Help with differential backups & Backup Locations

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by David07666, Nov 10, 2006.

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  1. David07666

    David07666 Registered Member

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    Either I don't understand something or TI isn't working. I have Acronis®*True*Image*Home® version 10.0 (build*4,871). Here's what I did:

    1. Created Backup Location f:\David with:
    Max backups=3
    Max size = 100 gb
    Storage period limit=20

    2. I create a scheduled task of to backup up a single folder, c:\BackupTEst which has a single file in it, Test.Txt. I set this to use differential backups.

    3. I edit Test.txt so it contains one character, "1"

    4. I manually run the above task and it creates a tib file

    5. I edit Test.txt so it contains 2 lines:
    1
    2
    6. I manually run the above task again and it creates a new tib file

    7. I edit Test.txt so it contains 3 lines:
    1
    2
    3
    8. I manually run the above task again and it creates a new tib file.

    There are now 3 ti files:
    2006_11_10_22_56_59_487F.TIB
    2006_11_10_22_56_59_487F2.TIB
    2006_11_10_22_56_59_487F3.TIB

    9. I do a restore to a new location, picking the 2nd file, ie, 2006_11_10_22_56_59_487F2.TIB

    10. It does the restore but the contents of Test.txt are the same as after the 3rd iteration, that is,
    1
    2
    3

    I expected to see the contents after the 2nd iteration:
    1
    2
    In fact, even if I pick the 1st file, I see the contents after the 3rd iteration.

    Am I wrong or is TI?
     
  2. haudegen

    haudegen Registered Member

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    Hello David07666,

    I have exactly the same problem with TI10.0.
    Is such a task not the easiest one for a backup tool or is there a mistake in my understanding of a backup. I also wrote an email to the Acronis support with no answer. Is Acronis True Image, the wrong tool for such a simple task or is Acronis to simple for that complicated task?

    If there is a backup guru, please help me to understand the backup world :=)

    Many thanks to all help from Salzburg.

    Der haudegen
     
  3. Werni

    Werni Registered Member

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    To David07666 and haudegen:
    I am not quite shure, but I think for what you want to do you should do incremental backups instaed of differential ones. I suppose to repeat your experiment choosing incremental backup.
     
  4. bodgy

    bodgy Registered Member

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    Yes I agree with Werni, I think you should be trying incremental backups.

    With differential, it will always take the last one + the base image - I assume backing up files and folders instead of images works the same way.

    Colin
     
  5. haudegen

    haudegen Registered Member

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    Thanks to Werni and bodgy,

    I also have tried incremental on two different PC’s (1 XP and 1 W2K).
    I also agree with you, incremental is the right selection for that kind of backup.
    If I use the windows explorer and open the backups, I see the correct files with the right date and the approbriate data in it.
    So it seems to me that the backup work correct, but only the restore makes troubles.
    Whey I get always the last stored files while there are also the others are available?

    Best regards
    franz
     
  6. jonwallace

    jonwallace Registered Member

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    This sounds similar to something I spotted and raised in this forum last month:

    I sent this to Acronis, who eventually confirmed they had reproduced it. not sure if this means it will get fixed!
     
  7. Werni

    Werni Registered Member

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    First, to all who have been writing to this thread: When I said that you need a incremental backup if you intend to do what David07666 wants to do, I was NOT right! It works with both modes of archive, incremental OR differential.
    Then I assume that we all use ATI V. 10.0, right?
    In the meantime I studied Chapter 3.2 of the downloaded manual in pdf format.
    a) Both kinds of Archive need a FULL backup as base.
    b) The most important difference between incremental and differential backlups is what you need to restore to a certain state, newest or older.
    Incremental: You need the archive corresponding to the state you want to restore and ALL THE PRECEDING archives including the full backup belonging to the same set of archive files.
    Differential: You only need the archive corresponding to the state you want to restore and the FULL BACKUP belonging to the same set of archive files.
    And: The differential backup set needs less time to be restored, but it needs more space on the storage medium.
    After better understanding this, I did several experiments with a differential backup set containing three volumes, restoring to the original location and to a new location. As a result of this, I can only say: It works as it should!

    And now to David07666: What could have gone wrong with your experiment? I see two possibilities:
    Up to where you describe the three tib-Files everything is fine. But how did you proceed after your point 9. ?? Actually you can select anyone of the three tib-files, it makes no difference as in each case after clicking Next> in the Archive Date Selection window you will see ALL the dates of your backups. And by default, the newest one is selected. And here you must select an older one if you want to restore to an earlier state!
    And another important thing: If you restore to the original location, after proceeding and arriving at the restoration mode window you must select "overwrite existing file" for the case when the newer files are still present in the original location (or in the new location when you do the restore to the same new location more than once!

    And to jonwallace:
    I do not quite understand your problems. I created a new Backup Location and then made 3 successive differential backups of a test folder to this location, after I made some change to a test file before backup 2 and 3. Then I used the Restore Wizard several times as I described it to David07666 above. And each time I got back the desired version of my test file to its original location!
    And concerning your “other oddity”: My ATI does not behave this way! When I select a date in the Archive Date Selection window, it shows always the correct type of backup on the right side under Mode: Full, incremental or differential!
     
  8. haudegen

    haudegen Registered Member

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    Hallo Werni,

    I think I know what’s happens.
    If you use the Restore Wizard, all thing works fine, but NOT if you start the ATI software and do a restore from the main menu. Then you run in the above described problem. I discussed this in another thread from David07666 (How to see multiple versions of a file?)

    https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=152764
     
  9. jonwallace

    jonwallace Registered Member

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    The point I was making was related to how you choose the archive when restoring. I found that if I chose the archive via the new "Backup Locations" entry in the tree, I always got a restore of the latest archive. If I choose the archive by browsing from the drive letter, I get the expected behaviour i.e. the chosen archive is restored. Maybe I need to try this again to check I'm not going mad!
     
  10. Werni

    Werni Registered Member

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    Hallo haudegen. I do not quit understand what you want to say. If you start as you say from the main menu, I only can think of "Recovery" under "Pick a Task" and this starts a new window with the title bar "Restore Data Wizard" and the text in the first line reading "Welcome to the Restore Data Wizard"
    Exactly what were you doing that made you run into the problem you have described?
     
  11. haudegen

    haudegen Registered Member

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    Hallo Werni,

    you are right, I am wrong.
    That have nothing to doe from where you are start the wizard. It depends on witch archive you select.

    I have made a picture from the situation.

    The window witch I have labelled “BAD” leads always to the last file set witch was stored, independent of the date witch was selected for the restore process.

    The window witch is labelled as “GOOD” restores the file set for the selected date.
     

    Attached Files:

  12. jonwallace

    jonwallace Registered Member

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    Yes, exactly as I described in post #6 above.
    I've reported this to Acronis and they have reproduced it.
     
  13. Werni

    Werni Registered Member

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    Hello haudegen (and also to jonwallace), thanks to your beautiful illustration now I understand, and I was able to reproduce all.
    But first of all: You use a German ATI and I am using an English one. So for our better understanding, I think
    Backup-Speicher = Backup Locations and
    Auswahl des Archivdatums = Archive Date Selection
    So, in your example labeled BAD you first did the backups to and then restored from your Backup Location "C:\Backup\Taeglich" Right? And under these conditions, it seems to me, the Restore Wizard has a real bug! And I think I can see what happens. By default when you arrive at the Archive Date Selection window, the selection is on the last (newest) Date Slice. Now you change this selection to an older slice and click NEXT>. But the program does not save your new selection. You can see this if you click 2 or 3 times Next> and then <Back until you are again in the Archive Date Selection window. The Selection will be set back to the last slice!
    When you start your restore as described in your GOOD example where you start directly from the folder where the backup files are stored, this is not the case, the selection will stay where you placed it when you go forward and backward in the wizard! It is good to know this (tanks to your experiments) and how to avoid this malfunction. And we only can hope that this will be fixed in a future build.
     
  14. Werni

    Werni Registered Member

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    To haudegen and jonwallace:
    After all this I had the idea to try to make a restore of an older file version tan the actual one from my Acronis Secure Zone where I used to weekly incrementally backup a comlete image of my drive C . And now I am really afraid that this also does not function any more. Naturally when this is so, it is also the case with the full image of my drive C. Rollback to an earlier state from Secure Zone probably does no more function at all with version 10.0. And I can not see a workaround for this, as you found one when restoring from a backup location. If this is really so, it would be absolutely unacceptable for me. What do you think and what would you do?? Go back to version 9? I am sure that with this version it worked well. Not long ago I really was lucky to be able to bring back my drive C in a state of two weeks earlier (with v. 9). Or just not use Secure Zone until this is fixed by Acronis? Perhaps you could test if you can confirm my suspicion? If so I am sure I immediately would send a message to Acronis Support. Or do they already know this too?
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2006
  15. haudegen

    haudegen Registered Member

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    Hallo Werni,

    at first, I have purchased V9 and V10 and no we shod do the work of
    the development department from Acronis? I won't be a party to that.
    The guise shod do there work.
    I am also a software engineer.
    I am writing software for high horsepower diesel engine controllers (up to 800kW per cylinder) and there have to be no error. If I purchase a piece of software I expect that the main functions are working correct. But in the Microsoft world that is not naturally.

    To cut a long story short.

    I shod save my investment but I am sure I will find some freeware witch does the job.
    The job is:
    BACKUP and RESTORE
     
  16. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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