Where is "Create a new full backup after ..." option for incremental or differential?

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by Vanguard, Jul 19, 2007.

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  1. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    True Image Home v10

    The included help says:

    Create incremental backups - having chosen this parameter, check the "Create a new full backup after ..." parameter and specify number of incremental backups, after which a new full backup will be created. The first time a full backup will be created. Next backups will be incremental until the specified number of incremental backups is reached. Then, again a full backup and a set of subsequent incremental backups is created, then again a full backup and so on.​

    I have tried several scenarios of defining scheduled tasks and have yet to ever see teh "Create a new full backup after" parameter when selecting an incremental or differential backup.

    If there is no full backup that was performed before, the first incremental or differential backup should result in actually performing a full backup. I then figured on using the "Create a new full backup after ..." option to specify to do another full backup after 6 incremental backups. That way, the first incremental is a full backup, then incrementals for the next 6 days, and then a full backup again, so I would have a full backup once per week with incrementals on each day between the full backups.

    This would let me define just one scheduled task rather than 2. That is, instead of having to define a full backup task that ran, say, on Sunday at 1AM and then having to define another scheduled task to define incremental backups on Mon-Sat, I could define just one scheduled task to do the first full backup followed by 6 incremental backups which would then repeat (1 full + 6 incrementals, then 1 full + 6 incrementals, and so on).

    Has this feature ever existed in TI Home? If it disappeared, Acronis didn't update their help documentation. If it is something planned for a future version, it shouldn't be mentioned in the help now. Is this bogus info in their help?
     
  2. SloPoke

    SloPoke Registered Member

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    You have to create your backup in a defined Backup Location to get those options. In this case, you cannot specify a backup filename; one will be created for you automatically based on the date and time the first full backup is created. Unfortunately, the built-in help doesn't mention this fact.
     
  3. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    I have defined a backup location along with its disk quota, max backup count, and retention time. After defining the backup location, a file named "acronis_backup_place.cfg" was added under that path. I even deleted the backup locations and recreated them in case this file was corrupted.

    When I was defining the scheduled backup, it asks for the backup location. There is no list of pre-defined backup locations. Instead I have to navigate through the tree to pick the same path as was used when defining the backup location. That is, the user has to remember where were the backup locations defined in TI Home (or go edit them to find what path was specified). I picked the same path in the tree as was defined in the backup location. However, after selection the path from the tree, that path gets added to the "Folder:" field but the Next button is not enabled until I append a filename in that field (I can skip or include the .tib extension).

    I then click Next and get to the screen asking which type of backup mode to use. I select "Incremental" (or "Differential") which, according to the included help, should then show the "Create a new full backup after ...". Nope, that options does not appear. Instead the next screen is for archive protection (password), and the next is the Backup Options, and so on. Never did see that "Create a new full backup after ..." option.

    You say the program will pick a filename but it doesn't. Once I select the backup location, I have to specify a filename to get the Next button to become enabled; otherwise, I'm going no further than this screen.
     
  4. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    ARGH!! YOU FRICKEN FRACKEN WALLA BICKEN SNATCHAFRATCHING ....

    Geez, I was navigating through the tree to pick the same path as was specified in the backup location previously defined. What I didn't notice was at the top of a tree there was a collapsed node labelled "Backup Locations". Expanding it showed the backup location that I had defined. Once I picked THAT node then the Folder field was disabled with greyed text saying "No file name is required in this area".

    So, you were right that if I actually picked a pre-defined backup location (rather than the path to it) that I'd would get the "Create a new full backup after ..." option.

    Now I have the problem that their scheduler doesn't let me specify a starting day for the scheduled task. I sure wish they'd use the Task Scheduler already in Windows to let me manage and review the timing of various scheduled tasks rather than use their own scheduler. I want the full backup to occur on Sunday at 3AM and the incrementals to be Mon-Sat at 3AM. However, after defining this daily schedule (to get incrementals every day) then the first execute today will be the full backup and the next full backups will be on every Friday (it's now 2AM where I am so a 3AM task will also run today which is Friday). I will have to wait until Saturday sometime after 3AM to define this scheduled task so it the first execute is Sunday at 3AM and so the full backups continue to occur on a Sunday.

    I'm assuming that the "Create a new full backup after ..." should be set to 6 to have the full backups occur on the same day of the week. That is, the 1 day when the full backup occurs followed by the 6 days for the incrementals for a total of a 7-day interval.
     
  5. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    It's a little quirk that many of us have missed the first time using version 10. It's one of those things that's obvious to the programmer but not to many users. Sometimes we need BIG BOLD letters in the instructions.

    You can use the Windows task scheduler -- it's a bit of futzing around to get set up but after that it's all running on automatic.

    Create a task in ATI and schedule it to run manually and save it. Then go to the this directory

    C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\TrueImage\Scripts

    and look for the *.tis file with the time/date stamp appropriate for the task you just created. That is the ATI task file (it'sa n xml file btw). Right click the file, select rename and copy the name but don't change the filename.


    Now go into Windows Task scheduler and create a task and insert the following as the task, observing the quotes:

    "C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\TrueImage\TrueImageService.exe" /script:"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\TrueImage\Scripts\xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.tib.tis"

    Note that, of course, you will use your ATI task file name instead of "xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.tib.tis"

    With the windows task scheduler you can even set the task to wake your PC from Standby (s3) to run a scheduled task, which is something the ATI scheduler won't do. ;-)

     
  6. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    Thanks for the info on the .tis file. I went hunting in the included Help but without a search function (something sorely missing) then there is no guarantee that I didn't happen to miss the section that describes how to run TI Home from the command line.

    Since .tis is associated with the TI Home Script program, I'm wondering if I need to put the .exe in the command line and instead just specify the .tis file.

    Although the filetype association listed in Explorer's Tool -> Options shows .tis is associated with Acronis True Image Script, all I've found so far in the registry is an icon associated to .tis (which is associated to tisfile where the icon is specified).

    I'd much rather use the Task Scheduler rather than yet another chron program. It gets difficult to wander around a myriad of programs trying to establish a schedule of various program executes. I definitely want the wake-up option in Task Scheduler because I certainly don't want to use the "run if missed" option in TI Home because Normal and High render the computer unusable (locked up) and even Low priority interferes with use too much plus it then takes too long considering that other scheduled tasks have to start after giving TI Home more than plenty of time to complete.

    So if I use the Windows Task Scheduler to run .tis files, can I elect to stop the scheduler service in TI Home (schedul2.exe) and also set its NT service to Disable so it won't start when Windows starts?
     
  7. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    You can try it without the exe in the cammand; on some machines it works and some not. If it doesn't, then just put it in the command line. You only have to create the command line once so it isn't a big deal either way.

    The main virtue of using the win scheduler is that it can wake a machine from standby (even S3) to run a task so you can have your machine be in standby and still be able to run a scheduled task during the middle of the night or whenever, when you won't mind the cpu cycles taken up by the backup.

     
  8. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    Actually, for me, the main advantage of using Task Scheduler is that I can configure the event to wait N minutes for the host to go idle before the event is allowed and how long to wait until it goes idle. Too often I am still working until 3AM when the tasks are scheduled. There are later tasks so, no, I can't move them to later. Once the backups start, the machine becomes virtually locked up and unusable. With Task Scheduler, I can make the task wait for me instead getting the host yanked away from me.
     
    Last edited: Jul 27, 2007
  9. stduc

    stduc Registered Member

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    Basically I have the same problem with Trueimage 9
    However, I can't see this "Backup Locations" node for the life of me!

    I have a very simplistic backup routine. I manually backup to a USB drive periodically. But every day I have a scheduled incremental backup that just backs up certain folders to another hard drive. Periodically I move these to the USB drive.
    Normally it creates very small backup files. Recently however it has been creating backup files the same size or bigger than the initial backup at least once a week.
    I haven't changed the way I work and I haven't changed the way Trueimage 9 is set up. So I'm wondering what's going on here?
     
  10. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    If its version 9 of the home version as opposed to 9.1 of the Wrokstation or Or 10 Of the Home version, then that's an older version released before the automatic backup locations function was added.

     
  11. stduc

    stduc Registered Member

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    Yes it is, I don't need anything more complicated. But the help still mentions the bit about setting the number of incremental backups.
     
  12. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    Hmmm, you answered yes to a multiple choice question. If you meant, "Yess, it's the home version of 9." Then what you are asking for ins't in that version. You said it's inthe manual. I see it in the manual for 10 but not in the manual for 9.

     
  13. stduc

    stduc Registered Member

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    Sorry about that - I'm using v9.
    No, it's not in the manual. But it is in the help.
     
  14. Vanguard

    Vanguard Registered Member

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    As an update, I had stopped and set Disabled the scheduler service for Acronis (an NT service). Turns out it is required. I had to restore using the images that I had saved. Near the end of the wizard to define the restore operation(s), it failed because apparently it uses its scheduler to start the task. Go figure. Once the Acronis scheduler service was reenabled and started then the "scheduled" task that I thought was being manually defined would begin and do the restore.
     
  15. thomasjk

    thomasjk Registered Member

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    Re: Where is "Create a new full backup after ..." option for incremental or different

    As you've found all tasks are run as scheduled tasks. Disabling the services has been discussed before
    Why Run The True Image Services.
    schedul2.exe, schedhlp.exe and TrueImageMonitor.exe
    Timountermonitor.exe
    Bottom line there is no real advantage to disabling them.
     
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