Can W10 Backup to a shared drive?

Discussion in 'Windows Virtual Machine' started by Mark F, Jun 10, 2016.

  1. Mark F

    Mark F Member

    Messages:
    32
    I'm running W10 under Parallels v11. I share one of my external drives with the Mac Side (El Capitain) and want to use the Windows partition (FAT) for the W10 built-in backup. But for some reason the backup program usually does not find the drive. But it sometimes does. WHen I look at Explorer the drive letter seems to always change and is never the same as the drive letter that the Backup program shows. For example, the Backup program is looking for Drive E but Explorer now shows that as Drive U.

    Does anyone know if this is a W10 issue or a Parallels issue, and how to fix it?

    Thanks.
     
  2. PaulChristopher@Parallels

    PaulChristopher@Parallels Product Expert Staff Member

    Messages:
    3,113
    Hi Mark F,
    Drive letter assignment is managed by Windows and does not depend on Parallels Desktop.
    1.Make sure the external drive is properly connected to the Mac and mounted in Finder.
    2.Start Windows, go to Start -> Computer and make sure external drive is successfully mapped (usually with letter X:, Y: or Z:)
    3.Click on "Map network drive" button.
    4.In the new "Map network drive" window choose the Drive letter you want from the list
    5.Then in Folder: field type in \\psf\ and choose the drive you need from the drop-down list
    6.Make sure "Reconnect at logon" checkbox is checked. Save changes.
    7.Now in Windows Explorer, you will be able to see 2 identical drives with different drive letters assigned.
    8.Right-click on the drive with the "wrong" letter (Y: in the example) and choose Disconnect
    9.Now the shared drive letter will be saved for this device even after Windows is rebooted and then check the Back up.
     
  3. primitivo56

    primitivo56 Bit poster

    Messages:
    7
    Mark,
    I'm trying to use Acronis True Image to backup to an external drive. I formatted one of the partitions as FAT32 using the Mac Disk Utility. Running Windows 10 under Parallels 11, I had to select the Parallels icon, then Devices, then External Devices, then select My Passport drive. After that, Acronis could see the external drive partition.
     
  4. DustinHullett

    DustinHullett Product Expert

    Messages:
    181
    "I'm trying to use Acronis True Image to backup to an external drive. I formatted one of the partitions as FAT32 using the Mac Disk Utility. Running Windows 10 under Parallels 11, I had to select the Parallels icon, then Devices, then External Devices, then select My Passport drive. After that, Acronis could see the external drive partition."

    This should be the steps you need to take
    I just tested on my macbook pro running el capitan and had no issue
     
  5. primitivo56

    primitivo56 Bit poster

    Messages:
    7
    Unfortunately, the backup failed saying it could not find the .tib file. Oh well, I guess I need to figure out how to format the partition as NTFS? Any suggestions?
     
  6. DustinHullett

    DustinHullett Product Expert

    Messages:
    181
    Connect the drive to your Windows VM directly and format it with Windows. Right click on the mounted drive in windows explorer and select format. Or open the windows disk utility and format that way.
     
  7. DustinHullett

    DustinHullett Product Expert

    Messages:
    181
    I'm not an acronis customer or I would test myself for you. If you need more help let me know
     

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