So an Acronis backup can not be restored without aligning the partition afterwards, did i understand that right? But what about the Backup thats built into Windows7? (Which is what i want to use from now on.) Since Win7 is a 4k sector aware OS, will the restored backups automatically be correctly aligned or do they have to be re-aligned too?
Thank you, but i am not currently looking for alternatives. What i want to know is simply whether a system backup made and restored with Win7s integrated Backup will need re-alignment after restoration.
Sorry, I didn't really answer your question. Macrium handles the new disks so I thought I would tell you about it. Did you happen to notice the basic version is free? It's what I use and it is way better than Acronis or Windows 7 Backup. It really amazes me that some little company like Macrium can whip big giant Microsoft's ass in this area. Microsoft should be embarrassed by the abomination that is Windows Backup.
OK, Acronis is out of the race then. Still leaves the Win7 built-in Backup, which would be my preferred future backup method anyway. Win7 itself is a 4k aware system, that much we know, so the question is only whether the Win7 ImageBackupRestorer will keep or destroy the alignment...
OK, erm, i think i can answer my own question by applying some logic. Fact: The sector size of an Advanced Format drive is 4096B Fact: Win7 partitions a drive such that it starts at offset 1024, which means it fits perfectly at the start of a 4096B sector (no sector overlaps = no performance degrading) Fact: A partition image made with the built-in Win7 Backup restores exactly to the same area as the original, which i know because i already did such a restore Ergo: Using the built-in Win7 Backup on an Advanced Format drive such as the WDs EARS series wont lead to any problems since the backup will be put back exactly where it was when it was made Alright, now that this question is finally answered feel free to post some working 3rd-party freeware alternatives in case you know any. The WinBackup is great and i will probably stick with it for the near future, but since it doesnt do compression etc an alternative might come in handy later down the road. So far we have Macrium Free that works with the new 4k drives. I also read the Symantec Ghost can handle the new drives, but obviously thats not freeware so it doesnt count.