real alternative to acronis ?

hi I'm a new kid on the block ..
I was chosing a backup program ..
I really need one option from acronis .. the ability to not restore all the full image , but only a part of it..
acronis can do this but is not realiable..
It seems that shadowprotect CAN'T do this , am I right ? (btw how can I have a demo of the recovery environment ?)
fd-isr can do it by anchoring ..
what other backup software can do that ?
thx

 

I have been using ShadowProtect for ages, and yes you can restore single files, folders, volumes or system volumes. With their Hardware Independent Restore Technology, you can even rebuild the entire system volume to the same, different or a virtual server really fast.

To open up an image, you will need to mount the image (follow the EXPLORE BACKUP wizards) and it opens up straight away. In fact, using ShadowProtect you are even able to backup data and databases every 15 minutes throughout the day and restore files from any of those 15 minute incremental backups.

StorageCraft has even included Self-'Healing of incremental image chain. If the last image is destroyed or deleted, ShadowProtect will create a new differential image to help ensure image and backup integrity. I love it - it has saved by bacon more than once!

 

Not clear what you mean by Acronis can't do this. If you make a full image and only want to restore part of the image you simply mount the image and copy back the bits you want - no problem. what do you want to do that Acronis can't do ?

 

what is this Hardware Independent Restore Technology ?

what I mean is that I want to restore the full system partition except for some folders that have to remain the same ..
this usually can't be done by simply mounting an image and copy/paste files and folders, cause you can't change the core system files of a live system ..

as I told before acronis 11 should do it, even if it's not reliable.
I don't know if shadowprotect can.. maybe using the boot cd that I don't have ..

let me know guys

 

You can restore using the recovery CD.

 

would be good , but how can I obtain a demo of it ?

 

Here you can get : ShadowProtect Desktop v3.0 = $79.95
http://www.storagecraft.com/products/ShadowProtectDesktop/
Request FULL EVALUATION, not the 30-day free trial.

After receiving an email, you can download an iso-file.
Burn that iso-file on a quality CD.
This CD has a double purpose :
1. Recovery CD
2. Installation CD for ShadowProtect Desktop under Windows.
Two-in-one. Keep in mind that this is also a 30-day trial version, but can be also used as the paid version, when you have your license key.
The software needs to be activated, but according my tests the activation is OK now and pretty good and fair.

 

Are these system folders and which ones ?
I keep all my system folders unchanged, in fact the whole system partition.
That's why I don't backup my system partition so often.
My system doesn't change all the time, my data changes every day.

 

yes.. even with the boot cd folders can't be excluded in the restore ..
I have to operate in a different way ..
anyone know any other imaging prg that can do it .. excluding acronis 11, fd-isr and rollback-fx ?
I noticed that when I backup from the boot cd I can lock partition, what does it means ? I get a better image ?

 

what I need to do is to add some data folders over a restore of the system partition ... data that are taken from the "going to be restored" system partition ..
data anchoring from fd-isr can do that as well as the latest acronis but I don't want to use them both for some other reasons

 

I never put "data" in my system partition[C:], which is the most attacked partition by malware.
I store my "data" in my data partition[D:].
Whatever I restore in my system partition, it will never change my data partition.

You are trying to solve something with your Image Backup software, because you didn't separate your data from system.
If you have only one harddisk, create two partitions and your problem is fixed.
1. System Partition [C:] = Windows + Applications
2. Data Partition [D:] = any kind of personal data, downloaded files, email, email-address-books, etc. ... all your hard work.

 

not so simple ...
data means even personal windows tweaks ..

 

The convenience of them separated is also with imaging.generally if this is the case your C:\ is small.i have 13,3 gig with FDISR on it,my second int. disk has 60 gig. on it. I image only C:\ which take 6.04 min. backup+restore in one sweep wich SP. But then i am on a highend workstation.

 

Of course, this separation has many advantages, I enjoyed this separation from the beginning.

 

Personal windows tweaks are stored in an image during backup and can be restored at any time.
I also have alot of tweakings, I always get them back when I restore my system partition, including any configuration (settings) of all my softwares installed in my system partition.