Optimal Acronis 2010 back up method?

[HughShaw]

I'm currently using the incremental backup method with the create a new full backup after 7 incremental backups. I was wondering if the automatic consolidation was a faster choice. From my understanding, once your backups get to the set number, Acronis will consolidate them all into one file then start the process over again.

So basically, after the backups get to a set number, is creating a full new backup better or consolidating them all back to one? (I'd like to be able to set it and forget it)

 

[Qdos]

If you use incremental backups in an Acronis Secure Zone the first backup will be wiped as space runs out. Since that is usually one of your most important images you're better off to keep it somewhere safer, on an external drive, somewhere on your network etc.

I don't use incrementals. I do full backups and store them in two seperate places for safety. Hard drive space is cheap enough these days

 

[HughShaw]

Thanks for the response, but that's not how I understand it. The first backup for incremental is always a full backup, then all subsequent backups will be incremental until the set number chosen. Each subsequent backup depends of the first full backup and any previous subsequent backups. This is where I configured it to delete them all and start over with a new full backup.

But again, my question is whether consolidating them all will save time over another full backup...

 

[Qdos]

I see no point in incrementals, personally.

But since you haven't said whether you're using a secure zone or not the behaviour you're asking about may vary depending on the physical volume/partition size and the amount of data you're backing up.

If Acronis TI 2010 behaves like the prior builds the earliest backup in secure zone can get wiped as the available space shrinks.

From the help file...

Setting automatic consolidation
Automatic consolidation of a backup archive is enabled by setting the overall limitations for the archive. These limitations include:

a maximum number of backups
a maximum storage period for the archive files
a maximum archive size
By default there are no limits set and automatic consolidation is not performed. To enable automatic consolidation, you must select at least one of the limits and either leave its default value or change it according to your needs.

If limits are set, then after creating a backup the program checks the archive for quota violations, such as exceeding a pre-set maximum number of gigabytes set aside for backups and, if any limitation is exceeded, consolidates the oldest backups. For example, if you've pre-set your archive to store 50GB of backup files and your backups reach 55GB, you have exceeded a quota and the system will respond automatically based on rules that you've already set. This operation creates a temporary file and thus requires disk space. Consider also that the quota must be violated so that the program can detect the violation. Therefore, to be able to consolidate the files, the program needs some space on the disk in excess of the archive quota. The extra amount of space can be estimated as the size of the largest backup in the archive.

In case of setting a limit on the number of backups, the actual number of backups can exceed the maximum number of backups by one. This enables the program to detect quota violation and start consolidation. Similarly, if you pre-set a backups storage period, for example, 30 days, the program will start consolidation when the oldest backup is stored for 31 days.

 

[HughShaw]

I'm not using a secure zone. It backs up up to my external HDD. And I've skimmed over the instruction manual. (I've never seen one so tedious to read)

Since I backup every day at 7AM, an incremental backup only takes less than 5 minutes. I don't want it backing up my whole hard drive every day which would take 45 minutes.

 

[Qdos]

Each to their own, and Acronis TI is quite flexible. I use RAID (plus synched' NAS is in the pipeline) on my archives and only keep the OS and Program files on the boot drive; therefore the data I need to have 'restorable' is far less than that you may face if your archives are also on the primary disk/partition.

Everything you need is quite clearly covered in the help files, and there is a dedicated Acronis TI forum which you could also take a look at

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I don't bother with incrementals either and in fact don't use imaging to back up my personal data.

Hugh: just as a point of reference, how many GB data is Acronis backing up for you in a 45 minute full backup? I haven't used Acronis in a while, but I know that Macrium backs up my 22 GB system in maybe 5 minutes. I'm not sure if Acronis is faster or slower?

 

[HughShaw]

I'm backing up maybe 100GB and it takes 30-45 minutes though I didn't really count.

So does anyone that uses the backups consolidation option know the answer to my question?

 

[fireberd]

I don't have an answer to your question, but I too ONLY do full backups. I keep two backup copies on my backup drive - the current back up and the previous backup (the previous backup is there in case Murphy's Law comes into practice and there would be a hard drive crash while doing the backup). Where I worked, before I retired, we tried incremental backups on our servers and ran into a lot of problems trying to keep track of all the backups and it turned out it took more time to restore with all the incremental backups. They switched to only doing full backups (every night on the severs) and that eliminated any potential confusion and also sped up restoring if it was needed.

 

[HughShaw]

Ok guys, I'll might go the full backup only route as time goes by but I just installed Acronis and want to test things out. Besides, if you guys only do full backups, Windows can create a system image in the exact same way. The only advantage Acronis seems to have is that it compresses the full image.

Also, with Acronis, I'd like to replace both the Windows System Image function as well as the System Restore function.

 

[Qdos]

The only advantage Acronis seems to have is that it compresses the full image.

If you think only that little of Acronis TI then I'm astonished you would have paid for a copy to be quite honest. There's **far** more to it than Windows Backup offers, like the boot disk facility for instance.

Little point in going on, but there are many other functions that means it outclasses Microsofts alternative many times over.

 

[HughShaw]

Windows backup can also do the same thing but it just takes longer. And instead of creating a boot disk, you just have to use your Windows install CD.

I'm still testing things out so don't get offended or anything.

Edit: Ok, ok, you can also clone your machine and put in onto another computer with different hardware. Also, there's the Try & Decide feature which I haven't tested out yet...

 

[noyb]

I hear that if you move the W7 backup Image to another storage location ... It will not work for a recovery.
Acronis does not have this restriction.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi all
I think we're getting a little off topic here.

I suggest for backups do the following.

It doesn't matter whatever software you use - I use Acronis but any software will do so long as it has an "Incremental Backup" option.

1) ensure the windows OS is in its OWN small partition - even a large installation won't need more than a 35 GB partition and with acronis this only takes around 15 mins or so to do a FULL image backup - so I don't see any point at all in doing incremental backups of the OS. - Just schedule a FULL OS backup say once a week - do another one "ad hoc" before installing software.

Advantage in doing an OS backup is you can also do a "Bare metal" restore without having to re-construct all your user data again. Decent backup software will have the option to create bootable recovery media.

2) Data -- you need a different strategy here -- first decide what you need as ARCHIVE (data you don't want to junk but rarely need online).

Back this up with a FULL backup to removable media.

Now for your DATA -- split it into categories such as Photos, music, email, work (office docs - spread sheets, power point, word etc). W7 libraries are good here.

Initially BACK ALL OF THESE UP. Label this and store off line.

Now back up daily (incrementally) each category -- say on Mondays back up pics, on Tuesdays Music etc.

Once a week do another FULL data backup.


To recover a file you need to a) restore the file from the last FULL backup, and then b) scan through the incremental backups taken since the last FULL backup.

Once you get the hang of this its quite easy.

Start with re-orgainising your data into categories -- a great feature with Libraries is that you don't have to worry which disk the data is on - you can say have music or photos spread across multiple volumes.

Once you've done that create a simple spreadsheet with Library name, Backup date, Backup type (full / incremental)
Now schedule the jobs -- On Linux it's easy a Crontab does this- on Windows slightly more complex but most decent backup software will include options to schedule UNATTENDED backups at specific times. (Ensure your computer is switched on and you've got enough backup space if you do an unattended backup).

Note also that there is a BIG difference between ARCHIVE and BACKUP.


Incidentally try restoring a few times to check the validity of the backup -- no point in having backup great procedures if a restore fails when you need it.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[HughShaw]

This brings another question. It seems that some people say you need to verify your backups with Acronis. Does this mean that if you don't, some of the backups might fail when you need it the most? (I like to conserve space and only keep one full backup at a time)

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I've never known Acronis to fail -- but if you've never restored anything its worth testing just to make sure it does the job on your equipment and gives you practice in doing it.

You NEVER want to have to do a restore in "Panic" or "Fire Drill" mode -- it's very easy to make mistakes in the heat of the moment. That's why I suggest once in a while do a restore even if you don't need to -- also this acts as a check to see if the backup media hasn't gone defective.

Hard disks can and DO fail -- not very often for most people fortunately but they DO fail and that very well known law will ensure that a disk will fail at the ONE time you can't afford a hardware error. Brings us to another issue here -- for really critical data that you can't reconstruct keep at least 2 separate copies -- if possible on different types of media. If that's not possible at least keep 2 copies and on different disks.

Disks BTW are cheap now -- a USB 1.5 TB (1500 GB) disk only costs around 60 USD. How much would it cost to replace an entire music collection or how much time would you have to use in re-ripping say 5,000 CD's.

Don't stint on backup devices.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Qdos]

At #6 above I gave you a link to the Acronis TrueImage forum, and you will get more precise advice there than here as they do not cover other subjects. Most of what's being reviewed and asked in this thread is well covered in the Acronis TI help files...

Making back up images which aren't verified after being written doesn't mean they're duff and useless. A verified back up image which has been corrupted due to media or hard disk faults is no more likely to work than an unverified image.

Best thing to do with any product is to use it... and learn from doing so...

 

[noyb]

This brings another question. It seems that some people say you need to verify your backups with Acronis....

I guess that would be a good idea ..
But since I've never had a backup fail .. I've got lazy.

The new ATI H2010 .. You can also boot from the backup Image to check it out.

I haven't tried this yet .. But I might be a good way to test to see if you have a hardware or software problem.

 

[harpua]

It always a possibility that an image backup may fail to restore. Validating the archive reduces, but does not entirely eliminate this possibility. If you check out Acronis support forum, there are numerous examples of people encountering issues when attempting to restore.

That said, odds are it will work fine for you if/when you need it, but I think it's a good idea to have more than one backup archive to reduce one's chances of not being able to restore.

Also, clones have the advantage of not needing to be restored, so one link in the chain that can break is eliminated with clones. So I think it is a good idea to make a clone every now and then and keep it around, in addition to doing regular full/incremental image backups (the kind that need to be restored).

I have mine set up to start over with a full backup after 5 incrementals have been made and I try to make a fresh clone every couple of weeks or so.

 

[fireberd]

I've used Acronis True Image Home for several years and as previously noted always did the full backups. When I installed Win 7, I just continued with the way I was doing it. It worked before so no need to change.