Acronis True Image - Windows Vs. Boot CD

I Have True Image 8.0.903 Installed And Have Created The Latest Boot CD And Have A Few Questions:

1. What Is The Prefered Way To Restore A System Partition?
2. Which Is Better To Restore By: (Windows Or CD)?
3. Which Route Is The Best Way To Backup (Windows Or CD)
4. Which Is The Most Reliable (Windows Or CD)?
5. How Secure Is The Secure Zone?
6. If I Restore From Windows And Windows Re-Boots Me For The Restore,Will My PS/2 Mouse Work By Way Of This Route When Restoring Using The Boot CD Gives Me No Mouse Support For The PS/2

 

Let me couch my reply by saying that it is based largely on my TI8 experience (including a system-image restore that I had to perform just yesterday)...

As far as Restore goes, I don't think it makes much of a difference whether you use Windows or the Boot CD because even if you start the process in Windows, TI makes you reboot into Linux to continue the operation.

Btw, while Restore uses Linux regardless of how you intiate the process, Create not only works in Windows, it works much faster in Windows than in Linux. I believe this is due to the more specific Windows-based drivers that are on my system as opposed to the more generic drivers on TI's Linux implementation.

Re your question about potential PS/2 mouse problems when in Linux, there's certainly a good chance of that. I (and several others around here) have experienced and reported that issue. However, my MS Explorer (optical) mouse does work in Linux when USB-connected. The only way to know for sure, is to try it.

I can't shed any light on the use of the Secure Zone, as I have never used it -- so long as I have verified images on a separate external drive, I fail to see it's value!

Hth... ~pv

 

Hello jbmoar,

To add to what pvsurfer has said, the Acronis Secure Zone is invisible to other Windows applications and can only be accessed via TI. It will therefore protect your image from accidental deletion or Windows based malware e.g. viruses or trojans. However, some expert users can access the SZ using special Linux applications.

Regards