Should I use Disk Image or Clone? (True Image Home v10)

Hi all,

I use True Image Home 10 and I'm confused over which backup method is best for my situation. It seems I can either clone my hard drives or perform a disc backup but while I'm clear on how to use the cloning method I'm not sure what the limitations of a disc backup are (ie using a disc image file).

I want to be able to take a copy of several drives exactly as they are. For one reason or another they will rarely ever change and I want full copies so that if my one of them ever blows up I can simply restore it to a new HDD, plug that one in, reboot and everything will work without me having to spend all weekend reinstalling everything.

Which method should I use? Should I clone the HDDs to spare drives knowing that they're already good to go and I can just plug them in and be up and running immediately? It'll cost me to do this as I'd probably need to buy backup hard drives that match the existing ones. Or should I use disk backups as I already have a couple of terrabyte external drives that can easily hold the files?

Thanks for anything advice you can give - hope I've provided enough info!

All the best

Ian

 

Opinions will of course vary on this subject but I will say that I never use the clone feature. Image backup size will be ~ 70% of the size of the source using normal compression. This will vary somewhat depending on the file types. As an example, JPG files are already compressed. It's very important to create the Rescue Media CD and save it as this will be needed to restore an image. Also be sure to mark it with the product version and build number.

I do scheduled image backups daily and manual backups when deemed appropriate. For me I see no reason to clone. Be sure to read the user guide that explains the difference between the two methods. You should also make certain that you have the latest build for True Image 10 for your language. In the U.S. that is build 4942. Just my thoughts.

User Guides:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/download/docs/

Bruce

 

Find any post by GroverH - his signature has links to several very helpful tutorials regarding basic usage (and more advanced topics) of Acronis.

 

Thanks for the help and advice guys, it sounds like Disk Image will do the job.

One last question for any experts out there (and I will follow up that link to GroverH Len honest!). Since a disk image is a copy of everything on your drive right down to boot sectors does this mean the destination disk in a restore needs to be identical or can I restore to any old disc that has enough capacity to hold the files on the original disk?

Thanks for your help again,

Best

Ian

 

If you restore an image to a larger destination drive the original drive size will be reported. The difference will be unallocated space. This can be corrected by creating a Secure Zone in the unallocated space amd then deleting the Secure Zone. This will provide the option to resize it. These links by GroverH should provide more information:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1299861&postcount=9

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=203480

 

Thanks again guys, some excellent advice.

All the best

Ian