size of backup

[wayneout]

Hello,
Sorry for such a stupid question. Just bought Acronis True Image.
I just had a hard drive crash on my other computer so I want to
make a image of my entire hard drive on my newer computer.
(I also want to get a external hard drive for it too).
I went to the help section but couldn't find what I wanted.
This is actually a two part question. (sorry again)
My hard drive has 111gb. Of that I have 72gb free. Which means
about 39gb in use. When I make a backup copy, does that mean
that then I will only have 33gb free?
I want then to burn the backup to dvd's and then delete the backup
if it takes that much room on the computer. (I want to burn it to
dvd's no matter what) Will the Wizard help me to burn the DVD or
how to I find out the procedure for burning it. (I didn't see that in
the help section either, not saying it is not there, I just didn't see it)
Thanks,
Bill
First time doing a backup as you can tell.

[Chutsman]

If you have the latest build (3633 as of yesterday) of version 9, this will burn directly to DVD media without the need for packet writing as in some previous builds. So no need to store it on a hard drive if you don't want to do so.

The backup Image will be compressed about 60% of the amount of used space with Normal compression, so about 24 gig in your case.

Just be aware that using DVD media will be slower than a hard drive both in writing the backup Image and in the Restore process. But it is a good idea to have a duplicate backup on dvd media.

[wayneout]

Thanks for the info. I just bought it this morning.
How do I tell it that I just want to burn it to DVD?
Is this a question the wizard asks?
Thanks,
Bill

[seekforever]

-{ Quote: "Thanks for the info. I just bought it this morning.
How do I tell it that I just want to burn it to DVD?
Is this a question the wizard asks?
Thanks,
Bill" }-

Chutsman is correct, the latest build burns directly to DVD but I am going to advise you to proceed with caution until we see what settles out in terms of reliability for this new feature.

TI is capable of backing up a whole disk, selected partitions as images; it also can back up files using the Files and Folders option. For backing up your OS you want to use the image option.

People tend to backup to another partition on the same drive, a partition on a second drive (more secure), an external USB drive or DVD.

TI has the option to create a Secure Zone which is a partition hidden from Windows. You can place your images in the Secure Zone if you elect to create one. This is useful for people with only one partition.

Normally, an image program can't backup to the same partition it is running on because it would be trying to backup the backup in an endless loop. However, TI takes a snap-shot of the current state to backup so it doesn't see the backup being created on the same partition. TI will warn you about it but apparently you just tell it to ignore.

Personally, I would create an image of your desired partition(s) and then burn the created files to DVD with your normal burning software. When you create an image it is a good idea to Validate it immediately after creating (option that can be selected in TI). I also use my burning software's verify feature to verify the DVD after burning it. Many keep the image files under 2GB so it doesn't use the UDF file system. 1492 MB is a common setting such that TI will split the image files at that size (1.457GB) and 3 files fit nicely on a DVD. TI automatically handles split images. Split size is another entry in the options. Note that TI calls each of the split files a Volume - the DVD disk is not the volume.

After you do this, then try the new direct burning feature to DVD. If it doesn't work then you should still have a good backup.

This might sound intimidating but the Backup Wizard will guide you through it.

[wayneout]

Hello,
Thanks for the answers. I am buying a external usb drive.
If possible, I will burn the image to the external first and
then try to burn DVD's.
Thanks for the help and it does sound a littll complicated,
but I am hoping the wizard will guide me thru it.
Thanks again for the replies.
Bill

[dld]

-{ Quote: "My hard drive has 111gb. Of that I have 72gb free. Which means about 39gb in use. When I make a backup copy, does that mean
that then I will only have 33gb free?
I want then to burn the backup to dvd's and then delete the backup
if it takes that much room on the computer." }-

If I understand your reasoning, you seem to think that the backup of your 39GB of data will be created on your 111GB drive. Your math would then be 111GB minus 39GB data minus 39GB backup leaves you with 33GB free. You then want to delete the backup if it takes too much room on the computer.

The above reasoning is wrong on multiple counts as noted by Chutsman and seekforever.

You want to backup to dvd.

If you want to backup your entire 111GB drive, you will want to make sure the Disk1 box is checked off as shown in this screenshot:

http://img133.imageshack.us/img133/3351/screenshot0146lj.jpg

You will then choose your dvd optical drive as the target of the backup. My backups are stored on Local Disk (S). I don't have a dvd drive but the screenshot would be as shown here. Just choose your dvd drive as target:

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/5332/screenshot0046eo.jpg

You could accept the default name for the backup file or choose to rename the file.

[wayneout]

I want to thank everyone for the replies.
I just did the backup on my computer. I had
it saved to a external hard drive. It went very easy.
No problems. I then burned the files to Dvd and it took
8 discs but again no problem.
Thanks again for all the help.
Bill