Abstract: Migration of computer information. In one example embodiment, a method for migration of computer data includes modifying a volume boot record of a destination volume to a first state in which at least a portion of the destination volume becomes inaccessible to a standard file system, writing one or more snapshots of a source volume to the inaccessible portion of the destination volume while the volume boot record is in the first state, and restoring the volume boot record to a second state in which the inaccessible portion of the destination volume becomes accessible to the standard file system.

Abstract: Backup and restoration of computer information. In one example embodiment, a method includes modifying a volume boot record of a restore volume to a first state in which at least a portion of the restore volume becomes inaccessible to a standard file system, writing restore data to the inaccessible portion of the restore volume while the volume boot record is in the first state, and restoring the volume boot record to a second state in which the inaccessible portion of the restore volume becomes accessible to the standard file system.

Abstract: A computer creates a full backup of a target volume by copying sectors of the target volume. Incremental backups are created by copying modified sectors that have changed since a preceding backup. Public accesses to a restore volume are prevented by modifying a volume boot record (VBR) of the restore volume to prevent file systems from recognizing the restore volume or by filtering public accesses while allowing private block accesses to the restore volume. Sector data are copied from the backup files to the restore volume while the public accesses are being prevented. The restore can begin, using previously created backup files, while the backup is still in process creating new incremental backups for the target volume. The restore volume is finalized after restoring the full or any number of incremental backups by restoring the VBR to indicate the restore volume is valid or stopping the filtering of public accesses.