Coordinating Acronis and FDISR

Yes, like Pete, I think. I'm a one partition man. An 80 GB but only, really, one-sixth full, so I didn't bother to partition.

mn

 

In that case you have to ANCHOR the folder "My Documents".
I don't know if this is mandatory, but Peter will tell you that.
I don't need any anchoring, because I stored all my personal data on another partition.

 

Does that mean that normanm has also that bare stripped down snapshot like you ?
If not, doesn't he need to anchor then ?

 

Erik, I have to agree with Peter on this one, anchoring is a handy feature for many folks, but why would he "have to" anchor?

Acadia

 

1. Wouldn't the necessity of anchoring depend on how you use FD and how you work. For example, let's say you're writing a book and doing e-mail and downloading music files every day. After work, you decide to experiment with a new program. You make a second snapshot, ROLLBACK. You install the new program in your MAIN snapshot; its a disaster. You reboot into ROLLBACK and restore/copy MAIN (I might be using the wrong terminology here). You wouldn't lose any data at all. That would be the way I'd use the program. Thinking of it this way, your "data," which could be spread over many folders (when you don't partition) will always be current.

2. Does the program refresh/update your MAIN snapshot every day?

3. Reading the help files, it looks like data anchoring is mainly intended to reduce the size of snapshots. Anchoring is confusing since the manual clear states "each snapshot contains a copy of all your files on the system drive." Then it says, "you DO want to anchor....so that if you have to boot to an alternate snapshot, you don't lose these files." BUT won't that alternate snapshot contain those files in the first place?

 

My assumption is like this :

A. If you don't anchor the folder "My Documents"
You create an independent folder "My Documents" in EACH snapshot.
If you add a new document in the WORK snapshot, that new document won't be stored in the ROLLBACK snapshot.
If you edit an existing document in the WORK snapshot, that document won't be changed in the ROLLBACK snapshot.
And that must be very confusing.

B. If you anchor the folder "My Documents".
The same folder "My Documents" will be used by all snapshots.
If you add a new document in the WORK snapshot, that new document will also be stored in the ROLLBACK snapshot.
If you edit an existing document in the WORK snapshot, that document will also be changed in the ROLLBACK snapshot.

So IMO anchoring is necessary otherwise you have TWO folders "My Documents", just like you have two Windows in both snapshots.

 

Would depend on when you made ROLLBACK. Thinking about this, though, if -- on a one partition drive -- you did take the time to go through all the apps in which you create data and anchor those folders/directories, then the data in ROLLBACK would always be current. I guess I was assuming that I'd always make a fresh ROLLBACK whenever I tried to change something on the system. But then if something happened on its own during normal use, I can see where one's ROLLBACK might be days old and contain data files that had been changed in the interim.

 

Test it out and you will know for sure, that's how you will understand FDISR better and better.

 

Oh, I have never used Rollback, so I should excuse myself from this discussion. (Why in the world would someone want both FirstDefense AND Rollback on the same system?)

Acadia

 

We are not talking about RollbackRx, we are talking about a snapshot used as a rollback snapshot (= secondary snapshot)

 

OH!!

Acadia

 

Well, I've done some tests and it was like I expected.

A. If you don't anchor the folder "My Documents".
1. Your WORK snapshot has its own folder "My Documents"
2. Your ROLLBACK snapshot has also its own folder "My Documents", which isn't necessarily the same as the folder "My Documents" in your WORK snapshot.
Both folders have their own life.
You can imagine what will happen, if you copy/update from ROLLBACK snapshot to WORK snapshot.
The folder "My Documents" of the WORK snapshot will be equal to the folder "My Documents" of the ROLLBACK snapshot and that will be a disaster. If the folder of the ROLLBACK snapshot is empty you will lose all your documents in your WORK snapshot during copy/update.

B. If you anchor the folder "My Documents".
The folder "My Documents" is shared by all snapshots and that's the correct way.
The copy/update from ROLLBACK snapshot to WORK snapshot won't affect your folder "My Documents", because anchored folders are excluded in all snapshots.

So if you use a WORK and ROLLBACK snapshot in FDISR, you better anchor the folder "My Documents" or it will be a mess.

I don't have to anchor, because I moved "My Documents" to another partition.
I don't have a ROLLBACK snapshot, it's more a RECOVERY snapshot, but that is my personal improvisation.
And Peter's version is also an improvisation that doesn't need any anchoring.

 

Thanks, again, all. I just have to decide whether Pete's approach (no anchoring) or Erik's is my best protection. Some of the conceptual issues I raised are answered here

http://www.leapfrogsoftware.com/support_info/faq/

I'm installing today and I'm sure I'll be back to the list for more advice.

mn

 

Keep in mind that FDISR starts with a WORK snapshot (primary) and a ROLLBACK snapshot (secondary) and that you have to anchor your folder "My Documents" immediately after that.

Improvising on FDISR is at your own risk and requires some thinking before.

 

Ah - I think I am beginning to understand the difference between FD-ISR and RollbackRx.

FD-ISR keeps (say) two full copies of your hard disk - and you can swap between the two of them. And you can update changes from one to the other.

The BIG problem (as I see it) here, if this is how it works, is that you have now halved the size of your hard disk! If you have 4 snapshots, now your hard disk is effectively 1/4 the size. Surely this is a huge drawback? Or am I missing something here?

I would also imagine that updating snapshots would be terribly slow. Let us say that you have a 350 gig hard drive, with two snapshots on it. It update one to the other, you would have to scan/read/write 175 gigs!

Do I have the concept correct?

 

Not quite. If you have a 350g hard drive but only 5 gig of data, then you still have 345gig of empty space. If you make a second snapshot you now have 10 gig of data, and still have 340gig of free space which FirstDefense never touches. Updating 5 gig of data on my system only takes 2-3 minutes.

Acadia

 

Peter,
Suppose a user creates two snapshots as recommended, but he doesn't anchor My Documents. So each snapshots has a folder My Documents with an equal contents right after installation.

He works two months in his primary snapshot without any problems and he keeps on using the same softwares.
After two months he installs a new software and this software screws up his primary snapshot.

He does a copy/update from secondary to primary snapshot as recommended to recover his primary snapshot.
What do you think what will happen to the folder "My Documents" of the primary snapshot ?
IMO this user will have a two-month old folder "My Documents" and all the rest is gone.

This would not have happen when he anchored My Documents two months back.


http://www.raxco.com/support/windows/fdisr/fdisr_faqs.cfm#4

 

Right, but tell that to a new user of FDISR, who forgot to anchor.

 

Suppose you work 6 hours in your primary snapshot, editing your documents, spreadsheets, etc.
Then you try a new software and it goes wrong so bad that you have to refresh your primary snapshot with your secondary snapshot.
In that case your 6 hours work is gone.
After all you don't refresh your secondary snapshot every minut.

You won't have that problem when you anchor your personal data.

 

That's true, but never think that everybody is like you and the risk is higher when you don't anchor.

That is one of the reasons that I moved my data to another partition, I don't need anchoring either.