upgrade from ATI 2017 to 2018 ? Worth it ?

If you are completely happy with ATI 2017 you need to consider if any of the new features makes it worthwhile:

• Active protection is now a standard component - you do not have to pay extra
• The ability to make disk images of the disk containing the operating system from within Windows (avoids issues caused by writing Linux recovery media to the boot drive as in ATI 2017)

There are other changes summarised in the notice at the top of the Forum, but they may not entice you to upgrade.

Ian

Attx...you should read the following link:

https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2018-forum/backup-sp…

For me, the improved NAS support is worth the upgrade.

Another good reason is the new options added in 2018 to allow you to backup your task configuration to a zip file and restore this back again if doing a clean / new install of the software, along with the ability to convert .TIB files to VHD or VHDX images.

I plan to skip the upgrade since I purchased 2017 on July 1 and missed the free upgrade cutoff. I may upgrade at the end of the year or at the beginning of next after all the bugs are worked out.

New versions of True Image rarely add much worth having. Indeed, they have been known to remove useful bits. So I am in no rush to upgrade.

One factor that would persuade me to upgrade would be the ability to backup to clouds other than Acronis's grossly overpriced offering.

If it can work with OneDrive, for example, I may be tempted.

Michael, most versions of ATIH can backup to OneDrive provided you do this indirectly, i.e. you have a local OneDrive folder on your computer, an external HDD or a Network Drive that you configure ATIH to backup to, and this OneDrive folder is then synched to their Cloud service, assuming that you have the necessary capacity.

Yes, but wouldn't it be easier to have it built into ATI?

It is incorporated into EaseUS's rival product.

Perhaps it would be easiest for the users but I suspect that these other cloud services would expect Acronis to pay them for the privilege of doing this tighter integration, plus at the end of the day, Acronis want to sell their own Cloud service in preference to those from other companies - this is a part of their revenue stream and watched by their share holders I'm sure!

Hi @ Michael Kenward ,

Your signature still reflects Acronis True Image 2017 Build 8029, when Acronis True Image 2017 Build 8058, is the latest.

Also, I am going back to Acronis True Image 2017 Build 8058 from Acronis True Image 2018 Build 9207.

Reason: New Release can't read the Comments added to Full Backup Images by Acronis True Image 2017 Build 8058. Comments are important, if one uses Comments, when creating Images.

Yes, I ran into a bunch of problems with this new release. Always WAIT for the bugs to get worked out. Otherwise, you'll get burned like me.

Hi @ Derpy  ,

I hope you sent Feedback in using Acronis Feedback, explaining your problems.

Just a heads up for anyone who recently bought TI 2017 a few weeks back via Newegg's free after rebate deal:
Use the upgrade checker link in Ekaterina Surkova's post:
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2018-forum/acronis-t…

Your purchase is probably- eligible for free upgrade.  The deal was definitely within- the 30 day window.
 

I doubt very much if EaseUS pays Microsoft to access its cloud. MS, Google and cloud outfits provide the APIs that other people can use to plug into their clouds.

But you sum it up well. Acronis is no longer really in the business of supplying software. It exists to sell expensive cloud space. No thanks.

I see a lot of reasons and features upgrading 2015-2017 to 2018. Not about the pure backup usage but the improved UI and features like native WinPE support and many other things like Active Protection.

There is few on my wishlist for ATIH 2019:

- Support of ReFS restore / read-write via WinPE

- Support to backup / restore Bitlocker encrypted drives via WinPE when entering the recovery key.

- Support of backup / restore MS Storage Spaces via WinPE

and then all the suggestions in the beta forum that haven't made it to the final release yet.

It's $35 from NewEgg on that link now - more than Acronis has it listed at the default price.  Several times a year, Acronis usually discounts the software as well.  I've seen 3 license upgrades for $19.99 more than once or twice last year - I would assume that there will be deals throughout the life of 2018 as well - keep an eye out around Black Friday and Christmas if you're in no rush.

Personally, I like 2018 - it hit a lot of my wish lists from last year (winpe rescue media with driver injection, support of VHD/VHDX conversion brought back, a semi-calendar log of backup completion status, no more issues with updating a scheduled task and causing the backup version chain to restart the count).

I have several backup tools at home - including the one mentioned above.  Personally, that is my least favorite of all.  It is my 7th go-to for recovery, but I rarely have to go beyond my first one.  Use what you like/prefer though - that's the benefit of capitalism and freedom of choice.

• "It's $35 from NewEgg on that link now"

Yes but there's a "$35 mail-in rebate check from Acronis"!

• "no more issues with updating a scheduled task and causing the backup version chain to restart the count"

Wow, thank goodness (what terrible functionality that is on ATIH2017); I'll wait for a $19.99 upgrade (on my current ATIH2017 which I scored on the last Black Friday sale) and then be running ATIH2018 on both my PCs.

Hi Attx,

Definitely worth the upgrade to acronis true image 2018, there are some great features improved in 2018, eg. 

- Faster file recovery with WAN optimization

- Active Protection 

- Clone disk utility

- Media Builder

- Backup Statistics with Activity

- Active Protection Dashboard

- Conversion to Virtual Machines

- Fast Incremental Backup

- Laptop power settings

Maybe I have skipped smth. oh yes improved NAS support, so it's really great version. Check full features comparison review acronis true image 2018 vs 2017.

I agree this is by far the best version since 2013/2014 some missing features that were requested in beta might come later with patches

Hi @ William Jackson  ,

Incremental Backup, might be faster, but when you need to restore the Hard Drive, you need to first restore the original Backup, then the Incremental Backups.

Easily just to image the Partitions and do a Full Backup, each and every time.

Faster when restoring Full Backups.

I agree, also less risk of damaged backups. however some people have weak CPUs or no fast USB3 devices and so the backups take ages when not incremental.

• when you need to restore the Hard Drive, you need to first restore the original Backup, then the Incremental Backups

does one really need to do (such) multiple operations?  (If so is this true of ATIH2017 too?)

(I'm an ATIH noob; I was expecting it to be like Norton Ghost where to revert to a particular Incremental one simply did a single restore operation on just that one Incremental (which automatically restored the preceeding Incrementals and their Full).

its the other way round

creating full backup:

can only restore full backup (e.g. disk or partition or singular files)

creating full + increments:

you can do the same as full backup but also having the choice to use the base full backup OR the choose any increment which will automatically restore both the increment plus any previous increments till reaching the fullbackup in the timeline

creating full + differential:

the same as full backup but also having the choice to use the base full backup OR the choose one any differential which will automatically restore the differential + fullbackup. so if you have many increments the restore time is longer.

pro(+) cons (-)

full (+ consistency and overview, fast backups)  (- longest backup time over time, highest space need and cpu load)

incremental: (+Fastest backups after initial full backup, least space and cpu need in future backup) (- depends on other increments and full backup. if one file is damaged or missing, esp. full, you are doomed / much longer restore time)

differential:

(+ more resilent to possible full failures or missing files as any single differential can be used with a full backup) (-second highest cpu and space needings)

cpu load means that a backup depending the compression will busy the computer for an amount of time till the backup process has finished. it is not meant as the backup method unlike compression level will directly influence the total of CPU load (percentage) but only based on time it is busy.

hope this helped you @coyote

Firstly, thank you IanL-s for all the voluntary help you give others. I was interested in your statement 'The ability to make disk images of the disk containing the operating system from within Windows' I do this twice a week with 2017, I have never used the Linux disc to effect an image, only for recovery, am I missing something?

Peter

Peter, I think this statement by Ian was really referring to the new Cloning option which with ATIH 2018 can now use the Microsoft VSS snapshot method to do this within Windows instead of needing to modify the boot configuration and restart into a standalone Acronis environment, i.e. Linux based.

• "hope this helped you @coyote"

yes, thank you very much Karl, this particularly:

• "any increment which will automatically restore both the increment plus any previous increments till reaching the fullbackup in the timeline"

clarified for me that the previous statement by thecreator that 

• "when you need to restore the Hard Drive, you need to first restore the original Backup, then the Incremental Backups"

(I'm sorry I originally didn't make it clear the above sentence was a QUOTE in my last post!)

he was not suggesting separate restore operations by the user.  that was what threw me.

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Pulling myself from this thread. This is bizarre jibberish now.

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Would upgrade ro 2018 if I knew that it natively supported imaging OCX Revo (PCIe) drives. Maybe the new updated WinPE solution will help and the ability to clone a system drive (Revo 3 X2) from within windows sounds good.

Can anyone tell me before I spend any $$ if 2018 supports the PCIe drives this way ?

Thanks All. RR

The default recovery media see both my M.2 NVMe drives. One is in a M.2 'socket' on the main board and the other is in a PCIe adapter. I do not know enough about the OCX Revo to be 100% certain, but it may well work without the need to install additional drivers. If the OCX Revo needs a special driver, rather than using a generic Microsoft driver, you can inject that driver when creating the recovery media. (In my case the Samsung EVO NVMe drives work with a default Microsoft driver; however I have installed the Samsung specific driver on the system but not on the recovery media.) 

Hopes this helps

Using the 2018 WinPE recovery media builder, as Ian suggested, would do the trick for sure.  You really only need extra drivers if you are using it in RAID mode instead of AHCI.  If need be though, you inject the IRST drivers in the new WinPE rescue media builder.  We also have an MVP media builder that does this too and already includes the IRST drivers for RAID and AHCI when you select yes to include custom drivers in our tool :)

Samsung NVME:  http://www.samsung.com/global/business/semiconductor/minisite/SSD/downloads/software/Samsung_NVM_Express_Driver_22.zip

Intel Rapid Storage Technology (IRST) x64: https://downloadcenter.intel.com/downloads/eula/26865/Intel-Rapid-Storage-Technology-Intel-RST-?httpDown=https%3A%2F%2Fdownloadmirror.intel.com%2F26865%2Feng%2Ff6flpy-x64.zip  

The problem of SATA ports being configured as RAID may be limited to (some?) Intel chipsets. AMD chipsets seem to be different, at least those used on AM4 boards. On my Ryzen main board the SATA setting is only seems relevant if the M.2 slot has a SATA M.2 card (in which case it is run by the SATA controller), if it has an NVMe card, it is not controlled by the SATA chip or it driver. If the M.2 is SATA one of the SATA ports is disabled, however if it is NVMe all 8 ports work.

Ian

I believe you are talking about the OCZ Revo drives here not OCX?  These drives used a special driver when introduced prior to the release of Win 8 up.  You will need the current installed driver or later, if you can find it, as Toshiba acquiring OCZ stopped active support for driver updates for these devices.

TI 2018 natively supports the creation of PCIe based drives from within Windows.  Creating a WinPE using the Simple method recommended for your computer should carry over the required driver.  I do not have a Revo to test with but I believe that the chances of 2018 working for you are excellent.

• "no more issues with updating a scheduled task and causing the backup version chain to restart the count"

I'm very disappointed to report that this has not proven true for me.  I switch task Method (from Incremental) to force Fulls when desired.  With ATIH2018 this still results in 2 chains being left after backup (there was only 1 chain before backup) despite the Setting "Store no more than '1' Recent Versions" left 2 chains.

Coyote, I can only advise that you submit a Support Case to Acronis for this issue and explain exactly what you are doing and the behaviour you are expecting to see versus what actually happens for you.

Hi @ coyote ,

When you do a Full Backup Scheme, you need to go into Options and set the Schedule as well as the Options in Advanced for Backup Splitting and the Compression Level.

For mine:

1. Schedule - Do Not Schedule.
2. Backup Scheme - Full Backup Scheme, which I saved.
3. In Advanced: Backup Splitting, I set for 4.7 DVD, if I choice to burn to a DVD or Not.
4. In Advanced: Validation - Validate when it is created.
5. In Advanced: Computer Shutdown - Everything is checked. - Computer to turn off.
6. In Advanced: Performance: Compression Level is Max.
7. In Advanced: Performance: Operation Priority: High.

In Services for the operating system, Nonstop Backup, is disabled.

In the Windows Firewall Advanced Settings, both Incoming and Outgoing are blocked by a Custom Rule.

The place I backup to, is an Internal Hard Drive partition located on a separate partition not on the same Hard Drive. I have 3 Hard Drives in a single Desktop Computer , allowing me, this luxury.

And I back up to a Unique Backup Name, like Bedrm32-0826BU-Build 16275.1000, so I can tell at a glance, what Windows 10 Build is inside of the Image created.

I do not write over the previous Images. I manually delete the ones I won't need again.

@thecreator

I do very much appreciate you taking the time to respond to help me.

But after carefully studying your response, I believe that not a word of it is relevant to my (specifically stated) issue (or something I did not already know).

IanL-S and Enchantech,

Many thanks. I think I will bite the bullet. Even the smell of a easily built WinPE with Revo 2 X3 drivers injected makes it enticing and the cloning of a system drive (Revo 2 X3) is some goodness worth having.

Thanks again both.

RR

I am sure you will love if Rod. The Acronis team, MVPs and beta testers worked hard for this to come true. Me personally seeing the Linux Recovery environment being fading out for everyday use. I am also glad to see that Acronis managed to clear the usage rights with Microsoft about Windows PE.

p.s. as for cloning, if you clone don't do online. Use the new WinPE offline. Have a full backup in spare.

I read about troubles doing this using the live cloning.

• "Coyote, I can only advise that you submit a Support Case to Acronis for this issue and explain exactly what you are doing and the behaviour you are expecting to see versus what actually happens for you."

I submitted this as a Support Case.  

They simply restated my issue and asked me to confirm that they had solved it(!).  (Which surprised me; in another thread I noted how happy I had been with their response in my first Support Case.)

They then did offer a lukewarm statement that someone would think about adding the functionality I need.

They also warned that doing what I do (to force a new chain by changing the backup Method) "in the long term...might corrupt the backup scripts (due to too much changes) and the backup chains may cause errors."

coyote,

When you change a backup Method you are in turn creating a NEW task.  That will force the version chain behavior you experience.

@Enchantech

Yes.  You essentially restated my issue.  (As Acronis Support did after I asked them to enable users to somehow force a new chain upon demand without losing the benefit of auto-cleanup [as I enjoyed with Norton Ghost].)

I do understand what's happening (it was explained to me in another thread), and I am not satisfied with it.  I do like how solid ATIH is at backups, and I don't regret choosing Acronis (given it's competition), but I'm surprised by some of ATIH's limitations.

Fair enough.  Just making sure I understood your issue.  You are right, it is a limitation in the product.

Made the upgrade and had the biggest system crash I have ever had on PC. Everything was working perfectly before that. Even with the help of Microsoft (Acronis support system wasn't reachable on Safemode browser or Ipad!!) it was impossible recover the system. Tweaking Win 10, the directory or anything else didn't do it! I had 2 image and both were also impossible to install... This took me 3 days and finally reinstalled everything. Previous upgrade also created issues but not as bad. Never will use Acronis again.

Rodrigo, sorry to hear of the crash and recovery problems following your upgrade to ATI 2018.

Did you raise this in a Support Case with Acronis at any time?

What version of ATI did you upgrade from?

Can you share any more information on your 'biggest system crash' to help us to understand a little more of what happened here?  Was this a Windows BSOD?

Hi @ Rodrigo Montenegro  ,

What operating system and you mentioned Windows 10? What Bit and what Build?

What were you doing, when the System crashed?

What was installed, before the upgrade?

I doubt the you wanted to use Acronis, based on your last remark.

People who use Acronis, use it without major problems.

Was this a Laptop or Desktop Computer?