What I need?

I want to create an image of hard drive and store it to server in local network.

This idea would be used in our PC repair shop so we can image each PC before attempting to clean viruses and spywares...

- Now what Acronis product should I purchase?
- How long usually does it takes to create and store an image to the server?
- How long does it take to restore it to a new drive?
- Can I create an image if PC can not load Windows? (from command line?)

Thanks

 

I will leave the licensing issues to Acronis tech support to clarify. True Image is licensed for use on one computer. What you are suggesting is to use it on many computers. There may be a special license or version of True Image that covers what you want to do.

True Image can create a boot CD that will image a disk even if Windows isn't bootable. This also allows recovery of data from the drive in the event that the system must be wiped and Windows reinstalled from OEM or other disks.

What you are describing is a very wise and responsible approach to fixing drive errors due to viruses, spyware or hardware problems. The first responsibility is to do no harm, and having an image to restore guarantees that. It also allows a failed attempt to be undone and another approach tried.

I think your clients will greatly appreciate your approach.

 

Hello 6543245,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Disk Backup Software.

A single license for Acronis True Image allows you to install and use Acronis True Image not more than on a single computer. This includes Acronis Bootable CD that is considered as a part of the program. However, you don't need any additional licenses to store the image on the network shared drive. We have special offers for companies and you may contact our Sales Team via e-mail sales@acronis.com describing the situation. They will provide you with the most suitable solution.

As for the performance it depends on the amount of data you restore, the performance of the computer, and the hardware components you have in the computer.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

If Windows can not boot or virus infection does not let it to load, can Acronix still image the drive from command line and store it to network

 

That's not necessary. Boot from the TI Recovery CD (Linux) and make an image of the messed up drive from the GUI interface that looks essentially the same as the Windows interface. External drives, etc. are recognized as locations for the image.

After correcting the problem, you can mount the image of the disk when it was corrupted (Explore function) and restore data from it.

 

Hello 6543245,

Acronis will boot the computer automatically from the Acronis Bootable Media and will create image of the hard drive (or restore the hard drive contents from the image) to network without requiring reinstallation of the operating system on the computer. Acronis Bootable Media can be created on a Floppy Disk Drive, CD.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova