How to backup Windows 7 Boot Camp partition running as a VM in Parallels 6?

[akrawitz]

I'm running Mac OS X 10.6.4 and Parallels Desktop 6 for Mac, with a Windows 7 Boot Camp partition that I run as a VM through Parallels. How can I keep the Windows partition backed up?

Ideally, this back up would function similarly for the Windows side as Time Machine does for the Mac side. I.e. it would be automatic, incremental, allow restores of individual files, and allow full system restore in the case of catastrophic failure.

I have an external Western Digital My Book Studio LX hard drive connected via Firewire. I keep the Mac partition backed up to this drive using Time Machine. Ideally I would also backup the Windows partition to this drive.

I have been informed by Parallels support that Acronis True Image Home will not work with a Boot Camp-based VM. I have seen suggestions to use WinClone or NetRestore, but as far as I can tell, neither of these is currently maintained or supported.

Any suggestions?

 

[joevt]

You need a Windows utility that can backup to a network drive but I don't know anything about Windows backup utilities. You could share the backup drive on the Mac side and connect to it from the Windows side. Or you could have the Windows utility backup to the backup drive using Parallels Shared Folders.

 

[akrawitz]

There seem to be two major problems:
1. Windows backup programs don't want to backup to an HFS+ volume on an Apple Partition Map formatted drive. Not too surprising. I could avoid this if necessary by buying a second external drive, formatted as NTFS with an MBR partition map, connect it by USB and mount it directly to the Windows VM.
2. But that still leaves the bigger problem: Windows backup programs don't support backing up a Boot Camp Windows partition. I want the backup to not only backup my files, but also allow me to restore my entire Windows partition if it gets hosed. I.e. the functionality that Norton Ghost provides for a "normal" Windows installation. The combination of an EFI-based boot process with a GUID partition map seems to scare away the standard Windows backup programs. I've talked to both Acronis and Norton, and both have told me explicitly that they do not support backing up my configuration (i.e. a Windows 7 Boot Camp partition running as a VM in Parallels).

I was hoping someone might know of some Windows backup program that supports automatic, incremental backup with individual file and full system restore, when used with a Windows 7 Boot Camp partition running as a VM in Parallels.

I'm assuming that lots of other people have a similar setup. How do you backup Windows?

 

[ppierre]

I was hoping someone might know of some Windows backup program that supports automatic, incremental backup with individual file and full system restore, when used with a Windows 7 Boot Camp partition running as a VM in Parallels.

Same for me.
Partnering for a backup solution would be more useful than forcing an antivirus... MSE fit well with running in a VM.

But, I would happily paying for an easy setup backup (disk image and incremental).

 

[joevt]

1. Windows backup programs don't want to backup to an HFS+ volume on an Apple Partition Map formatted drive.

Do you have access to the HFS+ volumes from Windows? MacDrive will let you do that - it works with APM disks. APM is only required for booting Power Macs. Otherwise you could convert the partition map to GUID or MBR using iPartition.

2. But that still leaves the bigger problem: Windows backup programs don't support backing up a Boot Camp Windows partition. I want the backup to not only backup my files, but also allow me to restore my entire Windows partition if it gets hosed. I.e. the functionality that Norton Ghost provides for a "normal" Windows installation. The combination of an EFI-based boot process with a GUID partition map seems to scare away the standard Windows backup programs.

I don't understand why the utilities would care that it was a Boot Camp setup since it is no different than a normal Windows MBR disk. The EFI-based boot process turns into a BIOS boot process when booting Windows or any other legacy OS so it doesn't factor in this. The GUID partition map shouldn't matter since Windows just ignores it and uses the MBR. What do these utilities want to do with BIOS or the disk that is not provided for them already?