some dumb basic questions...

Dear all
I am interested to buy TI11home.
I have read a lot of informations so far(user manual,FAQ,etc) but still have some basic questions where I haven't found an answer.
In the past I have used Norton Ghost(NG) to make disk images, most of my questions come from certain Ghost features like:
-can TI create compressed image backups? With NG you can do this and you can select the compression factor(higher compression requires longer backup time)
-can TI automatically split the created image into several chunks(defined by user)? With NG you can do this. I used this to create various 700MB files on the HD and later on I can burn them to CDs if I like.
-can I specify to exclude certain files when creating a full image backup?
For example I like to create a full backup of system drive c: but exclude all files from "c:\anyfolderfolder" in the created image? If yes, does TI supports this also with NTFS drives?(NG supports this but not with NTFS).
-With NG I needed to boot with a "DOS-Disk" to make an image backup of the system drive(because Windows OS was occupying some files). With TI I think this isn't required,is it? How can TI backup ALL files when the OS is still running(and perhaps modifying files during the backup)?
-I understand that TI can make image backups to a shared network drive. Can this also be done in company networks where I need to logon to a network domain first to access that shared drive?
-with NG I can do extensive verifications of the created image file. Beside a "normal" file verification I can verify each file inside the image file with its original file by creating and verifying the CRC32 checksum. How safe is TI's image verification?

Kind Regards
Sektionschef

 

can TI create compressed image backups? With NG you can do this and you can select the compression factor(higher compression requires longer backup time)

Yes you have 3 levels of compression.

-can TI automatically split the created image into several chunks(defined by user)? With NG you can do this. I used this to create various 700MB files on the HD and later on I can burn them to CDs if I like.

Yes, but there is a lot of CD/DVD swapping on a restore, and if you have a problem using the rescue CD on your system, you may have to copy all your image slices into one place. The latter tends to eb for people who want to mount their images or get a corrupt archive message when validating

-can I specify to exclude certain files when creating a full image backup?
For example I like to create a full backup of system drive c: but exclude all files from "c:\anyfolderfolder" in the created image? If yes, does TI supports this also with NTFS drives?(NG supports this but not with NTFS).

Yes.

-With NG I needed to boot with a "DOS-Disk" to make an image backup of the system drive(because Windows OS was occupying some files). With TI I think this isn't required,is it?

TI works from within Windows or if preferred a boot CD.

How can TI backup ALL files when the OS is still running(and perhaps modifying files during the backup)?

This is an Acronis proprietory algorithm - my guess is, that TI saves a large chunk of the hardrive structure to RAM, and then chunks this to your backup medium - then takes another chunk and so on. TI is very RAM intensive, if your RAM is below par, your image backups will eventually fail. Suggest running 'memtest86' overnight to check the health of your RAM

-I understand that TI can make image backups to a shared network drive. Can this also be done in company networks where I need to logon to a network domain first to access that shared drive?

It think you need the Workstation version if you need access via a domain - check in the manual that you can download.

-with NG I can do extensive verifications of the created image file. Beside a "normal" file verification I can verify each file inside the image file with its original file by creating and verifying the CRC32 checksum. How safe is TI's image verification?

I haven't used Ghost in a long while, so am not sure what extensive verifcations can be done. TI uses an internal checksum that is saved as part of the image. You can always check the image by either mounting or exploring it.

Colin

 

Yes

Yes

Yes

With TI, system backups are best done using their own rescue disk which boots and loads into memory before Windows loads at all

TI Home will not do that you would need one of the server editions

TI's verification can be used either before or after a backup or at anytime.

 

NG from version 9 can image the system drive from Windows. It uses Volume Shadow Copy to achieve this, but don't ask me how it works, it just does.

 

Thank you very much for your fast answers, Guys!!!
Helped me a lot, I think I will evaluate this product now.
regards
Sektionschef

 

You are very welcome Sek.
Not so dumb questions after all

 

Sorry Guys, here is another question that has arised during evaluation of TI11home:
I understand that a full backup(my computer) of a whole drive can be done either while the OS(in my case WinXP Pro) is running from that drive or after the PC was booted with the TI rescue boot disk.
Which one is the prefered way?
Can I run in any troubles when starting the backup process on the running system or is it more recommended to always first boot with the rescue disk before starting the backup?

By the way, I could successfully create and boot from a TI rescue boot CD now and first tests have shown that I CAN access a shared network drive on a certain network domain in my company network. For the image file I entered the UNC path \\networkPC\share and TI seemed to detect on what domain that share is located and prompted me to enter username and password.
I haven't continued to do the backup on that shared drive but at least it looks promising.

And one more question:
I am located in germany and therefore I use a german keyboard layout.
I noticed that after I have booted from the rescue CD all keyboard entries use the US layout instead of german layout. Is there a way to configure the boot disk to use the german layout?
Thanks for any hints
Regards
Sektionschef

 

any hints?
regards
Sektionschef

 

Some ppl will recommend to always use the CD, but all of my images have been from Windows and I have done several real restores without any problems at all.

 

It is really a matter of preference whether you image from within Windows or not.

Some people prefer not to have Windows running and so use the boot CD.

Most often though, running TI in Windows will get you the fastest imaging and all your hardware should be recognised as TI uses the Windows drivers. There are some problems with some RAID chips though. If TI sees all your drives then this won't be a problem for the Windows version.

The CD uses a Linux kernel, and sometimes has problems with the latest hardware. USB is sometimes slightly slower under the boot CD.

If you buy the German version from the Acronis.de website, it will be in German and I assume that the keyboard will use the German keyboard layout.

If you are evaluating the English language build, I suggest checking if there is a German trial version as well. Sometimes the German version has problems that the English one doesn't and vice versa.

Colin

 

Earthling, you've picked up someone elses bad habit, sliding into the forum whilst I'm busy typing away!


Colin

 

Maybe this is what you need

http://www.typeonline.co.uk/

 

Thanks again!!!
Inbetween I made a full backup onto a shared network folder and everything worked well so far. I used the bootCD this time.
Regards
Sektionschef