The files created by True Image
during a backup are referred to as archives,
and have a .tib (short for True Image
Backup) extension. True Image does not back
up the Windows paging or hibernation files, and it
only backs up the sectors on the disk that actually
contain data. This saves time during backups and
restores, and reduces the amount of space required
for the archive file.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Let's get
a backup started. |
What's
great about Acronis True Image 10.0 Home,
is not only that it's completely
wizard-driven, but it gives clear and
easy-to-follow information on each step of
the operation as you perform it. |
I want to
create a disk image so I can fully
recover my system from a disaster without
spending a day and a half reinstalling the
OS and all my software, so I'll select My
Computer... |
...then
the entire drive. |
Click OK
here and check the little box if you don't
want to see this information again.
|
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| I'm going
to backup to my
Buffalo TeraStation NAS. |
And I'm
going to create a full backup archive. |
Since
I've already set True Image's backup
defaults to my liking, I could just
click Next to continue here. Note
here that you can go back and change those
defaults if you want, without having to quit
the Create Backup Wizard and schlep
through the Options Menu again, and then
starting the Backup Wizard all over again. |
You can
also change the options manually for
this particular job... |
...like
so. OK, let's step back and move forward. |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| You can
add comments to the backup archive, which
does make your life a little easier come
restore time and you've got dozens of
archive files to sift through. |
We're
all set. You can click the Back button to go
back and make changes if you want Otherwise,
click Proceed to launch the backup. |
And away
we go. The actual time it takes to create
and verify an archive will vary depending on
the hardware and backup target media used. A
True Image icon will also appear in
your Windows System Tray displaying the
operation's status. |
Backup and
verify complete! |
Here's a
summary of the operation in True Image's
Event Log. |
Not only can you access and restore
individual files and folders from archives by
mounting an image archive as a “virtual disk,” but
you can also load file-by-file archives directly in
Windows Explorer with the new Explore Backup
Archive feature. Another new and cool True
Image enhancement is that you no longer have to
be in True Image to backup a drive, folder or
file. True Image 10.0 Home's new One-click
Backup feature allows you to right click on a
drive, folder or file in Windows Explorer and select
Backup from the menu. True Image will
launch with the selected item marked for backup.
True Image 10.0
adds the ability to backup to an FTP server.
The FTP server must allow passive mode for file
transfers, and backup archives must not exceed 2GB
in size (here's where True Image's Archive
Splitting comes in handy). Ports 20 and 21 on your
firewall must be open for the TCP and UDP protocols,
and the Routing and Remote Access Service under
Windows must be disabled.
When launched from the Acronis
Recovery Startup Manager or any bootable rescue
media, True Image 10.0 Home can now back up
to and restore from Network Direct Attached
Storage Devices (NDAS). You'll need the
20-character NDAS Device ID and 5-character Write
Key to connect to the NDAS device, which will appear
as an additional hard drive.
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager &
Secure Zone: True Image’s “Plan B”
It always pays to have a “Plan B”
waiting in the wings for most things in life, and
backups are no different. The Acronis Startup
Recovery Manager and the Acronis Secure Zone
are True Image 10.0 Home’s “Plan B.”
The Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
allows you to run True Image directly from
your boot drive before Windows loads. It
accomplishes this feat by overwriting the MBR with
its own proprietary boot code. On boot-up, right
after the last of the information generated by the
BIOS has scrolled by, you’ll see a prompt to press
the <F11> function key to start the Acronis
Startup Recovery Manger (if you do nothing, Windows
will boot shortly after the prompt disappears).
You’ll be presented with a menu that will allow you
to either run the full version of True Image,
boot to Windows, or Exit (which reboots the system).
Using the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager’s version
of True Image is pretty much like using it
from bootable rescue media or directly in Windows.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Because
you cannot backup an archive of your primary
drive volume directly onto itself, the
Acronis Secure Zone creates a special
partition on the drive that allows you to do
so. In True Image Home 10.0, the
Manage Acronis Secure Zone option under
the main task window has been moved under
Create and Configure Backup Locations... |
...here. |
The
Manage Acronis Secure Zone Wizard. |
Select
the drive and click Next. |
Secure
Zone borrows unused space from your hard
drive to create its partition. You can
adjust the size with the slider or radio
buttons next to the Partition size:
dialog box... |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| ...like
so. If you're creating Secure Zone on your
system partition (as I am here), take care
not to reduce the system partition to the
minimum size—or you may end up with an
unbootable hard drive. |
After
you've sized Secure Zone to your needs,
you're presented with the option to password
protect it—a good idea on a laptop. |
Next you
can select whether on not to enable the
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, which
modifies your hard drive's Master Boot
Record and allows you load a copy of True
Image at boot-up time before
Windows. |
Once
you've made your choices, you have one final
opportunity to abort the operation. To
create the Secure Zone and activate the
Acronis Startup Recovery Manager, click
Proceed. |
The
operation will complete when you reboot. The
Acronis Startup Manager (if you elected to
install it) and Secure Zone will be created
at boot-time before Windows loads (your
system may reboot several times during the
process). |
The Acronis Secure Zone is a special
partition that can be created on any local hard
drive, where you can store True Image
backups. The partition is created by borrowing
available unused space from the drive and can be
dynamically resized as needed without losing any
backup archives stored there.
Most PCs have a single hard drive
installed, or two or more drives in a RAID volume
that appears as a single drive. In both of these
instances, the single drive and RAID volume are boot
drives. Normally, you cannot use any program—not
even True Image—to create an image backup of
a drive to itself. With Secure Zone installed, this
is no longer a problem. Secure Zone can be used in
conjunction with the Startup Recovery Manager to
provide you with a protected location (Secure Zone
cannot be seen by normal Windows applications) to
backup your local drive. While you can install
Secure Zone without the Startup Recovery Manager,
you cannot install the Startup Recovery Manager
unless a Secure Zone is created before or during the
installation and activation of the Startup Recovery
Manager.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Here's
the log entry that outlines the operation
after its finished. |
This is
the drive after Secure Zone has been
created. Note that Secure Zone cannot be
seen or accessed by ordinary applications.
This protects the backup archives created
and stored in the Secure Zone from viruses
and other malware. |
Let's
create a backup in the Secure Zone. Make
sure all the drives you want to back up are
checked except the Acronis Secure
Zone itself. |
If you
check the Acronis Secure Zone, you'll get
this message. As you can see, there's no
point in including the Secure Zone in the
backup, so leave it unchecked. |
You don't
need to worry about creating a name for your
backup in the Secure Zone—it will do that
for you automatically. Click Next and follow
the usual steps in the Create Backup Wizard
to perform the backup. |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Let's say
that you discover later on that you need to
make the Acronis Secure Zone bigger. No
problem—Just select Manage Acronis Secure
Zone... |
...and
run the wizard. |
You're
presented with the option to either resize
or remove the Secure Zone. We want to resize
ours, so click Next. |
Select
the drive to borrow the additional space for
Secure Zone from, and click Next. |
Adjust
the size as needed and click Next. |
| |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Click
Proceed to finish the operation. The PC
will reboot and True Image will do
its pre-Windows thing again. Also note that
you will NOT lose any backups that are
already in the Secure Zone when you resize
it. |
Removing
the Secure Zone is just as easy. |
Select
the drive to return the free space that
Secure Zone borrowed and click Next. |
Click
Proceed to remove the Acronis Secure
Zone. Obviously, you will lose any
archives stored there, so make sure you
have a duplicate set or at least a current
True Image backup stored somewhere
else to fall back on before you squeeze the
trigger. |
Unlike
creating and resizing a Secure Zone, you
won't be prompted to reboot when removing it
and returning the free space to your hard
drive. |
There are a number of advantages to
using the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager and
Secure Zone:
|
●
|
You’ll always
have a copy of True Image ready to revive
your system without the need for bootable recovery
media. |
|
● |
When you perform
a backup to Secure Zone, you don’t have to worry
about naming your backup archives—Secure Zone does
it automatically for you. |
|
● |
Since the usual
“overhead” of running under Windows doesn’t enter
the picture and Secure Zone is installed on a local
hard drive, backups and restores will be faster than
they would be going over a network or removable
media. |
|
● |
Using the Secure
Zone will insure that all full and differential or
incremental backups will be kept in the same
location, which is crucial if you need to restore
your system to its last good functioning state. |
|
● |
A new feature
for Secure Zone in True Image is the ability
to password protect the Secure Zone to
prevent unauthorized access to backups with
sensitive data (very useful for laptop users). |
There are some disadvantages,
however, to Secure Zone:
|
●
|
The main disadvantage
is that if your primary hard drive crashes
with Startup Recovery manager and Secure Zone on
it—you’ve lost everything—including any
backups you could have used to recover your system.
You’re a little better off if the Secure Zone is on
a second hard drive in your PC dedicated for
backups—but not much if that drive fails.
|
|
● |
There is no quick and
easy way to copy the backup archives stored in
Secure Zone to an external hard drive or to CD/DVD
media for safe keeping. |
Third-party boot managers will
probably have to be re-enabled or re-installed after
activating the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager.
Acronis highly recommends that Linux loaders like
LiLo and GRUB should be installed to a
Linux root or boot partition rather than the MBR
before installing and enabling Startup Recovery
Manager.
The Acronis Startup Recovery Manager
and Secure Zone can be removed at any time as easily
as they were installed. Removing the Secure Zone
returns the unused space it borrowed from the
partition of the hard drive it was created on, and
any archive files that were stored there.
Remember, although Secure Zone is an
excellent fall-back option, it’s just that—a
fall-back option. You should not rely on
Secure Zone as your only backup strategy with
True Image, but as a supplement to a
more comprehensive strategy that involves backups to
additional removable or non-removable media to
eliminate as many “single-points-of-failures” in
your backup routine as possible.
