Amend backup files

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by ueler, Nov 19, 2005.

Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. ueler

    ueler Registered Member

    Joined:
    Nov 10, 2005
    Posts:
    14
    Can you amend the backup files that TI creates? Such as if you backup every day of the week will Ti go back and overwrite or amend the created files?
     
  2. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2004
    Posts:
    4,661
    Location:
    Menorca (Balearic Islands) Spain
    Hello ueler,

    If you're creating a full image each day then, provided you use the same file name for each new image, TI will just overwrite the previous full image.

    However, if you created a full image e.g. Backup_C.tib followed by incremental images, TI will create an additional file for each incremental called Backup_C2.tib, Backup_C3.tib, etc. Now, the next time you create a full image called Backup_C.tib, TI will overwrite the original full image, thereby rendering the associated incremental files obsolete. These obsolete files will then be progressively overwritten by any subsequent incrementals.

    Regards
     
  3. mumdigau

    mumdigau Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2005
    Posts:
    29
    Hi Menorcaman,

    That is exactly the backup procedure I used in the past. In order to save disk space I now tried to move all image files (full and/or incremental) except the last one to DVD. But on the next incremental backup TI does a full image. Which image files do I have to keep on the harddisk so that TI continues with incremental images?

    Best Regards

    mumdigau
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2005
  4. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2004
    Posts:
    4,661
    Location:
    Menorca (Balearic Islands) Spain
    Hi mumdigau,

    In the scenario you have provided - all of them I'm afraid!! Any incremental restore point requires the full image plus all incrementals up to that point. Without access to the original full image and associated preceeding incrementals, the remaining incremental on your hard drive would be meaningless. As you have discovered, TI therefore starts again with a new full image.

    Hope that makes sense.

    Regards
     
  5. mumdigau

    mumdigau Registered Member

    Joined:
    Mar 5, 2005
    Posts:
    29
    Yeah, I exspected that, to be honest. So there is no other way to save disk space in an incremental image scenario?

    Ciao

    mumdigau
     
  6. ChristerTX

    ChristerTX Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 1, 2005
    Posts:
    9
    Incremental confusion

    :eek: Hello,
    I have followed this thread but still a little confused on what I should expect when doing incremental backups.
    I thought that I would just have a few files that are filled up as my data on the PC increases in size, but this is what I see:

    file1.tib 1,8gb Oct 27
    file2.tib 2,9gb Oct 27
    file3.tib 1 gb Nov 11
    file4.tib 1,2gb Nov 16
    file5.tib 1 gb Dec 1

    So what is going on here? Why would the incremental file and my total backup increase with one gig when it is only incremental (i.e. only changed data) that is put in the file?
    Why would I need to have so many incremental files? With this pace my backup drive will be full of these incremetal files in some time.

    Cheers / Christer
     
  7. tachyon42

    tachyon42 Registered Member

    Joined:
    Dec 26, 2004
    Posts:
    455
    If you defrag the drive after making an image then the next incremental will be large because defrag has moved lots of data to other sectors on the disk. TrueImage compares a sector from the original full image (taking into account any incrementals) with current sector if different then the sector is written to the new incremental.

    The size of an image file (full or icremental) will also depend upon the compression method selected.
     
  8. Ozmaniac

    Ozmaniac Registered Member

    Joined:
    Oct 17, 2005
    Posts:
    254
    Location:
    Brisbane, Australia
    If you are using ATI9, why not use differential instead of incremental backup? Each differential may be a bit larger than an incremental, but you only need one + the full backup it belongs to.:cool:
     
  9. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2004
    Posts:
    4,661
    Location:
    Menorca (Balearic Islands) Spain
    Hello Christer TX,

    It's not only defragmentation that moves the data around. Merely starting Windows and opening and closing a few applications is enough to have an effect on the size of a subesequent incremental.

    Unless you are imaging more than, say, 5GB of used data or you require the "roll back in time" capability of incremental images, why not just create a full images using the same file name each time? This would save a lot of space on the destination drive and wouldn't really take that much longer than an incremental.

    Regards
     
  10. cconrad

    cconrad Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Posts:
    3

    But the manual says this:

    That makes it sound like I can move all the earlier files to DVDs and only keep the most recent one accessible to TI. But indeed that does not seem to work. (It creates a full backup.)

    Is there any way to keep doing incremental backups without keeping all of the files in the set in one place?
     
  11. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

    Joined:
    Aug 19, 2004
    Posts:
    4,661
    Location:
    Menorca (Balearic Islands) Spain
    Hi cconrad,

    Bearing in mind that the original question asked which tib files needed to be kept on a hard drive, I see no conflict between my statement and that in the Acronis True Image User's Guide.

    However, when archiving to removable media (e.g. DVD) TI needs to be able to "see" the original full image plus all incrementals up to and including the last one if you wish to continue adding incrementals to that particular set.

    Regards
     
  12. cconrad

    cconrad Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Posts:
    3
    That appears to be the case. However, the fact that the manual said "select the latest full or incremental backup you have" (my emphasis), suggested to me that you needed only have the latest incremental backup accessible to TI. I guess it was wishful thinking on my part.
     
  13. cconrad

    cconrad Registered Member

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2006
    Posts:
    3
    Or, more to the point, the next sentence in the manual, which says, "if you stored the files on several removable disks, you must provide the latest archive file," to me implies that you can do incremental backups while keeping some of the files on removable disks.
     
Thread Status:
Not open for further replies.
  1. This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.