Incremental VS Differential

For new music, doc, pics, movies, etc., True Image is not the best program to use. Much better to use something like Karen's Replicator or Microsoft's Sync Toy - both free.
After the initial backup, subsequent backups will add only changed or new files.

I totally agree with DwnNDrty; I use SyncBack for data files.

In general, an incremental backs up faster since it only deals with files that are new or changed since the last backup (either original or incremental). The differential takes longer since it is backing up all the files since the original full backup.

When restoring, the differential restores faster since it only has to deal with the original and the last differential backup. The incremetental method has to do the original and every incremental in the chain.

If there is a bad incremental in the chain then all incrementals newer than the bad one are useless.

So, incremental means faster backup slower restore, differential means slower backup faster restore and fewer files to deal with usually. In your case, since you likely would be backing up more than restoring the whole archive, the incremental method would probably be preferred.

The above does not apply only to TI. Karen's Replicator, SyncBack, and all the others do full and incrementals and maybe differentials depending on the product. The nice thing about using them is that you get a structure identical to your original folder structure as a backup. Products like TI or BackupMyPC, etc stuff the files into a big container file that may require the program to manipulate and runs the risk that a problem with the archive file will render the entire contents useless instead of just a file or two.

A weakness in using a method that replaces the files in the backup folder structure is the case where you screw up say an editing job on a video file which you realize the next day. You go to the backup only to find that the screwed up edit file was scheduled to be backed up during the night and now your needed backup is a copy of the screwed up file so you don't have a good file anymore. For this reason, if important to you, is to use a product that does versioning so you can go back in time.

Doing an incremental with TI would give you versioning since the the original backups and preceeding incrementals are present, ie, the screwed up file in the example above would only be in the last incremental.

I use SyncBack SE which does versioning, the free one doesn't. I don't know about Karen's Replicator and SyncToy.

With no help from Acronis support, I'm trying to figure out the answers to these questions about Acronis TI 2010.

1. Normally, I do a full backup of all of my drives and differential backups thereafter. I don't know if that resets the archive bits or flags.

I want to use the Nonstop backup feature which does an incremental back up every five minutes so I won't lose the file that I'm working on. I've done a full backup of my drives to a separate archive folder.

My question is when I do the incremental backup does it reset the archive bits.I have the same question about a differential backup.

The bottom line is when I do a full, incremental, or differential backup, will my fullbackup include everything.

2. I just subscribed to Acrnis' Online Backup Service. It worked for a while, but now it doesn't. I have no idea how to make it start working again.

My question is: does the Online Backup Service reset the archive bits.

Thanks

With no help from Acronis support, I'm trying to figure out the answers to these questions about Acronis TI 2010.

1. Normally, I do a full backup of all of my drives and differential backups thereafter. I don't know if that resets the archive bits or flags.

I want to use the Nonstop backup feature which does an incremental back up every five minutes so I won't lose the file that I'm working on. I've done a full backup of my drives to a separate archive folder.

My question is when I do the incremental backup does it reset the archive bits.I have the same question about a differential backup.

The bottom line is when I do a full, incremental, or differential backup, will my fullbackup include everything.

2. I just subscribed to Acrnis' Online Backup Service. It worked for a while, but now it doesn't. I have no idea how to make it start working again.

My question is: does the Online Backup Service reset the archive bits.

Thanks

I've never used Nonstop backup but TI does not use the archive bits to track archived files. It uses a more sophisticated method to determine what has changed.

A full backs up everything. Incrementals and differentials back up what has changed since the last full or incremental depending on whether it is an incremental or differential.

I don't use the Online Backup service and could never see why I would want to given typically slow upload speeds that most internet connections provide. I doubt very much if archive bits are used with it either.