C Drive Backup called 'My partitions'
This query is about 1) why a C drive backup is called "my partitions" by default when every other backup file of a separate drive has the same name as the drive; and 2) how can that be adjusted in TI2016?
Years ago, when I first began to use Acronis, I noticed the difference between drive letters in windows, the backup files and the restore program. That was explained as being the different ways windows and linux (the restore platform) letter drives, and to focus on the unique name of the drive backed up and being restored to. Which worked fine.
In those days, even tho the C drive had a unique name, a backup file was always called 'my partitions' by default. But the program had a means of adjusting that file name to reflect the correct drive letter and name before commencing the backup. Since TI2015, and now 2016, that method of adjusting the my partitions file name doesn't exist anymore, and any restore process has to assume that a 'my partitions' file in a backup archive is actually for the C drive. Not real good.
So,
1. why does TI assume any backup of the C drive is called 'my partitions' even tho the drive actually has a letter (C) and name (eg, SYSTEM)
2. Given that it does, how can the file name by adjusted to reflect the actual name and letter of the C drive eg C_SYSTEMxxxxx.tib before the backup starts?
3. is there any intention at all to adjust TI such that it will apply to the C drive the same letter and name practices that are applied to every other drive to be backed up??
Davidk
Hi En,
Yes, I've noticed that icon and currently use it to clean up the list of backups (delete backup/settings only). And the action list has a rename option - but that rename seems to be valid only when the backup is finished and the backup action is now part of the history list, and the backup name has the green tick beside it as well as that icon.
I don't schedule backups automatically - they are all "do not schedule" with other configs such as max compression and priority set as option defaults. And I manually do the backup at month's end - at a time when I can be reasonably sure that no other application is running, changing files or settings etc: which apart from ensuring the accuracy of the result also serves to speed it up. I started doing it this way after finally figuring out that re-curring episodes of system slug performance (Why is this thing suddenly so slow???!!) coincided with backup cycles at the time I wanted to be doing something else. And when it's finished, the file is copied to an alternative off-system archive repository.
But - as noted - recovery requires a selection of backup filename from the backups in the selected archive. And the backup NAME on that file - or file series if the backup has optioned it to one of the disk sizes (eg DVD which at 4.7Gb, generally will result in about 5 or 6 files to backing up my C drive) - is by Acronis own admission critical to getting it right. And of course, since the ability to easily - one click - attach a date to the filename (I know in TI2016 there's a macro which supposedly does that, but it is clumsy and must be repeated for every backup choice. So clumsy and awkward I just don't use it) is now also gone, in an archive of backup files, especially an off-system archive, the assumption that any particular 'My Partitions' file applies to the C drive at the date listed for the file creation (not true for files copied to off-system archives) is the right one for a restore action gets VERY problematic.
So what I am after is:
1. a means of adjusting the name of the backup file which - other settings having been set - will create the C drive backup file in a location of choice BEFORE clicking the green "backup now" button. In short, a way to overwrite "My Partition" with something like "C_SYSTEM", or even {given my remarks about dating the file} C_SYSTEM_Oct2015); OR
2. a simple fix to the software which removes that default choice of "My Partitions" name for the system C drive and have TI use the same naming policy for it that applies for every other drive - ie, the drive letter, and the actual name the user has given it.
And if neither of those things is presently feasible how can I get it to the developers attention such that they will do something about it?
Davidk
I understand your situation. It is not intuative to name backups with the application agreed. The TI application has a Feedback option which you can find in the Help section located on the left side of the GUI (look for the open book icon). This Feedback offers the user a way to submit feature request, problems incured, and a way to send system reports as well. This feedback goes directly to the development team. The more requests for a feature or enhancement the more likely it is to be added. Yours is a fairly common one so I would suggest using the feedback feature to submit your request. As they say, the squeeky wheel gets the grease!
I understand your situation. It is not intuative to name backups with the application agreed. The TI application has a Feedback option which you can find in the Help section located on the left side of the GUI (look for the open book icon). This Feedback offers the user a way to submit feature request, problems incured, and a way to send system reports as well. This feedback goes directly to the development team. The more requests for a feature or enhancement the more likely it is to be added. Yours is a fairly common one so I would suggest using the feedback feature to submit your request. As they say, the squeeky wheel gets the grease!
Hi En,
Thanks for that suggestion. I will post when done.
For clarity I assumed, but did not say in my last comments, you would understand that I thought simply changing the backup filename in the history list did nothing to change the filename of said backup in it's storage location.
Davidk
Done. Feedback submitted. Basically, included the reason, actions as I outlined above and a reference to this thread case number for all the related details.
It would be nice to have some feedback from Acronis on what if any action is planned . . . .
Davidk
Hi David,
thank you for your feedback.
1) The feature for adding macros (e.g. @date@) easily is registered in our database and will be considered for future releases.
2) Backup plan renaming doesn't affect already created backup files, it is designed behavior. However, I didn't understand what prevented you from renaming the backup plan while creation? Does the option "rename" fail to save the new name? Could you please provide more details?
3) As for default backup name, "my partitions" backup name should be given only if more than one partition is selected. Could you please share screenshots of disk management window (diskmgmt.msc) and you backup source selection?
Enchantech, thank you very much for your help!
Best regards,
Hi Anna,
Thanks for the feedback. Commenting further on your responses, and I appolgise in advance for what seems like a long reply
1. That's what TI2012 and prior used to do, and I found it essential to identify a particular backup image from a range of them that are stored in the backup archive (a specific networked hard drive dedicated to nothing else but storing backup files. Usually, at least one years' worth for any of the PC's I have). Putting the date of creation back in the name will be a real positive as far as I'm concerned. Users who don't need it or use it will be no worse off.
2. Renaming the backup file in the history list after the fact (ie, after the baclkup is completed) doesn't change the actual backup file name. For a C: drive backup, the actual file stored in the archive will still be a "my partitions" name. From a recovery point of view, looking for a specific, undated My Partitions file to recover a C drive SYSTEM image (or whatever name a user has given that drive/folder) is unreliable because of the way Acronis depends on the file name under the linux OS used by the recovery disk - which would have to be in use for a C drive recovery.
TI allows the creation of backup images in disk-size files (eg, 4.7Gb for DVD's, and 25Gb for Blu-ray disks). I use that feature to preserve the ability to burn safety copies onto disks, in addition to a networked archive, and I do that regularly (eg yearly). That very feature requires the correct file name for each part - since to recover, the various file names are internally linked: TI only requires one part to be chosen and it will find the others. Therefore, changing the filename of a backup file series in the archive after its been created is just about guaranteed to cause a recovery failure.
Related information.
When possible, I configure my PC's to have the OS/C: drive on a discrete physical HDD - for performance reasons. It really minimises the disk latency for disk intensive apps - like backup. On my main desktop, other physical HDD have the user applications (eg Office, video editor etc), data, emails, browser etc., and usually also on specifically named logical drives. For example, my desktop has 6 physical HDD attached, and 3 of them have multiple logical drives on them. In total, the drive lettering for the desktop PC is from C to Q, with P: being the 2Tb backup archive disk. As I previously indicated, I do a backup on these manually, one by one. Tick the drive name for backup and make sure any others are not ticked. Thus, a separate backup file for each primary or logical drive/partition.
Including images for you. I attach FYI jpg images of the desktop windows explorer view (explorer_drive_and_folder_structure_20150725.jpg), and also the Disk Director view (dd11_system_upgrade_64bit_20150725_1.jpg), to illustrate that.
In every prior version of Acronis TI I have used, that default name of 'my partitions' has been generated by Acronis for the C drive. A backup file for every other drive was assigned a file name which featured the actual name of the drive. I was able to overwrite that 'my partitions' name BEFORE the backup began and thus create the backup image file with the correct name - until I upgraded to TI2015 and then 2016 last July. There was a lot of pain about that which ultimately got resolved by calls from Slava in the development group in Russia. The change in the way the new versions name the files and dating them was one of several cases involved.
3. Default Backup name.
Given your comments about 'my partitions' being the default name when multiple partitions are chosen, since I select one drive at a time for backup, I don't understand how that could apply only to C:. I stated above that I manually create a separate backup for each drive. In each case the name I gave the drive has been the name assigned by TI to the backup file - EXCEPT the C drive. An individual backup setup for the C drive generates a 'my partitions' filename (see comment above), whereas a backup for any other drive generated the filename from the drive name I gave it. For the C drive, it did not matter in prior versions because I could and did re-name and date it before starting the backup, which automatically inserted that name/date into any/every volume sized sub-files which are part of the result. But with TI2016 that corrective ability is gone.
Unfortunately, images of the backup archive disk contents are mostly for files generated by TI2012 and thus the files for the C drive have the correct name, based on correction before the backup began. I have attached an image of the archive contents for one of my laptops illustrating this my partitions issue - in this case, one backup spread over 2 files and created since TI2016 was installed (hp_folder_image_20151119.jpg). The archive for a 2nd laptop shows a similar result after TI 2016 was installed.
David
Hi David,
Just in case you have not seen this link, it may be of interest. This provides the user some workaround capabilities for missing functions.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/91956
The normal task rename option is best used before the first backup is created and can provide a custom task name which is then carried over into the tib file name.
Likewise, the user editing of the backup script (as referenced in the reference link) before backup creation can supplement the custom name with the date/time of each backup.
Hi Grover,
First, thanks for the links and suggestion. I read this and took some time to think it over, research it on my machine etc.
But there's lots of however's . . .
1. Nowhere in the user guide for TI2016 does it mention a scripting language , the features it has or give examples of how to write one and use it. I searched the guide on key "script", and in all but one cases it found "subscription", usually about the cloud option, and that last case dealt with the recovery tool using WinPE.
2. I used explorer to find the scripts folder in the tree you outline, there is one there and 2 scripts with hexadecimal unintelligible names are displayed. For each one, open with notepad simply returns an unknown file format message, and right click on either of the filenames gives an action panel that does NOT have an 'edit' option.
Including a description of the script facility in the manual and which tool to use in editing or creating one would be handy, but (my remarks below) its probably not something most home users would even know how to use.
3. As a result, I can't generate or even modify a script. But as a home user, I'll explain why using a script isn't that attractive even if I could write one.
I mentioned in one of my responses in this thread that I found the macro usage clumsy and so difficult to use, that I simply didn't (use it) - despite having a written outline of 'how to' from a developer as part of a response to a escalated problem 3 months ago. A script written as such would I think - failing any details of how the Acronis one works - be 'in the same boat'.
As a retired IT person, I have some knowledge of scripts and can appreciate how they could apply to backup. In fact, a friend has a home installation involving 8 PC's + 4 RAID servers that would do most small businesses. And he uses scripts for backups, operating regularly and for large scans, at midnight. Which is great for a continuously running platform.
In my case however, I don't run continuously - if I did, the power bill would be the equivalent of 12KWH a day. Nearly double the average the power company says I have now. So I run the machine when I need to, about 6 hours average a day, and hence the care I've outlined in choosing a backup time when nothing else but backup is running. I stated the reasons for that earlier.
4. So, the software features I've focussed on were really handy for a "one at a time" backup operation for a home user. I am not sure why Acronis removed them, but I suspect its because they are concentrating the product line and combining a home and business effort into one. Certainly the name changed from True Image Home to just True Image 2 years ago. Nevertheless I want Acronis to just put those features back. It can't be that hard - they had them once, and the code hooks to use them are probably still there.
Davidk