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396873
December 18th, 2014 04:00
How to backup Dell's partitions (PBR Image and WINRETOOLS) using Linux?
Hi everyone,
I own a Dell Inspiron 17R 7720 and recently my HDD crashed and I can't access the Windows 8 PRO partition anymore, so I bought a SSD to reinstall it.
The problem is that my Windows is OEM and I need to backup the PBR Image and WINRETOOLS using only Linux (I can't access Windows) but I don't know how and I'm afraid to miss anything and lost my Windows Key or the diagnostics tools provided by Dell.
Can anyone guide me through a secure backup?
Thanks for any help!
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ejn63
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December 18th, 2014 04:00
There's no way to do that other than to have a bootable drive in which the Dell Backup and Recovery utility will function. You'll need to call Dell for a set of recovery media (free under warranty, charge after) for your system.
marcelhb
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December 18th, 2014 05:00
Hi, thanks for your help!
But just out of couriosity, why can't I use dd to backup byte by byte the partitions and then restore using dd again onto the SSD?
ejn63
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December 18th, 2014 07:00
The recovery partition is encrypted -- cloning it will render it unusable.
ejn63
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December 18th, 2014 08:00
Once a volume is encrypted, duplication will break the encryption - the copy will not be useable. This is as true for the OEM Dell partition as it is for any disc that's encrypted (TrueCrypt, SafeBoot, etc.).
Raczo
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December 18th, 2014 08:00
Create a boot UFD (USB key) in another computer, using an image program from Macrium, Paragon or Terabyte. Boot with this UFD the computer with the damaged partition and backup the partitions you want to an external USB disk.
The Dell partitions and the WinRE Tools partitions can be backed up, they won´t be damaged in any way. The image program will choose the correct image method automatically. The PBR partition contains the factory image, the Dell diagnostics are in the DIAGS partiiton.
marcelhb
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December 18th, 2014 08:00
I don't follow, if I clone it, it will remain encrypted, therefore accesible, isn't it?
dd will make an exact copy, encrypted or not...
marcelhb
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December 19th, 2014 19:00
Hi, thank you for your response.
Unfortunately I was not able to backup only some partitions using Macrium (did not tested the Paragon or Terabyte solutions, since my SSD is smaller than my HDD and those softwares apparently only clone the entire disk). I also tried to backup the partition using the EaseUS ToDo Backup Free, but without luck.
Even after a clone via sector by sector, the Dell Recovery System could not find the image to recover the system. Just one thing: I'm not looking for a solution to backup those partitions to an external USB, but to my new SSD.
Perhaps I'm just doing something wrong, but there must be a way to backup those crucial partitions.
ejn63
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February 28th, 2015 03:00
1. Be careful with this - copying an encrypted partition WILL break it.
2. True, but the recovery image IS encrypted.
I'm not sure why you'd want to copy a UNIX ID on a Windows system.