Need Advice On Using Acronis True Image 10

[JCWarrior]

I’m getting ready to install and start using True Image. (I’m starting with the trial version and will be buying the full version very soon)

I was hoping to get any recommendation’s as to the best way I can use it with my system.

I use an eMachines M6811 Laptop. I have 2 external hard drives.
1 is connected to my Firewire port of my laptop and to my -002R and I use it strictly for Protools audio and session files.
The other is connected to my USB2 port on my laptop and I use this to store my Reason sample files, music and other files.

Thanks in advance.

[dbrunell]

Jeff, I've just started using Acronis True Image myself.. I have the Workstation 9.1 product, and I think it's great. One thing I like about True Image is that you can create bootable media on a CD, so that if the OS won't boot, you can boot up from the CD and run a restore. Not sure if the Home version of True Image is capable of this, though. If it is, that's one of the first things I would do.

There are a number of ways you could use True Image with your system; the "best" way probably will be determined by you and your backup priorities. You might want to back up the entire disk partition which contains your PT session and audio files, to your system drive, or your other external drive. And archive your Windows XP system partition to one of your external drives. This way, if either your audio drive or your system drive goes belly up, you can restore from the most current archive and keep on truckin'.

I would back up the audio drive/partition after each important project, and the system drive/partition if there are any changes made. If you're very busy, and do a lot of archiving, you might want to archive to DVD-R or DVD-RW. Again, I'm not sure if True Image Home will do this, but with Workstation, I can archive directly to DVD, without having other DVD-burning software on the system. As Phil Jackson says in some of the Pro Tools Accelerated Videos, "Noice!"

Oh, and I use the "High" compression option to save space. The tradeoff is that it takes longer to back up, so I would try different settings and see what balance of archive file size and time spent works for you.

[JCWarrior]

Thanks "D"!

[gonzo99]

Hey Jeff,

I have used True Image from v7 on up. The advice already given is great.

One thing I would say to you is DON'T USE THE ACRONIS SECURE ZONE for backups!!!!!!!

Once your backups are in there there is no way to delete obsolete backups (well ... it can be done but it's not easy). If you start running out of room in the SZ then earliest backups are deleted or else you have to increase the size of the SZ. So either it just gets bigger and bigger, or you lose backups without knowing which ones, when, etc. Personally, the first backup I do is of a fresh install of XP with all necessary drivers (eg, gfx, motherboard, etc) which has been defragged. The last thing I want is to lose that backup! It's just a total PITA.

Provided you don't use the SZ (in fact don't waste space even creating it!) you will love True Image

cheers,
gonzo

[djspl]

another quick Acronis 10 related question:
After making the .tib file do I burn the DVD as a data disc with the .tib on it? Or does the .tib need to be burned in a special way? I assumed that I burn it as a data DVD, but I haven't found anything that specifically says this is right or wrong. Thanks.

[JCWarrior]

Personally, the first backup I do is of a fresh install of XP with all necessary drivers (eg, gfx, motherboard, etc) which has been defragged. The last thing I want is to lose that backup! It's just a total PITA.

Provided you don't use the SZ (in fact don't waste space even creating it!) you will love True Image

cheers,
gonzo

So you do a fresh install of XP? Isn't that a pain? I only say that because of all the problems I had upgrading to SP2.

What process do you use to do a fresh install of XP?

I appreciate all of the help!

[gonzo99]

another quick Acronis 10 related question:
After making the .tib file do I burn the DVD as a data disc with the .tib on it? Or does the .tib need to be burned in a special way? I assumed that I burn it as a data DVD, but I haven't found anything that specifically says this is right or wrong. Thanks.

Yeah, just burn as data. Or you can have True Image save the image straight to DVD. The advantage of this is that if the image is too large for 1 DVD TI can be set to automatically split the image into multiple DVD's.

[gonzo99]

So you do a fresh install of XP? Isn't that a pain? I only say that because of all the problems I had upgrading to SP2.

What process do you use to do a fresh install of XP?

I appreciate all of the help!

Hey Jeff,

Doing a fresh install of XP is definitely a pain. However, once you've imaged the fresh install you can then restore that image in minutes rather than the hours it takes to install and tweak XP + drivers etc from scratch. It gets done once and after that I just use the image if I need to reformat. And with Windoze it's generally a good idea to reinstall the OS periodically. Even with all sorts of PC maintenance programs performance degrades over time.

As far as how I do it - I just use my XP disc (full version, not upgrade). Make sure you back up any data you want to keep to a separate drive from your system drive and then reformat the system drive during the install process. Googling should bring up plenty of good how to's on this.

Anyways, it's not necessary to do this, it was just an illustrative example of why the SZ sux - that would be the 1st image deleted when (not if) I ran out of room in the SZ. It's great to be able to return to a fresh install in minutes rather than hours if necessary. After several occasions where reformatting became a necessity I found doing this is a great way to go. YMMV.

[djspl]

Yeah, just burn as data. Or you can have True Image save the image straight to DVD. The advantage of this is that if the image is too large for 1 DVD TI can be set to automatically split the image into multiple DVD's.

You don't have to burn to a DVD to get files that are automatically split. True image will give you raw .tib files that are auto-split and ready for burning. I do it this way because I have multiple computers and only 1 one of them has a DVD burner.

Thanks for the confirmation. I have been wanting to just simply try a re-image, but haven't had the time to re-install if I was wrong about the data DVDs.