Beginner's question

I just purchased True Image 9. I have run the full backup of my C:\ drive. Now I want to try the differential back-up, but I'm confused. The wizard tells me to select the full backup file, but there are three files with the ".tib" extension. The files all have the same name with the addition of an extra character (1), (2), (3). Only one file may be selected. But which one?

Also, does the "Acronis Safe Zone" have to be placed on the regular booting drive (C:\), or may it be placed on any other internal hard drive in the system?

Thanks for the help

 

Greetings Frogstomper,

I think you can select any of the files, as they are likely all pieces of the same puzzle. Are you, per chance, creating these Archives on an external USB HD that is formatted FAT32 (quite common)? If so, the file size is limited to @4 GB, and your Archive was then automatically split into these 3 .tib files. Selecting either file should allow you to proceed with making either an incremental or a differential backup that chains with your full backup.

You might use unique file names to identify your backups, and add comments, so that you'll have an easier time selecting which backup(s) you wish to restore.

The Secure Zone can be placed on other internal or external HDs, though Acronis doesn't suggest placing it on an external HD that may be disconnected. If you use Recovery Manager. Some users like using the Secure Zone, while others don't. It does manage files for you, but, you aren't able to copy from the Secure Zone, or manage archives in the SZ yourself.

I started using SZ, but decided that I'd rather have the upper hand, and now manage my own backups, on both internal and external HDs.

And, when you get ready, it's always a good idea to test your backups, using both the Acronis Boot Disc and under Windows, to see if all your hardware is recognized. You can always test restoring a data partition before trying out restoring the system partition, if you have them separated. And, you can go into Boot Mode and look around, without making any actual changes, just to see if you can access all your drives.

Mounting an Image, under TI running in Windows, is a very useful way to check and see what you have backed up. I usually run several programs from the virtual drive created, and look at various files, all of which have opened intact, as long as the archive image verified.

 

Hello frogstomper,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delayed response.

Please note that Christopher_NC is right. When backing up to the hard disk: If the selected disk has enough space and its file system allows the estimated file size, the program will create a single archive file. If the storage disk has enough space, but its file system does not allow the estimated file size, Acronis True Image will automatically split the backup into several files. For example, FAT16 and FAT32 file systems have a 4 GB file size limit.

Please also note that if the archive was splitted into several file you can select any of its parts to create the incremental/differential backup.

Please note that the incremental/differential backup names are based on the full backup name. You do not need to specify name for them. If you are going to create an incremental backup, select the latest full or incremental backup you have. In fact, if all incremental backup files are stored together, it doesn't matter which one you select, as the program will recognize them as a single archive. If you are going to create a differential backup, select the full backup which will be a base, or any of existing differential archives. Either way, the program will create a new differential archive file.

Acronis Secure Zone can be located on any local disk. It is created using unallocated space, if available, or at the expense of free space on a partition. A computer can have only one secure zone. I would also recommend you to take a look at this FAQ article explaining the reason why we do not recommend creating Acronis Secure Zone on a detachable drive.

You can find more information on how to use Acronis True Image 9.0 Home in the respective User's Guide.

Thank you.
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Aleksandr Isakov