Pre / Post Questions to Automate Process

[Rcrete]

I have two harddrives in my computer, one for Programs and one for Data. There are two Tasks, one each for a full Program and full Data backup that presently "I Do not start automatically" which contain:

1. Pre command to rename previous full backup to today's date
2. Validate backup archive upon its completion.

Backup is written to an external HDD.

I'd like to:

1. Because of the Pre renam any given current task will rename the most recent full backup and create a new one while leaving previous renamed backups. This quickly fills the external HDD so I'd like help in creating a command which, either before or after the new backup, erases all previous backups except the current backup and the most recent previous backup, i.e., at any given time there will only be the current backup and one previous backup renamed to the date of the current backup

2. With a Start Paraneter of Daily, at a specific time, I'd like to Run each full backup, Program and Data, one after the other, including validation of each, erasing as discussed in #1, then shut down the machine.

In this way, each day I will create a full backup and image validation of each drive, Program and Data, save the next oldest backup and when complete, after I leave the office, shutdown and power off the machine.

OK....that's my wish....now let's see if it is possible.

Thanks in advance.

Randy

ps - Windows XP Pro and TI 10 home

[shieber]

Using Backup Locations per the manual?

[Rcrete]

ok...i've refreshed my memory on "backup locations" per the manual. This would seem to solve one of my issues if i understand correctly.

since i have two separate harddisks, Programs and Data, i think i'd want to create two partitions, Programs & Data, on my external harddisk. Each task could then point to its own "backup location" and manage the number of backups distinctly within the partition. do i have this correctly?

this would also allow there to be differently backup frequency since Programs mightly only need to be backed up weekly and Data maybe as often daily.

it seems that each task, in order to run independently on different frequencies, would have to be schedule by a time certain during the day...say 8 pm after I leave the office.

that leaves the machine shutdown and poweroff after completion of the task. how do i accomplish that....assuming the above makes sense.

thanks, again, in advance.

[Acronis Support]

Hello Rcrete and Shieber,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup software (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/)

To Rcrete:

We'd like to inform you that the best way to achieve the described result in your case is indeed to create a separate Backup Location for each partition and to create a task for backing up each partition to a separate Backup Location with applying the desired backup policy for each task.

We'd also like to inform you that you can use Pre/Post commands option to make your system shut down after a task is completed. Please edit the post commands for the task you want your PC to shut down upon the completion of as shown on the screenshots:

194560

194561

If you have any further questions concerning our software, please submit a request for technical support (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/support/) or post any of them on this forum. We will do our best to help you as soon as possible.

Thank you

--
Eugene Bogdanov

[shieber]

Your Backup Locations are directories created with the Backup Locations tool in ATI -- they don't need to be in separate partitions, bu they can be.

The Backup Location has the limits and the Task has the frequency so you could have two diff tasks write to one lkocation with diff frequencies, but the file limits would be applied across the board for files inthat Location. -{ Quote: ". . .

since i have two separate harddisks, Programs and Data, i think i'd want to create two partitions, Programs & Data, on my external harddisk. Each task could then point to its own "backup location" and manage the number of backups distinctly within the partition. do i have this correctly?

. . ." }-

[Rcrete]

one final question. i have utilized the above suggestions. many thanks to the posters!

as presently configured a daily backup of data is scheduled for 9 pm with validation and a post command to shut off the machine when complete. somewhere i remember reading that shutoff occurs BEFORE validation. Is this true? if so, is it possible to schedule a task that is ONLY validation...which could be performed BEFORE the back up task?

as presently configured a weekly backup of programs is scheduled for 6 pm on Friday's with validation. no post command as the shutoff will occur after the daily backup (above), which occurs 3 hours later. this seems to be OK as validation will occur without a post command above.

please advise.

thanks