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What should happen if I use a TI 2020 Incremental Backup .tibx file to rebuild my WIN7 desktop?

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Can someone please explain in simple terms what should happen if I use a TI 2020  Incremental Backup (latest successful backup from my SSD C: drive is file <SanDisk SDSSDHII960G X312-1-003.tibx> (244 GB) to rebuild my WIN7 desktop?

Apart from Exclusions, and with Advanced Settings as default: Does it in all other regards restore the whole C: drive, Windows, application programs and data files, or just some subset of these?  

The reason I'm asking is that I've never had a good experience with any sort of backup and even though I've tried to get through the Acronis manual, I don't really know what I'm doing if I try to restore using the above TI 2020  Incremental Backup .tibx file, as I've never dared risk doing something that I don't understand.

- My WIN7 desktop sometimes misbehaves after doing my weekly Acronis backup, so I usualy run the PC through Windows "Repair your computer" via Safe Mode, before restarting it. 

- Today it restarted after that routine in what looked like a clean reinstall of Win7 SP1, with NO INSTALLED PROGRAMS AND NO DATA FILE VISIBLE (YIKES!!!);

- I tried to run a Restore Point and even after quitting AV programs (and laboriously killing off Acronis via the Task Mgr - why no easy Quit?), it still said the Restore had failed, even though all my programs and data had reappeared (THANK THE NON-EXISTENT GODS).

I then ran it through Repair/Safe Mode again and the Restore error message didn't reappear, so all ***appears to be*** working again

- I have periodically made various sorts of recovery disks in the past, but somehow have always managed to nurse my PC back to reasonable health without them.

Advice please?

PS If you're going to suggest I upgrade, I have just spent nearly £2.5K to get a top-end WIN 11 desktop, but it will take time to get all transferrable progs and data moved across - but I retain WIN7 for Windows Media Center (Microsoft lies when it says WINs 10 & 11 have "all the features you know and love"... 

PPS I keep getting a notification that there's an update available to my TI2020, but when I click on it, I'm told it's actually fully up to  date...???

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Paul, if your Acronis backup of the Win 7 PC was created using Disks & Partitions and selecting your Windows drive, then it will include all the partitions from that drive along with all installed OS & applications plus user data etc.

The first important point you need to understand is that you need to perform this type of recovery by booting from your Acronis rescue media, and that that media needs to be created from either the same version of Acronis (ATI 2020) or a later version. This is especially important when dealing with .tibx backup files as no version before 2020 will recognise them!

Next, you need to know the BIOS boot mode used by Windows for the OS - this can be either Legacy / MBR or be UEFI / GPT.  The Acronis rescue media needs to be booted using the same BIOS boot mode.  You can check this from within Windows by running the msinfo32 command then looking at the BIOS mode value shown in the right panel.

See KB 63226: Acronis True Image 2020: how to create bootable media and KB 59877: Acronis True Image: how to distinguish between UEFI and Legacy BIOS boot modes of Acronis Bootable Media

KB 63295: Acronis True Image 2020: How to restore your computer with WinPE-based or WinRE-based media

You can take a look at my YouTube videos channel which include examples of performing this type of recovery.

Many thanks for that Steve,

To be sure I'm using Disks & Partitions: If I click on Change Source (SanDisk) and Partition List, I see Both System Reserved and Local Disk (C:) ticked, but it shows "810.2 GB of 894.2 GB used" (it is too full), and yet the .tibx file is only 244GB. Does that indicate whether I've got everything?

However, none of the methods online, including yours (the main method) can display BIOS mode. The best I can get in the System Info is:

BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A)3, 09/12/2009  (same year I bought the machine)

SMBIOS Version   2.6   (The search on the page says No matches for  BIOS Mode.

No hint of UEFI or MBR

Again thanks - Paul

Paul, the difference in size between used data size on disk and size of the backup image can be explained by several factors.

By default Acronis excludes a number of very large files or collections of the same, i.e. the system page & hibernation files plus all system protection (restore point) data.

Plus compression of around 20% is typically achieved but could be greater if you have lots of files which are not already in a highly compressed state (pictures, music, videos...).

Given the age of the PC back to 2009, then I suspect that it is definitely a Legacy / MBR boot machine, so will just have a Microsoft System Reserved partition and not have an EFI System partition that would otherwise be present for a UEFI system.

Returning to the size difference, one way to avoid any loss of data would be to do any restore / recovery to a spare disk drive rather than to the original one.  This is assuming that you have a spare drive or could get hold of one to use.  Taking that approach can also help make the operation a whole lot less stressful for you as the original drive can be put somewhere safe while it is done!

Steve,

Most helpful suggestion,

I've got spare external drives, so I can test the recovery without risking my C: drive.

Presumably, I won't be able to boot from the external drive, but at least it should show me what it provides.

I'll mark as Solved, although it may take a little time to get round to trying it.

Thanks, as always - Paul 

Paul, Microsoft normally blocks any attempt to boot into Windows from an external drive (unless using their premium Windows 2 Go feature to create such media), but testing in that way should help show that the target drive for the recovery contains all that is needed.

If you are able to use a USB dock with a standard HDD, then that drive could be moved internally for testing (in place of the original drive).