Acronis discription of Incremental vs Differential backup???

What's the difference between an Incremental vs Differential backup?

The user guide talks about if you write one page of a document the incremental method saves the new page every time you run backup . . . That makes no sense to me. If I'm building a Word document with 100 pages and I add a few pages each day, when I do a backup I expect it to save the entire file not just new pages of it? Is it true what Acronis is saying? I'm thinking it's in error by just oversimplifying it to the point of being absurd. I tried using the Acronis Forum but I cannot even see a way to post a question there? They seem to be going out of their way to be not helpful.

I'm assuming most of their backups versions use a similar method so they are backwards compatible but I happen to be using True Image 2017 in case it matters. Ive been using it since 2009 but I almost always only do FULL disk backups and thought I would try another method.

Differential backups comprise data files that have changed since the most recently completed full backup.

if you are doing differentials, when you do a restore you need the latest differential plus the original full backup it relates to.

If you a full backup on Monday that will include whatever you have written ( lets say 10 pages)

If you do a differential on Tuesday that will include only the additional pages ( and any of 1-10 you have changed ) since Monday ( lets assume you havent changed any ) and have written page 11 - it will then backup page 11 but not pages 1-10 .

If you do a differential on Wednesday that will include all the pages you have written (and any you have changed ) since Monday ( lets assume you havent changed any ) and have written page 12 - it will then backup page 11 and page 12 but not pages 1-10


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Incremental backups comprise data files that have changed since the most recently completed incremental backup.

if you are doing incrementals, when you do a restore you need the latest incremental and all the earlier incrementals as well as the original full backup.

The full backup on Monday includes pages 1-10

The incremental backup on Tuesday ( assuming you havent changed any of 1-10 ) contains page 11 but not pages 1-10

The incremental backup on Wednesday ( assuming you havent changed any of 1-11 ) includes page 12 but not pages 1-11
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You could do a full backup each time if you want, but it takes longer and takes more space.

I can't put it any more simply.

It would help you if you read the post.

What if I also make a change from a period to a comma on page one?

If you do a differential on Tuesday that will include only the additional pages ( and any of 1-10 you have changed )

The Tuesday differential doesn't include what is in the Monday full backup. It only includes new (or changed ) files.

So the original file ( with a period ) will still be in the full backup you made on Monday. If you wanted to, you could get the original out of the Monday full backup.