User's Manual

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33 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2003-2020
3.3 Full, incremental and differential backups
Acronis True Image 2021 offers three backup methods: full, incremental, and differential.
Full method
The result of a full method backup operation (also known as full backup version) contains all of the
data at the moment of the backup creation.
Example: Every day, you write one page of your document and back it up using the full method.
Acronis True Image saves the entire document every time you run backup.
1.tibx, 2.tibx, 3.tibx, 4.tibxfiles of full backup versions.
Additional information
A full backup version forms a base for further incremental or differential backups. It can also be used
as a standalone backup. A standalone full backup might be an optimal solution if you often roll back
the system to its initial state or if you do not like to manage multiple backup versions.
Recovery: In the example above, to recover the entire work from the 4.tibx file, you need to have
only one backup version4.tib.
Incremental method
The result of an incremental method backup operation (also known as incremental backup version)
contains only those files which have been changed since the LAST BACKUP.
Example: Every day, you write one page of your document and back it up using the incremental
method. Acronis True Image saves the new page every time you run backup.
Note: The first backup version you create always uses full method.
1.tibxfile of full backup version.