Paragon System Recovery - Quickly and easily brings OS into original state!

Paragon System Recovery 7.0 makes it possible for every PC-User regardless of his technical experience to restore the operating system with a single mouse click.

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Paragon System Recovery 7.0 is a software solution to restore OS to the initial state including all the customizations that have been made. This product is intended for OEMs (original equipment manufactures) who produce computers and preinstall operating systems, and who need to supply recovery tools to end users of their computer systems.

System Recovery can be widely used not only by OEMs, but also by system integrators and VARs (value added resellers) who customize computer systems for their clients. All these system builders can get obvious benefits of using the product since it allows them to increase efficiency of their customer relationship process by providing their customers with a convenient and reliable tool for automatic system restoration.

System Recovery is highly flexible, fully customized software that delivers to System Builders everything they need to fulfill their tasks.

An image can be stored on Backup Capsule (a separate hidden partition on the hard disk) or a single/several CD/DVDs. Paragon System Recovery 7.0 provides powerful mechanisms for system builders to manage the Backup Capsule and for end users to take advantage of it for their own backup purposes.

Sysprep-integration. Sysprep is a utility that is used by system builders to remove all user-specific information from a source computer and prepare its hard disk for duplication to target computers. It configures the operating system to run Mini-Setup when the end user starts the computer for the first time after purchasing.

Special technical knowledge is not required: simply press the < Alt > button at PC boot or insert the CD and press the "restore" button. The operating system will be bootable again in a few minutes.

The end-user recovery process can be customized by OEMs (use own pictures and logotypes to change the product according to your standards and wishes);

The bootable part of the Recovery CD can be adjusted individually - choose the DOS, Linux or WinPE environment for the recovery process, additional drivers according to your particular needs (e.g. RAID controller). Paragon System Recovery 7.0 provides OEMs with a technology to create the Recovery Discs in a fast and easy way. On the end user side, using these Recovery Discs is also as fast and easy as possible.

After assembling a computer, installing an operating system on a hard disk and also installing all necessary drivers and additional applications, a system builder usually takes a snapshot of the system partition or the entire hard disk. The traditional way to deliver this snapshot to the end user is to burn it to a CD or DVD, creating one or several Recovery Discs. The Backup Wizard (a component of System Recovery 7.0) can easily accomplish this task. However, before that it is necessary to run the Sysprep utility (see Important Terms).

Sysprep clears the computer from user-specific information and makes it unique by modifying the computer's security identification data. Sysprep also embeds Mini-Setup to run upon the next start (when the end user will unpack the computer at home). The process of creating Recovery Discs on the system builder's side should take place exactly when Sysprep finishes its work.

When the end user starts the computer for the first time, Mini-Setup asks to enter personal data and settings. Then Mini-Setup is removed from the system automatically. The next time the end user boots, Mini-setup will not appear. However, if the end user has experienced serious system problems and used Recovery Discs supplied by the system builder to restore the system, Mini-Setup will pop up again, asking the same questions as at the beginning.

End users can create Recovery Discs by themselves with the help of the Paragon System Recovery. In this case, the snapshot of their system will be really actual, with all the personal data and settings they have entered while activating the computer. Mini-Setup, needless to say, does not pop up when end users carry out restoration from their own Recovery Discs. The Recovery Discs created by the System Recovery are bootable and the process of restoration can be totally automated without the necessity for the end user to be involved. The end user can just boot from the compact disc and get the system completely recovered in the end.

When an OEM produces a lot of similar computers (of the same model), the System Recovery 7.0 can previously write ISO-images of Recovery Discs to files. Burning these files to CD/DVD-ROMs may be performed later by industrial methods in the plant.

Besides creating Recovery Discs, Paragon System Recovery 7.0 provides extremely flexible tools for hard-disk-based recovery. This method of system recovery has a number of advantages:

No need to store and look after Recovery Discs. They may be lost when the end user needs them desperately, whereas a hard-disk-based recovery solution is always on hand to run. At the same time, it is possible to combine both these methods and apply them together.

A hard-disk-based recovery solution is more flexible and allows the end user to conduct backup/restore activity by many and various ways.

Allows OEMs to reduce time of their manufacturing process. The system can be backed up on the end user side when a computer is unpacked and switched on the first time. Some minutes of additional work during the first start are not critical for the overwhelming majority of end users while this can save tens of thousands dollars for big computer manufactures.

Paragon has developed a unique technology of the so-called Backup Capsule which is implemented in a number of the company's products including Paragon System Recovery 7.0. Using the Backup Capsule turns this solution to a cost-effective instrument for system builders, which takes into account all nuances of their manufacturing process. For example, the moment of creating the Backup Capsule with the first snapshot of the system may be set before or after the Mini-Setup activity depending on licensing issues. As for end users, the System Recovery brings them an almost full-functional backup/restore tool which can be sometimes even charged for, also generating an additional profit for system builders.

The Backup Capsule is accompanied by a convenient utility for managing, called the Manage Backup Capsule Wizard. Such a task as resizing can be easily fulfilled with its help. It is possible to have multiple archives in the Backup Capsule, and watch and control them with high effectiveness. The Backup Capsule technology can allow the end user to restore the system to different checkpoints (restore points).

Since the process of system recovery takes place on the end user side, it should be as simple as possible. End user prefers to understand clearly what is going on with the system. If the system needs to be restored, the end user wants to know a direct way of actions. Our System Recovery provides such directness. In case of using Recovery Discs, the end user should just insert the disc into the bootable drive, boot from it and press the "Restore" button when asked. The system will be restored to the state when the Recovery Disk was created (by the OEM or by the end user).

As to the Backup Capsule, when the computer is booting, it is necessary to click on the "Alt" key (or "F8", or some other key(s) depending on how the OEM had specified that with the help of the System Recovery) to see the special boot menu. One of the lines of the menu will be "Restore the System from the Backup Capsule". The procedure that looks so simple for the end user is really very complex. When creating the Backup Capsule, the Paragon System Recovery can modify the MBR (Master Boot Record) of the hard disk and add a special boot program called Paragon Boot Manager. The menu which allows the end user to boot from the Backup Capsule will be provided by this Boot Manager. But also System Recovery can keep the standard MBR untouched and just edit the Boot.ini file. The latter is less "traumatic" but if the system partition is totally corrupted, the end user will not be able to boot from the Backup Capsule without some Recovery Media to cure the problem.

If the end user chooses the option to restore from the Backup Capsule, different situations are possible: The system recovery will immediately start. It means that the Backup Capsule contains only one archive and this archive is bootable. The bootable part includes the Simple Restore Wizard which carries out the system recovery. Although there is only one archive, it is possible to overwrite the archive by a newer one as many times as needed. At the beginning, the Backup Capsule Boot Menu appears. The end user can choose to load either Paragon Linux or Paragon DOS. (This choice can be made by the OEM - one of the operating systems can be excluded, so this step will be omitted). Then the Restore Wizard starts. This wizard allows the end user to select a restoration point from the list and fulfils the system recovery to this point. Automatic Mode

Paragon System Recovery 7.0 supports Script Language, and Script Generator is embedded in the product. Therefore the entire process of creating Recovery Discs and/or creating the Backup Capsule with the first snapshot of the system can be totally automated by using scripts. These scripts can be generated on a master computer, which is usually a computer with the most common configuration. The OEM prepares this computer and performs the system backup in the "Generate Script" mode (the operation will be performed on the master computer only virtually and does not demand considerable time). The generated script can be run over and over again for different computers, each time performing the same scripted operations but creating a unique snapshot of any given system.

Besides system recovery, this solution combined with Deployment Manager (another software by Paragon Software Group) can be very useful for system deployment. System deployment is a complex and difficult process, which may take an excessive amount of time if it is not predetermined in advance and not optimized. It is very important for system builders to develop a clear and simple technological procedure which would provide good scalability when a number of computer systems, that they produce and customize, increases. It is also important to use powerful and fast tools to significantly speed up the process. When System Recovery is used in company with Paragon Deployment Manager, it can become a priceless deployment tool for big OEMs. At the same time, System Recovery contains enough deployment functionality by itself to allow VARs to deploy Windows operating systems with the help of the solution alone.

Paragon System Recovery is a flexible and customizable product. A set of functions and options is highly variable and should be defined additionally. What's more, OEMs can add their own pictures and logotypes to change the product according to their standards and wishes.