Acronis True Image WISH-LIST thread

when doing a cycle of backups, eg, full and a month of incrementals, and when starting over on the 2nd month full, DONT NOT OVERWRITE THE FULL UNTIL THE 2ND MONTH FULL IS COMPLETE!!!!!

 

I long for 2 very simple option on the rescue CD for Trueimage:

• Ability to choose automatic reboot after a system restore.
  Could be either be implemented as an option in Bootable Rescue Media Builder or as an option in the True Image interface on the CD.
  
• Some kind of timed boot-option like "Press any key to boot from CD".
  This one probably has to be a an option in Bootable Rescue Media Builder.

Very simple things - but very valuable for my work.

Thanks,

 

What needs to be done to make the product usable from my perspective is the ability to switch OFF the deletion and re-generation of the partition when restoring. I use a hardware device which prevents programs accessing the partition tables on the hard drive. This means that when acronis tries to restore a partition it fails immediatly.

There is no need to rebuild the partition every time a restore takes place (See Ghost) so can an option be put in to stop this from taking place please?

 

file- and split-size for backup storage

I believe the most comfortable way to make backups with ATI 10 is by using
automatic tasks and by using so called backup-storage.

Backup storage can be created on local disk, remote computers or small
NAS boxes.
Most small NAS boxes only support FAT32 disks, so backups > ~4GB to
backup storage at NAS boxes will fail.

Please provide the filesize/splitsize option also for "backup storages".


Kind regards,

 

Ensure task excution AND COMPLETION after system startup
----------------------------------------------------------

Acronis Scheduler can execute a missed task when the system is started later.

The scheduler should mark a task as executed AFTER the task COMPLETED (independent of success / error / user abort).

The scheduler should NOT mark the task es excuted if the System is powered down before the task is completed or explizitly aborted.


Currently when a system is booted an missed task is started. If the system is rebooted or schutdowned before the task completes, this task is never executed. This leads to missed backups. Trying the task to executed after every startup until it compltes (independent of successlevel of course) would avoid this problem. While it is uncommon to reboot servers in company environmant, private systems are powered down frequently. The current behavior complicates the task to ensure that backuzps are really performed if the system is used by several (partly non experienced) users.

 

When making a full backup of a hard drive to dvd, if TI fails to write a volume to dvd because of bad media, prompt user to insert another media disk and rewrite the volume, then proceed to complete the backup, instead of aborting the operation, causing a user to throw away the dvd media and start over again.

 

Option to bypass "analyzing partitions", maybe then I could restore again (now TI hangs on analyzing partitions).

 

Although my acquaintance with ATI is short, I'd dare to contribute to this thread:

1. Allow user a full and clear view of the contents of Secure Zone. Show all archives with all their details, size, type etc. This to be an independent function, not part of the backup or restore procedure.

2. Allow user to mark an archive in the SZ as 'locked', ie not allowing its deletion, kind of a 'sticky' archive. In building up my system, I'd like to feel that I can revert back to a specific image, knowing that the image is safely locked away in the SZ and it wont be pushed out by newer images that are coming in.

3. Offer to create an icon on the desktop representing a non-automatic task that you set up. By just double clicking on the icon to execute the task without the user even having to open ATI. (This feature is offered by Backup Genie and I thought it is cool and convenient)

Regards to ALL

 

Command Line Operation Improvements

At present, when a command line fails, the message tells nothing about why it failed: "Command line parameters are incorrect or incomplete." In doing this, Acronis has decided to save Acronis programmer's time and waste user's time.

The manual, TrueImageCorporateWorkstation9.1_ug.en.pdf, is very sloppy, and the command line parameters section beginning on page 104 needs to be re-written.

 

TI Workstation Operation Missing from Command Line

There appears to be no way to mount an image as Read-Write, using the command line. (TI 9.1)

 

suggestion:
when i try to restore folders (e.g. d:\test ) to a new location, it does restore it to e:\drive (d)\test , instead of e:\test . :-/
Due that, I get in the situation that it reports that the directory structure is too long and i have to click "ignore" tousands of times (because tousands of folders are in this situation, too long). Could you please add in future versions an "ignore all" button? Would help me a lot

 

It would be nice of one could edit how managed backups are named -- like, at least be able to append something to the name before the "."

 

Seperate the forum to two sections. Business and home.

I am tired of looking though tons of acronis Home V10 posts for a solution to a Acronis Workstation question.

Also .. having to explain universal restore to home users.

 

Blimey, you'll be asking for a forum for each version of each edition next.

So sorry you are tired.

F.

 

Hi!

I have Acronis True Image and Acronis Disc Director Suite and in my opinion very useful option will be when both of this and OS Selector will be available when I chose F11 and staring programs from Acronis Secure Zone without rescue disc.

In rescue disc I could add all my Acronis programs - it should be the same in Acronis Secure Zone.

 

This request is similar to others I've read here regarding the backup scheduling capabilities. However, here are some new specifics:

1. Would be nice to use Windows Scheduled Tasks because the scheduling is more flexible:
1a. ability to specify days of the week for the task
1b. ability to specify a start day for the task
This allows you to perform alternating backups on even/odd days of the week.

2. The real underlying motivation is the ability to keep N rolling backups created: its very common to want to keep, say, the last 7 backups and let the older ones get deleted. This is such a common task that it would be very impressive if the tool handled it. Right now, I must craft batch files to do basic backup file management.

 

The most needed feature that Acronis True Image still lacks is the ability to build a recovery DVD (or a set of DVDs) like some other competing OEM targeted products do (PC-Angel used by HP on their laptops comes to mind). So here is my request:

- Add the features to create a set of WinPE (which has better drivers support than mini-Linux do especially for RAID adding drivers while booting like XP/2K3 install disc) based bootable Image discs (DVDs and/or CDs) of an installed partition or more partitions, with the options to have the automated restoring process create/re-create an Acronis Secure Zone (hidden-partition) where to store the image/images for recovery at boot from HDUs. So an application installed in the OS (XP,2K3,Vista) allowing to manage the hidden-partition and to generate/burn the set of restoring CDs/DVDs at will.

 

Create new incremental backups using the last Differential as the baseline (instead of the last Full).

This could significantly lessen the need for those gigantic full backups. Also, if used properly it will decrease the size of the "restore chain", lessening risk of corruption problems on restore.

 

Stripped-down version

A version devoid of bells and whistles...

Perhaps sell modules via the website, so customers could buy only desired features.

I want image backup/restore and browsing/file retrieval. Write image to a disk file or to DVD or CD. Restore image while running under Windows, or while running from bootable CD. This implies spanning.

I don't want scheduling, secure zones, locations, startup recovery, or snap stuff.

 

(I have also sent this to the Acronis team via their web page, since I am also asking for some advice).

Really serious stuff:
-you can run a task after the backup. But if the task is "shutdown", no verifcation will be performed. How about running the task (or a different one) at the very end of the process? I *know* you can schedule TI to run at system shutdown, but I do not want to run a backup every shutdown, nor do I want to dismiss messages every time! Ideally, the program would have the option to shut down the machine at the end of the backup with the extra option of NOT doing so if there was any kind of error. (or display the error at next boot up).
-I am mentioning it below, but a bit different: how about a prompt to add comments to that particular backup just being started? Say I start a task (manually or scheduled) and I want to say "all thesis figures, but not rendered full-res" for today. Maybe that window would dismiss after 10 seconds or so, if it's a scheduled task.
-I agree this does not sound for "home users", but I was trying to figure out how to start TI from the command prompt. ProcessExplorer showed the TIService and parameters, but I was afraid of doing so until I read it on the Wilders forums. (https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?p=841179) How about making it more user-friendly: each task to have a "put shortcut on desktop" option.

Smaller, some of them really "cosmetic":
- the log does not tell whether the backup was incremental/differential/full, but only the result of rule checking. So it's a bit tricky to figure out whether it's going to be a full or just a quick backup.
- a comment added to the backup (I am talking about image, not file backup) overwrites the original comment. This is unfortunate, since it means that I cannot really monitor changes just based on comments. (Think about: "Which backup version has that program installed, but not the other one which keeps on crashing my machine?")
-if you mount an image, you have no idea what is the total number of backups. You are told that it's volume N of a multibackup. Worse, this volume is the increment/difference of a full backup, or just chunk no. N of a single backup too large to fit in one file?!
- in the wizard, I'd like to have the focus to be on the "next" button, such that, when editing existing task, one could go quickly through steps. Same for mouse focus.
- what's the date/time of archive creation? The filenames (at least for images) seem to have as base the date/time of the first full backup and the increments have only a D[1-9] suffix, but same timestamp as name. If Windows alters the file (or you copy it somewhere else) you are left with no information!!

-Maybe I am not the only one who was searching for something similar. That's how I would like to set up the backup (and I am 99% there): upon harddrive connection (a USB External in my case), a VBS window asks me whether I want to start the backup. (again, I have a laptop, so I don't connect the drive all the time). The VBS script is fired only for that particular hard drive, via the usage of a nifty program called USBVirusScan. If I choose yes, TI Home starts the backup AND verification. At the end, when TIService finishes, the script ejects the harddrive (My Book from WD seems to shut down only if ejected, not if the computer shuts down, curioser and curioser!, so I have to use RemoveDrive) and shuts the machine down.

Question: Can I query TI for error codes at its exit, so that the script would perform differently if an error occured?

 

I am really disappointed that the files created and managed by the 9.1 enterprise server Backup Server cannot be used to mount or restore without Backup Server. They need to be able to be worked with stand-alone.

 

Here’s my list of things I’d like to see in Acronis Workstation 9.1 (or newer version)

1) The ability to use windows Environmental variables within true image (%computername%, %username%, etc)
2) On jobs setup via the local copy of True image, would like to have the sending backup logs to multiple email addresses (I’ve only been able to get it working with one address and would like to send to the user and the network administrator)
3) Or even better, a global send of the results of all backups to an administrative user, no matter what the job is setup to do (would be a default setting which would be in addition to the email options setup within each backup job)
4) The ability to export and import backup jobs
5) The ability to completely remove all parts of a true image product if so wished.. It currently looks like stuff is left over if an uninstall is done. Registry entries, services, etc.
6) The ability for a user to be assigned basic rights to interact with True image to mount backup images, check currently running backup status, and respond to running jobs with issues. Basically backups would be setup and controlled by an administrative account, but allow the non administrative users access to mange backup failures, and checking the status of the backups (True Image 9 SOHO allowed this)
7) More control of how the files are stored in the Acronis backup server. It would be nice if the file format was similar to how normal backup files are generated. Acronis isn’t the best at handling weekly rotating backup sets spread across multiple backup drives, and the cryptic storage methods just mean that scripts can’t be written to improve on backup functionality.
Ability to queue up backups for different machines sequentially so that multiple backups don't concurrently hammer the backup destination drive (drive fragmentation, physical thrashing, excessive network usage). This could tie into the Backup Server functionality and may exist; but I’ve yet to get this working)
9) Better Backup job control and flexability within the Backup server.
10) Ability to start a “on startup” workstation backup, which will start with the current point in time snapshot during the boot process, and then wait its turn in the queue to perform backup (I’ve seen snapshot backups with restore issues which seem to be relating to the OS being up and in use before the initial snapshot is taken. When the issue happen, the restored backup image usually reports issue with corrupt registry hives. Getting the backup job to perform the initial snapshot point seems to fix this issue (Never seen an issue with a backup on a machine which hasn’t yet been logged in)
11) Ability to detect corrupt backups parts, and have an auto option to skip over or delete them and continue on with a new backup segment using the previous successful backup (something happens with an incremental backup, and any future incremental backup will fail as the last part is corrupt)
12) ***IMPORTANT*** Ability to do an actual incremental Image sector backup; but only back up the sectors that have changed. ie.. 200 meg email file gets a 10kb email added to the end of it. Acronis backs up the whole 200 meg file. Having it just back up the changed sector would greatly increase the backup efficiency of all incremental backups which backup large files which have data appended to the end of them.
13) Export log files to human readable format via CMD line (Logs are already converted to readable format when emailing from within Trueimage.. Provide cmd line access to this functionality. IE.. TIConvertLog.exe LogReference OutputFilename)
14) Do a full drive image backup, and then do Incrental image or file backups against individual partitions.. IE. Backup complete system weekly, and then append just core data to the backup every weekday afterwards
15) And lastly, a list of requested changes, and which ones have been implemented (this wish list is a pain to dig through. Especially when requests are replaced with “Implemented” with no reference to what was actually implimented). Maybe a downloadable file?


Thanks

 

It would be a help to me if it was possible to add the One-Click Restore media component to a backup that is being created on removable media, even when the backup is being created using the Bootable Rescue Media.

 

I just purchased and registered Acronis True Image Home version 9, and I must say I am very impressed with its performance.
I have updated to the latest version 9 build.
I hope this hasn't been requested before (I didn't see it) but the only request I have is to move the "Proceed" button so that it is not directly under the "Next" button on the final review page.
Having a laptop with a touchpad, it is very easy to accidently click on "Proceed" when you want to take a minute review your procedure before actually starting the process.
I would appreciate it if there could be an update to version 9 that would include that feature.

Regards,
Doug

 

Dougeebear, while you're waiting for your suggestion to be implemented, if it is even considered, when you get to those windows, use the left click button instead of tapping the touchpad. That's what I do for a similar situation on other software.