acronis true image 10/Ghost & ease of use?

I have had Ghost on my notebook for sometime and always take it to the s software tech to get it done as he has emphasized that it is not an easy program to use, and I know nothing of this Boot Disk Creation and then he said if my system crashes that I would have to bring it in to have him install my backup. BTW, the Ghost program is from Systemworks 2005 and there is no documenation in the manual on it; as System Works 2005 Premier was more directed at System Doctor, NAV, Go Back etc. which is why I only kept the Ghost program as I did not like all the bloated programs in the background. I only run NAV 2006 now, which is required by management.Needless to say when the manual for Systemworks does not discuss Ghost, I don't have a clue about how the program works which is why I have to pay a techie to do the b/u.

I have read about Acronis true image 10 and wondered if it is user friendly and whether it is incremental like Ghost and if it is does it automatically update the entire drive in an incremental backup as that is what I would want so that I know my backup is current.

I don't know anything about doing a backup and leave it to the tech. I have never had a crash and am diligent with my security updates and scans but that does not mean that I won't see the screen of death!!!

I currently have Ghost on my notebook but simply don't know how to use it and the techie has scared me advising that my livelihood depends on my notebook and thus why would I want to be backingup something that I feel illiterate about

And I am no tech whiz.

Does Acronis as I mentioned earlier, need a Boot Disk created and is it hard to do?
When I do the first backup does it do the entire HD including settings for OE, and my hi speed etc.
In other words if I had to install the backup would I just start using my notebook as if I never had a problem or are there items that this program does not include in the back up?

If I installed this program, I imagine that I would have to rid of Norton Ghost or there would be a fight, is that correct, an incompatability issue.
it gets costly for me to pay the tech to do this and i really believe that i am capable of doing a backup.
But to install the backup would be another issue. This I have never had to do.

I was told in another forum to d/l the free Acronis 7, however am wondering if the Acronis 10 has some improvements to it that a Noob like me would benefit from.

Also how does one delete a backup from an external storage drive? I would be buying another one in this case if I were to start using Acronis as my other backups are on my one touch western digital external drive.
I don't even understand what the one touch is all about, do I start the drive out with the one touch and then start Acronis.

I will likely buy another 160 gb WD hard drive, the one touch model.
I have a new notebook and would likely install the program there and use that to initially start to try to figure out the program.

BTW, Acronis compared to Ghost; what are the differences and where do they rank together in ease of use

Is there an indicator when you complete the backup that it was successful? and does it show the gb's stored on the drive
And when does one know when you have to rid of one backup and replace with a new one?

Sorry for all the questions, but the software techie has left me in the dark about this process for the past 4 years.
He does the b/u and i simply go and pick it up.

I really would appreciate your experienced comments, this Ghost program did cost a lot of money and I don't know how to use it.

Cheers and best regards.

 

Hello Wills,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delayed response.

Please note that Acronis True Image provides you with ability to back up disk(s)/partition(s) (disk imaging) and create backup of separate file(s)/folder(s) (file-based backup).

The file-level backup archive is a file, which contains a copy of selected file(s)/folder(s) data or a copy of all information stored on selected disks/partitions. To create file-based backup one should choose "My Data" when using Create Backup Wizard (chapter 5.2.2 "My Data backup" in the Acronis True Image 10.0 Home User's Guide).

Backing up disks and partitions is performed in a different way: Acronis True Image stores a sector-by-sector snapshot of the disk, which includes the operating system, registry, drivers, software applications and data files, as well as system areas hidden from the user. It generally takes only several seconds to create a point-in-time view of the volume. After that, the operating system continues working as the imaging process is under way. This procedure is called “creating a disk image,” and the resulting backup archive is often called a disk/partition image. To create disk/partition image one should choose "My Computer" when using Create Backup Wizard (chapter 5.2.1 "My Computer backup").

The expanded Acronis Drive Snapshot technology provides you with the ability to backup system files and open files with no issues. You can also continue to use your computer during backup.

In addition, Acronis True Image 10.0 Home provides you with ability to back up Windows application settings ("My Application Settings"), MS Outlook and MS Outlook Express settings and messages ("My E-mail").

Therefore, if you are not concerned about restoration of your operating system along with all settings and applications, but plan to keep safe only certain data (the current project, for example), I would recommend to choose file-level backup. Otherwise, in order to create backup of your system for the disaster recovery purposes, I would recommend you to create disk/partition image.

Please also note that Acronis True Image can be run in several ways: under Windows and boot from the bootable rescue media or use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. We recommend that you first try to restore data running Acronis True Image under Windows, because this method provides more functionality. Boot from the bootable media or use the Startup Recovery Manager only if Windows does not load.

The standalone mode of Acronis True Image (using bootable rescue media or Acronis Startup Recovery Manager) has almost the same Graphical User Interface as in Windows so you should find it easy to use.

You can find the detailed instructions on how to create Acronis True Image Bootable Rescue Media in Chapter 10. "Creating bootable media" in the User's Guide.

Please also note that Acronis True Image archives (*.tib file) are the regular files and it can be copied/deleted/moved via Windows Explorer or other file manager. However, please be aware that incremental/differential backup archives depend on the initial full backup and, therefore, if you delete the initial full backup the incremental/differential backup archives will be useless. In addition, if you have created several incremental backup archives and if any of incremental backups is missing, restoration is not possible.

The question regarding backup archive storage period depends on the backup strategy you choose. You may want to back up you system daily, or only twice a month. This is up to you. In any case, Acronis True Image has a flexible schedule manager that will allow you to schedule a periodical backup task that suits your needs.

To be certain that your backup archives are not damaged, you can check their integrity using Validate Archive tool of Acronis True Image.

Unfortunately, at this moment we do not have comparison of Acronis True Image 10.0 Home and other backup software. However, you could take a look at this article reviewing Acronis True Image 9.0 Home and Norton Ghost 10.0.

We recommend you to download and install the free trial version of Acronis True Image 10.0 Home to see how the software works on your computer.

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.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

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Bubba