Acronis True Image alternative

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by imperium, Sep 19, 2012.

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  1. rinem

    rinem Registered Member

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    Im using Macrium Reflect Free too but why is it so slow while restoring comparing to others like IFW-Acronis and Shadowprotect that i tried?
    The Backup time with those four is the same around 12 minutes and restoring 12-13 minutes but not Macrium wich needs over 20 minutes for restore. Any one knows why?
     
  2. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    been testing the newest acronis and i can say its a very nice program and works very well BUT its wayyyyy to bloated. i mean wow.... it also takes a good while to boot from the disc. otherwise its works very well and is accurate and had no issues in any of my tests with it, i prefer something almost not there though which is why i use ifw mainly. i hate having things running that dont need to be, i know things can be disabled with acronis but even the amount of hard drive space it uses its crazy, if you dont mind the above it is one of the best out there. i just cant deal with all the extra bloat
     
  3. rinem

    rinem Registered Member

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    What i dont like about Acronis is that u cant make the GUI smaller, it takes all my screen space. Not acceptable.
    Also it slows down my PC altough Acronis services show 0% cpu usage all the time but there is a big slowdown overall in responsiveness. Maybe its beacuse of the monitoring for the incremental backup, who knows. Other Imaging programs like Shadowprotect monitor too without slowdowns.
     
  4. GSL

    GSL Registered Member

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    I will just pop in the bootable cd(linux based) and image my pc from there without installing acronis.
     
  5. AdvancedSetup

    AdvancedSetup Security Expert

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    My concern lately is the 4K drives that the builtin Microsoft backup cannot write to them. I have a 4TB native 4K drive but seems some of the 2TB might come with this new format as well.

    Microsoft support policy for 4K sector hard drives in Windows

    Advanced Format

    Microsoft support policy for 4K sector hard drives in Windows

    An update that improves the compatibility of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Advanced Format Disks is available

    Have not tested it yet but hope to do so soon and see if Paragon can actually write to them as they appear to claim, though even that is not certain since their wording does not specifically say.

    Hard Disk Manager 12 Professional $99.95 comparison Hard Disk Manager 12 Suite $49.95

    Just noticed Paragon Support is actually here on Wilders
    Official Paragon Support Forum

    They also have a free version
    Backup & Recovery 2012 Free

    Now I just need some more free time to test this out.
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2012
  6. De Hollander

    De Hollander Registered Member

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    :thumb:

    It's like a Christmas tree. More and more things are added. In the end it is almost impossible to see the green branches of the tree.
     
  7. guest

    guest Guest

    ""I will just pop in the bootable cd(linux based) and image my pc from there without installing acronis.""

    Yes, this is the best way, no fuss and no hassles
    I use clonezilla and has always did a good job
    so far never a failure can not say that about Acronis
    used it in the past "most" of the time it work ok but
    also caused a lot of problems
     
  8. cruelsister

    cruelsister Registered Member

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    As I needed a Win8 imaging solution I installed and have been using TI2013 for a few weeks now and like it very much. It has been equally reliable in Imaging and Restoration as the 2011 version that it replaced.

    The arguments that some have here about TI being "bloated" I find rather specious as all services and monitors can be easily disabled, making TrueImage just an on-demand application. By just utilizing the Boot CD one will lose out on things like mounting Images which is both important and useful.

    So if you just want TrueImage for Imaging/Restore and not any of the arcane functionality that comes with it I've found no drawback to doing a full install.
     
  9. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    they can be but now go and install a update and those come back again and now need to be disabled again.. just a pain if you ask me. why have them there in the first place. like the one for scheduling. do not have the service running UNTIL the person sets up a schedule... this would make sense to me.
     
  10. cruelsister

    cruelsister Registered Member

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    It takes about 30 seconds to disable the services, and with a program update occurring once every 3-4 months this doesn't seem to me like a reason not to install.
     
  11. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    guess some of us are just more picky this is why i dont use anything from O&O either. also doesnt account for the ridiculous amount of space it takes up imo. as i said it works and works well so if you are okay with that stuff its a very nice program
     
  12. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    Acronis is quite bloated:D
    Acronis may have the biggest linux bootcd:D
    Acronis is big in both linux bootcd and its Windows program
    That's why I do not install its program in current OS, just using its linux bootcd or WinPE program.

    The advantages of Acronis are:
    -fast in speed
    -can restore to smaller partition which is no need to concern sector spread
    -will not change your partition size
    -etc.....
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2012
  13. natsecurity

    natsecurity Registered Member

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    DOes macrium free address all these issues?
     
  14. cruelsister

    cruelsister Registered Member

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    I really can't understand the bloat criticism - who cares if they've added various doohickeys to the program? Some may find them useful, and for those that don't they can be ignored; it's not like the File Shedder starts with Windows.

    As far as the program size is concerned, it is large (about 250MB or so if memory serves) primarily because the Boot CD fixings are also installed on your drive giving the user the ability to burn the CD directly from the program interface. Although these files can be deleted after the CD is prepared, personally I can't be bothered to do so as 250MB is trivial compared to the total storage capacity of my computer. I really can't say if the Boot CD is big or not. All I know that it is a single CD and it boots up quickly, which would be my primary concern.

    To sum up, the primary concern in picking an Imaging program should be its ability to perfectly create and restore images. All others factors are secondary. Not using TI because of extraneous functions such as a file shedder, etc is pretty much equivalent to not using it because one disllikes the color of the box in which it comes.
     
  15. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    cruelsister,

    Users think Acronis is bloated because there are some features that they never used. Of course, these features will have some users like.

    Generally, the bigger size of bootcd, the longer bootup time.
     
  16. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    when there are many others that do the same job and do not need all these extras and services etc why use one that does...sorry just not for me.
     
  17. zfactor

    zfactor Registered Member

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    anyone know why they pulled build 5587? i have it because i downloaded it when i saw there was a new one but they pulled it and im curious as to why before i reinstall it or the previous build which is what it currently listed on their site?? thanks
     
  18. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    I think there are some bugs in build 5587:D
     
  19. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    That's why I just use its linux BootCD or WinPE program:D
    Although it is bloated on its install program, it still better than IFW(for me only). It can do something that IFW could not.:D
     
  20. WSFfan

    WSFfan Registered Member

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    What can Acronis do that IFW can't?Please explain.
     
  21. pandlouk

    pandlouk Registered Member

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    File based restores.

    Panagiotis
     
  22. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    The most important one to me is restoring image to smaller partition without resizing/defrag/compact both source and target partition
     
  23. Keatah

    Keatah Registered Member

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    Two things:

    1- I can speak from direct experience. I've had the best results using Acronis TI and/or Macrium Reflect. My clients have had the least amount of questions and complaints and the most compliments and kudos for these two.

    2- I've seen more failed backup/restore jobs due to memory issues as opposed to media "spontaneously" going bad. This applies to all backup/restore utilities. If you're having unexplained imaging fails, why not give memtest86 a spin? If one does not wish to take the time and run memtest, then verifying your freshly created image is a good alternative; as the image is checked and decompressed all the same. Sans the actual write operation.
     
    Last edited: Feb 23, 2013
  24. alternety

    alternety Registered Member

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    Background: I am also a long time user of Acronis. I have a 2010 version that is just fine. I have a 2011 on another machine. They sort of broke the interface on that one; but it usually works. 2012 was a total mass. Some really nasty bugs and the problems went on and on, with little effective support. I never took a chance with 2012. Now, Acronis says versions previous to 2013 will not work with Win 8. I want to go to Win 8 (minus the horrid [my opinion] interface). So I now have to choose again.

    Based on 2012, I just do not want to risk 2013, so I downloaded Macrim to see how that works. If I like it I will buy the Pro version.

    I have a question. Can I install Macrim with Acronis still installed without causing any nasty problems with either one? I am concerned about each replacing or altering system software and breaking the other.
     
  25. aladdin

    aladdin Registered Member

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    They co-exist with each other without any issues. None I have encountered so far.

    Best regards,
     
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