Can I (re) use an older version on another computer?

Since you bought a full version of 2011 you have 2 versions of Acronis to use. The 2009 version (or you could use the 11 version) and the 2011 version.

If you haven't you should be able to register both at the Acronis site under your account and this is a good idea since it offers protection against lost serial numbers and access to updates, different bootable iso's for recovery if needed. If you bought online from Acronis you already have an account but your products may not be registered.

These versions of TI don't use any activation so no deactivation is required. Just install it on the other machine.

It should be noted that while you likely can use the older versions, you'll probably want/need to keep careful track of which version is used to backup which PC, such that if disaster strikes you have the proper version Rescue/Recovery disc to use with the crashed PC. At least, Acronis only supports/promises compatibility a couple of versions back afaik.

And older versions might not work with the newest PCs (hardware drivers etc.) so keep that in mind too.

Your comment is valid but backwards compatibility is one of Acronis' good points. It is true they only guarantee compatibility one version back but in practice the compatibility goes back "several versions" as far as interpreting the file format goes.

If the XP is on a machine that has never used TI before then the usual caution is warranted. Make sure you can restore an archive using the rescue CD before you really have to. Best way by far is to test a restore to a spare HD (spare, in case it fails). Second best way is to boot up the CD, create the archive using it and validate the archive using the CD. If you can do this there is a very high probability it can do the full restore.

Seekforever wrote:

It is true they only guarantee compatibility one version back but in practice the compatibility goes back "several versions" as far as interpreting the file format goes.

The last versions of TI have official support going back to TI 8. See 3838: Acronis True Image Home Backward Compatibility.

Thank you for all your good advice! I don't think there will be any problems, because I am going to use the ATI 2009 (upgraded from ATI 11) on a separate XP computer (belonging to my husband) older than my actual Win7 pc. I use extern harddisks for backups. I will not make scheduled backups, just manual once in a while - he had his pc for approx 4 years with no backups ever :(

Kirsten in Denmark

Nice post--and good to know! :)

MudCrab wrote:

The last versions of TI have official support going back to TI 8. See 3838: Acronis True Image Home Backward Compatibility.