Create a universal backup and keep a backup updated
Good morning,
I opened this thread to have a good and detailed guide on how to create a universal backup with Acronis.
I need to create a backup that can be restored anywhere with just a few steps.
Also, I need to be able to keep this backup up to date otherwise I have to update Windows 10 repeatedly after the restore. If possible I would like to keep the version of Windows 10 configured ad hoc on Virtual Box or a similar program to avoid buying a dedicated computer.
My goal is to have a backup that is reusable on different computers. Installing Windows 10, installing utilities, installing Office, making updates, configuring everything becomes too cumbersome and laborious.
Can Acronis help me? What other programs should I get?
How many backups do I need to create for maximum compatibility?
Thank you in advance
Thanks so much Steve! Acronis Snap Deploy is sure to become my favorite backup product. Can I ask you for a valid guide that allows me to do the following things?
1) Keep my backup copy updated;
2) Restore my backup files on different platforms.
Thanks again
I saw this video:
https://www.acronis.com/en-us/tutorials/ASD5/
but that's not exactly what I want to do because I want to distribute the backup using a USB stick. I fix computers, I don't work in a company and I don't have a server.
Also I prefer not to have a computer set up for this task. Is it possible to use VMware or other similar programs like VirtualBox?
Thank you
Is Acronis Snap Deploy sold individually or is it a module included in some other Acronis product? If so, which one?
What is the difference between Acronis Universal Restore and Acronis Snap Deploy?
I have no experience of using SnapDeploy as have never tried it, so cannot advise you further in that respect!
You get help by asking in the dedicated Acronis Snap Deploy 5 forum where you will find users of that product.
Any distribution of Windows OS and applications such as MS Office has implications with regards to licensing and activation, as these are both based on the hardware signature unless you have a volume license etc.
Restoring images to other computers / different hardware also poses other issues because of new device drivers being needed dependent on the degree of difference, plus also whether you are dealing with Legacy or UEFI BIOS systems etc. Acronis Universal Restore is provided with Acronis True Image to try help with this type of activity.
Using any Virtual Machine will introduce other device driver support for those virtual environments and may pose other issues if then taking a backup from a VM and trying to restore this to a physical PC. I have never tested this latter type of reverse restore operation but have been successful in doing the opposite (restoring a backup of a PC to a VMware VM).
Keeping any backup updated is dependent of the tools being used. With Acronis True Image, this can be a scheduled backup task that is run as appropriate according to how often change occurs.
Thank you for pointing me to the right forum location. I posted right now. I have volume licenses of both Windows and Office. The hardware is very different, I can recover a processor from 10 years ago or install a brand new 5800X. I don't quite understand the meaning of this phrase "Acronis Universal Restore is provided with Acronis True Image to try help with this type of activity.". Do you mean that Universal Restore works at 80% and Snap Deploy at 100%?
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-snap-deploy-5/create-universal-…
See KB 65413: Acronis True Image 2021: Restoring to dissimilar hardware with Acronis Universal Restore which has details of how this utility is used in conjunction with Acronis True Image.
Also the product information page for Acronis Universal Restore
Thanks again. My ideas are still confused. If I can recover an OS to dissimilar hardware with Acronis True Image, what do I need Snap Deploy for and what benefit would I have with Snap Deploy?
The link you gave me clarified the process. In practice it is a matter of applying first Acronis True Image as usual and then Universal Restore, with the drivers of the new PC, to make the OS bootable.
One thing I don't understand is the usefulness of the system drivers. Doesn't Windows Update already contain all the drivers for all hardware components?
Can I install Acronis True Image inside the virtual OS and create the backup file in the same operating system, transfer the .tibx file to a pen drive and then proceed on the PCs that I update/build with 'image restore' plus 'universal restore'?
However, having to find the drivers of the new product, even if those of the motherboard are enough, is very inconvenient because the procedure is no longer automatable.
If I can recover an OS to dissimilar hardware with Acronis True Image, what do I need Snap Deploy for and what benefit would I have with Snap Deploy?
This is a matter of scale and frequency of use. Doing this type of migration to different hardware using ATI and AUR will always be a more manual and slower process.
Snap Deploy is intended for more commercial / business environments where the intent is to deploy the same image to multiple different PC's in a more automated process using the Microsoft SysPrep feature in conjunction with volume licensing etc.
One thing I don't understand is the usefulness of the system drivers. Doesn't Windows Update already contain all the drivers for all hardware components?
The correct drivers are needed to allow the migrated OS to boot on different hardware, in particular, the correct disk controller drivers. Windows Update is only involved after you can get the migrated OS to the desktop environment.
Can I install Acronis True Image inside the virtual OS and create the backup file in the same operating system, transfer the .tibx file to a pen drive and then proceed on the PCs that I update/build with 'image restore' plus 'universal restore'?
You can install ATI into a VM system provided you have a license to do so - I do this myself for testing / helping users in these forums.
You can create ATI backup images of the VM system - I have also done this using both a second virtual HDD and my NAS, plus have recovered the same VM from the backups using my ATI rescue media to boot the VM.
What I have never tried is trying to restore a VM system image to a physical PC - in part because I have never had any need to do so, and because I do not have any spare PC where I want to even try this!
However, having to find the drivers of the new product, even if those of the motherboard are enough, is very inconvenient because the procedure is no longer automatable.
None of this type of migration can be automated when using ATI and AUR - it is a manual process, along with the necessity to identify and obtain all required device drivers.
If Snap Deploy is faster it is an advantage, if with Snap Deploy you can avoid inserting the drivers of the new hardware it is another advantage, if with Snap Deploy it is not possible to create the image to be distributed on a virtual environment it is a disadvantage, if Snap Deploy is more reliable it is an advantage.
Where do I find the correct disk controller drivers to put on Acronis Universal Control? Typically 90% of my drives are SATA SSD or M.2 SSD. If there were about ten drivers and every time I had to use one of them, the driver problem would be partially solved.
In addition to the question you can't answer, I also wanted to ask you if I can restore a virtual OS to a disk of a different size (both larger and smaller).
However, if I have to go looking for drivers every time it is inconvenient, maybe Snap Deploy is better as you yourself said initially. The problem is that in the other discussion I'm not getting any kind of support.
Sorry but as I stated very early on in this topic, I have never used Snap Deploy so any answers given in that regard are purely based on what I have read about it.
Device drivers are the province of each disk manufacturer or motherboard maker to provide so there are a myriad of potential places to look.
Acronis Universal Restore aims to provide generic Windows drivers to allow new hardware that is detected to be able to be used, after which it is up to the user to determine if there are any better, specific drivers available. This latter action may be helped by using Windows Update or else by running any utilities provided by the vendor, i.e. vendors may have maintenance utilities that will advise that better drivers are available.
Example: Dell or HP or Lenovo or Acer etc will have support pages for specific models of their brand PC's or Laptops where they list drivers available for the supported OS versions offered. Intel also have a tool that can scan systems using their components for updated drivers but this is run from within Windows.
Always thanks. Acronis True Image is not the right product for my needs. The product I need is Snap Deploy. I confirm this figure 100%. I read about Microsoft SysPrep because I didn't know this term and was amazed.
There is one thing I cannot understand which is called WinPE. I read that WinPE can be added when creating the ISO of Snap Deploy but I didn't understand where I find WinPE, what it is and above all what it is for. If I don't put WinPE in the Snap Deploy ISO what can happen?
In the photos I also see 'Snap 5 Agent', what is 'Agent'? What is this module for?
Thank you
WinPE = Windows Pre-install Environment and is the tool used by all the recent Windows installation media, i.e. for Windows 10. It is distributed by Microsoft as part of their Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) package.
It is also used by Acronis to create bootable rescue media for doing bare-metal recovery etc.
If Snap Deploy offers the option to create a bootable ISO media then it should also use the same tools and use WinPE to do this.
I can only recommend that you spend time to read the Snap Deploy user guide manual.
In the guide you sent me it seems that WinPE is only for using the command line for specific configurations.
I believe that I can avoid having WinPE in the backup also because it is not my interest to write code. If I have to write code, I should install Windows 10 normally.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHfCN-xc0F8&feature=emb_logo&ab_channel…
The video that is shown says it all. I can do as in this video but to simplify the process I can use the ISO file (in the slides you also see this option).
I still have to understand:
1) How to backup when Windows 10 is on VirtualBox;
2) What strategy to use when I have to restore 3 or 4 PCs connected to a home router (I'm not a network expert but if the computer names are different maybe the printers don't work).
Thank you
Steve, how do you connect to your virtual versions of Windows 10?
I have tried all these options but I don't solve:
https://www.grectech.it/blog/come-coliliazione-una-macchina-virtuale-in…
Thank you in advance
I don't use VirtualBox and have no experience of that application. My own virtual machines are all hosted using VMware Player 15 and I run them on my main Windows 10 Pro 64-bit laptop.
How do you get so many operating systems?
Do you have a 4TB drive?
Ok, I'll switch to VMware, that's not a problem. Could you please tell me how to configure an OS to be seen by the real OS VMware is installed on?
Thank you
Sorry but I am not sure that I understand your question.
VMware runs as an application within my host Windows 10 OS desktop.
Within the VMware application, I just launch any particular Virtual Machine I want to use and it runs within a window on the host desktop. The virtual disks used by the VM are not directly accessible from the host system but I can use normal copy and paste controls so that I can transfer data and programs etc as needed.
I don't know VMware but it looks similar to VirtualBox. On VirtualBox there are systems to network the virtual PC with the host PC, create shared folders, etc ... I thought that even with VMware it was possible.
I only use VMware for testing and problem recreation so have no interest in having it interact further with the host PC, hence why I use the VM to keep the testing / recreation separate.
I can backup the VM to my NAS using ATI to replicate backup & recovery actions, and copy the folder with all the VM files on the Host PC to an external USB 3 drive to allow me to return it back to its pre-testing state by copying this back if needed.