True Image & VMware Workstation

I have not had any issues making backup images of VMWare disks while the VMs are running. Interestingly, when I restore the backups of the virtual disk files and power up the VM, VMWare boots the VM as if it had been off at the time of backup (either the backup image does not save the power state of the VM, or maybe VMWare ignores it and assumes "power off" when you open a VM file restored to a different location) but other than that, I have not noticed any issues.

Concerning #2, I doubt the EULA would allow you to install multiple copies for any reason, but I actually wouldn't recommend backing up your VMs that way anyhow. It's cleaner to just back up the VM files from the host OS since they're already organized in a nice neat folder for you already. If you only need to back up certain files, etc, inside the VM rather than a full system image, there are many other lightweight (and free) file based backup tools you could run inside the VM, such as SyncBack.

As for TI 2010: If you're already using an older version and it is working fine for you, I *definitely* recommend that you avoid upgrading. Hopefully Acronis will fix the problems with 2010, but right now, I really wouldn't trust it. Especially if you're running Windows 7.