore is problematic on a Mac”? Does that apply only to restoring a backup onto a smaller partition? Or does it also apply the other way around?

One more question - will Clonezilla create a backup that is the same file size as my whole Bootcamp partition, or will the backup be only the size of the files I have? E.g. If I have a 50gb bootcamp partition and only 20gb of that is in use, will the clonezilla backup be 50gb or 20gb?

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Answer 6

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 11:50 AM in response to Loner T

Let’s say I wanted to restore a backup onto a new partition that is larger than the original. How would I resolve the discrepancy (safely of course) between the actual partition size and Windows System Volume info?

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Answer 7

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:58 PM in response to Loner T

I looked at GParted and it didn’t look too appealing....is using Windows Disk Management safe to solve said discrepancy when running under bootcamp? Will Disk Management affect the boot of either OS or affect the Mac portion at all?

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Answer 8

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 3:42 PM in response to Loner T

So lemme just get this process straight so I don’t screw up.

Let’s say that - original BC partition was 25gb with 20gb of that in use. I backed it up using paragon HDM and restored it to a new partition that is 50gb in size. I would now need to open Disk Management on windows, and extend the C: drive to encompass the additional 25gb that I added. Correct?

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Answer 9

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:15 PM in response to Capt Inc

After the restore, you will either need to use GParted or Windows Disk Management. GParted is much cleaner. You also need to ensure the GPT and MBR (if any) are always in sync.

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Answer 10

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:19 PM in response to Loner T

Ok. If you happen to know, can Paragon Hard Disk Manager free version backup and restore to/from a disk image? If you don’t know, no worries - I’ll find out soon enough.

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Answer 11

Loner T

Level 9

59,536 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:21 PM in response to Capt Inc

I suggest asking Paragon Technical Support as the final authority.

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Answer 12

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:25 PM in response to Loner T

Ok. Any suggestions for a guide on how to use GParted to make actual partition size and System Volume info in sync with each other?

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Answer 13

Capt Inc Author

Level 1

14 points

Jan 12, 2018 12:39 PM in response to Loner T

Do you know if using the paragon HDM option to restore bootcamp to a larger-than-original partition would still require additional repairs to windows system volume after the HDM restore is complete?

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