Cloning and temporary files during cloning process
hi,
I wish know if Acronis 2020 create some temporay files automaticaly on the disk system C: during the cloning operation and fill up eventually completely the disk C ( 98gb free) (for a cloned disk of 2 tb for example). If yes , Is it possible to avoid this by channing the location of these temporay files for example ?
Best regards
Chris
Thank you very much for your quick reply and i'm apologize for my my late reply. Another question how is it possible to limit the VSS space ?. And is it possible to do the same thing now in Acronis True Image 2018 ? I have cloned a disk and when i have asked the hotline why my system was temporary filled, we told me that it was a normal process and that it was not possible to do another thing or to limit the filled.
Thanks in advance, Chris
So first we need to clarify what clone is. A clone is a procedure that creates an exact disk to disk copy, bit for bit. I am not privileged enough to know the inner workings of that process however, it seems reasonable that a temporary file is used in the process. Logic suggests that any such temp file would exist on the source drive rather than the target however. I do not know for certain but I do not believe that the clone procedure uses VSS Snapshot. There are three types of Shadow Copies that the VSS service can create, they are:
- Complete copy (Full copy or clone)
- Copy-on-write
- Redirect-on-write
That very logic is why I answered your question as I did.
Clone is not the same procedure as a Backup of data or disk and then a Restore of that data or disk. This procedure uses VSS to accomplish the Backup in this case. The Recovery however is an independent process as the Backup creates a file that is then restored at a later time that can be minutes, hours, days, weeks later.
I do know that TI uses the Windows default System Provider to create shadow copies. That Provider uses the Copy-on-write method. This suggests that an alternative method of data transfer is used for cloning instead of VSS.
It is possible to adjust or limit the amount of disk space used by VSS in Windows however, I know of no way to do so in WinPE recovery media. To adjust/limit VSS storage space you need to change the default settings of System Protection in Windows 10, 8.1. For a how-to check the link below:
For more information on the workings of VSS refer to the link below:
And finally, it is possible to turn off System Restore in Windows 10 on secondary hard disk in a system. It is not possible to do so on the System drive C: however. The minimum size allowable for System Restore is 1% of free disk space. It is possible to add a spare disk as a dedicated VSS Shadow Copy storage area to Windows Server operating systems. An old unused HDD is a good candidate for such service.
Chris, how exactly are you performing a clone for this question?
If you are using the Acronis Active Clone feature from within Windows, then this uses the Microsoft VSS snapshot service to capture locked / protected system files and will therefore create some temporary files during the process.
If you are booting from Acronis Rescue Media to use clone offline from Windows, then there is far less need for using VSS or snapshot as the application can do a direct copy of data. VSS may be used if the rescue media is created using Windows PE but not if it is Linux.
Hi Enchantech and Steve Smith, thank you very much for your replies. I'm using Acronis Clone feature from within windows and i will study your replies. Best regards, Chris