System image restore with multiple HDs

So I am contemplating a system image restore to resolve a few issues that have cropped up. I won't get into those here. I have a double HD configuration set up with the primary C: drive containing OS and programs and the secondary D: for file and game storage. Back in Feb I created a system image of the C: drive on the D: drive. So my question is if I go ahead with the image restore is it going to format everything on both drives? Or will the data on the D: drive remain intact?

I couldn't image the drive I was storing it on, so it didn't give me the option to do both. I plan to backup the D: drive before going through with the process, but I was curious if anyone has experience with this or knows how it will work.

 

It depends on what program you used to create image of C, I know that Paragon 12 (& 13) free editions will give you the option to restore individual physical drives (or partitions). Very good idea to backup D to an external drive b4 restoring anything!

 

I used the Windows 7 utility to create an image a month after I bought my computer. For some reason system restore points are corrupted and it fails while rebuilding the registry. Also SFC /scannow utility gets to 16% and terminates. There is no serious issue yet but I discovered these problems after inspecting the errors in the event viewer yesterday. I am unsure whether I should do the image recovery, or hold off.

 

I would look through the log(s) System File Checker: Run sfc /scannow & Analyze its logs in Windows 7 | 8 .... It may also be a good idea to either 1. check the SMART data and/or 2. run a utility from the Hard Drive Manuf.'s site just to verify that there are no hardware issues before attempting any restore. Are we talking about the Crucial M4?

 

Yes it is the Crucial M4, I ran chkdsk and it came back with zero corruption, errors, or bad sectors. The OS runs well on the surface and rarely displays error messages, and it has never crashed or BSOD. It runs fast and doesn't seem to be starved for resources despite the errors in the event log. VSS (volume shadow service) error is the one that caught my attention and led to the discovery that my system restore capabilities are shot. It says that my structure ID is invalid.

Also I did manage to view the log from the Sfc scan and it appears to be an issue with permissions, but I could be wrong. It doesn't list a specific directory or file so I have no idea where to locate the problem. Ill cut and paste it when I get home.

 

So after a few days of poking around for solutions and trial and error I managed to fix all of the semi serious problems appearing in the event viewer and I managed to get sfc /scannow to complete. I read the log and compared it to others posted on various Microsoft forums and determined that it had to do with Visual C++ Service Pack. I went back in the Event Viewer to see when the problems began and discovered that it started after a failed MS Visual C++ update back in January. I reinstalled that update along with a handful released a few days ago and the scan completed without a problem. I also fixed the VSS error by making a minor change in the registry and deleting a."bak" entry.

And I managed to remedy a recurring error with MS Search and Indexing that I had been getting since I installed the second HD on my computer. I had received thousands of errors for Search and Indexing was disabled despite being turned on and set to auto. I went through several different fixes and eventually figured out that it was partly due to my User folders being located on the second hard drive. I edited a change I had made to the registry and the Index began to fill up.

Tracking down and fixing the errors that appear in the Logs can be tiresome and often pointless, but it feels good to have made some progress. There was never a real glaring problem to begin with, but I am not one to wait for that to happen. Especially with System Restore not working. Its time to invest in another external hard drive and make a System Image of both the C; and D: drives.