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Creating and validating reserve copies of incremental backups

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I'm using the latest updated version of Acronis True Image Home 2011 with Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit. I've had True Image some time but have only just started using it.

Just created a scheduled backup of all my internal disk partitions to an external disk using daily incremental backups with a full backup every 7 days. I also need to keep a reserve copy of the incremental backups to avoid losing my backups due to disk failure.

I first tried using the in-built facility to create reserve copies. That didn't work because I want copies of my incremental backups not full backups every day - there wouldn't be enough disk space to store full backups on my reserve disk every day. So instead I added a script after backup and validation to copy the incremental backup files to another disk, thereby creating my own "reserve copy" of the incremental backup files.

My problem is every time I try to validate the "reserve copy", True Image Home actually validates the original backup and not the "reserve copy", even if I right click on the "reserve copy" and choose validate. If I disconnect the external disk containing the original backup, then True Image still refuses to validate the "reserve copy".

Why does True Image make it so difficult to create and validate copies of incremental backups and how can I get these copies validated? I haven't yet tried rebooting into the Acronis Boot CD and validating from there - but it's not very good if that's the only way to validate a my "reserve copies".

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Adrain,
As best I know, what you are attempting is not possible. It is not possible to validate the incrementals without having the base to be present and be the foundation.

The initail full is the base or foundation of your backups. The incrementals are changes from each last backup and build upon the base. If any one of the incrementals should get corrupt or missing, all the newer backups after the corruption are useless.

If you want reserve copies, you will have to include the full backups as part of the reserve storage so the backup has no missing backup files.
Without the full backup present, the incrementals have no restore value.

Thanks but you misunderstand. I intend to keep all base copies and the subsequent incremental versions in both locations.

For example if I have Base 1 + Incremental 1 + Incremental 2 - all 3 of these files will be in the original external drive location AND also copied to my reserve copy location. The files in the reserve copy location are an exact mirror of those in the original location.

True Image Home 2011 will validate the files in the original location but refuses to attempt to validate the same files in the reserve copy location.

I need two copies of all my backups in case the external drive fails.

The backup scheme is as follows:

Schedule : daily backups
Backup Method : Incremental
Create a full version every 6 days
Store no more than 10 recent version chains

So on the first day I get a full backup followed by incremental backups for the next 6 days; a new full backup / incremental chain is started for the next week. 10 chains are kept so I have the current chain and the previous 9 weeks of chains always available.

All the backup files (full and incremental) are copied to the reserve location immediately after the backup has completed.

Thank you for the clarification that the reserve folder will always contain all copies of the backup chain.

One option you might try would be to boot from the TI Recovery CD and attempt to validate the Reserve copy when booted from the CD. I do not know if this would work but it is another method of testing.

I believe your issue is somethng you might want to contact Acronis for direct support. If within 30 days of purchase, you have free support. If past 30 days, then paid support ($9.99 per incident) and if problem found to be a bug, they advertise that they will refund your suppoort fee.

Any help on the forum is 99.9% from volunteers.

Due to the way the database method of tracking backup files, what you are asking for "may" not be possible under its current design. Maybe later this week, I will try repeating your test.

Many of us use a second task to create a fresh duplicate rather than a copied duplicate.
The program also has an option to make a reserve copy which is always a new backup and always a full backup.

An update -

I tried various ways to validate the copies of tib archives, using the CD, and also changing the archive location within TIH having having first hidden the archives in the other location so that TIH couldn't find them and asked me to find them using the file browser. In either case, whilst I could successfully validate, TIH lost track of the backups contained within the archive set (seemingly at random, sometimes it could find all my backups, other times only some of them). Same applied using the CD version.

So I ended up doing as suggested above, setting up TIH scheduler to create and validate a separate backup archive in both locations.

I'm not impressed though, and slightly worried, if TIH cannot work out what backups are contained within an EXACT copy of the same tib files albeit in a held in different location, what would happen if TIH can't find the archive when undertaking a restore? Clearly locating tib archives using BROWSE cannot be fully relied upon. This could cause problems if a one or more hard drives fail and I need to undertake a restore. I'm confident at least some of the backups will be available, but may be just not the one I actually need!

Given design faults or bugs such as this it is appalling if Acronis expect people to pay for support when they need issues investigating after they have had the software for a while, I don't trust them to admit fault and refund the payment even when clearly there is an issue for users.