Going to be new user

I am new at this so please bear with me.

I am going to purchase True Image 10 but I have question. I have a HP computer with my disk factory partitioned into (C) HP_Pavilion (system), and (D) HP_Recovery. If I backup the disk and go to recover I understand it will erase everything on the drive first. When I go to recover will the partitions be recreated and will the will the data go into the correct partition? Do I have to restore one drive at a time? What do I select to make this happen? I have read the manual but I would like to get some personal input on this.

Thanks, Andy32901

 

You can choose to backup a partition or backup the whole drive. If you restore a partition (from either a whole drive backup or a partition backup) you may choose the destination partition. If you restore a whole drive backup you don't get any say on what goes in what partition, the whole drive image is recreated.

Needless to say, when you are restoring partitions, only the chosen destination partition is written to.

F.

 

When performing an "image" backup, the user has two options. One is the "full disk" backup (link below) and the other is "partition" backup. The user invokes the different options by their selection of which checkboxes are ticked.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=182030
One of your first backups should be of the "full disk" variety. By doing so, you have all you need to restore your entire disk or replace your entire disk and all your partitions are restored in the same manner as original.

On the other hand, if you do only a partition restore, then the user must choose the destination partition and users have been known to choose the wrong partition and cause themselves all kinds of grief. Usually, such errors occur when the user has a fixation on drive letters. HP has assigned "Pavilion" as the drive name for drive C; and "Recovery" as the drive name for drive D. Learn to look at the drive names (and other identifying items) before choosing backup/restore actions to be performed. These drive letters can be mis-represented by Acronis--in some situations. Check my signature link about unique drive letters. Subsequent backups can image just the "Pavilion" drive which contains your system and your personal data. It is the "Pavilion" partition which usually is restored should you have trouble with Windows.

The link below is well illustrated tutorial on Acronis 9. Studying this 4 part explanation can assist you in better understanding the options offered by TrueImage. You need a fast connection for the quickest benefit.
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/company/inpress/2006/06-15-1ati.html

Searching previous postings can be a great source of information. There are very few questions which have not been asked and answered multiple times.

Until you learn more about them, as a new user, I would AVOID
...a. Using "Files & Folders" as the backup method.
...b. Activating the Startup Recovery Manager.
...c. Activating the Secure Zone
...d. Attempting to backup directly to DVD or attempting to restore from DVD.

Each of us have our own preferences and our own needs and you will find different suggestions from different people. Many of us prefer to use a separate drive (internal/external/network) to receive and store our backups.

 

Five excellent points. I would add that although I wouldn't normally trust optical media, I might use it to make an occaisional secondary copy of an image which exists on my external backup disk - just to reduce the odds of the **** hitting the fan.

F.

 

Thanks GroverH and Forhorne for you quick replies.

I have a 250 gb external hard drive I am going to use for backups. I guess for now I will just use Full Disk image backups until I get more familiar with it.

Just to clarify, If I do a Full disk image I don't have to worry about creating partitions when I restore? The drive will be just like before with the the same size partitions.

andy32901

 

Correct.

F.

 

Your external backup drive should NOT be connected all the time. For safety sake (virus or power strikes, etc), connect only when in active use. Be sure and use the proper disconnect procedure via the system tray icon.

Be sure and create the Bootable Rescue CD listed on the Tools Menu. Likewise, bootup using this Rescue CD and make sure your external drive is displayed and you can perform backups using this CD.

When restoring image backups:
Choosing a disk restore will restore the entire disk back like the original when imaged. User chooses the disk and if you have only the one internal disk, it is an easy choice.
Choosing a partition restore (such as Pavilion), user chooses which partition is to be replaced. If you watch your unique drive names, again the choice is an easy one.

One nice thing about TrueImage is that you can do a trial run (simulate) doing a backup or a restore thru all the various screens until you reach the point where the next option reads "Proceed". Do not press the "Proceed" option unless you really intend for the activity to begin.

 

Foghorne and others:
I concur about the occasional use of burning a DVD using the two-step method. The point being not have all your eggs in only one basket! Different strokes for different folks.

There is so many tips and procedures which could be mentioned--but not enough time or space. We can only refer Andy and others to read as many of the various posting/links as their time permits. There is so much really good info but you have to read a great deal in order to find the golden nuggets. The search option makes it easier. It just takes some time and a determination to succeed.

 

To everybody that has been offering info. thanks.

Are differential or incremental backups needed? Or is it better to do full backups each time if you have the disk space and then occasionally to DVD's.

What about compression when backing up? Does a high compression degrade the backup at all? I know it will take more time but how much space is saved?
I have read the tutorial that GroverH recommended. It tells how to set compression, but not the actual savings.

I have a lot more reading to do it seems.


andy32901

 

Hp Recovery will erase partition c: and reload from partition D: so the system will be exactly as when you bought it; you will loose anything added. You do not need HP recovery with Acronis as it will backup your C: partition as is not as was. Make a backup directory on D: and then tell Acronis to backup to that directory. Be sure the partition is large enough. If not use somthing that will enlarge the partition without destroying the contents such as Partition Magic (Norton) of the Acronis Disk Manager. After verifying that the backup is valid you can get rid of the HP stuff and have more space. Hope you got it!!

 

I will only say this...I have been using acronis 8 and 9. I have needed it 3 or 4 times only because I was experimenting. Everytime I have need it, it has failed although the program said it was good .tib file. For the home user it's not the right program. It's very confusing especially when it changes the drive letters. There is nothing in the documentation to explain why or how it does this. There is no customer service. When someone is down and trying to get back up, they have no computer to ask for help by e-mail. It's just badly designed and I will never tell anyone to use it.

 

irvdk,
You took the words out of my mind. I'm trying for weeks to to understand
this software, but since I'm not a computer geek, or a Philadelphia lawyer, and
reading all these question in this forum, I came to the conclusion that I wasted some of my pension money on this software.
I have NO intension to use it, screw up my PC, or raise my blood pressure.

Good luck to you, and have a Merry Christmas.

 

George, you got a lot of good advice to get you started.

My method of backing up is a full backup at the beginning of each week, then incrementals the rest of the week. Since you have a lot of space I would copy the whole disk, then you don’t have to worry about having the ‘D’ available. Use normal compression; it will backup faster and there not that much saving in space. Also use normal priority.

I make a DVD copy at the end of each month. I do this by the so called 2-step method. Directly backing up to DVDs doesn’t work very well. This was supposed to be fixed, but I don’t think it has. I am still using ATI 9 build 3677, as it does all I want. I think a lot of people are still using ATI9, but as long as you stick with the basics you will be ok with ATI 10.

ATI has saved me several times. The number of problems you read here isn’t indicative of bad software. Most of the users whom never have problems usually don’t post here.

Good luck

 

Beckygb,

Thanks, I will try backup like you do. What is the 2 step dvd method? I searched but could not find anything on that.

andy32901

 

As a new user of TI10 I will add my comment on tech support. THERE IS NONE! I'm hoping I can take avantage of the 30 day money back guarantee and try Norton Ghost. Maybe they have tech support.

 

Did you raise a support request? Did you get an immediate autoresponse with a ticket number?

If you didn't I suggest you check your spam trap.

If you did get an autoresponse I suggest you try sending an email to support@acronis.com quoting your ticket number in the subject line.

If you really want to expedite things you should have a look at https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=55317 and collect the three files of configuration which Acronis will ask for when they do get around to answering, and send these with your email.

F.

 

Andy,

• It really depends upon your situation and how fast the data changes. I personally only do full images. My data is not time critical.

• The amount of compression possible varies dependant upon mix of file types. MP3, jpg, etc files are already compressed so very little additional compression can be gained. You can expect about 40-50% compression. The more highly compressed option takes longer to perform and to restore. I accept the normal compress and let it be.
  
  If space an issue, many users do some junk cleanup before performiing a backup--while others choose to do it afterwards. A progam such as Ccleaner can remove some of the crud. I also use a program called EasyCleaner 2.0. Others delete older xp system restore files or control how much space is alloted to these. Others run defrag. Much is a matter of personal choice.

• Congratulations. You are better informed than many who post their problems. Keep reading and keep learning and don't be afraid to experiment. Having reliable backups provides a greater freedom of experimentation.

 

GroverH,

Thanks for your help. I have just downloaded TI 10. It has an error popup when I open it.

Do you want me to open another thread or do you want to hear it?

Andy32901

 

My suggestion would be to start a new post since none of the above relates to your new problem.

You may want to edit/delete your last posting--since it is not relevant to the above.

Most likely you have a program conflict. Other backup programs or programs like "GoBack" might cause grief.

Try un-installing. Then boot into safemode and try installing from within safemode so that your virus programs, etc are not running.

Be sure and register your purchase.
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/updates/

 

Thanks, I will start a new post.

Andy32901

 

I backup to external 250 GB hard drives. I rotate 3 separate 250 GB hard drives to do my backups. I use normal compression. I want to make sure I have my backups on 3 different external hard drives just in case one of the external drives dies. I would not risk putting all of my backups on only one external hard drive. I hate burning backups to DVDs because I don't like to have to sit and wait to swap DVD disks. I had enough of the swap disks crap back in 1990 when I used floppy disks with Fast Back Plus.
So, far I love True Image. I have used TI8 home, 9 home and now the new version 10 home.
The only thing I dislike about TI 10 is the est time to complete a task seem to be way off, more than with version 9, as a task seem to get completed much sooner than the est time to finish a task. Really no big deal as far as performance of the product.
I also make a few boot disks on CDRs too.
I have had computer software crashes and successfully recovered using version 8 and 9 of TI.
I of course did a backup and tested TI 10 to do a restore to make sure the product does work.

 

Yes

Acronis already on whitelist. Not blocked

Why should I send another email, for which I already have a ticket #, that will not be answered, with a new ticket #?

I guess I was not aware of the secret workaround. Quite suddenly I got all my email tech support ?'s answered right after I requested my money back from customer support. Coincidence? I don't think so. I would suggest tech support just monitor the forum and respond there as well as expand FAQ's from the questions. I have never found an answer to my question on anybody's FAQ list. I think techies actually invent the FAQ's. As well the thread titles need some work to make searches respond better. Getting 485 possibles from a search is no search at all. Posters who title their threads such as, "New User" or HELP!!! need to be aware that that title is useless for anyone else searching. And finally, documentation is pretty sparse of the specifics needed - hence the questions on the forums.

 

Yes you are right. I meant that you should send a PM to acronis via the forum.

F.

 

George, the two-step DVD method:

1.Do a full backup to the external HDD, but first go to ‘tools option’ then to ‘archive splitting’ to split the backup up to 1492 gb files.

2.Then use your DVD recording software to burn 3 volumes per disc.

3.Before burning, set your burn speed at about half the DVD speed. Also check final or end on your burn software. Also verify the burn with your burning software.

4.Then you may then delete the volumes on your HDD.

If you need to use this b/u it is best to copy it to the HDD first. I have had to fall back on my monthly DVD a couple times looking for a file I had deleted. In that case I just mount the b/u.