New to Acronis 2012
Hi, I have Acronis Home 2012 with the plus add ons. My question as I am totally new to this type of software. I have a laptop with 120 Gb ssd for my boot drive (C:) and a a 750 gb hybrid second drive (D:), I have used windows features on install, to place windows on c :, and my user files/data on the d : . What I want to do is create disc images of both drives as a fresh windows install as well as be able to create images with all my data added to install. Then look at doing incremental back ups. Do I need to create each disc individually or together ( complete snapshot both drives simultaneously) ? I really am having a tough time forming a back up strategy and any help would be appreciated (just to new ).
Thanks
Ken
Typically, we'd recommend that each disk has a separate backup task, but with all partitions of the disk included.
In your case, if you have relocated the C:\Users folder you will want to keep the best synchronization possible between the 2 disks, so I err towards recommending you do a single backup task with all your disks included. If the backup becomes unwieldy because of size, you could consider excluding some file types that don't change often, and are already in compressed formats like videos, movies, pictures and music. You could use the sync feature of 2012 to sync them with a local disk. If you do this though, remember that when you restore, all the data on the restored partitions will be erased, so you will have to copy back your content.
For irreplaceable content like pictures or family/work documents, remember to keep a simple copy as a backup on a disk you take offsite and that you update from time to time, or use an online backup to compement your sync/backup.
For the disk and partition backup, I'd recommend a differential task, doing a new full after X partials, with the setting to keep only the Y most recent chains. You will need space for all these Y chains plus one full backup on your backup disk.
Don't forget to create a recovery CD and to test it: boot your computer on it, recover a couple of files from the backup above.
Thanks due, I appreciate what you had to say, but do I want to create my backup from within windows ? or from bootable flash drive ? Better done from outside of windows ? Can or do I want to create one instance with both drives or each drive individually ?
Thanks again for your brain.
Ken
When creating a backup, doesn't matter: windows or CD. Many users prefer using WIndows for convenience, many prefer the CD because they don't have to install any software.
Better to do one task per disk, unless you have a high dependency between the disk from a system file coherence perspective. For example, if you have programs installed in the other disk, or some file systems like the search index, etc.