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#91
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
Anna wrote:
"Richie Hardwick" wrote in message It's interesting that she's not replied to any of this. "Daave" wrote in message ... She will. :-) Daave, Wally, Richie, et al... And so I am... And humbly too. I was apparently mistaken re my last post to "Daave" re the cloning of a source HDD containing multiple partitions - in Daave's example, three partitions. I used as an example that the C: partition was 50 GB, a second D: partition of 125 GB, and a third E: partition of 75 GB. The example assumed a 500 GB external HDD was to be used as the destination drive and had been set up with two partitions of 200 GB and 300 GB. The 200 GB partition was destined to be the recipient of the contents of the source HDD; presumably the 300 GB partition contained user data. I stated (mistakenly) that one could clone the entire contents of the source HDD to *one* of the two partitions on the destination drive (in the example, the 200 GB partition) and the Casper 5 program would proportionally allocate disk-space for each of those source drive's three partitions on that single 200 GB partition of the destination drive. So that the former 200 GB partition on the destination HDD would, in effect, be split up (proportionally) with three separate partitions mirroring the source HDD's partitions. Mistakenly, and this is the important part, I indicated that the second 300 GB partition presumably containing user data would remain untouched. The information I provided was wrong. While it is indeed possible for the user to easily clone the contents of the source drive's three partitions (in our example) to the destination HDD and, using the Casper program, set up the size of each of those three partitions on the destination drive, any remaining disk space would be considered "unallocated". That second partition (in our example) that previously existed on the destination HDD would disappear (along with its data, of course!) and become part of the "unallocated" disk space. Richie correctly pointed out my mistake in this regard. My only excuse (as flimsy as it might be!) is that the scenario I described *did* exist at one time in the Casper program. I can't recall whether it was part of the predecessor Casper 4 program or, more likely, a beta version of one of the Casper versions I worked with in the past. It might even have existed in an earlier "build" of Casper 5. I just can't remember. But in any event that capability I described does not exist in the Casper 5 program. Obviously I hadn't used the current 5 version in the manner I had described. I should have tested it out to make certain the info I was providing was correct, but I didn't. So my apologies to all of you for the misinformation. In any event, here's (I hope & trust!) the *real* story... In the example given above involving a source HDD with three partitions, the user would have the following options re cloning the contents of that source HDD (the three partitions) to the destination drive, a 500 GB HDD... 1. He or she could allow the Casper program to proportionally create the three partitions on the 500 GB destination drive (466 GB binary). So that in the example given the first partition on the destination HDD would be (approx) 102 GB, the second partition 248 GB, and the third partition 116 GB. So that the entire disk space of the destination drive would be used to hold the contents of the source disk.(Again, all figures approximate); or, 2. The user could perform a disk-to-disk clone in which case the three partitions created on the destination drive would mirror the disk-space of each of the three source drive's partitions (and of course, contain their contents). The remaining disk space would be unallocated. 3. The user could specify how the disk space is to be allotted, in effect resizing the three destination drive partitions to whatever size he or she desires, naturally assuming the individual partition size would be sufficient to contain the contents of the source drive's partition. Again, the remaining disk space would be unallocated. Again, my apologies to all for the misinformation I previously provided and for any inconvenience it may have caused anyone. Anna OK, thanks Anna, and that at least clarifies something for me. I know we (or some of us) have been discussing this a long time, but there really is a lot to it, when you get into it, in detail, and try to be completely accurate. I guess the bottom line is this then: if you use Casper for cloning and backup purposes, you can NOT have any other partition data on the destination drive (as it will be removed). Now THAT is a serious consideration, and gives one main advantage to using imaging, as you can store as many image backups on the destination drive (AND other partitions with data) as you want. But for simple backup purposes, and for many users, it might be fine, and is probably simpler. I liked all the options offered by ATI better, however, but many users might be put off by that, as you've suggested. Boot-It-NG (or PM), OTOH, makes (or can make) partition-to-partition copies AND lets you preserve the other partitions, if there is enough space. However, in order to make a so called partition to partition copy, the destination partition area of the drive needs to be first deleted (i.e, marked as unallocated space), and only THEN you you copy the partition over to the destination drive (in that freed space). It is a true partition copy, and NOT an image or single file. I'd call it a "cloned partition". And it is an EXACT replica of what was on the source drive (no compression). |
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#92
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
Richie Hardwick wrote:
On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 20:14:40 -0700, "Bill in Co." wrote: Richie Hardwick wrote: I wrote: You guys have fun with Bill (and Anna). The two of them have been back and forth on this since last Spring. Actually, since last February 18th when it all began between the two of them. In one of his posts, Bill replied to "Kenneth"... ============== Kenneth wrote: SNIP Hi Anna, I am certainly part of that "vast, if not overwhelming majority" who understands nothing about the difference between "cloning" and "imaging." Can you describe that to me? Sincere thanks, -- Kenneth In a nutshell, how about this synopsis: Cloning makes a good copy, but not an exact copy, of the original source partition(s). Imaging, OR "partition copying", makes an *exact* copy of the original source partition(s). ============== Except that your "synopsis" is incorrect - and inadequate in detail. And imaging is not the same thing as partition copying (if so implied). I think Bill has learned something about cloning since he posted that. It seems you haven't, if you believe your synopsis. The synopsis was YOURS Bill old boy. The material between the dashed lines is a copy of a post you made on Feb. 18 of last year. Well, if I wrote that synopsis back then, I was wrong! |
#93
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
After much spirited debate, I think a summary is called for.
Keep in mind that I own both Casper and Acronis True Image and use both on a daily basis. /Anna Mode ON - with apologies There is much interest in making a backup of one's system disk. The two most frequently used methods involve making a clone of the disk, or making an image of the disk. CLONING Cloning makes an exact copy of your system disk on another disk. IT REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK, either internal or external. That disk is then bootable, the same as the system disk. If the original disk physically fails, it can be replaced with the cloned disk. If the cloned disk is an internal disk and the BIOS permits, then one merely needs to set it first in the boot order and run with it. Windows will load normally and all the settings/programs will be the same as on the original disk as if nothing had happened. If the cloned disk is used as a backup in case the system disk gets fried (Windows gets badly messed up and won't boot, or boots with everything screwed up), the clone can be used to "reverse clone" to the system disk, restoring it to operation. A bootable CD with the cloning software will be needed to accomplish that restoration. If one only wants to restore selected portions of the system disk - as when data gets accidentally deleted - that data can be copied from the clone and pasted to the system disk. IMAGING Imaging your system disk makes a file - usually a compressed and proprietary file, only usable by the imaging program. It should be made/stored on a second disk - either internal or external. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. You can make as many images (or incremental images to the original) as there is space available on that second disk. A full image is normally smaller than the data that is contained on the source disk. An incremental (update of a full image) is much smaller than the full image. If the system disk physically fails, a new disk must be installed. One then uses the imaging program to restore everything to the new disk. If the system disk gets "fried" - as in Windows won't load, etc. - restoration is performed to that disk. A bootable CD with the imaging program on it will be required to make the restoration CASPER 5.0 Casper makes the clone from within Windows, and it can make incremental clones - updates to that clone - saving a lot of time for those who make frequent clones. How long the original clone takes - or how long the incremental clone takes - depends on the amount of data on the source disk. NOTE 1: CASPER CAN ONLY MAKE CLONES. It cannot make images. NOTE 2: CASPER REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. NOTE 3: If the clone has been made to an external disk, the restoration process will require having a bootable CD with Casper on it. That will cost and additional $10 as it is not provided when one spends the $50 to purchase the Casper program. ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE 2009 Acronis True Image 2009 (and previous versions) can also make a clone but after setting up the cloning process, a reboot is required and the cloning is completed outside of Windows. It cannot make "incremental clones", so one will need to make an entirely NEW clone to keep the clone updated. The cloning is a bit faster than Casper's full clone, but updates - since they are also a full clone - take a lot more time than Casper's incremental cloning. HOWEVER... Acronis True Image CAN ALSO MAKE IMAGES - complete and incremental, manually or on a schedule - and it makes them from within Windows. Remember that one can make as many images over time as one wants to make, limited only by the space on the receiving disk. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF A SECOND DISK. Acronis True Image can also make images of selected data/files/directories - at your choosing - either manually or on a schedule. AND... one doesn't have to copy and paste to restore selected files/directories: one can browse those images with ATI and selectively restore from them as needed. Acronis does it all - and a lot MORE. It has a lot of other utilities that one might find useful. It can even create a hidden partition on your system disk and fill it with all that is needed to restore the system partition at startup - as long as there is enough room to create a hidden partition that will hold it all. It does all that can be expected from a full-featured backup program - and more - at a lower cost than Casper, which can only make clones. Acronis True Image costs the same as Casper if bought from the company site: $50, and there is no need to spend another $10 to get the bootable CD or ISO file to make one. However, the latest version and the previous version can be purchased at discount from Newegg.com /Anna Mode OFF - WHEW! Richie Hardwick |
#94
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
The Max wrote:
After much spirited debate, I think a summary is called for. Keep in mind that I own both Casper and Acronis True Image and use both on a daily basis. /Anna Mode ON - with apologies There is much interest in making a backup of one's system disk. The two most frequently used methods involve making a clone of the disk, or making an image of the disk. CLONING Cloning makes an exact copy of your system disk on another disk. IT REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK, either internal or external. That disk is then bootable, the same as the system disk. If the original disk physically fails, it can be replaced with the cloned disk. If the cloned disk is an internal disk and the BIOS permits, then one merely needs to set it first in the boot order and run with it. Windows will load normally and all the settings/programs will be the same as on the original disk as if nothing had happened. If the cloned disk is used as a backup in case the system disk gets fried (Windows gets badly messed up and won't boot, or boots with everything screwed up), the clone can be used to "reverse clone" to the system disk, restoring it to operation. A bootable CD with the cloning software will be needed to accomplish that restoration. If one only wants to restore selected portions of the system disk - as when data gets accidentally deleted - that data can be copied from the clone and pasted to the system disk. IMAGING Imaging your system disk makes a file - usually a compressed and proprietary file, only usable by the imaging program. It should be made/stored on a second disk - either internal or external. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. You can make as many images (or incremental images to the original) as there is space available on that second disk. A full image is normally smaller than the data that is contained on the source disk. An incremental (update of a full image) is much smaller than the full image. If the system disk physically fails, a new disk must be installed. One then uses the imaging program to restore everything to the new disk. If the system disk gets "fried" - as in Windows won't load, etc. - restoration is performed to that disk. A bootable CD with the imaging program on it will be required to make the restoration CASPER 5.0 Casper makes the clone from within Windows, and it can make incremental clones - updates to that clone - saving a lot of time for those who make frequent clones. How long the original clone takes - or how long the incremental clone takes - depends on the amount of data on the source disk. NOTE 1: CASPER CAN ONLY MAKE CLONES. It cannot make images. NOTE 2: CASPER REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. NOTE 3: If the clone has been made to an external disk, the restoration process will require having a bootable CD with Casper on it. That will cost and additional $10 as it is not provided when one spends the $50 to purchase the Casper program. ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE 2009 Acronis True Image 2009 (and previous versions) can also make a clone but after setting up the cloning process, a reboot is required and the cloning is completed outside of Windows. It cannot make "incremental clones", so one will need to make an entirely NEW clone to keep the clone updated. The cloning is a bit faster than Casper's full clone, but updates - since they are also a full clone - take a lot more time than Casper's incremental cloning. HOWEVER... Acronis True Image CAN ALSO MAKE IMAGES - complete and incremental, manually or on a schedule - and it makes them from within Windows. Remember that one can make as many images over time as one wants to make, limited only by the space on the receiving disk. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF A SECOND DISK. Acronis True Image can also make images of selected data/files/directories - at your choosing - either manually or on a schedule. AND... one doesn't have to copy and paste to restore selected files/directories: one can browse those images with ATI and selectively restore from them as needed. Acronis does it all - and a lot MORE. It has a lot of other utilities that one might find useful. It can even create a hidden partition on your system disk and fill it with all that is needed to restore the system partition at startup - as long as there is enough room to create a hidden partition that will hold it all. It does all that can be expected from a full-featured backup program - and more - at a lower cost than Casper, which can only make clones. Acronis True Image costs the same as Casper if bought from the company site: $50, and there is no need to spend another $10 to get the bootable CD or ISO file to make one. However, the latest version and the previous version can be purchased at discount from Newegg.com /Anna Mode OFF - WHEW! Richie Hardwick I like this "summary". Kudos - seems right on to me. For the sake of completeness, I would like to add there is a third backup option, and that is using backup programs that allow any partition to be copied to a destination drive (into some free unallocated space), and without affecting the other partitions on the destination disk. These are NOT images - they are exact partition copies, done at the partition level. I would call them "cloned partitions", for lack of a better term. Programs that can do this are Partition Magic and Boot It NG. |
#95
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
On Mon, 19 Jan 2009 22:22:09 +0000, Robin Bignall
wrote: As a result of this thread I bought Acronis TrueImage Home 2009 on Saturday, and wonder if anyone has the same problem with scheduling that I've found. (Most recent version 9646.) Effectively, trying to schedule any sort of backup daily, weekly or monthly simply doesn't work (XP Pro SP3). On clicking on any of those buttons I see "Error: invalid repetition period" even before any of the parameters are touched. On trying to complete the backup one gets "Error #50: failed to create scheduled task: request not supported: 0xFFF0". It's also failing to pick up my Windows logon password correctly, too. I am, of course, an administrator. Acronis admits there's a problem with scheduling. If you look at their knowledge base http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/kb/ and enter "scheduling" in the search box you get to fourth article on page http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing.../articles/261/ "Acronis True Image Scheduled Tasks Do Not Run" I have downloaded and run the fix supplied there, to no avail, have downloaded and run the tools they recommend and shipped the whole thing to Acronis. But my problem is not that a scheduled task won't run: it's that I can't even create one using their backup wizard. Since scheduling backups is such an integral part of any backup system, I'm beginning to wonder how the product ever got released. Just to mention that I gave up wondering, uninstalled Acronis (with some difficulty because of that hidden partition), asked for a refund and bought Shadowprotect Desktop instead. -- Robin (BrE) Herts, England |
#96
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:35:14 -0500, "Twayne"
wrote: "Daave" wrote in message ... (SNIP) I still think that the main appeal of cloning is that one can simply physically place a perfectly cloned drive into the PC that contained the original drive, which for whatever reason can't or won't work anymore. Or if the cloned drive is *already* connected and "in the loop" (as another internal PC hard drive or a connected eSATA drive, which also functions as an internal drive), then it's just a matter of using the boot menu to select it. Cloning a clone back to the original drive (or a replacement drive) -- for instance, the clone resides on an external USB hard drive -- doesn't seem to me to have much of an advantage over restoring an image. Is it quicker, perhaps? Daave: As far as the restoration process goes, for the vast majority of users the amount of time to restore one's system either using the disk-cloning process or a disk-imaging process is really of little consequence. The Actually, the differences are large. A cloned disk is one you can pick up and install in place of the other disk; it's ready to go. Nothing to restore; it IS a fully functional mirror of the drive used to clone it. You don't save clones as a rule. You clone a drive to have a ready-to-use drive to replace the drive that was cloned as in adding a newer larger drive to a system, or an emergency backup drive in place of a RAID system, etc.. . Images on the other hand are backup methodologies and their value is in their speed of backups using full/incremental etc. types of backup. While a clone isn't intended to be used for "restore", an image is. You can further clone cloned drives if one wishes, but it's al all or nothign situation where images allow you to mess with a single drive, directory, file, whatever in any manner you wish. You can retrieve a lost file from an image in a few minutes but it's quite a task with a clone and can't really be very cleanly accomplished without hoops. I clone my drive with Casper and it's all there. I can copy a file off my clone as fast as I can from the original drive. Also, with Casper, it doesn't reclone every time, it just changes what was changed on the original drive. Very, very fast. Then it isn't "cloning", it's imaging or something else. Twayne |
#97
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
On Fri, 23 Jan 2009 17:20:55 -0500, "Twayne"
wrote: "Anna" wrote in message ... Please keep in mind that the drive letter assignments on the *external* (destination) HDD are of *no* relevance should the time come when the user would want to restore his/her system from the contents of the destination drive. Obviously should the user desire to restore their system to its previous state, they would simply clone the contents of (in our example) the first three partitions on the destination HDD back to their internal (source) HDD. (I mention this because it seems there is some confusion over this point among some users.) We all know this is some kind of sticking point for Bill! So, out of curiosity, if one clones the contents of the clone back to the PC's hard drive, will the drive letter assignments be as they were (I'm talking about how they were on the PC's hard drive originally before *any* cloning took place)? IFF it's a true "clone", then yes. I've seen the definition of the word being rather *******ized, apparently for convenience or hype by the program makers. Or possibly language translations. The word "clone" has suffered some serious dilution in the past decade; in some instances it's turning out to be nothing but a copy which is not the intent of cloning a physical drive. Cloning is to make the cloned disk data be exactly like the original, with NO differences whatsoever other than possible some extra space left over if it's a larger physical drive. The data that was in sector 1 of the original gets put to sector 1 of the clone, 2 to 2, 3 to 3, and so on to the end of the operation and the physical drive. Anything that was NOT on the original can not, by definition, be on the clone, or it would not have made a clone. ALL existying data on the device being cloned TO is gone, period, never to be seen again. Should pre-existing data on the drive being cloned TO still be there after the "clone", then a true "clone" was not accomplished; it was instead an image of the original drive, and entirely different animal. AFAIK anyway; I don't see why a clone couldn't leave data in unneeded areas in tack, if its location didn't ovelap with any locations the cloned data needs, but ... I havent' seen such an animal. Mainly because the actual physical locations of partitions on a drive aren't reliable, I suppose. I don't know whether Acronis does a true clone or not. I know Ghost does, because the MFT, MBR, etc. are all part of the data transfered and of course, must reside in the proper places on the disk drive to be usable. Also AFAIK clones can not be compressed while images of course can be, and there is no such thing as an incremental clone as there is for imaging or other types of backups. Casper does what it calls a "differential" clone. Whatever changed on the original drive is changed on the clone after the intitial clone. Subsequent clone take minutes and can even work in the background. Exact, bootable clone, every time. I suppose it's possible but it's not a "clone" if it's changed or added to after it's been created. If they only take minutes to do, those are incremental or differential backups of some sort, and not clones. The OUTPUT may appear to be a clone, but it's not. It will not put fname.txt back to exactly fname.txt was on the original drive, to the same sector on the same tracks on the same platter/s. If you can pick out a file to restore on its own, it's not a clone. Either your documentation is very poor, the word is used incorrectly, or you are mistaken. It's not really worth arguing about though; the word has been so *******ized these days it's hard to know what anyone means when they use it, and it can matter in the right circumstance. Rather than let this become a never-ending syntactical discourse, I'll leave it at that. The use you indicate doesn't matter whether it's a clone of image anyway.g Cheers, Cloning operations go right down to the head/platter/track/sector level where imaging leaves that to the operating system which is why images require VSS in order to image a system drive while the system is running. HTH Twayne |
#98
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
WaIIy wrote:
On Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:28:09 -0600, The Max wrote: After much spirited debate, I think a summary is called for. Keep in mind that I own both Casper and Acronis True Image and use both on a daily basis. /Anna Mode ON - with apologies There is much interest in making a backup of one's system disk. The two most frequently used methods involve making a clone of the disk, or making an image of the disk. CLONING Cloning makes an exact copy of your system disk on another disk. IT REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK, either internal or external. That disk is then bootable, the same as the system disk. If the original disk physically fails, it can be replaced with the cloned disk. If the cloned disk is an internal disk and the BIOS permits, then one merely needs to set it first in the boot order and run with it. Windows will load normally and all the settings/programs will be the same as on the original disk as if nothing had happened. If the cloned disk is used as a backup in case the system disk gets fried (Windows gets badly messed up and won't boot, or boots with everything screwed up), the clone can be used to "reverse clone" to the system disk, restoring it to operation. A bootable CD with the cloning software will be needed to accomplish that restoration. If one only wants to restore selected portions of the system disk - as when data gets accidentally deleted - that data can be copied from the clone and pasted to the system disk. IMAGING Imaging your system disk makes a file - usually a compressed and proprietary file, only usable by the imaging program. It should be made/stored on a second disk - either internal or external. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. You can make as many images (or incremental images to the original) as there is space available on that second disk. A full image is normally smaller than the data that is contained on the source disk. An incremental (update of a full image) is much smaller than the full image. If the system disk physically fails, a new disk must be installed. One then uses the imaging program to restore everything to the new disk. If the system disk gets "fried" - as in Windows won't load, etc. - restoration is performed to that disk. A bootable CD with the imaging program on it will be required to make the restoration CASPER 5.0 Casper makes the clone from within Windows, and it can make incremental clones - updates to that clone - saving a lot of time for those who make frequent clones. How long the original clone takes - or how long the incremental clone takes - depends on the amount of data on the source disk. Casper makes DIFERENTIAL clones.... Incremental A "normal" incremental backup will only back up files that have been changed since the last backup of any type. This provides the quickest means of backup, since it only makes copies of files that have not yet been backed up. For instance, following a full backup on Friday, Monday's tape will contain only those files changed since Friday. Tuesday's tape contains only those files changed since Monday, and so on. The downside to this is that in order to perform a full restore, one needs to restore the last full backup first, followed by each of the subsequent incremental backups to the present day in the correct order. Should any one of these backup copies be damaged (particularly the full backup), the restore will be incomplete. An example of a typical incremental backup command in MS-DOS would be: xcopy c:\source\*.* d:\destination\*.* /s /m Differential A cumulative backup of all changes made since the last full or normal backup, i.e., the differences since the last full backup. The advantage to this is the quicker recovery time, requiring only a full backup and the latest differential backup to restore the system. The disadvantage is that for each day elapsed since the last full backup, more data needs to be backed up, especially if a significant proportion of the data has been changed. NOTE 1: CASPER CAN ONLY MAKE CLONES. It cannot make images. Casper can also make differential copies and doesn't need the whole destination disk to do it. NOTE 2: CASPER REQUIRES FULL USE OF THE SECOND DISK. NOTE 3: If the clone has been made to an external disk, the restoration process will require having a bootable CD with Casper on it. That will cost and additional $10 as it is not provided when one spends the $50 to purchase the Casper program. I back up via USB to a drive in an enclosure and it's fully bootable if I pop it in my computer. Is that an "external disk"? I can't boot my usb drive. It's an external HD until you take it out of the enclosure and put it inside, at which point it becomes an internal HD. ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE 2009 Acronis True Image 2009 (and previous versions) can also make a clone but after setting up the cloning process, a reboot is required and the cloning is completed outside of Windows. It cannot make "incremental clones", so one will need to make an entirely NEW clone to keep the clone updated. Major disadvantage. For clone operations, yes. (But ATI does something similar with images) The cloning is a bit faster than Casper's full clone, but updates - since they are also a full clone - take a lot more time than Casper's incremental cloning. HOWEVER... Acronis True Image CAN ALSO MAKE IMAGES - complete and incremental, manually or on a schedule - and it makes them from within Windows. Remember that one can make as many images over time as one wants to make, limited only by the space on the receiving disk. IMAGING DOES NOT REQUIRE FULL USE OF A SECOND DISK. Acronis True Image can also make images of selected data/files/directories - at your choosing - either manually or on a schedule. AND... one doesn't have to copy and paste to restore selected files/directories: one can browse those images with ATI and selectively restore from them as needed. That's no advantage, it's a disadvantage. Not necessarily! In fact for me it's an advantage. Acronis does it all - and a lot MORE. It has a lot of other utilities that one might find useful. Nothins does it "all" , not even your mom. It can even create a hidden partition on your system disk and fill it with all that is needed to restore the system partition at startup - as long as there is enough room to create a hidden partition that will hold it all. It does all that can be expected from a full-featured backup program - and more - at a lower cost than Casper, which can only make clones. and copies and it's easier and it works in the background and it's way faster than Acronis and you have a full and intact copy of your system easily available at all times. Acronis True Image costs the same as Casper if bought from the company site: $50, and there is no need to spend another $10 to get the bootable CD or ISO file to make one. However, the latest version and the previous version can be purchased at discount from Newegg.com /Anna Mode OFF - WHEW! Richie Hardwick |
#99
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How to use Acronis to backup o/s ?
Wally,
.... Right on, with the following caveats: As a general rule, the program doing the Restores takes care of all the monkey-work of adding the incrementals to the full backup they're related to. It's been a very long time and I'm too lazy right now to test it out, but I think ntbackup does it too. Most good imaging programs will load the incrementals and full and let you look at them as one complete file. OOPS: Let me correct that. Ghost does and I imagine Acrons et al so, but don't actually know it for a fact. They typical xcopy backup is good too, as long as one keeps in mind it cannot backup any files that are "in use". Not trying to be a PIA; just filling in a couple spaces, so to speakg. Overall, great observations. Incremental A "normal" incremental backup will only back up files that have been changed since the last backup of any type. This provides the quickest means of backup, since it only makes copies of files that have not yet been backed up. For instance, following a full backup on Friday, Monday's tape will contain only those files changed since Friday. Tuesday's tape contains only those files changed since Monday, and so on. The downside to this is that in order to perform a full restore, one needs to restore the last full backup first, followed by each of the subsequent incremental backups to the present day in the correct order. Should any one of these backup copies be damaged (particularly the full backup), the restore will be incomplete. An example of a typical incremental backup command in MS-DOS would be: xcopy c:\source\*.* d:\destination\*.* /s /m .... |
#100
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
Wally, Bill, Daave, Richie, et al...
This is the example that was discussed in a related thread which caused such confusion (primarily because of me I'm afraid!) and misunderstanding. I've changed the subject-name of this post for obvious reasons. The user's source 250 GB HDD has been multi-partitioned with three partitions... C: 50 GB D: 125 GB E: 75 GB (Disk-size figures have been rounded up for simplicity) The user's destination 500 GB HDD contains a partition of 250 GB with the remaining disk space unallocated. The established partition is used for data storage or for whatever other purpose(s) wanted by the user. The user desires to retain that partition. Because there is sufficient disk-space on the destination HDD in the form of the 250 GB of unallocated disk space, the user will be able to clone the contents of his or her source HDD on a partition-by-partition basis. The established partition on that destination drive will be unaffected by the cloning process. Thus, following the cloning operation the destination HDD will contain four partitions - the original 250 GB partition (untouched); another partition of 50 GB (the source drive's C: partition); another partition of 125 GB (the source drive's D: partition); and the final fourth partition of 75 GB ((the source drive's E: partition). The bottom line here is that as long as there is sufficient *unallocated* disk space on the destination HDD to contain the contents of a multi-partitioned source HDD there's no problem undertaking this disk-cloning operation with Casper 5. The fact that a previous partition has been created on the destination HDD (as in our example) is immaterial. That partition will be unaffected by the cloning process. Following the cloning operation, it would probably be a good idea for the user to rename the cloned partitions on the destination drive in such a way as to identify them to mirror the drive letter assignments on the source HDD. So in our example, the user might want to label his/her cloned C: partition "Source C:", the cloned D: partition "Source D:", and the cloned E: partition "Source E:" (or some such). When the time comes that restoration is necessary because the source HDD has failed or the OS has become unbootable or otherwise dysfunctional, or for whatever reason, i.e., the user will clone the contents of the three partitions on the destination HDD back to an internal HDD employing the same basic process as described above. For those of you who are already using Casper 5 or contemplate doing so, here's the detailed step-by-step process... 1. Access Casper 5 program and click on "Copy Drive". 2. Click on the "Perform a different copy" option. 3. Click on "Copy a specific drive". 4. Highlight the C: partition and click Next. 5. Click on the "Copy to a new drive" option. 6. Highlight the destination drive and click Next. 7. Select the option "Make the copy the same size as it is right now" and click Next. 8. Click on "Begin copy". Repeat the above for every partition that is to be cloned from the source HDD. As you can see the process is quite simple cloning an individual partition from the source HDD to the destination drive. Just an easy half-dozen or so mouse clicks. Again, as I believe Richie has pointed out, as long as there is sufficient unallocated disk space on the destination drive, individual partitions can be cloned from the source drive to the destination drive. Needless to say, should the user desire to use the *entire* destination HDD as the recipient of the cloned (multi-partitioned) source HDD that makes the process even easier - simply a disk-to-disk clone, naturally assuming the disk capacity of the destination drive is sufficient to hold the contents of the source drive. Anna |
#101
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
"Anna" wrote:
Wally, Bill, Daave, Richie, et al... This is the example that was discussed in a related thread which caused such confusion (primarily because of me I'm afraid!) and misunderstanding. I've changed the subject-name of this post for obvious reasons. The user's source 250 GB HDD has been multi-partitioned with three partitions... C: 50 GB D: 125 GB E: 75 GB (Disk-size figures have been rounded up for simplicity) The user's destination 500 GB HDD contains a partition of 250 GB with the remaining disk space unallocated. The established partition is used for data storage or for whatever other purpose(s) wanted by the user. The user desires to retain that partition. Because there is sufficient disk-space on the destination HDD in the form of the 250 GB of unallocated disk space, the user will be able to clone the contents of his or her source HDD on a partition-by-partition basis. The established partition on that destination drive will be unaffected by the cloning process. Thus, following the cloning operation the destination HDD will contain four partitions - the original 250 GB partition (untouched); another partition of 50 GB (the source drive's C: partition); another partition of 125 GB (the source drive's D: partition); and the final fourth partition of 75 GB ((the source drive's E: partition). The bottom line here is that as long as there is sufficient *unallocated* disk space on the destination HDD to contain the contents of a multi-partitioned source HDD there's no problem undertaking this disk-cloning operation with Casper 5. The fact that a previous partition has been created on the destination HDD (as in our example) is immaterial. That partition will be unaffected by the cloning process. Following the cloning operation, it would probably be a good idea for the user to rename the cloned partitions on the destination drive in such a way as to identify them to mirror the drive letter assignments on the source HDD. So in our example, the user might want to label his/her cloned C: partition "Source C:", the cloned D: partition "Source D:", and the cloned E: partition "Source E:" (or some such). When the time comes that restoration is necessary because the source HDD has failed or the OS has become unbootable or otherwise dysfunctional, or for whatever reason, i.e., the user will clone the contents of the three partitions on the destination HDD back to an internal HDD employing the same basic process as described above. For those of you who are already using Casper 5 or contemplate doing so, here's the detailed step-by-step process... 1. Access Casper 5 program and click on "Copy Drive". 2. Click on the "Perform a different copy" option. 3. Click on "Copy a specific drive". 4. Highlight the C: partition and click Next. 5. Click on the "Copy to a new drive" option. 6. Highlight the destination drive and click Next. 7. Select the option "Make the copy the same size as it is right now" and click Next. 8. Click on "Begin copy". Repeat the above for every partition that is to be cloned from the source HDD. As you can see the process is quite simple cloning an individual partition from the source HDD to the destination drive. Just an easy half-dozen or so mouse clicks. Again, as I believe Richie has pointed out, as long as there is sufficient unallocated disk space on the destination drive, individual partitions can be cloned from the source drive to the destination drive. Needless to say, should the user desire to use the *entire* destination HDD as the recipient of the cloned (multi-partitioned) source HDD that makes the process even easier - simply a disk-to-disk clone, naturally assuming the disk capacity of the destination drive is sufficient to hold the contents of the source drive. Anna Sounds like a REAL PITA to me. If one doesn't want to clone, using an imaging program like Acronis makes more sense - a LOT more sense. |
#102
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
Anna wrote:
Wally, Bill, Daave, Richie, et al... This is the example that was discussed in a related thread which caused such confusion (primarily because of me I'm afraid!) and misunderstanding. There's nothing to be afraid of. We all make mistakes, so no biggie! Remember, "we have nothing to fear, but fear itself...". (courtesy FDR) I've changed the subject-name of this post for obvious reasons. The user's source 250 GB HDD has been multi-partitioned with three partitions... C: 50 GB D: 125 GB E: 75 GB (Disk-size figures have been rounded up for simplicity) The user's destination 500 GB HDD contains a partition of 250 GB with the remaining disk space unallocated. The established partition is used for data storage or for whatever other purpose(s) wanted by the user. The user desires to retain that partition. Because there is sufficient disk-space on the destination HDD in the form of the 250 GB of unallocated disk space, the user will be able to clone the contents of his or her source HDD on a partition-by-partition basis. The established partition on that destination drive will be unaffected by the cloning process. Thus, following the cloning operation the destination HDD will contain four partitions - the original 250 GB partition (untouched); another partition of 50 GB (the source drive's C: partition); another partition of 125 GB (the source drive's D: partition); and the final fourth partition of 75 GB ((the source drive's E: partition). The bottom line here is that as long as there is sufficient *unallocated* disk space on the destination HDD to contain the contents of a multi-partitioned source HDD there's no problem undertaking this disk-cloning operation with Casper 5. The fact that a previous partition has been created on the destination HDD (as in our example) is immaterial. That partition will be unaffected by the cloning process. Following the cloning operation, it would probably be a good idea for the user to rename the cloned partitions on the destination drive in such a way as to identify them to mirror the drive letter assignments on the source HDD. So in our example, the user might want to label his/her cloned C: partition "Source C:", the cloned D: partition "Source D:", and the cloned E: partition "Source E:" (or some such). When the time comes that restoration is necessary because the source HDD has failed or the OS has become unbootable or otherwise dysfunctional, or for whatever reason, i.e., the user will clone the contents of the three partitions on the destination HDD back to an internal HDD employing the same basic process as described above. For those of you who are already using Casper 5 or contemplate doing so, here's the detailed step-by-step process... 1. Access Casper 5 program and click on "Copy Drive". 2. Click on the "Perform a different copy" option. 3. Click on "Copy a specific drive". 4. Highlight the C: partition and click Next. 5. Click on the "Copy to a new drive" option. 6. Highlight the destination drive and click Next. 7. Select the option "Make the copy the same size as it is right now" and click Next. 8. Click on "Begin copy". Repeat the above for every partition that is to be cloned from the source HDD. As you can see the process is quite simple cloning an individual partition from the source HDD to the destination drive. Just an easy half-dozen or so mouse clicks. Again, as I believe Richie has pointed out, as long as there is sufficient unallocated disk space on the destination drive, individual partitions can be cloned from the source drive to the destination drive. Needless to say, should the user desire to use the *entire* destination HDD as the recipient of the cloned (multi-partitioned) source HDD that makes the process even easier - simply a disk-to-disk clone, naturally assuming the disk capacity of the destination drive is sufficient to hold the contents of the source drive. Anna OK, this clarifies Casper more for me. Casper then can indeed be used as a partition copying program, like Partition Magic and Boot It NG, if one wants. One could say it is "cloning the partitions" to the destination drive, one by one, just as you would do in Partition Magic, or Boot It NG. Or as you said above, you could just clone the entire source drive (IF you are willing to use the entire destination drive for that), which is probably the more typical use for users of this program, to make "an identical drive", in effect. |
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
WaIIy wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:45:01 -0600, Mike Torello wrote: Sounds like a REAL PITA to me. If one doesn't want to clone, using an imaging program like Acronis makes more sense - a LOT more sense. "Bring in the Clones" Casper couldn't be easier. Once you do the first clone, just click on a shorcut and it "reclones" in a few minutes and even in the background. Even an MVP could do it with a little help. The way she described cloning a disk with several partitions to another disk with partitions... no way. It took several cloning operations. |
#104
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:45:01 -0600, Mike Torello wrote: Sounds like a REAL PITA to me. If one doesn't want to clone, using an imaging program like Acronis makes more sense - a LOT more sense. Mike adds... The way she described cloning a disk with several partitions to another disk with partitions... no way. It took several cloning operations. WaIIy wrote: "Bring in the Clones" Casper couldn't be easier. Once you do the first clone, just click on a shorcut and it "reclones" in a few minutes and even in the background. Even an MVP could do it with a little help. Mike: As Wally has indicated, it's actually a very simple operation for Casper 5 to clone the contents of one HDD to another HDD. By & large it's easier than any other disk-cloning (or disk-imaging) program I've ever used, including the various versions of Acronis True Image (excepting their latest 2009 version which I haven't yet tried). In the example I gave it was a bit complicated (in the description but not the *actual* process!), because we were dealing with a situation where the user had multi-partitioned their source HDD and their destination HDD (the intended recipient of the cloned contents of the source HDD) was also multi-partitioned with one or more of the established partitions on the destination drive being used for other purposes (data storage, perhaps another clone, etc.) by the user. It probably took longer to read my detailed description of the process to clone the contents of the source HDD, i.e., the three partitions, to the destination drive than undertaking the process itself. Understand that if this was merely a situation (which is usually the *typical* situation) where the user was simply using his or her destination HDD, e.g., a USB external HDD, *solely* for the purpose as the recipient of the cloned contents of the source HDD, it could have been done in one fell swoop. There would be no need to clone the contents of the source HDD on a partition-by-partition basis. A very simple & quick disk-to-disk cloning operation using Casper 5. In the overwhelming amount of cases (based on my experience) this is the usual backup strategy employed by the typical PC user. And what would the user have at the "end of the day"? A precise copy of his or her day-to-day working HDD with all data on the clone *immediately* accessible and the drive potentially bootable. No special restoration process being necessary, only another simple cloning of the destination drive's contents back to the internal HDD in the event the system needed to be restored. Anna |
#105
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Using Casper 5 disk-cloning program to clone multi-partitioned HDD
"Anna" wrote:
On Sun, 25 Jan 2009 20:45:01 -0600, Mike Torello wrote: Sounds like a REAL PITA to me. If one doesn't want to clone, using an imaging program like Acronis makes more sense - a LOT more sense. Mike adds... The way she described cloning a disk with several partitions to another disk with partitions... no way. It took several cloning operations. WaIIy wrote: "Bring in the Clones" Casper couldn't be easier. Once you do the first clone, just click on a shorcut and it "reclones" in a few minutes and even in the background. Even an MVP could do it with a little help. Mike: As Wally has indicated, it's actually a very simple operation for Casper 5 to clone the contents of one HDD to another HDD. By & large it's easier than any other disk-cloning (or disk-imaging) program I've ever used, including the various versions of Acronis True Image (excepting their latest 2009 version which I haven't yet tried). In the example I gave it was a bit complicated (in the description but not the *actual* process!), because we were dealing with a situation where the user had multi-partitioned their source HDD and their destination HDD (the intended recipient of the cloned contents of the source HDD) was also multi-partitioned with one or more of the established partitions on the destination drive being used for other purposes (data storage, perhaps another clone, etc.) by the user. It probably took longer to read my detailed description of the process to clone the contents of the source HDD, i.e., the three partitions, to the destination drive than undertaking the process itself. Understand that if this was merely a situation (which is usually the *typical* situation) where the user was simply using his or her destination HDD, e.g., a USB external HDD, *solely* for the purpose as the recipient of the cloned contents of the source HDD, it could have been done in one fell swoop. There would be no need to clone the contents of the source HDD on a partition-by-partition basis. A very simple & quick disk-to-disk cloning operation using Casper 5. In the overwhelming amount of cases (based on my experience) this is the usual backup strategy employed by the typical PC user. And what would the user have at the "end of the day"? A precise copy of his or her day-to-day working HDD with all data on the clone *immediately* accessible and the drive potentially bootable. No special restoration process being necessary, only another simple cloning of the destination drive's contents back to the internal HDD in the event the system needed to be restored. Anna Thanks for the explanation, but it's still not apparent to me how cloning is better than imaging when one has no need for another bootable disk. My imaging program can clone should I need one. From what I gather here, Casper can't image. |
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