Incremental bakup - deletion and backup scheme
Hi
I am using Acronis TIH 2012 (incl. PlusPack - I think it's called Universal Restore now).
I have several problems and questions concerning a user-defined backup scheme:
(Please forgive, it's getting lengthy, but I want to describe detailed information)
In the actual case, I had a backup archive that contained 3 backups (one full, two incremental, together approx. 12 GB). The backup archive was saved to the Acronis Secure Zone (approx. 85 GB free space left).
The third backup in the chain (the most recent) was a temporary one which I would like to delete and continue with future versions afterwards
From my understanding and consulting the manual, when deleting incremental backups, the selected backups and all depending incremental versions are deleted, i.e. the selected backup and all incremental versions that are right besides the selected one in the time frame until the point to the next full backup.
A)
I selected (only!) the most recent incremental backup using the Acronis backup explorer and chose delete versions. The number of versions now shows 2. All is correct and fine!
However, after version deletion when I want to use this backup archive again, I have a problem. I click on "Backup Now" to create a new (incremental) version. But Acronis does not use the former archive name (Lokales_Laufwerk_(C)) It generates a new backup filename instead that looks GUID-like. When ending. the result is a backup archive with only one (!) version (the actual system state as a full backup). The older versions (full + incremental) seem to get deleted.
*UPDATE*: Furher testing had the following result: I was able to create a situation similar to the original (an archive with one full+2 incs). I deleted the latest inc. Result 2 archives, correct. Then, I created an additional inc. Result: 3 versions again. BUT: In Secure Zone, there is no backup archive called Lokaler_Datenträger_(C) anymore but only an archive with a GUID-like name and a size of approx. 7 GB. In the backup list the archive is shown with approx 15 GB under Lokaler Datenträger (C). When I try to open backup explorer, I get a warning message in German which means something like: Specify output location of version 3. Pressing Cancel or Ignore leads to a dialog "Opening of atis://asz... failed". The GUID-like id can not be found in the Secure zone and, furthermore, it differs from the id which comes into play when the new third version is created after deleting (see above).
Looking at the log, I find one warning (translated): The original full version is not available at this moment,
What can I do to continue the original baclup chain in the original archive?
B)
I found hints in other posts of this forum to delete the latest incremental version manually by opening the Secure Zone, opening the archive (double-click on the archive). Then, I obtain a list of subsequent archive files (in my case 3), choose one of them and choose delete. Whatever archive file I select, the deletion warning tells me every time that 3 versions would be affected from deletion (which can not be the case). No matter which archive I choose to delete, I always end up with a completely empty archive after manual deletion.
Why is always the complete backup chain deleted when I only choose one (incremental) version for manual deletion?
Are these two phenomenons bugs in TIH 2012 and are they fixed in TIH 2014?
How can I achieve to delete the newest incremental version and use the backup archive for future versions again afterwards?
And one last question: Do I have the possibility to decide which versions in a backup chain I would like to save as full and which as incremental? Or is it only possible to give one fix number after that a full backup is made (in my case each 5 versions)?
Many, many thanks in advance for your help!
GroverH,
Many thanks for the reply.
I had been aware of the facts you mention before my initial post:
When deleting a single inc, only the newest could be deleted, when deleting older incs, all incs until the next full backup are deleted,too.
But: In my case, I have problems with deleting the LATEST / NEWEST inc and continuing to use the archive afterwards. Furthermore, when trying to delete a specific version (esp. the newest) manually by going to the Acronis Secure Zone with Windows Explorer (not Acronis backup explorer), deleting whatever version always shows me that all 3 archived versions are depending. If I continue this process, I always end up with a completely empty archive.
For me, it seems that Acronis still uses the backup archive, but loses the former versions or Acronis deletes the original archive and store the just created new inc in a seperate archive. Why does Acronis not keep track of all versions?
How can I achieve to delete the latest incremental version and use the archive for next (upcoming new) inc?
Does Acronis TIH 2014 these problems, too?
Also a version independant question:
Can I manually decide, which version I want to store as full and which as inc? Or do I only have the possibility to provide a (fixed) number after that the next full backup is made?
Any help would greatly be appreciated
Here is links to the 2014 Secure Zone. Franky, I am not aware that the Secure Zone offers this type user controls.
Why not simply use a normal folder or usb disk and not be involved with the Secure Zone at all. If the disk fails, the Secure Zone will be of no help in recovery.
http://www.acronis.com/support/documentation/ATIH2014/index.html#3976.h…
Thanks again, GroverH, for your reply and the information concerning Acronis TIH 2014.
I really appreciate your help, thank you!
But what about my problem concerning deletion of the latest incremental backup.
I think this might be a more general problem / bug which has at first nothing to do with the use of the Acronis Secure Zone. It seems that TIH loses track of the current backup chain. When reusing the backup archive after deleting the latest incremental version, it simply messes up the archive contents.
Do you (or anyone else) have a clue what I can do to avoid this problem, or does anyone have a workaround for this?