Does nonstop backup work in TI 2016?
I've been using True Image for years. I recently upgraded to TI 2016. I have not been able to get a usable nonstop backup from it. Several chat sessions with Acronis did nothing to help.
Has anyone been successful creating then restoring a backup using the 2016 version of nonstop backup?
I considered using it on my W10 machine. On the first attempt, after it was running (and creating files) for a day or three, I tried to recover a file. But the recovery interface did not open.
I was going to try again, as this interface is new to me (previously was using TIH 2010). But, looking more closely at the HELP information about nonstop backup, I see this:
With Acronis Nonstop Backup you cannot protect:
Windows libraries (Documents, Music, etc.)
With that limitation, I don't see much reason to use it at all!
Other users have posted issues with non stop backup here on the Forum. You are encouraged to report you issues using the in app Feedback feature which can be found in the Help section of the GUI (open book icon). This is the only way to get your issues before the eyes of the developers.
For Windows Libraries, documents etc in Win8.1 ad Win10 take a look at "control panel/file history" that at least works as far as I can see. The only thing to watch out for is it uses libraries and any folder you want to protect add to a library. Right click on the folder and say add to library or create a new one called for example "MS-NSB" (Microsoft NonStopBackup)
Hi All,
Acronis Non-top Backup Service can be disabled in Services. I don't understand why anyone would use it?
I own Acronis True Image 2016 and SmartSync Pro.
I use Acronis True Image 2016 and do Full Backups of the operating system. It takes too long to restore using Incremental Backups, in my opinion.
I use SmartSync Pro to backup my Emails, and Documents. http://www.smartsync.com
The reason I use SmartSync over Acronis, because I can backup and copy the documents from one computer to another computer and have the other computer access to those documents without having to use another program to view or edit them. Something that you can't do with Acronis.
But to each their own way of doing things.
Hi All,
I use Acronis True Image 2016 and do Full Backups of the operating system. It takes too long to restore using Incremental Backups, in my opinion.
Yep, for many users, granting everyone is not the same, there's no reason not to just do full image backups each time. It's much easier if you ever need to restore. Works nicely while I have coffee. ;)
Hi All,
I use Acronis True Image 2016 and do Full Backups of the operating system. It takes too long to restore using Incremental Backups, in my opinion.
Yep, for many users, granting everyone is not the same, there's no reason not to just do full image backups each time. It's much easier if you ever need to restore. Works nicely while I have coffee. ;)
Hi monesge,
A normal Restore takes about 8 to 10 minutes via the Rescue CD and a shorter amount of time, from another operating system on the same computer and one could be doing Emails, reading or searching the Internet or even shopping. Especially when restoring an image that was created using the Max Compression.
But if you need to be on the Internet at the time, could take a little longer.
I've given up on nonstop backup with True Image 2016. It is simply not usable. Even if a nonstop backup is completed successfully there is no way to control what gets recovered from it.
The standard full backup works fine, I'll stick with it.
It works for me but the recovery interface is poor. There is no way to set what version(s) to recover easily. you cant see what versions you have backed up and if files are deleted, you have to pick past dates to try and find those deleted files. its a very manual process and not intuitive.
David, perhaps you can clarify a bit. You say "There is no way to set what version(s) to recover easily". That seems to suggest that there is a way, just not an easy one. If for example, I wanted to revert the drive to 2 hours ago, is there a way to do that, whether easy of difficult?
David, I suggest that you report your concerns about this aspect of Acronis 2016 using the in app Feedback feature which is in the Help section of the GUI (open book icon). This is the only way bring your concerns/ideas to the attention of development team.
Ian
Randy, forget about NSB. I stopped using it years ago. It first appeared to be working as intended but then seemed to kind of rot away leaving you not even with any means to get rid of it. Should you be running Windows 10 use File History. Works like a charm.
David, perhaps you can clarify a bit. You say "There is no way to set what version(s) to recover easily". That seems to suggest that there is a way, just not an easy one. If for example, I wanted to revert the drive to 2 hours ago, is there a way to do that, whether easy of difficult?
nonstop is more about individual files. You can change the date/time and that will show the files that existed at that date/time. However, often you want to see how many versions of a file exist and the dates they are so you can see when the change occurred.
I disable the NSB service because it was forcing all my fans to 100% and CPU utilization to 15% and I did NOT have NSB active
It's readily apparent that Acronis does not consider NSB a priority for TI 2016. This message thread has been here for nearly 3 weeks and not one person has said that they use NSB for disk or partition backup. I can live without it.
No point in using NSB if you have Windows 8 > with File History - NOW THATS a great piece of software.
Ron, I think the HELP file is very poorly written on this point. I shared your view (what the heck is the point of nonstop backup if it isn't going to back up my music files?) but I think I am now understanding the Windows 7 "Libraries" feature such that the statement makes sense. In your Windows 7 "Library" called "Music" you're able to "put" your "My Music" folder and a "James Taylor MP3s" folder that is not already in your My Music folder for some reason (e.g. it's a folder on your desktop), and your "Music from Pirate Sites" folder that's not already in your My Music folder for some reason, etc. -- such that the Library merely holds a bunch of shortcuts/aliases for purposes of being able to conveniently access the folders you've essentially tagged as having music in them.
I think that the HELP file is saying that Acronis Nonstop Backup ignores the way you've configured your Windows 7 Music Library (doesn't care what shortcuts are in there) but it nevertheless will back up the My Music folder, the James Taylor MP3s folder, the Music from Pirate Sites folder, etc. because they're folders just like all the other regular folders on the disk that are being backed up.
Information about the Libraries feature of Windows 7 is at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/working-with-libraries
I was sure /hoping/ to use Non-Stop Backup with TI2016. I've been using it for years, successfully, with TI2013, and just bought a 3-PC version of 2016, hoping it would to this as well. To me, doing full backups to an external 2 TB drive, and relying on NSB for my normal, changing files, was ideal.
Instead on nonstop backup, couldn't you do incrementals at the fastest level of every 2 hours and rely on "Windows System Protection" for anything that might have changed within those 2 hours? Windows does this natively for file changes if you give it enough space (My Computer / Properties / Advanced System Settings / System Protection).
I get the idea behind a truly nonstop backup, but I think it's just too resource intensive to try and log and record every single change on a computer. Using incrementals though and a retention schedule/policy, I would think this would be ideal for "most" people (perhaps not you or others though). What file changes need to be logged by Acronis 24/7?
Also, are you aware of the restrictions for Nonstop backup? Even though it's non-stop for 24 hours, they get consolidated daily and you can only grab files from that point in time after the consolidation. Also, you can't copy and paste from them either so it's not as easy to recover from as most of the other Acronis backup types...
Using Acronis Nonstop Backup
Acronis Nonstop Backup provides easy protection of your disks and files. It allows you to recover entire disks, individual files and their different versions.
The main purpose of Acronis Nonstop Backup is continuous protection of your data (files, folders, contacts, etc.), though you can use it to protect partitions as well. If you choose to protect an entire partition, you will be able to recover the partition as a whole using the image recovery procedure.
Limitations
- You can create only one nonstop backup.
- With Acronis Nonstop Backup you cannot protect:
- Windows libraries (Documents, Music, etc.)
- Data stored on external hard drives
- Nonstop Backup and Try&Decide cannot work simultaneously.
How it works
Once you start Acronis Nonstop Backup, the program will perform an initial full backup of the data selected for protection. Acronis Nonstop Backup will then continually monitor the protected files (including open ones). Once a modification is detected, the changed data is backed up. The shortest interval between the incremental backup operations is five minutes. This allows you to recover your system to an exact point in time.
Acronis Nonstop Backup checks file changes on the disk, not in the memory. If, for instance, you are working in Word and do not use the "Save" operation for a long time, your current changes in the Word document will not be backed up.
You may think that at these backup rates the storage will fill in no time. Do not worry as Acronis True Image 2016 will back up only so called "deltas". This means that only differences between old and new versions will be backed up and not whole changed files. For example, if you use Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, your pst file may be very large. Furthermore, it changes with each received or sent E-mail message. Backing up the entire pst file after each change would be an unacceptable waste of your storage space, so Acronis True Image 2016 backs up only its changed parts in addition to the initially backed up file.
Retention rules
Acronis Nonstop Backup keeps all backups for the last 24 hours. The older backups will be consolidated in such a way that Nonstop Backup will keep daily backups for the last 30 days and weekly backups until all NonstopBackup data destination space is used.
The consolidation will be performed every day between midnight and 01:00 AM. The first consolidation will take place after the Nonstop Backup has been working for at least 24 hours. For example, you have turned on theNonstop Backup at 10:00 AM on July 12. In this case the first consolidation will be performed between 00:00 and 01:00 AM on July 14. Then the program will consolidate the data every day at the same time. If your computer is turned off between 00:00 and 01:00 AM, the consolidation will start when you turn the computer on. If you turn off Nonstop Backup for some time, the consolidation will start after you turn it on again.
Acronis True Image usually saves backup data in the proprietary tib format using compression. The data from .tib file backups can be recovered only through Acronis True Image, in Windows or in the recovery environment.
Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a special hidden storage for data and metadata. The backed up data is compressed and split into files of about 1 GB. These files also have a proprietary format and the data they contain can be recovered only with the help of Acronis True Image.
For me it never worked more than a few days and then stopped suddenly.
The process is still running, sometimes the backup it appears in TI, sometimes not, the saved data cannot be restored.
Nonstop Backup is definitively not working for me - just as consolidating backups never worked with TI2013.
Patrick