User manual ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE 10.0

Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0 User's guide www.acronis.com Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007. All rights reserved. Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners. Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Distribution of the work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder. DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED «AS IS» AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS, REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID. 2 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT BY ACCEPTING, YOU (ORIGINAL PURCHASER) INDICATE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS. IF YOU DO NOT WISH TO ACCEPT THE PRODUCT UNDER THESE TERMS, YOU CAN CHOOSE NOT TO ACCEPT BY SELECTING "I decline..." AND NOT INSTALLING THE SOFTWARE. Acronis Disk Director Suite (the software) is Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007. All rights are reserved. The ORIGINAL PURCHASER is granted a LICENSE to use the software only, subject to the following restrictions and limitations. 1. 2. The license is to the original purchaser only, and is not transferable without prior written permission from Acronis. The original purchaser can use the software on a single computer. You cannot use the software on more than one machine, even if you own or lease all of them, without the written consent of Acronis. The original purchaser cannot engage in, nor permit third parties to engage in, any of the following: Providing or permitting use of by, or transferring the software to, third parties. Providing use of the software in a computer service business, network, timesharing or multiple user arrangement to users who are not individually licensed by Acronis. Making alterations or copies of any kind in the software (except as specifically permitted above). Attempting to unassemble, decompile or reverse-engineer the software in any way. Granting sublicenses, leases or other rights in the software to others. Making copies, or verbal or media translations, of the users guide. Making telecommunication data transmission of the software. 3. A. B. C. D. E. F. G. Acronis has the right to terminate this license if there is a violation of its terms or default by the original purchaser. Upon termination for any reason, all copies of the software must be immediately returned to Acronis, and the original purchaser shall be liable to Acronis for any and all damages suffered as a result of the violation or default. ENTIRE RISK THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE QUALITY AND PERFORMANCE OF THE SOFTWARE IS WITH YOU THE PURCHASER. ACRONIS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SOFTWARE OR ITS FUNCTIONS WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED. NO LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES IN NO EVENT SHALL ACRONIS OR ITS VENDORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, DAMAGES FOR THE LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS, BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, OR ANY OTHER PECUNIARY LOSS) ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE SOFTWARE, EVEN IF ACRONIS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 3 Table of contents Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................... 6 CHAPTER 1. INSTALLATION AND USE ............................................................................................. 9 1.1 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS...................................................................................................................... 9 1.2 INSTALLATION PROCESS ...................................................................................................................... 9 1.3 UPGRADING ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE.................................................................................... 10 1.4 REMOVING SOFTWARE ...................................................................................................................... 10 1.5 USER INTERFACE ............................................................................................................................... 11 1.6 BEFORE YOU RUN ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE .......................................................................... 11 1.7 RUNNING ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE........................................................................................ 12 CHAPTER 2. BEGINNING THE WORK.............................................................................................. 13 2.1 ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE LOGICAL ORGANIZATION ............................................................... 13 2.2 ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE MAIN WINDOW .............................................................................. 14 2.3 CALLING PARTITION OPERATIONS ..................................................................................................... 15 2.4 PARTITION OPERATION PROPERTIES .................................................................................................. 16 2.5 PROTECTING ACRONIS DISK DIRECTOR SUITE WITH A PASSWORD................................................... 19 2.6 VIEWING LOGS ................................................................................................................................... 20 CHAPTER 3. AUTOMATIC PARTITION OPERATIONS ................................................................ 22 3.1 CREATING A NEW PARTITION............................................................................................................ 22 3.2 INCREASING PARTITION FREE SPACE................................................................................................. 31 3.3 COPYING PARTITIONS ........................................................................................................................ 33 CHAPTER 4. MANUAL PARTITION OPERATIONS........................................................................ 38 4.1 MAIN PARTITION OPERATIONS .......................................................................................................... 38 4.2 ADDITIONAL PARTITION OPERATIONS ............................................................................................... 57 CHAPTER 5. WORKING WITH ACRONIS RECOVERY EXPERT ............................................... 67 5.1 AUTOMATIC RECOVERY .................................................................................................................... 68 5.2 MANUAL RECOVERY ......................................................................................................................... 71 CHAPTER 6. WORKING WITH ACRONIS DISK EDITOR............................................................. 74 6.1 GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 74 6.2 THE SELECTION OF THE PARTITION OR A DISK FOR EDITING ............................................................... 74 6.3 MAIN WINDOW OF THE PROGRAM ..................................................................................................... 75 6.4 EDIT HARD DISKS.............................................................................................................................. 76 6.5 WRITE BLOCK TO A FILE AND READ FROM A FILE ............................................................................. 77 6.6 VIEW.................................................................................................................................................. 78 6.7 SEARCH ............................................................................................................................................. 79 6.8 WORKING WITH DIFFERENT ENCODINGS ........................................................................................... 81 CHAPTER 7. WORKING WITH ACRONIS OS SELECTOR ........................................................... 82 7.1 GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................................... 82 7.2 STARTING THE WORK ......................................................................................................................... 82 7.3 SETTING THE BOOT MENU ................................................................................................................. 84 7.4 BOOTING OPERATING SYSTEMS.......................................................................................................... 84 7.5 SETTING AN OPERATING SYSTEM AS THE DEFAULT ............................................................................ 85 7.6 SETTING OPERATING SYSTEM PASSWORDS ......................................................................................... 85 7.7 SETTING OPERATING SYSTEM PROPERTIES ......................................................................................... 86 7.8 HIDING OPERATING SYSTEMS............................................................................................................. 92 7.9 USING SHORTCUTS ............................................................................................................................. 93 7.10 DELETING OPERATING SYSTEMS FROM OS SELECTOR BOOT MENU ................................................ 93 7.11 DETECTING OPERATING SYSTEMS................................................................................................... 93 4 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Table of contents 7.12 7.13 7.14 RENAMING OPERATING SYSTEMS ................................................................................................... 95 COPYING OPERATING SYSTEMS ...................................................................................................... 95 SETTING ACRONIS OS SELECTOR OPTIONS..................................................................................... 95 INSTALLING AND USING SEVERAL OPERATING SYSTEMS ON A SINGLE PC 100 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 100 INSTALLING SEVERAL WINDOWS COPIES TO A SINGLE PC ............................................................... 101 INSTALLING LINUX AND WINDOWS ON THE SAME PC...................................................................... 106 CHAPTER 8. 8.1 8.2 8.3 CHAPTER 9. BOOTABLE MEDIA BUILDER .................................................................................. 108 9.1 GENERAL INFORMATION .................................................................................................................. 108 9.2 CREATING BOOTABLE MEDIA ........................................................................................................... 108 APPENDIX A. HARD DISK AND FILE SYSTEMS........................................................................... 111 A.1 HARD DISK ORGANIZATION............................................................................................................. 111 A.2 HARD DISK PARTITION .................................................................................................................... 112 A.3 PARTITION TYPES ............................................................................................................................ 112 A.4 PRIMARY PARTITIONS...................................................................................................................... 113 A.5 EXTENDED PARTITIONS ................................................................................................................... 114 A.6 LOGICAL PARTITIONS ...................................................................................................................... 114 A.7 FORMATTING HARD DISKS .............................................................................................................. 114 A.8 FILE SYSTEMS.................................................................................................................................. 115 A.9 FILE SYSTEM MAIN SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................... 115 APPENDIX B. PARTICULARITIES OF OPERATING SYSTEMS................................................. 119 B.1 DOS-TYPE OPERATING SYSTEMS .................................................................................................... 119 B.2 WINDOWS 95/98/ME........................................................................................................................ 121 B.3 WINDOWS NT/2000/XP................................................................................................................... 122 B.4 LINUX .............................................................................................................................................. 124 B.5 OTHER OPERATING SYSTEMS .......................................................................................................... 124 APPENDIX C. GLOSSARY................................................................................................................... 125 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 5 Introduction Introduction What is Acronis Disk Director Suite? Acronis Disk Director Suite is a complex program that includes partition and boot managers and hard disk data editing tools. With it, you can: · · · · · · · · · · · · · · Create hard disk partitions Resize, move, split and merge partitions without data loss or destruction Convert partitions to other file systems without data loss Copy (move) partition contents Delete partitions Recover hard disk partitions that were accidentally deleted or damaged due to a hardware or software error Format, label, assign letters, hide and unhide partitions, set active partitions and perform additional disk management operations Install multiple operating systems on a single PC Boot installed operating systems from any hard disk partition Boot installed operating systems from under Windows Install several operating systems on a single partition Hide or protect with a password any operating system on your PC Duplicate installed operating systems and define different configurations for each copy Recover boot records, files and folders structure, find lost clusters, remove viruses, etc. Some terms of this guide might be unfamiliar. Appendix A «Hard Disk And File Systems » and Appendix C «Glossary» provide descriptions of some hard disk data storage components and used terms. What's new in Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0? · Splitting/merging partitions You can split a partition in two, moving the selected folders to the new partition and leaving the rest of the data on the old one. This operation can also be used for creating an empty partition from another partition's free space. You can merge two partitions, as well, even if their file systems are different. All data will stay intact and reside on the resulting partition. · Exploring and managing partitions contents You can explore or manage partition contents before configuring operations on that partition directly from Acronis Disk Director Suite. It enables you to copy, paste, 6 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Introduction rename and delete files and folders, create folders on the selected partition, and even edit text files. · Support of boot from CD/DVD in Acronis OS Selector If you insert a bootable CD/DVD, it will be detected and displayed in the Acronis OS Selector boot menu/main window along with available operating systems. The CD/DVD can contain any operating system or bootable program ­ no matter, you will see its icon in the boot menu. It allows you to boot or install an operating system from a CD. · OS Detection Wizard The OS detection tool allows an unintentionally deleted operating system to be found and added to the OS Selector boot menu. Also, if an operating system on a newly connected disk was not detected automatically, you can try to add it to boot menu using this tool. · Boot from second HDD Generally, Windows can boot from HDD only if its boot files reside on the first (according to BIOS) hard disk. If you connect a live system HDD, taken from another computer (where it was the first disk), to your computer, where it becomes the second (third etc.) disk, boot from that HDD will be impossible, even if the hardware is identical on both computers. Acronis OS Selector now can manage situations like that and automatically set the disk order required for booting the selected operating system. Besides, you can choose the disk order when installing an additional Windows operating system, so that its boot files will be installed on the second (third etc.) disk. · Viewing logs Acronis Disk Director Suite now keeps working logs. They store information about implemented partition operations, including reasons for failure, if any. · The new Bootable Media Builder, common for all Acronis products The new Bootable Media Builder is able to create bootable media for every Acronis product installed on the computer, or one bootable disk for several products. It also supports creating a bootable disk ISO image on the hard disk and storing the bootable programs versions on PXE server. Software use conditions The conditions of use are listed in the supplied «License Agreement». The unique serial number is the confirmation of your legal purchase and usage of Acronis Disk Director Suite on your system. Under current legislation, the «License Agreement» is considered a contract between you and Acronis Inc. The contract is a legal document and its violation may result in legal action. Illegal use and/or distribution of this software will be prosecuted. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 7 Introduction Technical support Users who have legally purchased and registered their copy of Acronis Disk Director Suite will receive free technical support from Acronis. If you have installation or working problems that you can't solve by yourself using this manual and the readme.txt file, e-mail the technical support team. You will need to provide the serial number of your Acronis Disk Director Suite copy bundled with the program. Before you do this, you will have to register your copy at http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/products/registration/ . Support URL: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/support/ 8 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Installation and Use Chapter 1. Installation and Use 1.1 System Requirements To take full advantage of Acronis Disk Director Suite you should have: · A PC-compatible computer with a Pentium or similar CPU · 128 MB RAM · A floppy or a CD-RW/DVD-RW drive · A mouse (recommended) 1.2 · · · · Supported Operating Systems NT 4.0 SP 6 2000 Professional SP 4 XP SP 2 Vista (all editions). Windows Windows Windows Windows 1.3 1.3.1 Installation Process Acronis Disk Director Suite installation To install Acronis Disk Director Suite: 1. Run the installation program. 2. Follow the setup program instructions. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 9 Installation and Use 3. You will be prompted to choose Typical, Custom or Complete installation. If you pick Custom, you can choose not to install the Bootable Media Builder, a tool for creating bootable media (see Chapter 9 "Bootable Media Builder"). You might not need this tool if you purchased a boxed product that contains a bootable CD. If you have another Acronis product with its own Bootable Media Builder, such as Acronis True Image, installed on your computer, the installation program will automatically detect it and will not install another Bootable Media Builder regardless of your setting. You can create bootable media for all Acronis products using either product. 4. After installation, reboot your PC. 1.3.2 Acronis OS Selector installation To install Acronis OS Selector, you should first install Acronis Disk Director Suite. Then Programs Acronis Acronis DiskDirector Install Acronis OS select Start Selector and follow the setup program instructions. If you already have Acronis OS Selector installed on your computer, it will be updated by the new version. During the installation of Acronis OS Selector, the hidden system folder BOOTWIZ will be created on your PC to keep the program loader. Acronis OS Selector will also copy OS system files found on your PC into this folder to avoid problems during bootup and to simplify adding new OS in the future. Acronis OS Selector can be installed in the Typical or Custom variants. During Typical installation, the BOOTWIZ folder will be created in the system hard disk partition that contains the Windows files and folders. Using the Custom installation option, you will be able to select the location of the BOOTWIZ folder. This might come in handy when a system partition is accidentally destroyed or damaged. In that case, you will be able to access the Acronis OS Selector boot menu even if the system partition is inaccessible. From this menu, you can run the standalone version of Acronis Disk Director Suite, saved in the BOOTWIZ folder as well, to create and restore partitions and access the Acronis Disk Editor tool. 1.4 Upgrading Acronis Disk Director Suite If you already have Acronis Disk Director Suite installed on your PC, the installation program will automatically find it and prompt you on its replacement with the new version. Software upgrades (with certain bug fixes) may be downloaded free from the Acronis Web site: http://www.acronis.com/support/updates/. 1.5 Removing Software To remove Acronis Disk Director Suite, select Start Settings Control Panel Add or Remove Programs Acronis Disk Director Suite Remove. You will see 10 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Installation and Use a dialog to confirm removal. Click Yes to confirm and Acronis Disk Director Suite will be completely removed along with Acronis OS Selector. To remove Acronis OS Selector only, select Start Programs Acronis Acronis Install Acronis OS Selector. Then select Uninstall Acronis OS DiskDirector Selector in the installation program window and follow the program instructions. 1.6 User Interface When Acronis Disk Director Suite software is installed, it has a graphical user interface that is controlled by the mouse or by Tab, Shift+Tab, Left, Right, Up, Down, Space, Enter and Escape keys. If you regularly work with Windows or X Window applications, you should not encounter any problems with the Acronis Disk Director Suite interface. Acronis Disk Director Suite uses a series of dialogs requiring the user to choose among several actions or to mark partitions or disks to be manipulated. 1.7 Before You Run Acronis Disk Director Suite PLEASE NOTE: Operations on system, application or data partitions must be done very carefully to avoid potential hard disk booting or data storage problems. Acronis Disk Director Suite has been thoroughly tested to work with numerous hard disks, so if problems arise, they are likely caused by improper use, not the software. A power loss, turning off the PC or pressing the Reset button on your PC during the repartitioning procedure could result in partition damage and data loss. Please take all necessary precautions and following these simple rules: 1. Create a disk image of the disk on which partitions are to be reconfigured. This will ensure that your data will not be lost under any circumstances. Almost all current PCs feature CD-RW drives. Having your most important data backed up to a hard disk or CD will enable you to work on the disk partitions with full confidence that your data is safe. Acronis offers extremely effective hard disk and partition disk imaging software -- Acronis True Image (visit http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/). It creates a backup stored in a compressed archive file whose contents can be restored at any time. 2. Test your disk to make sure it's fully functional and does not contain bad sectors or file system errors. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 11 Installation and Use You can invoke system hard disk checking tools directly from Acronis Disk Director Suite Check or clicking Check the selected partition for errors toolbar by selecting Disk button. 3. Do not perform any partition operations while running other software that has lowlevel disk access, such as antivirus or backup tools. Close such programs before running Acronis Disk Director Suite. If you follow these simple rules, you will protect yourself against data loss. 1.8 1.8.1 Running Acronis Disk Director Suite Running under Windows Programs Acronis DiskDirector Acronis Disk Under Windows, select Start Director Suite. Under Windows, Acronis Disk Director Suite can perform operations on any partitions, including primary, logical, system or data without rebooting your PC. 1.8.2 Running Acronis Disk Director Suite for the first time When you run the program for the first time, you will be prompted to choose whether you want to work in Automatic Mode or Manual Mode. Automatic Mode provides enough functionality to create almost any partition configuration on your PC hard disks. If you need a detailed partition structure representation with a complete set of partition operations and controls, select Manual Mode. You can switch between modes at any time (see 2.1.3 «Switching modes»). 1.8.3 Running from bootable diskettes or CD Previously, we explained how to create bootable diskettes or a CD (see 1.2 «Supported Operating Systems · · · · Windows Windows Windows Windows NT 4.0 SP 6 2000 Professional SP 4 XP SP 2 Vista (all editions). Installation Process»). While working with Acronis Disk Director Suite, you may need to use the bootable media: (1) after a serious Windows failure or (2) to work on a Linuxbased PC. (See also Chapter 9 «Bootable Media Builder».) Your PC BIOS must be set correctly to boot and run the software from bootable diskettes or CD. 12 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work Chapter 2. Beginning The Work 2.1 Acronis Disk Director Suite Logical Organization Acronis Disk Director Suite provides two operation modes (see 1.8 «Running Acronis Disk Director Suite»): · · «Automatic partition operations» mode is designed for the most frequent operations suitable for the majority of users «Manual partition operations» mode for any partition operations. This mode is intended for experienced users with some knowledge of disk data storage organization; it provides full operational control Automatic partition operations 2.1.1 In this mode, all actions are performed through task-based wizards. · · · · Create partition wizard -- enables you to create a partition from unallocated disk space or other partitions Increase free space wizard -- enables you to enlarge a partition at the expense of unallocated disk space or other partitions Copy partition wizard -- enables you to copy a partition Recover partitions wizard ­ enables you to recover any deleted or damaged partitions. Working with Recover partitions wizard is described in detail in a separate chapter of this guide. See Chapter 5 «Working with Acronis Recovery Expert». With these wizards, even an inexperienced user will be able to perform the recovery operations using step-by-step instructions. Manual partition operations 2.1.2 In this mode, experienced users have access to all Acronis Disk Director Suite features. Partition operations are performed by entering necessary parameters into dialog boxes. The main difference between the automatic and manual modes is that wizards perform operations series in the automatic mode and only single disk/partition operations in the manual mode. 2.1.3 Switching modes Having selected an operation mode during installation (see 1.2 «Supported Operating Systems · · · · Windows Windows Windows Windows NT 4.0 SP 6 2000 Professional SP 4 XP SP 2 Vista (all editions). 13 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work Installation Process»), you can switch to another mode at any time. Select View Automatic Mode for the automatic mode or View Manual Mode for the manual. 2.2 Acronis Disk Director Suite Main Window The program is controlled through the main window. It includes the menu, toolbar, and disk and partition tree (shown/hidden through the View menu). This represents the computer disk and partition list. The main window appearance differs depending on the selected operation mode (see 2.1 «Acronis Disk Director Suite Logical Organization»). The difference applies to the available operation list in the main menu, partition context menus, sidebar and toolbar, and the amount of partition structure details represented. Acronis Disk Director Suite main window, Automatic Mode In the manual partition operations mode, the main window also includes all unallocated disk space, while only partitions are shown in the automatic mode. Partition creation, free space and copy wizards automatically recognize unallocated disk space in this mode. 14 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work Acronis Disk Director Suite main window, Manual Mode 2.2.1 Disk and partition information The main window shows the partition's disk number, assigned letter, label, type, status, size, free space size and file system. Disk and partition information is also provided in the partition and disk tree. The bottom part of the main window graphically indicates the selected disk and its partitions as rectangles with basic data on them (label, letter, size, type, file system). 2.3 Calling Partition Operations All partition operations in both modes are called and executed similarly. 2.3.1 Calling the main operations Any operation can be launched: · · · · By selecting it from the Disk submenu From customizable toolbars From the partition context menu (both in the main window and the graphical panel) From Operations and Advanced sidebar lists Note that the list of available operations in the Disk submenu and the Operations sidebar depends on the selected partition type. This holds true for unallocated space as well. 2.3.2 Advanced operations Advanced operations are: · Convert -- convert the FAT16 partition file system to FAT32, Ext2 to Ext3, and vice versa 15 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work · · · · · · · · Hide/Unhide -- hide/unhide a partition Set Active -- set an active partition Resize Root -- resize FAT16 partition root Change Bytes per i-node -- resize i-node table (Linux Ext2/Ext3) Change Cluster Size -- change FAT16/FAT32 partition cluster size Change Type -- change partition type Recover -- recover deleted or damaged partitions (see Chapter 5 «Working with Acronis Recovery Expert»). Edit -- edit hard disk data (see Chapter 6 «Working with Acronis Disk Editor»). Advanced partition operations are called from the Advanced sidebar list, the same partition context menu item or toolbar button. Note that the additional operations list of the partition context menu or toolbar depends on the selection of a partition type. For example, the FAT16 partition menu contains Advanced Resize Root; this is absent in the FAT32 partition menu. The Linux Ext2/Ext3 partition context menu contains Advanced Change Bytes per i-node, which is not found on the FAT menus. 2.3.3 Invoking Acronis Disk Director Suite wizards Wizards are invoked from the Wizards submenu and the corresponding sidebar list. For example, select Wizards Create Partition for the partition creation wizard. 2.4 2.4.1 Partition Operation Properties Displaying operation results Results of any disk partition operation are immediately displayed in the Acronis Disk Director Suite main window. If you create a partition, it will be immediately shown in the hard disk partition list in the main window, as well as in graphical form on the bottom of the main windows. Any partition changes, including resizing, relocating and labeling are also immediately displayed in the main window. 2.4.2 Pending operations All operations are pending until the user issues the command for the changes to be made permanent. Until then, Acronis Disk Director Suite will only show the new partition structure that is provided by operations to be performed. Therefore, you can view the graphical representation of the new partition structure first and then decide whether to perform or cancel specific operations. 16 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work 2.4.3 Viewing delayed operations All pending operations are added to the pending operations list. You can view it in the Pending Operations window by clicking Operations Show: Pending operations list This organization enables you to control all planned operations, double-check your intended work, and undo operations fully or partially, if needed. 2.4.4 Performing pending operations To execute planned hard disk operations, the user has to select one of the two following commands: · · Select Operations Click Commit in the main menu Commit Pending Operations toolbar button To prevent you from performing any unintentional change on your disk, the program will first display the list of all pending operations. Clicking Proceed will launch their execution. You will not be able to undo any actions or operations after you Proceed the operation. 2.4.5 Modifying pending operations All of your actions result in the creation of pending operations. For example, you can create a new partition by providing its type, file system, size, location and label. You can easily view the pending operation for the partition you are working on (see 2.4.3 «Viewing delayed operations»). You can always change any operation parameter, including type, file system, size, location, etc. before performing the operation. Using Change type, Convert, Move, Resize, and similar operations, you will also see that your actions do not result in creating new pending operations. These actions will only change the existing pending operation parameters. If you decide to change the label of a different, existing partition, Acronis Disk Director Suite will immediately create a new pending operation. Thus the same actions sometimes result in the creation of a new pending operation or modification of existing operations. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 17 Beginning The Work 2.4.6 Undoing user actions Calling wizards or dialog boxes for planning disk partition operations are user actions. User entries are necessary operation parameters on the wizard or dialog box pages. One user action in Acronis Disk Director Suite enables you to plan a list of partition operations, for example, calling a wizard for partition creation or resizing. (You can easily verify your actions by looking at the Pending Operations when the wizard finishes its work.) You can also create a partition by selecting Disk Create Partition. This requires a list of actions to be performed (enter a label, select partition type, file system, size and location), resulting in the creation of a single partition create operation only. The difference between user actions and partition operations should be kept in mind if you wish to undo user actions. Any user action in Acronis Disk Director Suite can be undone or redone before committing the operation. To undo a user action: · · Select Operations Click the Undo from the main menu (or press Ctrl+Z) Undo Last Action toolbar button To redo a user action: · Select Operations · Click the Redo from the main menu (or press Ctrl+Y) Redo Last Action toolbar button As user actions result in creating pending partition operations, as mentioned above, undoing them results in canceling one or more partition operations. And conversely, redoing a user action results in the addition of one or more pending operations. Depending on the situation, undoing an action may cancel a pending operation or undo changes of an existing operation (see 2.4.5 «Modifying pending operations»). Similarly, redoing an action might add a pending operation to the list again or redo a change of a pending operation parameter. You can undo user actions one at a time or all at once by selecting Operations Undo All. Similarly, you can redo user actions (along with the corresponding graphical representation of partition reconfiguration) one-by-one or all at once by selecting Operations Redo All. 2.4.7 Wizard operations Pending partition operations created by Acronis Disk Director Suite wizards differ in that a user must provide a list of operation parameters to perform them. Each parameter is entered on a separate wizard page. Entering operation parameters, you change wizard pages using Back and Next buttons until you reach the Preview page with the Finish button. On the Preview wizard page, you can click Back to return and change any operation parameter. 18 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 Beginning The Work After clicking Finish on the last wizard page: · The new partition structure is graphically represented in the Acronis Disk Director Suite main window · The wizard creates a list of pending operations; you can see it by selecting Operations Show Remember that no actions are performed on your disks when the wizard finishes working! If you are sure that the new structure is suitable, select Operations Commit or click Commit Pending operations. Wizard-created pending operations will then be performed at this time. Before you select Operations Commit or click Commit Pending operations, you can undo your actions (calling a wizard) and wizard-created pending operations in the usual way (selecting Operations Undo or pressing Ctrl+Z) or clicking Undo Last Action. Acronis Disk Director Suite shows the wizard and its results as a user action by creating the list of operations. Any pending actions can be fully undone by any of the mentioned methods, i.e. pressing Undo Last Action will undo a user action and all operations planned by the wizard. 2.5 Protecting Acronis Disk Director Suite With A Password You should always be aware of possible unauthorized access to your data. To protect your hard disk, partition, applications and data, Acronis Disk Director Suite provides password protection. If you need to protect Acronis Disk Director Suite with a password: 1. Select Disk Set Password. 2. Enter a password in the New Password and Confirm New Password fields in the Set Password window. Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007 19 Beginning The Work 3. Click OK to enable password protection. After you run the program, you'll be prompted to enter a password in the Password Protected window: If you enter a wrong password, you'll be asked to re-enter it. Clicking Cancel will close the program. If you need to change the password: 1. Select Disk Set Password. 2. Enter the old password in the Old Password field and the new password in the New Password and Confirm New Password fields in the Set Password window. 3. Click OK to enable password protection. If you protect Acronis Disk Director Suite with a password and forget it, you will have to uninstall Disk Director Suite (see 1.5 Removing Software), and install it again. 2.6 Viewing logs Acronis Disk Director Suite allows users to view its working logs. They provide information about partition operations, including reasons for failure, if any. To invoke the log window, select Show log on the toolbar or from the Tools menu. The log browsing window contains two panes: the left one features the log list, while the right one shows selected log contents. The left panel can contain up to 50 logs. If there are more, you can browse the list using the More and Less buttons with the left and right arrows. To delete a log, select it and click Delete. 20 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000­2007