Subscribe:

For many PC users, working on the simplest setup of the operating system causes a feeling of fear and doubt in their own abilities. In turn, attempts to solve more complex problems that require additional knowledge self-destruct.

A striking example of this is the desire to split a computer’s hard drive (HDD) into several logical partitions using the Acronis program.

Many users are of the opinion that working in Acronis Disk Director Suite is incredibly difficult, but we hasten to inform you that this is absolutely not the case.

This article will tell you in detail how to work with this program. Of course, we will not consider everything, but will cover the most basic manipulations with the HDD.

Instructions for creating logical disks in Acronis Disk Director

Let's launch the program.

If this is the first time you see the Acronis interface and do not know how to work with the program, then select “Automatic mode”. The most basic functions will be available in it.

Over time, when the key points are clear, you can experiment in “Manual Mode”.

As a result, we see the following:

You need to click on the “Wizards” menu item.

As a rule, the first two points are the most in demand in work.

Let's look at “Creating partitions”

For example, we have a 1 TB hard drive. Please note that this means that the computer has one HDD installed. In our example, the HDD is initially divided into three local partitions, and we will create another one, for this: click the item in the “Wizard” -> “Create Partitions” menu, as a result we see the following:

To create a new partition we will use the space from drive “E”.

During this process, Acronis will lock the partitions. In this state, you cannot change files and folder contents.

As you can see in the screenshot, it is possible to use only 354.4 MB.

note. Before partitioning the disk, it is necessary and only then to use its space.

Important. If the partition being created is needed only for storing files, then select the “Logical” type. If to install the system, then “Active”. By switching partition types, you can study their purpose in detail.

This example shows how to create a logical drive to house data files.

We don’t enter anything and continue.

Greetings to all blog readers! :) In one of the articles where I talked about ways to protect your computer from various threats, I also touched on simple security measures that are recommended for every PC user to follow in order to always have a stable working system and not lose important data. Data safety and the ability to quickly restore the functionality of Windows (or another system on which you are working) is very important for each of us.

For example, you make money on axleboxes, you already have the necessary programs, everything is configured for your convenience, and suddenly your system crashes and refuses to boot no matter how hard you try. Those. simple ways to bring the system back to life do not work. The system could “die” for a number of reasons: infection with viruses, installation of “crooked” drivers and programs, failure of some computer component, and much more.

In this case, the solution for most is to reinstall the operating system, then install all new programs, configure everything for the convenience of your work, and a number of other actions to make everything as convenient for you before. And all this can take up, if not the whole day, then definitely half a day :) And it’s good if you have some experience and can copy important data to return it later. But imagine if you can’t do this or they are damaged and part of them is deleted, for example, if the hard drive is damaged? This can become a very big problem.

Knowing all of the above and what I had to deal with many times, I decided to write a couple or more articles about how you can conveniently make a copy of all the files you need from your computer, as well as create an entire copy of your system with all the programs already installed and the necessary settings .

For this purpose, it is possible to use both built-in Windows tools and third-party ones. Data backup tools in Windows itself are extremely inconvenient, slow and do not have a large number of convenient, useful functions. Therefore, I recommend using third-party tools for this purpose, for example, the program Acronis True Image. The program is paid and the cost of a simple home version for one computer at the moment is 1,700 rubles.

But, as is the case with antiviruses (for example, Kaspersky) and other paid programs, as a rule, it is always possible to download an already activated full copy from the Internet and use it for free :) The program is very, very useful and sometimes simply necessary.

Now I will tell you how to create a full system backup, going through each step of the settings and explaining each function.

Let's start by installing the program.

Installing a data backup / recovery program - Acronis True Image

The installation process, as well as the interface of the program itself, of course, may differ with the release of new versions, but the essence of the program and its functions remain unchanged. Therefore, having learned how to backup and restore using this guide, you will be able to do this in any new version of Acronis.

You can purchase the program from the official website at the price indicated there, or download the activated full latest version here:

Acronis True Image Home 2014 PREMIUM.zip
ZIP archive
216 MB
Download

The downloaded archive “Acronis True Image Home 2014 PREMIUM.zip” must be unpacked before starting the installation from the file inside. To do this, right-click on the archive and select “Extract all...”:

A window will open in which by clicking the “Browse” button you can select the path to unpack the archive. By default, it will be unpacked into the same folder where it is currently located. I recommend checking the box “Show extracted files” and then after unpacking the folder with the unpacked contents will immediately open. To start unpacking, click the “Extract” button:

After unpacking, run the installation file. For this version it has the name: “ATIH.2014.PREMIUM.v17.0.0.5560.exe”:

The first installer window will appear, in which you just need to agree to continue the installation by clicking the “Yes” button:

After unpacking, the first window of the Acronis True Image installer will appear, in which we simply click the “Next” button, since there is nothing you need to do here:

We accept the license agreement in the next window by selecting “I agree to the terms of the agreement” and click the “Next” button:

In the next window we are asked to select the installation type. I recommend always choosing “Custom” when installing any programs in order to remove completely unnecessary components:

A new window will open where we see the components that will be installed. In this case, nothing unnecessary will be installed, and therefore we leave everything as it is and click “Next”:

In the next window, select “Install for all users” and click “Next”. I also recommend choosing this option when installing any software, and if only you or your loved ones work on this computer:

All that remains is to click the “Proceed” button and the process of installing the program on your computer will begin with the parameters we have chosen:

After the installation process is completed, which does not require your intervention (takes about 2-3 minutes), the last window will appear, in which we click the “Close” button:

This completes the Acronis True Image installation process. Now let’s look at how to make a complete backup copy of the system: the operating system and all the programs installed on it, so that if the system “crash”, you can very easily return it to the same state, with the same programs and settings.

Creating a complete copy of the system with all data for further rapid restoration to its original state

First of all, you need to take care of where your backups will be stored, which you will now, I think, regularly create for your own convenience and safety.

If you have 2 separate hard drives on your computer, you can store backups on one of these drives. The main thing is that there is enough space, because a backup copy of the entire system without compression will take up exactly the same volume as the system itself, along with the files, actually occupies in your space. For example, if the volume of everything stored on your computer takes up 200 GB, then a backup copy without compression will take up approximately the same volume. Acronis allows you to compress your backup, which I always use, and with maximum compression, the volume is often reduced by as much as 2 times. Therefore, based on the explanations above, you can already estimate how much space you need to store a full copy of your computer.

I create backups to an external hard drive, which I connect to my laptop via USB. This is very convenient if the space on this hard drive allows it. And after the copies are created on my external HDD (hard drive), I sometimes transfer them to cloud services (online storage), for example, to Mail.ru, where 100 GB of free space is given for free.

I have written a number of separate articles about remote storages and I recommend, first of all, that you read the very first one:

It's up to you to decide :) The main thing is not to store backup copies of your data on the same hard drive from which you make these copies. This makes no sense, because if this HDD is damaged, you will lose all the data along with the copy, since they were stored on one disk. I hope everything is clear here :)

So, let's start creating a backup copy of your system, including everything that is in it:

Launch Acronis True Image from a shortcut on the desktop or from the Start menu.

After the program starts, go to the “Backup and Restore” tab. To create a backup copy of the entire system, along with all programs and settings, click on the “Backup disks and partitions” button on the open tab:

A new window will open for you to set backup options. Starting from this, all subsequent steps are very important. First of all, on the left, select the partitions on the hard drives, a copy of which will be created.




1. And now let’s move on to the last important settings, which will be located on several tabs. To do this, click on the “Disk backup options” link, which is located on the left:

   A window will open where we go to the very first tab – “Scheme”. On this tab, you configure the backup scheme – i.e. the method in which the current and subsequent backups will be created.

   I recommend choosing the "Custom Scheme" scheme and setting everything up manually. In the “Backup method” item, it is best to select “Incremental”. In this case, a full copy of your selected partitions or entire hard drives will be created first, and subsequent times small copies will be created, storing only changes since the last full copy.

   For example, my backup plan is as follows: I make backups daily and once a month I create a full version, and for the next 30 days only changes are saved. Therefore, in my example, I set the value to “after every 30 incremental copies.”

   And since with the appearance of a large number of copies (especially with regular creation of full copies), all this will take up more and more space on your media, I also include a function for automatically clearing chains of old versions. I also recommend that you use this to save space.

   To do this, enable the item “Delete version chains, since the creation of which ... ... has passed” and indicate the number of days.

   Since I make backups once a day and a full copy is created after every 30 incremental ones (that is, after every 30 days), I set the automatic deletion of old versions that are older than 30 days. Thus, it turns out that I create another new full copy, and the old chain (from complete to the last incremental one for a given month) is deleted. Due to this, I don’t waste a lot of space on my drive and there are no 2 or more complete copies stored there, which will take up a lot of space :)

   To avoid having to configure these settings again, I recommend checking the “Save as default settings” checkbox.

   Go to the “Advanced” tab. On this tab we will go through all the sections and set the necessary settings. In the first section “Image creation mode” we check that the “Archive in sector-by-sector mode” option is disabled. This function will create a copy for us, taking into account all errors on the disk, i.e. will create a complete copy along with the disk structure in addition to the data itself.

   1. In the “Backup protection” section we are asked to protect the created archive with a password and encrypt it. I recommend creating a password primarily to protect the archive from viruses. And secondly, in order to protect the copy from prying eyes, if you think that someone might spy on or destroy the data.

      If you are setting a password only for the purpose of protecting against viruses, then I recommend setting a simple one, for example: “123”:

      We will not choose an encryption method, since it is advisable to do this when working in an environment that is dangerous in every sense, and at the same time, the time to create a backup copy will increase due to encryption.

      Nothing should be included in the Pre/Post Commands section, check:

      In the “Backup splitting” section, make sure that the value is set to “Automatic”. In this case, Acronis will split the archive itself depending on the selected scheme or even create a copy from one file:

      In the “Verification” section, you can enable checking the backup copy for its functionality. Since I constantly create new copies and every month a new full copy, I turn off the check so as not to take up resources again and not be distracted by it. You can enable checking after creation or on a schedule:

      In the next section, “Duplicate backups,” you can specify an additional storage location for your backup, and it will be duplicated into this storage. This will give even greater security to your data, since a copy will be stored in as many as two places. But not everyone has the opportunity to allocate additional memory space on some storage medium for this. I don't enable this option and just periodically manually copy backups additionally to other locations:

      In the “Setting up removable media” section, I recommend unchecking the only checkbox. This is necessary so that when planning an automatic backup, you do not need to manually confirm that the removable media (for example, a flash drive) is connected to the computer:

      Let's move on to the "Comments on the backup copy" section, where you can optionally set any notes regarding the backup copy being created. You can leave the field empty:

      The Screenshot Settings section allows the program to take a screenshot when starting a backup. The function is almost never used, so it's easier to leave it disabled:

      Let's move on to the "Error Handling" section. Here I recommend unchecking the item: “If there is not enough space in the Security Zone, delete the oldest backup copy”:

      I’ll tell you later what “Acronis Secure Zone” is and why it might be needed.

      The penultimate section, “Turning off the computer,” sometimes turns out to be useful. Here we can activate the function to shut down the computer after the backup is created. It is good to use this function when the backup is, for example, planned for the night or at a time when no one will use the computer, so that the computer then turns off itself and does not remain idle.

      The last section “Windows Account” is, in principle, never needed if you work under the user – Administrator. Therefore, we leave the function of starting a backup from another user disabled here:

      That's it with the "Advanced" tab :) Let's move on...

Let's move on to the "Performance" tab, which is also not unimportant. Here I recommend setting the compression level to the maximum. In my experience, the duration of creating a backup copy in this case does not increase significantly, but the created archive is sometimes reduced by almost 2 times.

The priority affects how much computer resources Acronis will consume when creating a backup. The higher the priority, the more of them will be consumed, but the faster the backup will be created. If the computer is very productive, then you can safely set the maximum priority, but I recommend “Normal”:

The last 2 tabs: “Notifications” and “Exceptions”, as a rule, are not needed and I recommend leaving everything there as it is configured by default:

The “Exceptions” tab can be useful if you want to indicate some files and folders that do not need to be backed up and Acronis will skip them.

To save the settings, click the “OK” button at the very bottom of this window:

To start a backup, in the main settings window, click the “Archive” button:

If you click not the “Backup” button itself, but the arrow on the side, a list of options will appear: delay the start of the backup for a period of 1 to 6 hours or until it is started manually at any time.

As a result, the backup process we configured will start. Its duration will depend on the volume that is being archived, on the performance of the computer, the selected priority, the degree of compression of the archive and other parameters:

We just have to wait for the backup to finish.

After the copying is completed, its verification may begin if you specified this during setup. And then go to your media or the place where the copy was made and check that the backup copy is in place :)

This is what the archive created by Acronis True Image looks like:

In my example, the archived space had a volume of about 12 GB, and the archive turned out to be 4.9 GB in size. Those. maximum compression made it possible to reduce the archive by more than half, which is just great!

Now let's look at how to backup individual files and folders, rather than the entire system, for restoration if necessary in case of their loss

Backing up individual files/folders

As I mentioned earlier, in Acronis you can create not only entire backup copies of partitions for further restoration of your computer if necessary, but also individual files/folders. This way, you can save space on the media where you will store backups and back up only the data that is really important and cannot be lost.

For example, those who work in boxes using multi-accounts probably have a large table with logins and passwords for the boxes themselves, wallets, and emails. I know from myself that losing this data is a very sad situation :)

So, let's look at the process of backing up files and folders step by step:

Having launched Acronis True Image, go to the “Backup and Restore” tab as before and click the “File Backup” button there, and from the list that appears select “To local storage”:

The File Backup window will open.




1. Now all that remains is to configure the additional backup settings that you are already familiar with. Click on the link below “File backup options”:

   A settings window with 5 tabs will open. All tabs and settings on them are completely identical to those that we have already made when creating a backup copy of the entire system:

   We can only wait until the operation is completed and if the volume of the created copy is large, then we can go about our business for now, for example, work :)

   After completing the backup process, just in case, go to the media where it was performed and check the presence of your backup copy (file with the “.tib” extension):

This is how you can create complete copies of your system on a regular basis so that if it “crash,” you can then quickly restore it entirely or some individual files/folders. Of course, the instructions turned out to be voluminous and at first glance it all seems complicated :) In fact, the steps are simple, I’m just used to describing each action. But you won’t get confused anywhere and, having done this once, everything will become clear and next time you won’t need any instructions at all.

I will tell you how to restore a system from a backup immediately to a ready working state, as well as restore individual files/folders in the following article:

I won't say goodbye for a long time :) Bye everyone!

Good day, dear friends, acquaintances, readers, admirers and other individuals. Today we'll talk about Acronis True Image, as is clear from the title.

Then select the version. For a home user, the standard version is enough, and if you decide to buy the program in the future, you should not overpay for functionality that you may not really need.

Next, you will be asked to indicate your E-mail address (we recommend doing this, because then the account can be used not only for managing licenses, but also for monitoring + the account gives access to other Acronis functionality:

After specifying the address, Acronis True Image will begin downloading. If this does not happen, then click on the button corresponding to the computer’s operating system (in our case it’s Windows).

Then run the downloaded file and begin the download and installation procedure (everything happens without your special participation, just click on the corresponding button once):

After installation, you will be asked to create an account to receive, in fact, a free trial version and (see text above) additional functionality.

Registration and account

After registration, it is better to immediately look at your mailbox.

At the time of writing this material, upon confirmation of your account, you were given a free temporary cloud and other goodies:

The next step will be to immediately activate the license (or buy it), where, in our case, we choose a free trial period:

Actually, after this (or a little before) you will be asked to accept the user agreement, after which the program itself will launch, with all its wonderful functionality.

Launching Acronis True Image for the first time and creating a copy

On the left side you will find the program menu, on the right everything else.

Actually, nothing complicated:

The first tab Acronis True Image, traditionally, is responsible for backup. Let's talk about it right away.

Here you can select the current computer (its name is displayed in the second tab), and by clicking the “Add copy” button you can create a new copy, customizing it at your discretion (or you can simply edit the current one.

Actually, in the next tab you can choose whether to copy the entire computer, or some separate part of it (disk, partition, files and folders, or something else), as well as indicate where to store the copy. Both are set by hovering the mouse over the corresponding icon.

Here, for example, are the disks and partitions:

Etc. In general, I think you’ll figure it out here, the interface has been polished and fully supports the Russian language.

The storage location for the copy is selected in the same way.

Setting the copy storage location

This can be an external drive, a cloud from Acronis True Image, or some other location (for example, another drive, a folder on the network, FTP (!), NAS (!!), etc.):

Here you can cheat and if you have a cloud from another manufacturer, then select the same DropBox, OneDrive, Google Drive or any other storage as the storage folder, taking into account that you have the corresponding application installed on your computer.

True, this will add a little inconvenience, in the form of synchronization and a bunch of other nuances.

After you choose what to copy and where to copy, in fact, click on the little blue button “Parameters”, which will allow you to more subtly set the necessary nuances and formalities.

Disk backup options

Let's see what else Acronis True Image can do:

For example, set a schedule for when and how to make a backup copy, i.e. time, frequency of repetition, and whether it should be done when the computer is idle or at any time, whether it is necessary to wake up this same computer, whether to start it immediately after the system starts or after some kind of pause and so on.

Depending on the intensity of use of the device, configure this for yourself.

The second tab allows you to set the backup scheme.

Scheme and method of disk copying

Acronis True Image allows you to set whether it will be incremental, full, or something else, as well as set the number of incremental (and not only) copies, set how many chains of changes to store, and so on.

Let's take a quick look at what's going on here:

• The full version actually makes a full backup, which is logical;
• Incremental, makes, in fact, only the changes that have occurred since the LAST BACKUP OPERATION (convenient, allows you to save space and not lose anything);
• Differential, in fact, makes a full copy of the CREATION OF THE LAST FULL BACKUP COPY, i.e. the difference, I hope, is obvious, because the last operation (may make NOT a FULL copy) and the last FULL backup copy are different things.

Depending on the intensity of computer use (as well as the availability of space for backups), it is recommended to store at least 60 days of chains (i.e. delete older ones), or better yet even more, and also create a full copy after at least 5 incremental (preferably after 3).

The next tab allows you to set notification parameters.

Setting up notifications and additional functionality

If you don't know what it is, why and how it's configured, you might want to skip this tab and just check the " Show a notification when there is not enough free disk space":

On the exceptions tab, “oddly enough,” you can set exceptions by type, path, mask, criteria, and so on. At a minimum, you should leave everything as it is (and add your own if necessary):

Well, on the “Advanced” tab of Acronis True Image, in fact, details are set that can be basic for many.

First, you can create a sector-by-sector mode. This option can be used to create exact copies of entire partitions or , rather than just the sectors containing data.

For example, you may need to do this to back up a partition or disk that contains an operating system that is not supported by Acronis True Image.

Password protection, sector-by-sector mode, etc.

Please note that in this mode the processing time is increased and the image file size is typically larger. Not always recommended for regular users.

Backup protection will allow you to set .

I think that not everyone may need this, but you can set a password for purposes.

You can skip the Pre/Post commands (if you don’t understand what they mean), as well as splitting the backup into parts (either leave the automatic mode, or set the parameter to the desired size, in case you decide to write the copy to a disk of a certain size).

We strongly recommend that you enable the check (especially if you have old hard drives or the storage is located on the Internet), as well as check the copy periodically (it doesn’t take up a lot of resources, but it allows you to be sure of the integrity of the copy).

If you make a copy to external media, then you should immediately set the option to write Acronis True Image there, so that you can quickly use the recovery later.

Error handling, image type and other nuances

Actually, it makes sense to leave error handling as is, turn off the computer at your discretion, and set the performance to optimal (or at your discretion, if you are making a copy live and not while idle), and set the image type to “VSS” or “ Acronis Snapshot".

That's all, basically, it's worth checking the box at the very bottom, i.e. " Save as default", in case you plan to make several copies and don’t want to set everything up anew each time (but just, say, edit).

At this point, you can begin the copying process and wait for it to complete. Recovery is no more complicated than the copying process. In rare cases, when the system crashes, it is enough to insert a flash drive or disk with the created media, boot from it (by setting the appropriate item in the BIOS) and, following the same simple and intuitive interface, carry out the recovery process, indicating where, where and how to do it.

Additional Acronis tools

Let's see what else he can do. The archive tab, as already mentioned, allows you to archive unused data so that it does not chew up disk space:

Synchronization, of course, allows you to upload data to the cloud, synchronize data between devices (computers, laptops, smartphones, tablets, etc.), as well as a bunch of other useful things:

Well, the tools tab allows you to use the previously mentioned tools, be it creating bootable True Image media:

Clone disks, clean the system, delete data permanently, and even use third-party and community utilities.

At the moment we will not describe them all, fortunately, there is probably nothing more intuitive than them (or, in fact, you can always ask a question in the comments).

The tab with the monitoring panel, as already mentioned, allows you to monitor backups, make copies of photos from Facebook, etc., the tab with the account allows you to manage your account, and the parameters...

They are the same parameters in Africa; in general, there is nothing to change there, except, perhaps, the storage location for backup copies of mobile devices.

And settings for email notifications (which can also be successfully done simply in your account on the Acronis website.

There’s probably nothing more to say about this. And so it turned out quite a lot.
Oh, and, yes, about the license.

Where to buy a license for Acronis True Image

Delivery is carried out within 10 minutes (in the form of a key by email), the key is linked to your Acronis account and works great. You can buy - there are a lot of payment methods.

By the way, if you encounter any problems when purchasing anything from the above-mentioned partners, please contact us.

Afterword

That's how things are. As always, if you have any questions, additions, thoughts, etc., you are welcome to comment on this article. So far, perhaps, this is the best paid product on the market. Especially under Windows and without unnecessary movements.

Thank you for being with us.

Acronis True Image, the roads of backup life.

Hello, hello, dear friends. Let's continue to talk about our main solution for home users.

Acronis True Image is a product with its own rich history. We tried to listen carefully to our customers, and therefore the product has accumulated quite a lot of different kinds of functionality that is designed to protect user data in one way or another. Actually, in this issue we decided to tell you about the different types of backups that are supported by Acronis True Image.

Before diving into the variations of backup methods, let's briefly describe the general approach. All our backups are done through a snapshot: either our own or through the Volume Shadow Copy Service. Accordingly, you can continue to work with the computer, change or delete data - the backup copy will record the moment the snapshot was created.

1. Disk backup.

So, now let's discuss backup methods. The first and most powerful way that protects everything and everyone and allows you to not only save your data, but also get back to work as quickly as possible is a disk backup. You can protect an entire disk, partition, dynamic disks, all kinds of raids are supported, etc. This method frees you from having to choose what exactly to protect - just make a copy of everything that is, and come what may.

You can configure data rotation in different ways. For example, always create a full backup and overwrite the previous one:

Of course, a lot of storage space will be consumed.

To use space more efficiently, you should use an incremental backup: only the data that has changed since the last backup will be copied. But in this case, to restore data we will need the entire chain of copies, since new copies depend on the previous ones.

Differential backups do not have this disadvantage. They copy data that has changed not since the last backup, as incremental, but from the very first copy. Thus, the versions depend only on the very first backup. Accordingly, you can afford to lose some intermediate versions:

Backups can be stored on USB drives, network folders, FTP servers, CD/DVD, etc. Previously we described and

2. Disk cloning

Disk cloning will make an exact copy of your disk on another disk in sector mode. This will allow you to return to work in case of problems with the first disk by simply booting your computer from the second disk. You don't even need to wait for data recovery.

3. File backup.

Well, the last way to create backups today is to copy your files. In this case, all the same options and options for storing copies as for a disk backup.

Why do you need file backups at all if you can make a full copy of the disk? There are possible options here. A disk copy can be made, for example, relatively rarely, and thus save storage space. But copies of your working files can be made every hour or even every 5 minutes (we’ll talk about this in detail in the next article). For example, this is exactly what I do:

How do you protect your data?

26.06.2017

Acronis True Image is a tool for creating backup copies of entire disks and individual files. Thanks to this program, you can install Windows not in 2-3 hours with all programs and drivers, but in 20 minutes, for example. In addition, you can restore absolutely all files that were on the system before removal and reinstallation. Using Acronis True Image after a system crash, you don’t have to worry about documents that you’ve been working on for a long time.

Acronis has free versions of the program for owners of Seagate and WD drives. Application functionality is limited.

Free versions of programs

• Bootable media for Windows 10 PE with programs and Acronis True Image 2017

The cloud is paid in Acronis. A Premium subscription with a 1 TB cloud costs 3,400 rubles per year. Another option is to rent or buy a server or other cheaper cloud storage (only it will not be as convenient as with the Acronis cloud).

Free data protection method

I use a free cloud and copy files there. For greater reliability, I delete the backup copies from the computer, while copying the files to a folder that I disconnect from synchronization. Open your cloud settings and find Selective sync or Set up sync. And disable synchronization of folders where your backup files are stored. Pros - free, cons - you need fast Internet and a large amount of memory in the cloud for copying. For example, if you managed to receive 1 TB as a gift in the Mail Cloud, then use it. No, then register several accounts in Yandex Disk for example.

The best option for the reliability of your data is to copy backups to an external drive that is not connected over the network. This way, viruses and other infections will not get to the backup copy. By the way, this is relevant after an attack by a ransomware virus.

As an option, you can set up a backup to the network.

The advantage of your own server over the cloud is that the access speed over the network is many times higher than the access speed to the cloud (1 GB per second versus 100 MB per second, for example, this is in the best case). The files will be immediately available for recovery at high speed. But in this case, you can spend more than those 3,400 rubles on electricity in a year, so you need to think about whether you will need to save at all. Access speed is of course a plus, electricity costs are a minus. This is if you need to make backups at home for yourself; for companies, energy costs do not play such an important role. If the possibility of fast backup and minimal backup access time is preferable, then naturally your own server or external drive will be the best choice.

Backup encryption

Before you back up your data, you should know about some important features. The first is encryption. Before creating a backup, you can set encryption parameters and set a password for the archive so that no one but you can open the archives. To encrypt your data, click on Encrypt backup. Enter your password in the appropriate field and click Save.

The second method is more detailed; here you can already set the encryption method, and not just a password. Before creating a backup, click on Options and open the Advanced tab, open the line Backup protection. Here we enter the password and select the encryption method. The larger the number after AES, the more difficult it will be to crack the password.

Copy Schedule

Another great option for backing up your data. Decide how often you will backup data, determine which data needs to be archived often, and which once a month. And create different copies in the program. To configure the schedule, click Options and the Schedule option will open in the first tab. All parameters, except one, I think, do not require attention, everything is clear here, I think. But what is Continuous copy mode? This is a frequent backup mode; a backup of data will be created every five minutes. Therefore, do not use this mode to backup your entire computer, as backups will take up a lot of memory. Enable continuous backup only for very important data.

Spoiler - Using Acronis Nonstop Backup - Acronis Help

Using Acronis Nonstop Backup

Acronis Nonstop Backup makes it easy to protect your disks and files. With its help you can restore disks, files and their versions.

The main purpose of Acronis Nonstop Backup is to always protect your data (files, folders, contacts, etc.), but it can also protect partitions. If you choose to protect an entire partition, you can recover the entire partition by performing an image recovery procedure.

It is not recommended to use this feature as the primary method of protecting your system. To protect your system, use any other schedule. For examples and more information, see Custom Schema Examples.

Limitations of Nonstop Backup

• Only one continuous copy can be created.
• Windows libraries (Documents, Music, etc.) can only be protected using continuous disk-level backup.
• It is not possible to protect data on external hard drives.
• Continuous protection and Try&Decide mode cannot operate simultaneously.

Principle of operation

After running Acronis Nonstop Backup, the program will create an initial full backup of the data selected for protection. Acronis Nonstop Backup will then continuously monitor protected files (including open ones). If a change is detected, a backup copy of the modified data is created. The shortest interval between incremental backup operations is five minutes. This allows you to restore the system to any point in time.
Acronis Nonstop Backup checks for file changes on disk, not in memory. If, for example, you are working in the Word editor, if a save operation is not performed for a long time, a backup copy of the current changes to the Word document will not be created.

You'd think that with a backup rate this fast, the storage would fill up immediately. There is no need to worry, since Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation only backs up so-called “deltas”. This means that only the differences between the old and new versions are saved in the backup, and not the entire changed files. For example, when using Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, the resulting PST file may be very large. Moreover, it changes with every email message received or sent. Backing up a full PST file after each change can take up too much storage space, so Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation only backs up the changed parts of the file in addition to the original backup file.

Storage rules

Acronis Continuous Protection saves all backups from the last 24 hours. The consolidation of older backups will be done so that Nonstop Backup will keep daily backups for the last 30 days and weekly backups until all the free space in the continuous backup storage is used.

The merge occurs every day between midnight and 1 am. The first merger will be performed after Continuous Protection has been running for at least 24 hours. For example, Non-stop protection was turned on at 10 am on July 12th. In this case, the first merge will occur between midnight and 1 am on July 14th. The program will then merge the data every day at the same time. If the computer was turned off between midnight and 1 a.m., merging will begin when the computer is turned on. If Nonstop Backup has been disabled for some time, merging will begin when it is enabled again.

[collapse]

Copy method

If you are really concerned about the safety of your data, you need to decide how often you will make backups. If you select Continuous copy mode, you do not need to configure a schedule.

Full copy – a full copy of all selected folders and files is created each time.

Incremental backup - each backup saves only changes that occurred since the previous copy was created. The disadvantage of this method is that to restore files you need to keep all backup copies. If you delete one copy, you cannot restore the files.

Differential Copy – Here, each of the following copies retains the changed data after a full backup is created.

Spoiler - Full, incremental and differential backups - Acronis Help

Full, incremental and differential backups

Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation offers three backup methods.

Full backup

The result of a full backup operation (also called a full backup version) contains all the data that existed at the time the backup was created. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and you back up that document using the full backup method. Acronis True Image saves the entire document every time you perform a backup.
1.tib, 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are full versions of the backup.
Additional Information

The full version of the backup forms the basis for subsequent incremental and differential backups. and it can also be used to create an offline backup. Creating an offline full backup may be the best solution if you often restore your system to its original state or do not want to manage different versions of backups.

Incremental backup

The result of an incremental backup operation (also called an incremental version of a backup) contains only those files that have changed since the LAST BACKUP OPERATION. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and create a backup using the incremental backup method. Acronis True Image saves a new page every time you perform a backup. Note: The full version of the backup is always created first.

1. 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are incremental backup versions.

Additional Information

Incremental backups are most useful if you want to frequently create backup versions and be able to return to a point in time. As a rule, incremental backup versions are significantly smaller than full or differential ones. On the other hand, incremental backup versions require more work from the program when restoring. In the example above, to restore all work from a 4.tib file, Acronis True Image reads data from all versions of the backup. If an incremental version of a backup is lost or damaged, all subsequent incremental versions of the backup are useless.

Differential Backup

The result of a differential backup operation (also called a differential version of a backup) contains only those files that have changed since the LAST FULL BACKUP CREATE. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and create a backup using the differential backup method. Acronis True Image saves the entire document except the first page, which is stored in the full backup version. Note. The full version of the backup is always created first.

1. 1.tib is the full version of the backup.
2. 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are differential versions of the backup.

Additional Information

The differential method is intermediate between the two previous ones. This approach requires less time and storage space than a full backup, but more than an incremental backup. To restore data from a differential backup version of Acronis True Image, only the differential version and the latest full version are required. Therefore, restoring from a differential version will be easier and more reliable than from an incremental one. An incremental or differential backup created after disk defragmentation can be significantly larger than a regular one. This is because the defragmentation program changes the location of files on the disk and these changes are reflected in the backup. Therefore, after defragmenting the disk, it is recommended to create a full backup again. To select a backup method, you must set a custom backup scheme.

[collapse]

How to make a system backup

By default, when you start the wizard, a full backup is configured, so in the first window you only need to select the location to save the backup.

Ideally, it is better to use an external drive for saving, since even if the computer is infected, the data will not be deleted from the external drive. In this case, recovering from an external drive will not be difficult. When selecting a FOLDER to copy, copy all backup files either to an external drive or to the cloud. Otherwise, if the system disk fails, all files will be lost, including the saved backup.

After entering all the necessary parameters (encryption, maximum file size, compression ratio, enabling image verification, etc.), click on Create a copy.

Depending on the size of the files, the time it takes to create a backup will depend.

How to backup files

Backing up your files is very easy. We do the same as for a system backup, only instead of the entire disk, we select the desired folder and files.

Hard drive cloning

To completely copy the disk, in the backup parameters, check the Archive in sector-by-sector mode checkbox. Also, if you need to create a more exact copy of the disk, and not just the files on it, check the Archive unallocated space checkbox.

Next, click on Create a copy. In general, to make a copy of all files and the hard drive in Acronis True Image 2017, no more steps are required. To restore a disk or individual data from a backup, you will have to perform a couple more steps, which, of course, is unlikely to affect the speed of data recovery. Everything will be restored quickly, in any case, you will spend 2-3 times less time than on a standard Windows installation.

How to restore the system completely

To restore the system, you need to burn the True Image bootable media image to a flash drive or ISO disk - download the image from this link - https://yadi.sk/d/UYKGvGZe3JVPKa

Or go to Tools - Boot Image Wizard. Select image parameters and save method - ISO image or write directly to a USB flash drive.

To restore from a backup, use the computer from which the backup was made - otherwise the system may not start and there will definitely be problems with the drivers, or use exactly the same computer, with the same processor, mother memory and video card.

We insert the media into the computer and boot from it. To do this, when you turn on the computer, open the BIOS or UEFI program and configure the boot priority. Depending on the model of the motherboard in the system unit and the laptop model, this may be F1, F2, Del, F10, Esc, etc. Or simply press the keys immediately to select the boot source before loading Windows - F9, F11, F12. Depending on the motherboard manufacturer and laptop manufacturer, the hotkeys will differ. When checking all system devices - many different white letters when turning on the computer - there should be keys to open the BIOS settings and select the boot source.

After loading from the media, launch Acronis True Image. From a media with Windows 10 PE, look for Acronis in Start - All Programs - Backup and Restore - Acronis True Image 2017. From booting from Acronis media, simply click on the name Acronis True Image and wait for it to download.

Click on the Recovery - Disks option, since we need to restore the system disk. Accordingly, to restore individual files from the entire backup – Files and folders.

In the next window, you need to select the backup file from which all data will be restored. To do this, click on the Browse button and look for the system backup file in the file explorer. Connect external media if you need to recover from an external hard drive, for example. Click Next after selecting the backup archive.

Here you need to select the volumes that will be restored. Be sure to check the box in front of the disk where Windows is installed and in front of the boot disk (area) - here it is usually signed Reserved by the system in parentheses. Be sure to uncheck the section where the backup is stored. Click Next.

Select the disk to which the recovery will be performed. Click Next.

After selecting a disk for recovery, all disk partitions that will be recovered will be checked. During setup, you can change their size, letter, and change the partition type. We will not do this, because we want to get exactly the system that we had before the breakdown, before the effects of viruses, for example. It is the parameters of the old system that are now set by default in the backup parameters. We won’t change anything here and in the next windows we simply click Next all the way to the Completion window.

Click Finish and begin system recovery.

When restoring, do not change any parameters; the system will create a complete copy of the disk automatically. In most settings you only need to click Next.

It took me only 10 minutes to restore the system with all the files, settings and installed programs with drivers in the test bench. How much would I spend installing everything the standard way? 2-3 hours, this is a good program for system recovery.

Plus, a full backup of the system does not have to be done in a program installed in Windows; it is enough to boot from bootable media and make a backup. The only downside to using bootable media is that you cannot automate this process to copy the necessary files and documents.

Data recovery

To restore files from a backup, find the backup file made in Acronis True Image and double-click on it. The file will open in Explorer as a folder and you can drag and drop the necessary files onto your computer with your mouse. The main thing is that you have Acronis True Image installed on your system, otherwise the backup files will not be opened.

This was one of the file recovery options. Now open Acronis True Image, click on the copy from which you want to restore files, this can be either a complete copy of the system or a copy of individual files and folders. Click on the Recover files button.

In Acronis Explorer, select the necessary files and folders to restore. On the left side of the window we look for the folder that needs to be opened, on the right side we select folders and files to restore. After selecting the data, click Next.

Next, you can manually specify a folder to save the recovered data. By default, the folder is selected as in the created backup. To change the path, click Browse and select the desired folder. Click on Restore.

We wait a while for the files to be copied to the selected folder.

The same can be done using bootable media.