Creating Incremental Backups

I am confused by something in the Help menu & would like some clarification. It says, at 4.2.1:
"4.2.1 Creating the incremental image
To create an incremental disk/partition image:
Creating a partition (disk) image Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000–2004 21
.. Choose your original full disk image file in the directory tree of Image Archive Creation window and then press Next button;
.. If you already created the incremental backup, choose the last incremental disk/partition image in the directory tree;

Then it states:
If all image files are stored together, if doesn't matter which one you select, as the program will recognize them as a single image. If you stored the files on several removable disks, you must provide the latest image file; otherwise, restoration problems might occur.

Does that mean that:
1. If I schedule an incremental backup every day (& so the storage drive remains the same) & create the task by selecting the full backup, that all the incremental backups will be created correctly?
2. If I were to edit the incremental backup & selected e.g. Backup034.tib instead of Backup03.tib (the full backup), that the incremental backups still come out OK (as long as the storage target was the same drive)?
3. Suppose to created a full backup & 3 incrementals on a drive & then ran out of room. If you wanted to continue making incremental backups to a different external drive, which backup would you have to select...the full backup or the last incremental?
4. If it's the last incremental backup, would you always have to update the choice to the latest one (which would mean that you could no longer schedule an incremental backup)?

Thank you in advance.
Phil

 

Just a suggestion but why don't you create a Secure Zone as there are a number of benefits.

1. You don't have to worry about filenames when you back up to SZ

2. Provided you make the SZ large enough to accomodate say 3 backup cycles (Full + related incrementals) then you don't have to worry about running out of space and deleting 'old' backups as TI will automatically overwrite the oldest full backup and its related incrementals when the SZ becomes full.

3. SZ is more secure from trojan infection as it is a FAT32 partition which is not visible to the operating system, although it can still be seen if you are an administrator and use administrator function.

Many people write scripts to manage their backup strategy and that can be a source of problems that may not be discovered until it's too late. My advice is to keep it simple, let TI manage your backups and use the SZ.

 

Thanks for your reply. Can I create a SZ on an external drive? I purposely bought 2 external hard drives to switch off between backups. That way, I can remove the drive & store it away from the computer (better protection against theft, fire, etc.).

 

You can create a Secure Zone on any disk that is available to TI. When you use the Manage Acronis Secure Zone wizard it will list all the drives that it can see and you choose on which drive to create the SZ.

I believe that there may be a problem if you Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager and have your SZ on an external drive. This is because the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager expects the SZ to be online at boot time. You obviously don't want the SZ to be online all the time so just don't activate the startup recovery manager. I am not an expert on using TI with external drives so maybe someone will confirm that the problem I have just described is accurate.

 

Thanks again for the reply. Well, hopefully, someone who has experience with using TI with external drives can chime in. I'd still like to know if I understood the Help correctly as far as making incremental backups.

 

Hello phrab,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Yes, the incremental backup will be created correctly.

Yes, please note, when the incremental backup option is selected, the software creates a backup image that only includes the sectors that have changed from the last incremental backup or the full backup, if you create an incremental backup for the first time.

You should select the last incremental backup.

Yes, if you don't schedule an incremental backup, you always should select the last incremental.

Also please note, that Acronis program requires access to the original full backup image and all subsequent incremental backups during incremental backup creation. The full backup image and all subsequent incremental backups should be located in the same folder or on the same media.

Hopefully informed you well. If you have further questions concerning our software, please feel free to contact us again.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

Hello phrab,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Yes, the incremental backup will be created correctly.

Yes, please note, when the incremental backup option is selected, the software creates a backup image that only includes the sectors that have changed from the last incremental backup or the full backup, if you create an incremental backup for the first time.

You should select the last incremental backup.

Yes, if you don't schedule an incremental backup, you always should select the last incremental.

Also please note, that Acronis program requires access to the original full backup image and all subsequent incremental backups during incremental backup creation. The full backup image and all subsequent incremental backups should be located in the same folder or on the same media.

Hopefully informed you well. If you have further questions concerning our software, please feel free to contact us again.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

Hi Irina:
Thank you for your reply. I understand now.

 

Hello phrab,

Pjb024 is correct. By all means create a SZ on your external HD but, unless you intend to have the external drive connected and switched on each time you boot your computer, do not accept the default option to also activate the Startup Recovery Manager (SRM).

Activating the SRM causes TI to modify your systems Master Boot Record in order to obtain the F11 boot into Recovery Mode functionality. It also expects to find the SZ at the same location that it was created. Hence, if the external HD happens to be powered down or disconnected during the system boot process, your computer will hang.

Regards