Newbie: what should I do first, what should I avoid?

Newbie: advice is requested. Thanks.

I have the retail package of Acronis True Image 8.0 build 791, on retail CD.
I plan to write images to an external USB 2.0 hard drive. What should a newbie do?

1. Should I just use the Create Image function, to image my C-drive to my external USB drive? Is there anything else I should do?

2. I don't have a CD burner on the PC that will run True Image. I would like to create a Recovery CD though, so I can safely store my original True Image installation CD. Is it possible to burn the Recovery CD using a different PC, perhaps by temporarily installing TI on that other PC? Or are there any "PC-specific" files that must be burned onto the Recovery CD which requires it to be burned by the PC that will use the software?

3. If I decide to always boot from the Recovery CD prior to imaging, and for restoring, is there any need to install True Image on the PC?

4. I have build 791. Is it recommended that I not install that, and that I instead download latest build from Acronis and install that? If I install a newer build on my PC, can I still use my True Image retail CD as the Recovery disk, or must I burn a new Recovery CD? IOW, does the Recovery CD need to be "matched" with the build of TI that is installed on the PC?

So, what's the best advice for a newbie, and what are the steps I should take?

Advice will be very appreciated, thanks.

 

bump .

 

Re: Newbie: advice is requested. Thanks.

Hello tuttle,

Thank you for choosing Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/).

1. Yes, you may just click on the "Create Image" wizard and follow its directions. Please make sure your external drive is already formatted (i.e. you are able to store files there).

2. Acronis Bootable CD is not PC-specific. If you do not have any other way you may temporary install Acronis True Image on another computer, create Acronis Bootable CD using "Create Bootable Rescue Media" tool and uninstall Acronis True Image. Please note that having two computers with Acronis True Image installed with only one license purchased is End-User License Agreement violation.

3. In this case you will need to install Acronis True Image only to create new Acronis Bootable CD with the latest build. Please note that Acronis Bootable CD is part of Acronis True Image, that is why you cannot use it on more than a single computer (please see my warning above concerning End-User License Agreement).

4. There is no connection between Acronis True Image installed and Acronis Bootable CD. You may have one build (and even version) installed and the CD created with another. If you don't get any problems with current Acronis Bootable CD you may use it. However, I would recommend that you install the latest build and create new Acronis Bootable CD at least to compare it with the previous one. The point is that every new build has some bugs fixed. These bugs may not appear on some particular systems and that would allow you to use the old Acronis Bootable CD.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman