Is there a backup method to emulate Apple Time Machine backup?

You have to use the cleanup option, but it won't look like Time Machine at all (Time Machine removes intermediary backups to fit in the space whereas Acronis removes older backups or backup chains to fit in the space).

The clearest cleanup option is to keep a limited number of backup chains (a backup chain is a full followed by partial backups), and to estimate the space you need. Using other methods can create confusion and yield unexpected results. Edit a backup task will reset the counting of the partials, so watch out for space. Finally, Acronis will always do a full backup before erasing any older space, so you need to leave enough space for a full backup.

There is no way to manually delete older backups within ATI. The best thing to do is to delete the task and create a new one.

https://forum.acronis.com/forum/100416

The link above is a thread by GroverH that describes Custom Backup Schemes, including automatic cleanup.  The thread contains a lot of good information and would be a great place to start.

Disk space is your responsibility.  Acronis does not calculate how much disk space is required for a backup.  It merely tries to execute the backup scheme as you have defined it.  If Acronis runs out of disk space during a backup, it will generate an error message, and the data backup will probably be corrupt.

After you dedide on a particular backup scheme, you should perform some trial runs to see how much disk space they will take, and adjust accordingly.  You will need to pay attention to when in the sequence Acronis deletes the old backup.

Hope this helps.

FtrPilot

Thank you Pat L and FtrPilot!

If you are using Windows 10 it has a files backup option that is close.

Coming from a Mac; that Acronis can't even emulate this is truly sad.

Using the actual Time Machine interface is a lesson in utter genius UI, resulting in intuitive childishly simple restorations.

I am not surprised that Acronis cannot replicate this i/f (perhaps the concept is (c) Apple), but that it cannot be configured to autobackup hourly and delete old backups if it fills up just makes it look decrepit.

I am genuinely sorry to be -ve, I guess I have invested one too many hours researching how to try and emulate  Time Machine backup on Windows 10 : (

You might have a look at Acronis Cyber Protection (aka Acronis Backup 12.5) which has many additional features; you can find the documentation here.

Ian

PS Are you using ATI 2016, or is it just that this is the only thread you found dealing with Time Machine emulation? ATI 2020 has automatic cleanup rules that will probably do what you wish. See user guide form more information.

Thanks Ian, for the info.

I am using ATI 2020.

I will look at the user guide, good to hear you think it will/may do what TM does.

Do you happen to know if there is an "idiots guide" or walk-through, if using 2020 ATI and wanting this TM-like operation?

Thanks in advance for any comment.

Hello Alan,

all supported cleanup schemes are described in https://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATIMAC2020/index.html#37000.html 

Currently, it is not possible to configure Acronis True Image for Mac to clean up older versions, if there is not enough space left, you should set up the maximum number of versions stored. I've registered a feature request in our internal system (internal ID for ref TI-199383 Mac: support cleanup by size).

Thank you Ekaterina for your reply and filing that request.

Googling more I found this page https://www.acronis.com/en-eu/lp/personal/time-machine-backup/

While I do not deny facts it states, I assume they are correct, what it fails to state is that to get Time Machine setup, you plug in the drive and answer Yes. No options in a (fairly complex) UI to set, no research in forums, no need to calculate disk spaces or chains or other phrases that no doubt are second nature to you and colleagues at Acronis but mean nothing to almost all users.

That page above seems, sadly, to be a disingenuous attempt to suggest that Time Machine is not very valuable.

In the real world, I, like I am sure many others, have not invested enough time reading through forum posts and docs to work out disk capacity and numbers of chains to retain, etc, to get a TM-like operation. And now my Acronis is telling me my backup is full, I am ignoring it. Bad. However, complexity that can encourage an I'll-put-that-off approach is by far the biggest weakness it seems, of Acronis. Simplicity that means backups start with a click and just run and run; until you need a file back, is Time Machine's pure strength.

That basic truth is entirely sidestepped by the above article, which is why I think it is disingenuous.

Having seen multiple posts about this issue, with dates as far back as 2015, I am, sadly, not holding out much hope that this facility will be arriving any time soon. I would be delighted to find I am wrong.