Image PLUS backup?

With my first entry in this forum, I am trying to get an answer to the following question:

Using True Image 9, I created an image of my pc on an external hard disk. This was successful, although it took a long time (nearly one day, usb 1.1).

Now, is it possible to add files to the image and/or overwrite files of the image? For example, I thought I could just copy a new version of a file, which I have updated on the pc, to the external disk.

Do you think this could somehow have a bad influence to the image?

(Remark: If grammar or words of this post are funny, the excuse is: I am german... If the question itself is funny, there is no excuse)

 

Not exactly.

What you can do is make another backup as an incremental or differential, this will make another image with the extra file included. If it's just one extra file then the new image will not be all that big.

Colin

 

When you make a change on the hard drive, if you do not want to make a completely new image, you can do an Incremental or Differential backup. My preference is always to do a completely new image, but I would understand your reluctance to do a whole new image because of the usb 1. In this case it would be worth it, for me anyway, to add a card that will give you usb 2.

 

First step : incremental image

Second step : buy an USB2 card

 

Alternatively you could add a second hard drive internally to save backups. Not as good as an external though unless you take the time to remove the internal for safe keeping - this you can achieve by using those handy removable racks that are made to take a hard drive. I recommend them heartily - I use six of them on my systems.

 

Thank you for your suggestions.

Currently, my external disk is exactly as big as the pc hard disk. The image should therefore, in my opinion, occupy the same space. Does an incremental backup require additional space then?

 

Hello dmdbt,

TI only images the in-use sectors (excluding Pagefile.sys and Hiberfile.sys), therefore the amount of used space on your main hard drive is the determining factor. Depending on the type of files on the hard drive being imaged, using TI's "Normal" compression setting will result in an image file approximately two thirds of the size of the used space.

Yes it does. Also worth bearing in mind that if the in-use sector layout of the disk has significantly changed since the previous image (e.g. the disk has been defragged) then the incremental could almost equal the size of the original Full image.

Regards

 

Hello dmdbt,

Yes, an incremental image file will take additional space, as it must store all the changes since the full image.

There is an alternative, though. If you want to record just a few files that have changed (or have been added), but not all the changes (to save on space), Mount the full image with the read/write option. The image will appear as a virtual disk that you can access from Windows Explorer, make the appropriate changes to that mounted image and then Unmount. Still, you will get an incremental file appended to the original full image file, but this time it will be smaller, since it will contain only those limited changes you chose to perform, not everything that has changed since the full.