Sun City Summerlin Computer Club Seminar
Backing Up With
Acronis True Image 2015
Tom Burt
November 26, 2014
Seminar Agenda
• Basic Backup Concepts
• Cloning vs Imaging
• Backup Tools
• Where to Back up?
• Where to buy a Backup Drive
• Demo – Imaging With Acronis True Image 2015
• -- Bio Break (~15 min)
• Demo – Other Acronis Features and Tools
• Cloud Backup for Data Files
• Using Command Scripts for File Backups
• Tom’s Backup Guidelines
• Web Site Links – Where to Buy
• Open Q and A
Basic Backup Concepts
• “Backing up” means making a copy of all or part of your PC hard drive to another hard drive.
• Why do it?
– Hard drives are electro-mechanical devices – they BREAK DOWN.
(but hard drive MTBFs are now 100,000+ operating hours) – Even solid state drives can fail or become corrupt.
– Hard drives, their folders and files can become CORRUPT.
– Humans are fallible!!
Sooner or later you will DELETE a file when you didn’t mean to.
– Malware of all kinds may attack your PC and DESTROY data.
– Lightning may strike, fires happen, floods happen.
• Without backups, you may lose irreplaceable data
– Family photos, music, videos, financial records, e-mail, …
• Replacing lost software may be difficult and expensive.
Cloning vs Imaging
• Cloning
– Backs up an entire hard drive to another entire hard drive.
– The resultant hard drive is bootable – same OS & drivers.
– The resultant hard drive has all the files and folders of the original.
– The “clone” is a logical copy – not a bit-for-bit physical copy.
• Imaging
– An image is a single large file if on NTFS, or a group of files if on FAT32.
– An image is a copy of one or more partitions of a hard drive.
– Images are compressed – about 2 to 1.
– Images only contain “used” areas of the original partition.
– Images are not directly bootable, but contain all boot information.
– With software help, an image can be “mounted” as a logical drive.
(This allows individual files to be retrieved from the image).
A Sampling of Backup Tools (1)
• Acronis True Image 2015 Home (latest)
– http://www.acronis.com or http://ugr.com
– Single PC about $25, family pack of 3 about $60 (UGR) – Excellent for backing up entire hard drives or partitions.
– Also can back up individual files.
– Makes both “clones” or “images”
– Can “mount” a backup image as a logical drive.
– Can make a bootable “Rescue CD” for both backup and restore.
• Windows Explorer
– Built-in Windows File Manager.
– Easy to use for copying small groups of files and folders.
• Windows XCOPY “batch” command utility
– Runs from the command line or in .cmd batch scripts.
– Good for automating a regular sequence of file backup actions.
– Many options.
A Sampling of Backup Tools (2)
• CASPER 8.0 by Future Systems Software
– www/fssdev.com
– Supports both cloning and disk imaging
– Features SmartClone technology (differential clones) – Single system price about $50; family pack of 3 for $70
• CloneZilla (free, open source)
– http://clonezilla.org
– Supports both cloning and imaging – Support for Windows, Mac, Linux
– May be a bit more challenging for novices – Excellent for large network backups
Where to Back Up?
• To an external drive (USB 2/3, eSATA or rack mounted)
– Fastest I/O, especially for cloning or imaging.
– Backup drive can be removed after backup is complete.
– If imaging, can use an “images” folder on the external drive.
(No need to dedicate the entire drive to backups).
• To another computer on your home network
– Similar to imaging to a USB backup drive.
– Dedicate an area on that PC to storing backup images.
• To DVDs or Blu-ray discs
– Much slower and less convenient.
– Even with dual layer (9 GB) DVDs, will need about 5 DVDs
or 2 (25 GB) Blu-rays to back up a full 40GB hard drive partition.
– Blu-ray burners can be had for about $125
Where to Buy a Back Up Drive
• Shop the usual on-line tech stores:
– www.amazon.com – www.newegg.com – www.tigerdirect.com – www.bestbuy.com – www.officedepot.com
• Search Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo for a specific brand / size:
– external "hard drive" "usb 3" 2-tb
– Lots of hits – typical price about $90 for 2 TB – Ultra-slim drives will be slower
• For just backing up data files, consider a flash drive
– USB 3 16GB, 32GB and 64GB drives quite affordable.
Main Screen – Acronis True Image 2015
Demo – Backing Up With Acronis
“Within Windows” Method (much more convenient)
• 1. Shut down the PC (if needed).
• 2. Attach external USB / eSATA drive or mount rack with drive.
• 3. Re-boot Windows.
• 4. Choose backup Options:
– Clone or Image
– Source partition / drive – Target partition / drive
– If imaging – full or incremental
• 5. OK your selections.
• 6. Sit back and let the backup take place.
• 7. Shut down the PC.
• 8. Remove the backup hard drive.
• 9 Reboot the PC into Windows.
Backing Up With Acronis Rescue CD
Using the Bootable Acronis Rescue CD Method (more complete)
• 1. Shut down the PC.
• 2. Attach external USB/eSATA drive or mount rack with drive.
• 3. Boot using Acronis Rescue CD (boots into Linux).
• 4. Choose backup Options:
– Clone or Image
– Source partition / drive – Target partition / drive
– If imaging – full or incremental
• 5. OK your selections.
• 6. Sit back and let the backup take place.
• 7. Shut down the PC.
• 8. Remove the bootable Rescue CD and backup hard drive.
• 9 Reboot the PC back into Windows.
Backing Up Files With Acronis
1. Attach external USB/eSATA drive or mount rack with drive.
2. Start Acronis True Image.
3. Choose backup Options:
– Source partition / drive / Folders – Target partition / drive / Folder
4. OK your selections.
5. Sit back and let the backup take place.
6. Remove the boot CD and backup hard drive.
Acronis 2015 Tools and Features
• Demo - Make a bootable Rescue CD.
• Non-stop backup configuration:
• Online backup (Requires subscription) configuration:
• File backup configuration:
– For all of these, you specify a set of folders that Acronis will back up.
• Drive Cleanser tool.
• File Shredder tool.
• Mount an Image as a logical drive.
• One-click backup.
Cloud Backup for Data Files
• Popular cloud storage services are another way to back up your key data files.
• Most will automatically sync between your PC / Mac / Tablet and the cloud.
• Typically you can sign up for about 5 GB of free storage and buy more if needed.
• Popular services include:
– Microsoft OneDrive: https://onedrive.live.com/
– Apple iCloud: www.apple.com/icloud – DropBox: www.dropbox.com
– Google Drive: http://drive.google.com – SugarSync: https://www.sugarsync.com
Scripts for Backing Up Files
• Backup scripts are helpful for frequent backups:
– Daily backup of files in “My Documents”
– Daily backup of e-mail folders – Daily backup of Quicken
• Combines well with weekly imaging of HD partitions:
– Less time required
– Easier to get at a backup file when needed.
– Can use as a “versioning” system (copy to a different folder each day)
• Best scripting languages:
– VB Script – very flexible and powerful – Windows “command” (.cmd) files
• Often works well to back to to a flash drive.
Windows XCOPY Command
• XCOPY source [destination]
[/A | /M] [/D[:date]] [/P] [/S [/E]] [/V] [/W]
[/C] [/I] [/Q] [/F] [/L] [/G] [/H] [/R] [/T] [/U]
[/K] [/N] [/O] [/X] [/Y] [/-Y] [/Z]
[/EXCLUDE:file1[+file2][+file3]...]
source Specifies the file(s) to copy.
destination Specifies the location and/or name of new files.
• See the “XCOPY” help file … XCOPY /?
• Has many, many options
• Example: Copy all changed files in My Documents to a backup and clear the Archive flag:
– XCOPY “My Documents\*.*” R:\MyBackups\Documents\ /H /M /E /Q
Tom’s Backup Guidelines
• Use Acronis for Image Backups
– Weekly for OS partition
– Weekly for separate data partition – Daily for frequently changing data
• Back up to a Removable Hard Drive
– USB 2/3 or eSATA are good choices - can unplug and put away afterward.
– Rack mount drives OK, but racks need to be installed.
– eSATA / USB 3 docks are a new alternative.
• Use backup scripts (.cmd files)
– For recurring, frequent backups of data files.
(e.g. Outlook.pst – changes daily)
• Also burn CD or DVD backup disks
– Safe copies of irreplaceable data like digital photos, financials – Can store off site – bank safe deposit or friend’s home
Web Links – Where to Buy
• http://www.ugr.com
• http://www.acronis.com
• http://clonezilla.org
• http://www.fssdev.com
• http://www.newegg.com
• http://www.tigerdirect.com