New M15x, AlienRespawn Discs

Hello,

Finally, I got my M15x (black, i7 840QM, 8GB RAM, NVIDIA 460m GTX, bluetooth) . Ordered on Feb 22nd, got it on March 5th. I've been very busy so I didn't have time to play with it much, but this weekend it is reserved for the beast (recovery, disk partition, hardware monitoring installation, benchmarks, etc).

I have a question. Before I'll start messing with the settings I would like to create recovery discs using the factory-installed AlienRespawn. Does anybody have an idea of how many DVDs will be required for backup and recovery? There is no additional data on the system except for the factory-installed software.

Thank you.

PS: I have been following this forum for some time and the amount of information, knowledge and mature environment was one of the factors that made me go ahead and get one . Thanks

 

Congratulation! Hope you enjoy it.

You will need two 4.7 GB DVDs to create AlienRespawn Recovery DVDs. The image created is based on factory image residing in the Recovery partition, not your C Drive. In other words, any software you install would not affect the Recovery partition and would not increase the size of the factory image.

You can choose to use a 8 GB pen drive to create the AlienRespawn recovery media. It functions in the same way as the DVDs.

If you have the time, you can check the thread dedicated to discussion of AlienRespawn by clicking the link in my signature.

Have fun with your beast!

 

Thank you for your answer.

I made time to read the post about AlienRespawn and it was some time well spent .

Let me see if I can summarize what I've learned:

1. Out-of-box laptop (recovery partition is healthy) => use AlienRespawn => Create Recovery Discs.

2. After customizing (create new partitions but keep recovery, install new software, etc) and checking that the system is stable, IF I want to create NEW recovery discs I need to upgrade to AlienRespawn Premium or use another backup/disk image tool (Acronis, Norton Ghost, etc)

3. IF the sky is falling or I'm going to sell/return the laptop than wipe the disk clean and use the out-of-box initial Recovery Discs to return to factory install configuration (including a re-generated Recovery partition).

Well, I hope I got it right !

A quick question. Are there any limitations in the free AlienRespawn in terms of how many times we can create Recovery Media? I mean can I create recovery media on both DVDs and USB stick? It shouldn't be ... but safe to ask.
Anyway, I'm out shopping for anti-virus, DVDs, USB, bag, etc

Many thanks to you and all the others on this forum

 

Thanks for your feedback.

1. Correct.

2a. You do not need to upgrade to AlienRespawn Premium to create recovery discs. The current basic version of AlienRespawn is good enough to allow you to create as many recovery media as you want.
2b. The only reason to upgrade to AlienRespawn Premium is to create another restore points later than the factory image. Well, the price may be too expensive. Thus, if you want to create another restore points, you should instead use another backup/disk image tool (Acronis, Norton Ghost, etc) as you mentioned. Just use AlienRespawn to backup factory image only.

Edit:
3. When you want to format your computer or wipe the disk clean, just format C Drive and D drive. Do not ever format or delete the Recovery partition. That way, you can be aboely sure that you can return it factory install configuration if needed.

4. There is no limitations the free AlienRespawn Basic in terms of how many times we can create Recovery Media. So, create as many you want. Yes, you can create both DVDs and USB stick.

5. I should remind you that the recovery media can restore the system to factory configuration. It means that any software you subsequently installed will not restore. For that, you have to reinstall all software after using recovery media. Or, use another backup/disk image tool.

Still, please safely store these AlienRespawn recovery media just in case you need it.

Hope that clears your doubt.