Various Noob Questions

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by DrDan, Feb 20, 2006.

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  1. DrDan

    DrDan Registered Member

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    Hi,

    I'm looking for some advice on how to set up backups for my situation...

    Win XP SP2 - Acronis TI 9 Build 2337
    Internal Disk 1 (400 Gb) - Partitioned: C (Operating System) and D (Data)
    Internal Disk 2 (400 Gb) - Backup disk

    I'm thinking that I would like to:
    A) Create weekly images of my C drive (maybe with a daily incremental if possible)
    B) Create a weekly full backup of some of my data (not all needs backing up), with a daily incremental backup

    Q1) Is the above backup schedule suitable? (incremental vs. differential and time between full backups)

    Q2) Should I be running secure zone - I'm aware of the pros and cons and I'm thinking I should be since both disks are internal and always connected

    Q3) How do I schedule this? Does this represent 4 jobs (i.e. the 2 full backups and then the 2 incremental backup jobs)

    Q4) When I run the second full backup, will subsequent incremental backups be asigned to it and not to the original full backup run a week earlier?

    Q5) Is the verify data switch a reliable test?

    Q6) In case of failure, would I be able to restore, just the operating system image onto the C partition and leave the D partition untouched?

    Q7) Once set-up can I just set it and forget it until I need it, or are there maintenance procedures or checks I should be aware of?

    Thanks for your time and help.

    Dan.
     
  2. DrDan

    DrDan Registered Member

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    Anybody? o_O
     
  3. TheWeaz

    TheWeaz Registered Member

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    I’ll try -

    “Q1) Is the above backup schedule suitable?”
    Only you can determine that. I’m not trying to dodge the question, it’s just that you need to figure out just what you need the backups for – archiving, disaster recovery, both? Then you need to decide on a strategy that suits your needs.

    “Q2) Should I be running secure zone”
    I would not use it. But it’s up to you.

    “Q3) How do I schedule this? Does this represent 4 jobs”
    That could be done. One task runs a FULL each Sunday with a second task running INCs on Mon-Sat. Then use the same schedule for the other drive using different image names. 4 tasks total. Be aware however that each Sunday when you write over the FULL, the INCs become orphaned and are no longer any good. You could also set up one task to create a FULL image of both partitions and then a second to run the INCs for both. With a dedicated drive for backups, I wouldn’t bother selecting files from the D drive, just image it all and be done with it.

    “Q4) When I run the second full backup, will subsequent incremental backups be asigned to it and not to the original full backup run a week earlier?”
    If the second FULL backup has the same name as the first, it will overwrite it (see above for warning). The INCs would then start writing over the old INCs, one each day. If it has a different name, then the INC tasks must match that name.

    “Q6) In case of failure, would I be able to restore, just the operating system image onto the C partition and leave the D partition untouched?”
    Yes.

    “Q7) Once set-up can I just set it and forget it”
    If set up properly, you can pretty much forget it. It’s always a good idea to check from time to time (daily for me) just to be sure things are running as expected.
     
  4. DrDan

    DrDan Registered Member

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    Thanks for the reply.

    In reality, how much at risk is the Backup drive if it's not partitioned "securely" (with secure zone)? How often does something come along and wipe data randomly? Is there any disadvantage to the secure zone apart from the current lack of control that TI offers?
     
  5. TheWeaz

    TheWeaz Registered Member

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    “How often does something come along and wipe data randomly?”
    On my systems, all of them, since 1994 – never.

    “Is there any disadvantage to the secure zone apart from the current lack of control that TI offers?”
    That’s pretty much it, lack of control. You can’t see them, their names, sizes etc.. You can’t copy them. You can’t selectively delete them if space runs low. As a purely “disaster recovery” tool, it’s fine. But I prefer to be able to archive as well, and the ASZ just doesn’t fit well into that scheme.
    You could do both if you like. Follow your aforementioned schedule plus maybe a weekly Full B/U to a Secure Zone created on one of the drives.
     
  6. DrDan

    DrDan Registered Member

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    Am I right in thinking that with the Secure Zone I have no control over when the full backup should be - it will just do incrementals until the disk is full...?
     
  7. TheWeaz

    TheWeaz Registered Member

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    No, you schedule the tasks. The main difference is that you do not supply an image name.
    The ASZ has its own rules as to how it deletes old files. I believe that's all in the Users Guide.
     
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