Acronis True Image 11 - Concerned Photographer

[Fuiru]

I'm sorry but I need reassuring as a photographer that if I back up my computer using Acronis True Image then it backs up my entire system without the need of backing them up individually - Windows Vista 64, Adobe Product Software and more importantly all my photos.

So if I hit Operations/Back Up/ My Computer / Disks & Partitions

Then I don't have to worry about any files on my C drive not being backed up?

How does Acronis compress RAW Image Nikon Format Files?

Thanks in advance for all your time and understanding.

Fuiru

[seekforever]

Originally Posted by Fuiru

I'm sorry but I need reassuring as a photographer that if I back up my computer using Acronis True Image then it backs up my entire system without the need of backing them up individually - Windows Vista 64, Adobe Product Software and more importantly all my photos.

So if I hit Operations/Back Up/ My Computer / Disks & Partitions
Then I don't have to worry about any files on my C drive not being backed up?

If you tell it to make an image of the whole disk or partition everything will be backed up with the exception of anything selected in the Exclude screen in the backup wizard. I always run mine with nothing excluded.

Note that you can also select a Data backup which allows you to select the files and folders to backup. Even if you backup all the files and folders on your C drive the Data backup will not restore the data to a new HD and make it bootable.

How does Acronis compress RAW Image Nikon Format Files?

NO idea, but their compression algorithm works fine and is not a source of problems. There is no loss of data when using these algorithms since they restore the file exactly to what it was in its uncompressed state. THis is not the same situation as lossy compression as encountered with resaving .jpg files over and over. If you don't believe me run a checksum calculator on the before and after files.

Thanks in advance for all your time and understanding.

Fuiru

I only use TI to backup my C drive which is the OS and application programs only. I keep all my data files including photographs on a different drive or partition. This permits blowing away the C drive any time I want without having to worry about important data.

I use SyncBackSE for my data files but there are other similar applications. The reason is that I don't like stuffing all my files into a proprietary container. If something goes wrong with the container file then there is a chance you might lose everything rather than just a file or two.

There is no reason you can't just do a Windows copy of the files to an external USB drive or wherever you wish. Since you are using RAW format files there is the compression issue but there is compression in Windows, at least on some versions I guess and programs like Syncback offer it.

My advice is that you keep as many backups of your data as possible and if you use more than 1 backup program/method to do it that's even better. As I bore forum users to death again, your data files are the most important since they are available nowhere else at any price!

[Fuiru]

Thanks Seekforever,

Your reply makes perfect sense

So it's probably a good idea to partition my drive and separate the OS & Apps from all my data files...just wondering is it a good idea to then use Acronis to make two separate back up images of:

1. My OS & Apps
2. My data files

Is there a back up application that can synchronise back up with all your data files, for example it only copies files that have been modified but doesn't copy across files that haven't been modified since the last back up?

Does that make sense?

Also, which uses more hardrive space, incremental or differential back ups? And, if I was to do a system restore with incremental, does that mean it would have to read every incremental file including the full back up to restore to it's most recent state?

If so, wouldn't that mean that a differential back up would mean only ever restoring two files for the most recent system restore?

Thanks again,

Fuiru

[seekforever]

Originally Posted by Fuiru

Thanks Seekforever,

Your reply makes perfect sense

So it's probably a good idea to partition my drive and separate the OS & Apps from all my data files...just wondering is it a good idea to then use Acronis to make two separate back up images of:

1. My OS & Apps
2. My data files

Yes, you can make an image of each partition. Some suggest that you make one "whole disk" image which allows you to put back the disk structure as it was if you ever need to replace the disk but it isn't essential especially with only a couple of partitions and a single-boot sytem.

Is there a back up application that can synchronise back up with all your data files, for example it only copies files that have been modified but doesn't copy across files that haven't been modified since the last back up?

Does that make sense?

That is essentially an incremental. I'd say just about all of the backup applications do it.

Also, which uses more hardrive space, incremental or differential back ups? And, if I was to do a system restore with incremental, does that mean it would have to read every incremental file including the full back up to restore to it's most recent state? If so, wouldn't that mean that a differential back up would mean only ever restoring two files for the most recent system restore? ...

I don't know if the difference in space is significant. Yes, you have to read every incremental but they normally shouldn't be real large but this is a weakness because if you have an unreadable incremental in the chain the restore can not go past the bad incremental. I never recommend long chains of incrementals for that reason.

You are correct about only needing the Full and the last differential. I can't remember what the current status is but the previous versions of TI required all of the intermediate differentials be present to be able to validate the archive even though they aren't required to do the restoration. This was fixed a bit with the TI concept of "Backup Locations" in TI11 which cured this problem if the archives were stored in a TI Backup Location. These don't exist in TI2009 so I don't know what the status is. Maybe somebody can help out.

I wouldn't get overly concerned about disk space requirements since HDs are very cheap these days.

Note that TI2009 can do a consolidation which AFAIK rolls up all of the changes into a new full archive. I only do Full images and have never used it.

[Fuiru]

You're a legend! Thanks for your advice and cheers for saving me all the time I would have spent researching to find out the best method.

Cheers,

Fuiru

[DwnNdrty]

Originally Posted by Fuiru

Is there a back up application that can synchronise back up with all your data files, for example it only copies files that have been modified but doesn't copy across files that haven't been modified since the last back up?

Some forum members, myself included, use the free Karen's Replicator for this.

[GroverH]

Fuiru,

Your photographs are the most important part of your backup would be my guess. From what I understand, many of the professional photographers now make a practice of making multiple copies of their files and store these files on multiple hard drives so that the loss of one drive or the loss of the computer does not affect their ability to recover their photos. Alternate storage includes online, network drives, external drives and even the lowly DVD. Some store a complete duplicate hard drive off-site.

Here is a link to a recent Digital Camera radio show where public called in their digital camera questions. Click on part 1 (7:43) of the May 16 show (about 4 minutes into the segment), to hear (MP3) a discussion of using Cloud storage as a temporary means of having immediate backups. You may be interested in this discussion as well as all segments for that specific show.

Many photographers make a practice of never ever connecting their camera directly to their computer. They remove and insert the memory card into either a card reader, or a reader on their computer or printer. From that point, they begin to make their copies and additional backups of their photos.

If you have additional time, I think you might find these non-requested assorted links useful.

Tatou rambling on--one large drive with many externals
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showp...2&postcount=13

SAVE MY MUSIC(or photos) COLLECTION! PLEASE (29 replies --2 pages)
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=167710

Recommend backup scheme for photos, music 32 replies--2 pages
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=164175

Lightning strike- Yes they do happen
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=150083

Xpilot backup procedure using caddies.
Post #7
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showp...84&postcount=7

Post #221
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showp...&postcount=221

Clone or Restore using Resize comparison
http://www.wilderssecurity.com/showp...61&postcount=9

The bottom line is "Get Prepared"--if you are not already there. Accidents happen and hard drives fail.