C'mon you experienced guys.... tell me, How do we ACTUALY TEST this software??

Good Evening everyone.

A couple of evenings a week I come here to check out the postings on this board. I always come here with some trepidation as I know before I get here that there will be genuine people here who are in need of assistance. Some urgently whom I can't really help that much at the moment because I'm still learning about this software called True Image. I mean it’s not like loading a browser or something is it? With a browser you load/unload it knowing that it’s not going to do your computer any harm! This cannot be said of TI though can it? It’s an ‘unknown’. You cannot ‘see’ what's it’s going to do until the end product is loaded.

This board is unusual insomuch that it’s all about the problems associated with a single piece of software! Advertisers nightnmare I would have thought!! Whenever I arrive here there are people with cries of help. This doesn’t work or that has failed. Why this and why that. This board is very predictable on that front. Why? Because these guys, like me, have not yet checked this software out. We are all inquisitive as to what it can do. So we start on it knowing full well that any ****-ups will cause us a problem, or if it is true on some instances that I have read here, some major fault(s) in our computers, in which we are all, of coarse, experts. That’s justified because my older machine on w98se, to date just purrs along. I am petrified that I am going to screw it all up sooner or later. Tampering with new unknown software being a prime example. Especially if that software messes with the main OS, boot system, BIOS and so on.

So Ok we've done the initial elementary searching on what this program does or does not do. We've read the Adobe help file backwards so we all know what's what. In w98se (my OS) we did the defrag and the scandisk prior to any backups. We've done the imaging and the integrity bit. We tested how long each and every backup takes in all the various compressions. We've spilt the partitions in various sizes and then deleted it to make sure that the program is working. We've created and seen the Secure Zone and then deleted it to make sure that this invisible area CAN be deleted on command. I've seen the split files and their sizes. We've posted additional questions here about DVD’s and CD-RW’s and got really good intelligent feedback from you guys and gals on everything that I/we asked of you. In short we've done all the external peripheral bits and pieces that you guys said it would do. Now to get down to the proper stuff!!

Having done all that which is listed above to ensure confidence in the new software my doodally question to you guys with bucket-full loads of experience with this program is this….

How to we now ACTUALLY TEST the backed-up partition? WITHOUT re-loading it back onto our main computers ‘C’ drive which in itself, at the moment , is still working Ok, to ensure that it is indeed working and that it does what it says it’s going to do on the box? Remember I don’t want to mess my existing machine up in any way. So how do we actually TEST this piece of software out?

Feedback on that question, I suspect would interest a load of people here.

Doodallybloke.... always unsure

 

If the Check Image function, both under Windows and after booting from the TI Recovery CD, and the Explore Image feature (under Windows) don't convince you that the image can be restored, the only test is to restore an image.

OK, I wouldn't want to do this over a perfectly good installation, so the answer is to open the case, disconnect your boot hard disk and install another hard drive. This can be a temporary installation with the drive just hanging or laying safely away from anything else.

Boot from the Recovery CD and restore an image of your entire boot drive. Remove the Recovery CD and confirm that the system boots successfully. When you are satisfied, shut down and reconnect your original boot drive. Put the second drive away for future use in the event your first drive fails if you want a nice piece of additional insurance.

There's no way to test a backup and restore completely without restoring!

 

Right on.

 

True. You want to test disaster recovery? Create a disaster!

You're talking very "deeply" about testing, and wanting to be sure, etc. Then again you seem only to have one machine running the old 98SE, is that correct?

Just find a harddisk (a "loaner" perhaps) and change your cables from your drive to the new.

Do the restore procedure, fool around with the new harddisk. It's the only way.

 

I like to add some comments about the board being full of cries for help and as such being a "Advertisers nightmare"

Most forums that deal with software support are mostly filled with comments from people who have problems with that particular software. It's not in the human nature to "complain" about good working software.

 

Personal experience - used TI for years creating images and using the programme as a "backup" ... I could see the files inside the images, so it worked as far as I was concerned.
About a month ago my laptop HDD started to play up so I replaced it and did a restore ... to my relief it worked. The only problem was it also copied a few Kb of "bad sectors" - I can live with that, I've got my laptop working!

My take is that even in Bath, (where they can't fix a bath! ) it will work for you too. Be honest, if it didn't work this forum wouldn't be here and Acronis would probably not exist.
Like virtually all modern software, bugs come as standard, be it computer software, control software, equipment software etc ... it's the very nature of seeking to provide a "universal" product which matches or betters its rival(s), I experience it with equipment in my, (non-computer), business all the time ... without such problems, irritating though they may be, vBulletin would have much slimmer pickings!