Which tib file for incremental backup?

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by LocalHero, Aug 5, 2009.

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  1. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    I'm new to True Image Home 2009 and have created a full backup image on an external drive but now after some changes I want to create an incremental backup.
    When I click thru the choices, I eventually come to the window where I am to select the backup archive and the backup location. I gather these are to be tib files on my external drive but the original backup created a number of these files. Which one am I supposed to choose?

    Also, it seems that even the incremental backup can take hours. Will I screw it up if I keep using the computer while it's backing up?

    Thanks,
    John
     
  2. wat0114

    wat0114 Guest

    You will likely want the archive with the most recent date. At least this makes the most sense, although you will want to feel certain the state of your machine at that point was to your liking (no major O/S or software issues, BSOD's, viruses...etc).

    If you are running a very slow machine, then maybe it could take hours, but that seems a stretch to me. Personally, I refrain from doing anything on the machine while backup is in progress (my backups take ~ 15 mins). Remember, the backup is creating an image of the exact current state of the machine (incrementals will backup all changes since last backup), so if you change the state somehow during the backup progress, this could likely cause issues, though I can't say for certain. Maybe someone else can answer this. Still, why take a chance during such an important maintenance task? Just my opinion ;)
     
  3. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    P4
    3ghz
    1g ram
    160g hard drive
    win xp pro

    I had just updated to service pack 3 so maybe that's why the incremental backup took so long? I had it shut down the computer automatically when I left but it said it would be about 4 hrs
     
  4. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    That quoted reply didn't work like I thought it would...

    My reply was "Yes but the original backup file created 10 tib files (1 thru 10) all the same date..."
     
  5. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    Selecting the last image split in the set should be fine.

    There's not a problem doing normal computer activities during the backup. Just avoid things that cause a lot of disk activity (like doing a defrag).

    The time it takes to do an Incremental depends on a lot of things. What size was the Incremental file? Do you have TI set to validate automatically after it's created? Was a defrag or TI restore done between the Full image and the Incremental?

    Are you setting the option for TI to split the image files or are you backing up to a FAT32 partition (4GB filesize limit)?
     
  6. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    Hmmm, it looks like the incremental backup is also 10 files and they total around 40g as if it were a full backup. I did do a restore between the full image and the incremental....so I guess that means the incremental is a second full backup?

    Also, the external drive *is* set to a Fat32 which I only have a vague understanding of. I seem to remember choosing FAT32 because I wanted to also backup my MAC laptop to it as well. Now I'm thinking I should have made two partitions on the external one NTFS and one FAT32. (Can I do that?)
     
  7. MudCrab

    MudCrab Imaging Specialist

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    There's nothing wrong with using FAT32. It's just that you end up with a lot of files. It's much easier using NTFS so each one is a single file.

    You can create two partitions on the external drive. Any partitioning software should be able to do it. Note that it's recommended to have a backup of any valuable data on the drive before you make partitioning changes. If there's enough room on the drive, you should be able to shrink the FAT32 partition and then create an NTFS partition in the unallocted space. If the drive is full, you may find it easier to just copy the files off, create the partitions how you want and then copy the files back. If you do it this way, you can use XP's Disk Management to create the partitions.

    If you move backup images from one place to another and intend to keep them, it's recommended that you validate them after each move so you know they copied successfully before you delete the source files.
     
  8. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    The reason I had to use Acronis to restore was because I was using a partitioning program to resize c partition so I could try to restore a failed 40g hd to a separate partition on my new 160g hd. Either the program or me (most likely) screwed up and the files on C were trashed. Fortunately Acronis restored perfectly as far as I can tell.
    None the less, I think I'll move the files off of my external drive before I re-partition it...

    Thanks for all the help!
    John
     
  9. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    ATI takes a snapshot of the drive sectors in use when it begins a backup; it then filters changes so it can continue to back up without forgetting how the disk was when the backup started. Subsequent changes are not recorded in the backup. I've never had problem using a PC while a backup is running. While ATI has its share of probs, especially the last two versions, using windows programs while ATI is backing up is not one of them.

     
  10. LocalHero

    LocalHero Registered Member

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    OK, so what are the problems with ATI's recent versions? I have True Image Home 2009.
     
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