Re: Complete PC Backup: full vs. incremental

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C.B. wrote:


"Dave T." <davey@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message news:heH%j.2808$jI5.1143@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
C.B. wrote:

The limitations of Vista's backup program are the reason I decided, long ago, to purchase Acronis True Image Home 11. I do full backups only and I can have them backed up to a location on one of my external hard drives. I can then create a new folder and move it to that folder. I can then copy it again or move it anywhere I wish on that drive or my other external drive. I keep several different backups this way.
When I decide to restore I simply navigate to the particular folder I want and restore the backup from within that folder. The individual backups themselves retain the same name (all of them) but the folders can be renamed to your heart's desire, such as backup 01, 02, 03, etc. etc. etc. or you can rename them according to date, software, etc., etc., etc.

C.B.


Please forgive me for butting in C.B., but I have a tender spot in my heart for folks who give recommendations for Acronis True Image. I bought it based on a recommendation very similar to yours and it turned out to be a very expensive headache. I could get it to do a disc image, but never could get it to do a data backup. It is extremely buggy, complicated and difficult to use. Finally, when I uninstalled it, I ended up with a damaged master boot record. They're tech support forum has more traffic than this NG, and that should indicate something to all of us. If it works for you, I'm glad. I will preach against it.

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Dave T.

Acronis True Image 11 does have its problems, which is why I'll try Norton Ghost 14 when my subscription expires. I've read many reviews of Norton Ghost and it seems to have quite a few problems. I especially dislike its integration with Google Desktop. I refuse to have anything Google on my computers so if I can't disable this feature or avoid it by doing a custom install I won't even install the trial edition.
I agree with your comments concerning Acronis tech support. They don't seem to know how to fix the problems I experienced and it takes them a long time to answer a support request. Acronis doesn't want to follow the configuration settings I implemented and after providing tech support with screenshots of my settings they blamed the problem on Vista. I also agree with your statement regarding changes Acronis makes to a system. For some reason, during every install, it always created an extra C Drive option for System Restore which I would always have to delete before System Restore would function again.
Do you have any ideas on other good image software available? If there is nothing available besides these two programs I'll probably have to stick with Acronis.



C.B.



C.B., There are several choices, most of which I have not used so I won't even mention the names. The one I am currently using is Retrospect HD Express. Incredibly simple to set up and use, not a lot of useless buggy add-ons like Acronis. It doesn't mess with the Master boot record, no virtualization crap, it just works. You want a backup? It will give you a backup which consists of a disk image, and incrementals.

Now let me say I AM NOT RECOMMENDING THIS PROGRAM. I use it, it works for me, it's easy to use. that's all I'm saying. Everyone needs to do their homework before throwing your money at something. I wasted $50 on Acronis because people on this NG said it was super-duper. NOT. I am beginning to think that Acronis has become part of a cult religion because the restore manager functions with a Linux kernal.

I used Ghost v9 in the past, and was happy with it as far as it goes, but I have had a lot of problems associated with Norton products and have made a decision to move away from them. Maybe I'll try them again in the future but they have a lot to prove first.

--
Dave T.


"Your attitude serves as a lens through which you see life, and it's best when that lens is focused on the positive possibilities." - Ralph Marston
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