Quote:
Originally Posted by leon
Thanks indeed, yes Marc i do realise what you are saying, I want to do this so I don't have to go through what just happened to my PC.
Although I got it right and it is running very well I just need some decent back up in case it dies in the future.
I did actually look at that product, but really didn't know much about it hence the question.
Leon
Thank you
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Hi leon, there are two types of situations
1_ one day your computer doesn't start at all.
2_ you've lost or deleted some files or photos by mistake or they are corrupted.
#2 happens but it's not a show stopper. Easily remedied by duplicating files on external drives or burn them on bluray disks.
#1 is the killer. In this case what matters most is how fast you can get back to a working computer in the exact same state (or close) as it was just before it crashed.
If you have a clone or image you can get back in business from a new empty unformatted drive in around 15-20min. The alternative is reinstalling all of your operating system then programs one by one then your files. That can take days.
The routine I use with acronis is to back up my boot drive (and others) every two weeks or when I feel the change warrants a backup. The longer you wait the bigger the difference.
The first backup is called a seed. It's a full back up. It can take 1h or more. The subsequent backups are called differential backups and they are small files that take only 5 or 10min to do. They contain the difference between the full backup and what your PC state is at when you do the differential back up.
To restore your machine you need 1xfull backup + 1xlatest differential backup you've done, and that's all.
The other system is called incremental backup. It is used because it can be faster. It saves small files again from the time you've done a full backup but each subsequent incremental back up depends on the previous incremental backup. So to restore your machine you need the full back up, then all the incremental backups you've done to get your PC back. If one of the incremental backups is corrupted in the chain of files then you're stuck again as they all rely on each other.
This is why I recommend differential backups. Only two points of failure. The seed and your latest differential backup.
When you do backups validate them. There is nothing worse than trying to restore your PC and be prompted that your backup is corrupted.
Hope this heps.