Newbie questions

Hi there,
I just bought True image 10 and have never used any of this product before. I only ever tried Norton ghost 2002 and not very much.
I've been readin the manual and i think I've created a complete image but I'm not sure.
I have 2 hard disks on a P35-DS4 system. the main (bootable) is Sata (2 partitions 100GB for OS and programs and 400GB for data) and the other is IDE (100GB). Both operate OK and TI10 seems to be OK with them.

The main thing I wnat to be able to do is create a Full OS image so that wheb XP Pro slows down and i have too many things installed that are junk i can roll back to a fresh image with the basic stuff installed.

I created a secure zone on the IDE and did a back up image to it. it seems to be there. It was very quick which surprised me and makes me wonder if i do have a full partition image.

To check I moved some icons around on the desktop and did a restore. It told me it had to reboot and it seemed that Acronis has taken control on the startup. But when it had finished the moved icons were still moved. so it obviously hadn't restored my desktop. I want it to restore the whole partition.

Another problem seems to be the F11 key won't break into TI10 at start up. I did just have a thought that my secure zone is on the IDE drive and not the bootable drive. Could this be causing this?

thanks for reading this essay

 

Many of the forum members would suggest that you NOT install the Acronis Secure Zone or Startup Recovery Manager until such time as you understand how they function and what modifications are made to your machine. These options may or may not be something you want to use. Check the Useful Forum Threads for more info about these functions. The use of such options is generally by those with only one drive and one partition.

Follow my guides below and try creating a new backup archive and direct it into a folder of your making onto the IDE drive. The backup archive size will be about 60-65% of your current used space. A valid restore will put your system back exactly like it was at time of archive creation. If you read other postings, you will find that most members recommend the restoration of image be placed on another test drive--so that there is no chance of your original drive being spoiled.

 

Keep it simple, is the best way.
1. secure zone is not needed.
2. don't bother with the incremental/differential backups.
3. don't do clone operations, they take too long.
4. only do image backups of your c: system partition and save it to your second hard drive.
5. To roll back your system to an earlier time, just restore your saved image back to your c: drive. (it works better than windows system restore)but note, it'll be an exact copy of the earlier time.
6. To recover from a hard drive failure, that saved image will also be bootable on another hard drive.
7. Do a baseline image backup and save that seperate from your weekly image backup, true image scheduler can be program to do a weekly backup, each weekly backup will overwrite the last backup (this will keep your hard drive from getting fill with backups). I highly recommend you program the scheduler, this way you don't have to remember to do backups manually. In my expierence it's very reliable.
8. Doing it this way, the backups are automatic, you only have to check once in a while to make sure your stored images are safe.

 

Perhaps you should add the V10 "Backup Locations" to your list of features to be avoided. IMHO it is liable to cause far more user problems than the Secure Zone.

Xpilot

 

I disagree. I think it is one of hte most valuable features of ATI 10.

 

But you are an experienced long time user of TI. I was trying to look at it from the point of view of a new user of TI.
The User manual and the help screens for both the Secure Zone and Backup Locations are woefully inadequate if not downright misleading.
Both these features can have their place but they can be confusing for a new user. For my purposes I will continue with the Secure zone because the "Locations" feature gives no improvement to me and the thought of the "Consolidattion process" intruding in the backup cycle fill me with horror. There is also the disadvantage that "Backup Locations" are not hidden from corruption.

Xpilot

 

thanks for all the replies. I'm not even trying to understand the debate about back up locations. It's probably something I can get into later but for now I want to get a clean install backup and restore happening. I hate losing a whole day restoring a system because XP just gets bogged down.

I have been reading through the guides and I think imade progress. My back up seems to be OK. it is about 60% of the currently used space. Good TIP that.

One problem I think i had was that I tried to run the restore from windows but didn't have the bootable CD in. Does it need to be

Having read the tips I booted from the CD instead and gor the restore manager screen up. The default is to contiune booting Windows in 10 seconds or so. Which it did because my wireless KB and mouse couldn't navigate. Doh!

how do i get around this? do i have to create a new disk with USB drivers or something?

cheers

 

Wireless Kb and Mouse and even their usb types seem to pose a problem for True Image. One workaround is to make a BartPE cd that incorporates the True Image plug-in. There is a whole topic (may even be in the sticky) on how to do this.

 

Thanks DwnNdrty,
Yeah i figured that out eventually. The startup screen said Home edition doesn't have USB support. I dug around and found a KB. Mosue was harder but I found a USB to PS2 converter haha and an old mouse.

The restore worked perfectly. Quicker than i expected. And it kind of leaves you hanging when it's finished. I expected a reboot or something but hey, it's all good.

thanks everyone. Now to the tinkering......

 

The Safe Mode Version says it doesn't have USB support. The Full Mode Version does have USB support (assuming the Linux drivers support your chipset).

In my experience, most USB keyboards and mice work okay in the Safe Mode of TI. I have used it quite a few times that way. In some cases you just need to make sure "Legacy USB" mode is turned on in the BIOS so the BIOS translates for the USB keyboard and mouse so they look like "regular" non-USB devices.

 

Hello Dindsy,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please make sure you use the latest build (4942) of Acronis True Image 10.0 Home. To get access to updates you should first register your software. Don't forget to recreate Acronis Bootable Rescue Media after updating.

You can find the detailed instructions on how to use Acronis True Image 10.0 Home in the respective User's Guide.

If you have any further questions concerning Acronis software, please feel free to submit a request for technical support or post any of them on this forum. We will certainly try to help you in resolving any issues.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

Hello Dindsy,

Welcome to the Forum. Forget all the manuals and follow jonyjoe81's instructions and you will not go wrong. Keep it simple. I would only add : "make an Acronis Boot disk".

Take advantage of Acrinis' very simple and informative interface. I have been using Acronis True Image since v6 and and did not do anything but follow on screen instructions, which are very simple. You either want to backup, restore or schedule. Press the button you want and do as you are told on the screen, but do it right.

Like jonyjoe81 I think you only need a full backup. I keep two copies for safety in addition to the freshly installed OS. Saves space and agro.!