feature request: xp system backup, smaller image?

Hiya!

I'm sure the stressed and underpaid programmers at acronis ead this forum, so...

Would it be possile to add an option in TI to make imaging a windows (xp) system partition more efficient by:

- saving the page file as an empty file in the image
- saving the hibernation file as an empty file in the image

You don't need their contents to restore your system.

Saving them as an empty file will speed up making an image. More important: it will reduce the size of the image by 100s of MBs, which can make the difference between an image that fits on a single CD vs. more CDs.


To make imaging my system partition faster, and to save a CD, I perform some voodoo rituals before I make an image:
- make system restore point
- clear all temp folders, browser caches etc.
- disable hibernation
- disable paging
- clear all restore points except the last one

When I've made the image, I use system restore to switch paging and hibernation back on. This also repairs the desktop icons messed up by TI7 (this thread: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=222880)

When I use the image to restore my system, the built-in system restore point switches paging and hibernation back on.

There must be a way to automate all this. A scripting tool built into TI should do it.

 

I believe they are working on it.

 

Cool. So maybe in TI8...

Meanwhile, a script (BAT, VBS, whatever) would be useful if it can:

1) clear all temp folders, browser caches etc.
2) make system restore point
3) disable hibernation
4) disable paging
5) clear all restore points except the last one

1: Can be done by many cleanup programs, so the script/batch code can't be too hard. Just include some commands like del path\to\temp\folder\*.*
2: Let the script run this: http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_sysrestorepoint.htm
3 & 4: Don't know how to script this. Guess it's just some registry entries, but maybe it's not that simple
5: Can this be done from the command line?


Everybody, start posting. I'm sure we can build a one-click-system-image-filesize-reducer!

 

TI 8 is out. It lets you exlude the paging & hibernation files.

That's great.

I ask for a feature and it's done in a week.

I'm gonna bomb this forum with more feature requests. If Acronis keeps responding the same way expect TI 9 to appear before the end of the month. By the end of the summer we should have TI 16...