Merging multiple incremental backups?

I was wondering if this has been tried or if I should try it on a test system?

Say I make a full backup file and 10 incrementals.

So I now have "Backup.tib" and "Backup2.tib" to "Backup12.tib".

Say I restore my drive from "Backup6.tib" and then delete "Backup.tib" through "Backup6.tib". THEN I do a backup to "Backup.tib" again.

Will "Backup7.tib" and the others still be valid? I know each file is a list of sector changes.. so in THEORY it should work since the new backup file is the state at which Backup6.tib would be at.

But does it?

Thanks!

 

It is an interresting thought.
Would help to reduce size and Megabytes.

I think it will not work reliably.
Since the Windows OS is a sort of continiously changing over time, your newly made image from backup6 will be slightly different than the original.
That might, or might not, conflict with the increments thereafter. Still, I wouldn't trust my data to this.

It might work if one would do this from the bootdisk entirely. That would keep the boot partition in a 'static' way. But then your dates would be quite confusing (the older part having the newer date than your backup12).

We really would like to see a merge function in TI, I think.

Greetings,
RobH

 

Hello iansmith,
Hello RobH,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/products/trueimage/).

We do have a merge function in our Enhancement list (to merge incremental files into the first ful image and to merge an incremental file into the previous one).

As for the situation described by iansmith - we haven't tested it (so if it works - it's not a documented feature). Furthermore, if you don't want to keep the incrementals then just start with a new full image.

Thank you.

 

> Furthermore, if you don't want to keep the incrementals then just start with a new full image.

The reason this doesn't work for me is that once my backup drive is full, I have to start deleting things to make room for a new full backup, and I have to start deleting the newest files first.

I am VERY glad merging is in the works, as I like always having a week or a month of daily backups to recover files from when Visual Source Safe eats my code!

I'll buy the upgrade the second it's released with merging...

 

put me down for one of those upgrades as well!!!