Acronis "device" listed in Device Manager

If you go to Computer Management > Device Manager, you will see an item listed under Acronis Devices "Acronis True Image Backup Archive Explorer". (See attachment).

Does anyone know the thinking behind why Acronis decided to install this functionality as a "Device" ?

 

I wondered that same question before. Anyone know?

Allen

 

I also have wondered and the only thing I can think of (alright, an outright guess), is that the archive is mounted as if it were a disk volume and this probably makes it easier to handle. I believe Drive Image just opened the archive as a file but let you access the folder and file structure.

If this is the case, then what is the reason that mounting the archive as a disk is better than treating it like a container file?

Seems there are only questions!

 

Perhaps because it reflects the fact that they have had to implement an NT device driver ?

F.

 

Some interesting thoughts....

In Windows, Microsoft's thinking behind establishing a "device" is that it can be either a real physical entity, such as a graphics card, or a virtual entity that performs a function that mimics a physical entity.

Seekforever posted the thought ....

If that is the case, then it makes sense because the "virtual" disk mimics a real physical entity and therefore qualifies for the status of "device". If that is not the case then the question remains open.

 

> If this is the case, then what is the reason that mounting the archive as a disk
> is better than treating it like a container file?

it makes things MUCH MUCH easier for the developer:
you usually access a (virtual) device by requesting
chunks of data from it.
this is a very simple and general approach,
and as soon as you received the (totally abstract amount of) data
the device has done its job.
so it's now up to you / the requesting application (e.g. the windows explorer)
to handle (check, (re)format, display, save, copy,...) the data correctly

programming a complete new set of methods
to access "acronis -true-image-archive"-containers
would be MUCH more work
and would require a standalone application
(or some kind of windows explorer plugin/extension)

imho the possibility to mount an image is a really nice feature,
that intergrates well into any os
but...
- currently images cannot be altered (content stays the same, no true write access)
- regarding dvd-r(w) and usb problems a repair function for archives is missing

note:
a file & folder backup archive cannot be mounted
and thus will be treated as a simple container ...
although it's not possible to browse its content without restoring it !


bottom

 

Hello Tabvla and everyone interested,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the delay with the response.

Tabvla, seekforever and bottom, your assumptions are quite correct. We've decided to implement Acronis True Image Backup Archive Explorer as an additional virtual device because it is the easiest and what's more important most reliable way of emulating the real hard drive. Such approach allows user to treat the mounted image in the same way as if it was the real drive with only a few limitations.

We will probably implement such capabilities in the future Acronis True Image versions. I'm afraid that the exact time frame for this is not decided yet.

Actually, one can browse the contents of a file-based backup, though in a slightly different way: start the Data Recovery wizard, choose the appropriate file-based backup and proceed to the step where wizard asks you for what files you want to restore. You'll see all the files included into this particular file-based backup and will be able to browse the folders. None of these files\folders will be restored until you press the Proceed button. Of course, one cannot copy files using Windows Explorer, open documents, etc. when browsing the file-based backup in such a way.

The fully functional capability of browsing the file-based backups will most likely be implemented in the future Acronis True Image versions.

If you have any further questions concerning Acronis software, please feel free to submit a request for technical support or post any of them on this forum. We will certainly try to help you in resolving any issues.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov