The best way to automatically delete older versions of differential backups?
Hi,
I would like to make a full backup, and after this full version making differential backups once a day so that I can choose to roll back to any day I like if I have to. Now I only need a week of differential backups, and after that, I would like it to start all over again... Or, even better, if I somehow could "roll" the differential scheeme seven days in front of me, so that when I have the full backup, plus seven differential backups, and then the next Monday Acronis True Image 2012 will delete the last Monday version after having created the "new" Monday differential archive, and on Tuesday, delete last Tuesday, so that I always have the last seven days of differential archives based on my first full backup.
Is that possible?
Dag,
Look at figure 11-dif inside the link proved by MVP Tuttle above.
The program will NOT work as you have asked but it will work very well in the method designed by the program.
The example illustrates a setting of 6 differentials (1 full +6 diff=1set) and the 4 is an example of keeping 4 full backup sets.
You can change the 4 to 1 and the program will create a replacement full and then delete the oldest set (1 full +6 diff deleted) and a new backup set will begin. The next 6 diff will be created and its replacement with new will occur and the old again deleted.
My suggestion is that rather than change the 4 to 1, change it to some other number greater than 1 so your retain mores sets of the prior backups. Most often, problems with a file or program is not found right away and you many need older backups to be able to get back to problem free situation.
I do not recommend that you use the option based on elapsed days or remaining disk size. These both could operate different than you mght expect. Best results obtained by keeping your backups based x number of recent version chains.
The above is suggest if using version 2013 or 2012.