Update 2 User's Guide
Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2002-2012. All rights reserved. "Acronis", "Acronis Compute with Confidence", "Acronis Recovery Manager", "Acronis Secure Zone", Acronis True Image, Acronis Try&Decide, and the Acronis logo are trademarks of Acronis, Inc. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. VMware and VMware Ready are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.
Table of contents 1 Getting started ......................................................................................................................8 1.1 Introduction ...............................................................................................................................8 1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.1.5 1.1.6 1.1.7 What is Acronis True Image Home 2012? .....................................................................................................
3.11.4 3.11.5 3.11.6 3.11.7 3.11.8 3.11.9 3.11.10 3.11.11 3.11.12 3.11.13 3.11.14 3.11.15 3.11.16 3.11.17 3.11.18 3.11.19 3.11.20 Custom schemes ........................................................................................................................................... 59 Image creation mode .................................................................................................................................... 62 Backup protection .................................................
4.14.2 4.14.3 4.14.4 4.14.5 4.14.6 4.14.7 5 Synchronizing data............................................................................................................. 106 5.1 Acronis server login ...............................................................................................................107 5.2 What you can and cannot synchronize..................................................................................107 5.3 Sync icons..................................................
7.5.2 7.5.3 7.5.4 7.5.5 7.6 Scheduling..............................................................................................................................149 7.6.1 7.6.2 7.6.3 7.6.4 7.7 Starting the Try mode ................................................................................................................................. 146 Stopping the Try mode ...............................................................................................................................
8.7.3 8.7.4 System Clean-up .......................................................................................................................................... 203 Hard Disk Wiping methods ......................................................................................................................... 209 8.8 Mounting an image................................................................................................................211 8.9 Unmounting an image ........................
1 Getting started 1.1 Introduction In this section What is Acronis True Image Home 2012?.................................................. 8 What is Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack? .................................. 9 Acronis True Image Home 2012 basic concepts ........................................ 9 New in Acronis True Image Home 2012 ..................................................11 System requirements and supported media ...........................................12 Technical Support ...
1.1.2 What is Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack? Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack is an add-on to Acronis True Image Home 2012. It is purchased separately, has a separate license, and is installed from its own setup file. Acronis True Image Home 2012 must be installed on your computer before the Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack can be installed. Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack adds the Acronis Universal Restore option for use during recovery.
So, a version represents a point in time to which the system or data can be restored. To put it another way, backup versions represent full, incremental and differential backups - see Full, incremental and differential backups (p. 38). The backup versions are similar to file versions. The file versions concept is familiar to those who use a Windows Vista and Windows 7 feature called "Previous versions of files". This feature allows you to restore a file as it existed on a particular date and time.
Backup validation The backup validation feature allows you to confirm that your data can be recovered. As mentioned above, the program adds checksum values to the data blocks being backed up. During backup validation, Acronis True Image Home 2012 opens the backup file, recalculates the checksum values and compares those values with the stored ones. If all compared values match, the backup file is not corrupted and there is a high probability that the backup can be successfully used for data recovery.
between your home and work computers. With Acronis True Image Home 2012, you can create as many data synchronizations as you like. Fully integrated online backup - Online backup is now integrated into Acronis True Image Home 2012. This allows you to create an online backup as quickly and easily as a regular file backup. After creation, you will see the online backup in the backups list, along with all other backups. This makes it easier to manage all the operations necessary for your online backup.
Processor Pentium 1 GHz or faster The recommended screen resolution is 1280 x 1024. The minimum screen resolution is 1024 x 768. 1.1.5.
Creation of Acronis Secure Zone on dynamic disks is not supported Recovery of a dynamic volume as a dynamic volume with manual resizing is not supported Try&Decide® cannot be used for protecting dynamic and GPT disks "Clone disk" operation is not supported for dynamic disks Acronis True Image Home 2012 supports large hard disk drives with a capacity of more than 2TB. This support is provided even if the operating system does not have support for such hardware.
1. Run the setup file. Before starting the setup process, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will check for a newer build on the Web site. If there is one, the newer version will be offered for installation. 2. In the install menu, click Install to start the installation procedure. 3. Read and accept the terms of the license agreement in the License Agreement window. 4. Read the participation terms and decide whether you want to participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program. 5.
Recovering from an Acronis True Image Home 2012 error If Acronis True Image Home 2012 ceased running or produced errors, its files might be corrupted. To repair this problem, you first have to recover the program. To do this, run Acronis True Image Home 2012 installer again. It will detect Acronis True Image Home 2012 on your computer and will ask you if you want to repair or remove it.
1. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012. 2. On the main program screen, click Activate now on the information bar.
1.4 Program workspace In this section Get started tab .........................................................................................18 Backup and recovery tab .........................................................................19 Synchronization tab .................................................................................23 Tools and utilities tab ...............................................................................25 Wizards and notification area icons .................
If you have not used previous versions of Acronis True Image Home, we recommend you become familiar with the above features by going through the steps required for completing backup, recovery and data synchronization. After you begin using Acronis True Image Home 2012, it will start with displaying the tab that was selected when you exited the program. 1.4.2 Backup and recovery tab The Backup and recovery tab provides quick access to all of the program functionality related to data backup and recovery.
Recover - click to recover data. When a backup box is collapsed, the backup and recovery operations can be started by clicking the appropriate icons. These icons, along with the Operations menu icon (a gear), appear when you move the pointer over a box area. You can collapse and expand the backup box by clicking the triangle near a backup name.
Move... - click to move all the backup files to another location. The subsequent backup versions will be saved to the new location. If you change the backup destination by editing the backup settings, only new backup versions will be saved to the new location. The earlier backup versions will remain in the old location. Remove from the list - removes the current backup from the backup list shown in the My backups area.
Recover Click this item to recover data from your backups and then select the backup that contains the required data. Show only my favorite backups This icon filters the backups which you have marked as favorite. Expand all backup boxes This icon expands all collapsed backup boxes. Collapse all backup boxes This icon collapses all expanded backup boxes into narrow stripes. Sort by More features Type This command sorts all backups by types.
Search To search for a backed up file you need to recover, type the filename or part of its name in the search field on the main menu bar. If the search is successful, the program will open Acronis Backup Explorer and show the found file and backup(s) containing the file. 1.4.3 Synchronization tab The Synchronization tab allows you to manage all aspects of your data synchronization process: create new syncs, turn the existing syncs on and off, change their settings, delete unneeded syncs, and so on.
Type - sorts all syncs according to their types. Sync list area The area shows the boxes of the syncs you already have. It provides access to all operations with the existing syncs. Versions of synced files If you turned on the appropriate option while creating or editing a sync, you can view versions of the synced files and revert the current version of a file to its previous version. To explore all of the versions, click the gear icon and then click View versions.
Open Acronis True Image Home 2012 - opens the program's main window with the Synchronization tab selected. Open sync folder - if you have a single sync, choosing this item opens the synchronized folder. If you have more than one sync, this opens a submenu where you can select the desired sync folder. Pause all syncs - pauses all synchronization processes. Resume all syncs - restarts all synchronization processes if they have been paused.
Wizards have a sidebar listing all the steps (both required and optional) needed for completing the operation. For example, see the Manage Acronis Secure Zone wizard screen shot below. The completed steps are marked with green checkmarks. The green arrow shows the current step. After you complete all the required steps and come to the Finish step, the program displays the Summary screen. Check the summary of the operation to be performed and then click Proceed to start the operation.
The tab shows the disks and partitions state of when the current backup version was created. You can switch between the backup versions by using the time line at the bottom of the screen. For more information see Time line (p. 29). To recover disks and/or partitions: 1. On the time line, select the backup version from which you want to recover your disks/partitions. The version's exact date and time will be displayed near the backup name.
Convert to Windows backup (for image backups) - select to convert the backup version's TIB file to VHD file. Mount (for image backups) - select to mount the backup version as a disk. Delete version - select to delete the backup version (the backup chain will not be corrupted). View - select to set up the time line to show some additional information. To find a file or folder you need to recover, type the file or folder name in the search field.
Selecting a disk, partition, file or folder to make it the current item in a list does not mean selecting it for recovery! The majority of user interface elements located on this tab are described in the Disks and partitions tab section. Here we describe the items specific for the tab. When you click an item, short information on this item is displayed under the browser area. The set of displayed parameters depends on the item's type.
The picture below shows various states of a time line. The states vary depending on the number of backups and the time interval through which you are navigating. The "Now" interval shows backup versions created during the last hour. When using Nonstop Backup, backup versions may be created as often as every five minutes The "Today" interval shows backup versions created from the beginning of the current day to the last hour. The "week" interval can be named either "Week ago" or "This week".
The "This year" interval shows backup versions created from the beginning of the current year to the “month” interval. The "Older" interval shows backup versions created from earlier than the beginning of the current year. Working with time intervals and backup versions Time intervals may be expanded (when the number of backup versions fits onto the time line) or folded into a square "block". When a time interval is expanded, the squares representing backup versions may contain a "warning" or "error" icon.
Validate Delete version Nonstop backup version and online backup version: Explore and recover Delete version Backup version packs and time blocks: Right-clicking on a folded version pack or time interval's block opens the shortcut menu with a single item: Expand Viewing additional information on the time line You can also set up the time line to show additional information. The appropriate commands are available in the View submenu.
The most significant changes occur in the System and Security category of Windows 7 Control Panel. Acronis True Image Home 2012 replaces Windows Backup in the Backup and Restore item. If you first installed Acronis True Image Home 2012 without performing backups, the Backup and Restore window allows you to create a system partition backup. When you have created backups, the Backup and Restore window will show the Nonstop Backup box and the box of your oldest disk or partition backup.
These menu items allow you to use the main program features, tools, and utilities without starting Acronis True Image Home 2012. The Acronis True Image Home 2012 button on the Windows taskbar becomes much more informative and functional. Its shortcut menu gets additional items. You can use the shortcut menu to start Acronis Nonstop Backup and Online Backup. In addition, the button shows the progress and result of Acronis True Image Home 2012 operations. 1.4.7.
1.4.9 Help menu The Help menu allows you to open the program's Help, perform certain operations, view product's build number, etc. To open the menu, click the question mark icon at the upper-right corner of the program screen. The Help menu contains the following items: Help - opens the program's Help. Generate system report - click to generate an Acronis system report for sending to Acronis Customer support. Customer support - takes you to Acronis Customer support Web page.
Note, if a new Acronis True Image Home 2012 update is available, Acronis Hotfixes will not be displayed since each update contains all hotfixes released before. After selecting Acronis Hotfixes you want to install, click Download and Install button. Also, if you select Do not notify me about the unselected hotfixes in the future option, a hotfix window will not appear at the program startup until a new hotfix is available.
2 How to Due to the size of this User's Guide, it is sometimes not so easy to find how to perform a particular task. This section lists some frequently used tasks and provides links to the appropriate parts of the User's Guide. Click the corresponding page number (or the link, if you are viewing the Help), if you need information on how to: protect your entire system from a disaster (p. 135) subscribe to Acronis True Image Online service (p.
3 Backing up data Acronis True Image Home 2012 includes a wealth of sophisticated backup capabilities that would please even an IT professional. They allow you to back up your disks (partitions), files, and e-mail. You can choose a backup feature that suits you most or use them all. The sections below describe the backup features in more detail. In this section The difference between file backups and disk/partition images ............38 Full, incremental and differential backups ..........................
1) Full: contains all of the data at the moment of the backup creation. It forms a base for further incremental or differential backups. It can also be used as a standalone backup. 2) Incremental: Only those files will be included which have been changed since the LAST backup. 3) Differential: Only those files will be included which have been changed since the last FULL backup.
3.3 Backing up partitions and disks To back up partitions or disks, click Disk and partition backup on the Backup and recovery tab. This opens the Disk Backup window. The steps below describe how to configure a backup using most of the available image backup settings. 1. Select a partition to back up by selecting the corresponding check box. If you want to back up more than one partition, click Multiple partition selection.
If possible, avoid storing your system partition backups on dynamic disks, because the system partition is recovered in the Linux environment. Linux and Windows work with dynamic disks differently. This may result in problems during recovery. 3. If you need the backup to run on a schedule, click the link to the right of Schedule, turn on scheduling and set the required schedule. For more information see Scheduling (p. 149). 4.
3.4 Backing up files and folders To back up files and/or folders, click Other backups on the Backup and recovery tab and then select File backup. This opens the File Backup window. Let's consider how to use this backup type for backing up a folder. 1. Select the folder on the directory tree in the What to back up area. The right side will show the folder contents with all the files and subfolders selected. There you can unselect the files you do not need to back up, if any. 2.
4. Click the Back up now button if you want to run backup immediately. You can also delay the start of backup for up to 6 hours by clicking the down arrow to the right of this button and selecting a delay interval from the dropdown list. When you need to change the default backup options, click File backup options and set the options you require. You can also change the default backup scheme by clicking on the appropriate link. For more information see Backup schemes (p. 57).
To add a custom data category, click Add category. To change the default name of a custom category, double-click the name and enter a new one. Select the data source (e.g. a folder) for the new category by clicking the Browse... button. By default the new category will contain Only the following file types, but you can apply filters to select the specific types of files that you wish or do not wish to back up.
The Zip format is available when backing up files, folders or when making reserve copies of your backups. Acronis True Image Home 2012 gives the zip format most of the functionality available for the tib format. You can schedule backups, validate zip backups, recover files and folders from zip backups, make incremental and differential backups, etc. However, it does not provide password protection and encryption. Acronis True Image Home 2012 can recover and validate only its own zip backups.
Tasks Notes Signatures News Folders User Settings Address Book For Microsoft Outlook Express: Mail Folders Address Book (select Windows Address Book). Acronis True Image Home 2012 provides backup of IMAP (Internet Messages Access Protocol) mail folders for Microsoft Outlook. This means that you can back up folders stored on a mail server. For Microsoft Outlook Express and Windows Mail only backup of local e-mail folders is available.
The main purpose of Acronis Nonstop Backup is continuous protection of your data (files, folders, contacts, etc.), though you can use it to protect partitions as well. If you choose to protect an entire partition, you will be able to recover the partition as a whole using the image recovery procedure. You cannot use Acronis Nonstop Backup for protecting data stored on external hard drives.
3.6.1 Protecting your data continuously Let's consider how you can use Nonstop Backup for protecting your data. To protect your data continuously: 1. Click Other backups on the Backup and recovery tab and then select Nonstop Backup. This opens the Nonstop Backup window. 2. Select on the directory tree in the What to back up area an item to be protected by Nonstop Backup. The right side shows the item contents with all the files and subfolders selected.
settings. If you have changed the Nonstop Backup destination, the program will create a new full backup of the data to be protected on the new Nonstop Backup storage. You can also include files and folders into Nonstop Backup by selecting them in Windows Explorer and choosing Include in Nonstop Backup in the shortcut menu that opens by right-clicking on the selected item. 3.6.2 Protecting your system continuously You can use Acronis Nonstop Backup for protecting entire system partition as well.
Nonstop Backup and Try&Decide cannot work simultaneously. If you click the Start now button when the Try mode is turned on, the program will display a message that Nonstop Backup cannot start while you are working in the Try mode. To start Nonstop Backup, you will need to finish a Try&Decide session. You can exclude from protection files that match the criteria you specify. To add exclusion criteria, click the Nonstop backup options link.
You can also completely clean up the Acronis Nonstop Backup storage by selecting Delete in the Operations menu of a Nonstop Backup box. If you select the active Nonstop Backup box, the deletion stops operation of Acronis Nonstop Backup. 3.6.4 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions Why does Acronis Nonstop Backup pause on its own? - This is the designed behavior of Acronis Nonstop Backup.
Can I set up Acronis Nonstop Backup storage on a network share or NAS? - Yes, Acronis Nonstop Backup supports network shares, mapped drives, NAS and other network attached devices with one limitation - they must use the SMB protocol. How does manual clean up of Acronis Nonstop Backup storage work? - You can clean up Acronis Nonstop Backup storage by deleting the backed up data for a certain period of time. For example, you started Acronis Nonstop Backup of your system partition on August 15, 2011.
A reserve copy always contains all the files selected for backup, that is, when creating a reserve copy the program always makes a full backup of the source data. You cannot make a reserve copy in the form of an incremental or differential backup, even in tib format. Also remember that the operation will take more time, because normal backup and reserve copying are performed one after another and not simultaneously. Furthermore, you will need more storage space or an additional storage device.
Please be aware that built-in support of zip files in Windows does not cover operations with multivolume zip archives, and zip archives exceeding 4GB in size or which contain files of more than 4 GB each. Also remember that CD/DVDs are not supported as locations for reserve copies. 3.8 Backup to various places Acronis True Image Home 2012 offers you flexibility in choosing destinations for your backups.
The left pane shows the storage locations available on your computer. After you select a suitable location, assign a name for the file that will contain the remaining data being backed up. You can enter the name manually (for example, "tail_end.tib") or use the file name generator (a button to the right of the line). Then click OK and Acronis True Image Home 2012 will complete the backup.
If you delete a full backup version - the program will also delete all subsequent incremental and differential versions till the next full version. If you delete an incremental backup version or a differential backup version - the program will also delete all subsequent incremental versions till the next full or differential version. 3.
Backup reserve copy ................................................................................65 Removable media settings .......................................................................66 Backup comment .....................................................................................67 Screenshot settings ..................................................................................67 Error handling .......................................................................................
Custom (p. 59) - select this item if you want to set up a backup scheme manually. 3.11.2 Single version scheme This backup scheme is the same for both disk backup and file backup types (except scheduler settings). The program creates a full backup version and overwrites it every time according to the specified schedule or when you run backup manually. Backup scheduler setting for disk backup: monthly. Backup scheduler setting for file backup: daily.
3.11.4 Custom schemes With Acronis True Image Home 2012 you also can create your own backup schemes. Schemes can be based on the pre-defined backup schemes. You can make changes in a selected pre-defined scheme to suit your needs and then save the changed scheme as a new one. You cannot overwrite existing pre-defined backup schemes. In addition, you can create custom schemes from scratch based on full, differential or incremental backup versions.
Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size] - Select this option to limit maximum size of the backup. After creating a new backup version, the program checks whether the total backup size exceeds the specified value. If it's true, the oldest backup version will be deleted. The first backup version option Often the first version of any backup is one of the most valuable versions.
By default there are no limits set and automatic consolidation is not performed. To enable automatic consolidation, you must select at least one of the limits and either leave its default value or change it according to your needs. If limits are set, then after creating a backup version the program checks the backup for quota violations, such as exceeding a pre-set maximum number of gigabytes set aside for backup versions and, if any limitation is exceeded, consolidates the oldest backup versions.
2. Disk backup “Full version every 2 months + differential version twice a month” Case: You need to back up your system partition twice a month and create a new full backup version every two months. In addition, you want to use no more than 100 GB of disk space to store the backup versions. Let’s see how you can do it using a custom backup scheme. 1. On the Backup and recovery tab, click Disk and partition backup. 2.
3.11.6 Backup protection A backup file can be password-protected. By default, there is no password protection for backups. To protect the backup: Enter the password for the backup into the Password field. A password should consist of at least eight symbols and contain both letters (in upper and lower cases preferably) and numbers to make it more difficult to guess. Retype the previously entered password into the Confirm field.
3.11.7.1 Edit user command for backup You can specify user commands to be executed before or after the backup procedure: In the Command field, type-in a command or select it from the list. Click ... to select a batch file. In the Working directory field, type-in a path for command execution or select it from the list of previously entered paths. In the Arguments field enter or select command execution arguments from the list.
3.11.9 Backup validation option You can specify the additional validation setting: Validate backup when it is created. When this option is enabled, the program will check the integrity of the recently created or supplemented backup version immediately after backup. When setting up a backup of critical data or a disk/partition backup, we strongly recommend that you enable this option in order to ensure that the backup can be used to recover the lost data.
A reserve copy always contains all the files selected for backup, that is, when creating a reserve copy the program always makes a full backup of the source data. You cannot make a reserve copy in the form of an incremental or differential backup even in tib format. Also remember that you will pay for the enhanced convenience and increased security of your data by the time required for performing the backup because normal backup and reserve copying are performed one at a time and not simultaneously.
3.11.12 Backup comment This option allows you to add comments to the backup. Backup comments may help you to find the necessary backup later. If a backup does not have comments, type your comment in the comments area. When a comment already exists, you can edit it after clicking Edit. Note that by default the comment will be assigned to all versions of the backup. You can edit the comment of a specific backup version in Backup Explorer. 3.11.
backups impossible. The dialog opens even when the Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode) setting is enabled. So it is advisable to select the When not enough space in ASZ, delete the oldest backup check box when planning unattended scheduled backups to the Acronis Secure Zone. Repeat attempt if a backup fails - This option allows you to automatically repeat a backup attempt if the backup fails for some reason.
such a case each user often has personal documents, e-mail accounts, settings, and other personal data. By default Acronis True Image Home 2012 backs up data of the current user. We recommend that you change this setting if the Windows account under which you are currently working is not yours. The program will back up only the data related to the specified account. Data of all other accounts will not be backed up. To change the current Windows account: 1.
Limit transfer rate to - enter the bandwidth limit for transferring backup data in kilobytes per second. 3.11.19 Notifications for backup operation Sometimes a backup or recovery procedure can last an hour or longer. Acronis True Image Home 2012 can notify you when it is finished via e-mail. The program can also duplicate messages issued during the operation or send you the full operation log after operation completion. By default all notifications are disabled.
Additional notification settings: To send a notification concerning process completion, select the Send notification upon operation's successful completion check box. To send a notification concerning process failure, select the Send notification upon operation failure check box. To send a notification with operation messages, select the Send notification when user interaction is required check box.
By default, the program excludes from backups files with the following extensions: .~, .tmp, and .tib. How to add an exclusion criterion: You can enter explicit file names for exclusion from the backup: C:\file.ext - the file.ext file on the C: disk will be excluded. You can use wildcard characters (* and ?): file.ext - all such files will be excluded from the backup. *.ext - all files with a .ext extension will be excluded. ??name.ext - all files with a .
3.13 Consolidating backup versions Using consolidation of backup versions, you can create a consistent copy of backup while deleting selected backup versions. This allows you to delete the backup versions you no longer need from any backup without harming that backup. Consolidation creates a consistent copy of the backup that does not contain deleted backup versions. If you select a new location for the consolidated backup, the source backup stays as is unless you delete it.
To specify another location for the consolidated archive: Select the New location item and click the Browse button. Specify the location where you want the consolidated archive to be stored to from the drives tree. If required, you can create a new folder in the selected location (by clicking the folder button), or delete the unnecessary folder (by clicking the Create new Delete button).
4 Recovering data The purpose of data backup is to recover backed up data when the original is lost due to hardware failure, fire, theft or accidental deletion of files. We hope that you backed up your system and data using the backup features provided by Acronis True Image Home 2012. If so, nothing will have been lost. The following sections describe how to recover disks, partitions, files and folders. In most cases, you will use Acronis Backup Explorer to recover files and folders.
with the required key combination is displayed during the startup test. Pressing this combination takes you to the setup menu. Go to the hard disk autodetection utility which usually comes under "Standard CMOS Setup" or "Advanced CMOS setup". If the utility does not detect the system drive, it has failed and you need to replace the drive. If the utility correctly detects your system hard disk drive, then the cause of the crash is probably a virus, malware or corruption of a system file required for booting.
3. Select My disks below Recover on the Welcome screen. 4. Select the system disk or partition backup to be used for recovery. Right-click on the backup and choose Recover in the shortcut menu. 5. Select Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step. 6. Select the system partition (usually C) on the What to recover screen. If the system partition has a different letter, select the partition using the Flags column. It must have the Pri, Act flags. 77 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
In case of Windows 7 the System Reserved partition will have the Pri, Act flags . You will need to select for recovery both the System Reserved partition and the System partition. 7. At the "Settings of partition C" (or the letter of the system partition, if it is different) step check the default settings and click Next if they are correct. Otherwise, change the settings as required before clicking Next. Changing the settings will be needed when recovering to the new hard disk of a different capacity.
8. Carefully read the summary of operations at the Finish step. If you have not resized the partition, the sizes in the Deleting partition and Recovering partition items must match. Having checked the summary click Proceed. 9. When the operation finishes, exit the standalone version of Acronis True Image Home 2012, remove the rescue media and boot from the recovered system partition. After making sure that you have recovered Windows to the state you need, restore the original boot order. 4.
If you want to recover the partition to the state it was at an earlier date, click the gear icon to open the Operations menu and then click Explore and recover. This opens Acronis Backup Explorer and you can select the image backup version created on that date. Clicking Recover after selecting the required version opens the Disk Recovery window. 1. Select the corresponding check box of the partition to recover.
Some installed applications use a disk signature for licensing and other purposes. We recommend that you clear the Recover disk signature check box when: You use an image backup not for disaster recovery but for cloning your Windows hard drive to another one. In this case, Acronis True Image Home 2012 generates a new disk signature for the recovered hard drive, even if you recover to the same drive. Disk recovery options - click to set up additional parameters for the disk recovery process.
The following procedure is valid only for recovery to a basic disk. Recovery to a dynamic disk with partition resizing is impossible. 1. Click Recover on the backup box of a disk containing several partitions. The Disk Recovery window appears. 2. Click the down arrow next to Version: and then select the backup version you want to recover by its backup date and time. 3. Select a partition to recover. This opens the recovery destination field below the partition name (label). 4.
Partition properties link below the recovery destination field. The Partition Properties window appears. 5. You can resize the partition by dragging its right border with a mouse on the horizontal bar on the screen. To assign the partition a specific size, enter the appropriate number into the Total size field. Remember that you need to leave as much unallocated (free) space after having resized the partition as will be needed for the remaining partition. Select a disk letter and partition type.
7. Select the unallocated space on the destination hard disk. The program creates a partition occupying the entire unallocated space. 8. Click the Partition properties link and make the settings for the partition. Select a disk letter and partition type. When you finish the settings, click OK to confirm them and return to the main Disk Recovery window.
9. Click Recover now to recover the partitions to the destination hard disk. 4.5 Recovering a disk backup to a different disk under rescue media Recovery of a disk backup containing several partitions to a hard disk that has a different capacity is one of the most complicated operations. This is especially true when the original hard disk you have backed up has a hidden diagnostic or recovery partition. Complete the preparations described in Preparing for recovery (p. 76).
hidden partition without resizing. Here we describe recovery of a system disk with Windows 7 and the hidden System Reserved partition. Attach the external drive if it contains the backup to be used for recovery and make sure that the drive is powered on. This must be done before booting from Acronis rescue media. 1. Arrange the boot order in BIOS so as to make your rescue media device (CD, DVD or USB stick) the first boot device. See Arranging boot order in BIOS (p. 100). 2.
5. At the What to recover step, select the boxes of the partitions to be recovered. Do not select the MBR and Track 0 box, because this will result in selecting the entire disk for recovery. Recovering the entire disk does not allow you to resize partitions manually. You will be able to recover the MBR later. Select the partitions and click Next. Selecting partitions leads to appearance of the relevant steps "Settings of partition ...".
6. You can specify the following partition settings: location, type, and size. You first need to specify the settings of the hidden partition (System Reserved partition in our case) as it usually does not have a disk letter. Because you are recovering to the new disk, click New location. Select the destination disk by either its assigned name or capacity. 7. Clicking Accept returns you to the "Settings of partition 1-1" screen. Check the partition type and change it, if necessary.
8. Proceed to specifying the partition size by clicking Change default in the Partition size area. By default the partition occupies the entire new disk. You need to keep the hidden partition size unchanged and place it in the same location on the disk (at the start or the end of disk space). To do this, resize and relocate the partition by dragging it or its borders with a mouse on the horizontal bar on the screen.
Click Accept, check the partition type (change, if necessary). The system partition must be primary. Specify the partition size which by default equals the original size. Usually there is no free space after the partition, so allocate all the unallocated space on the new disk to the second partition. Click Accept and then click Next. 9. Carefully read the summary of operations to be performed and then click Proceed.
4.6 Recovering data from file-level backups You will usually start recovering files and folders from Acronis Backup Explorer. When recovering a specific file version, you will start recovery from the View Versions window. In either case, starting recovery opens the File Recovery window. Let's consider recovery of files and folders from the Backup Explorer. 1. Select in the Backup Explorer the files and folders you want to recover.
1. Select a required backup version in the Acronis Backup Explorer and click Recover to start recovery. This will open the File Recovery window. 2. Such data can only be recovered to the original location. Therefore you can only change the recovery options. To change the recovery options, click the Recovery options link. The options you set here will be applied only to the current recovery operation. 3. To start the recovery process, click the Recover now button. 4.
To choose the correct version, you can open the version in the associated application and view the file contents. Choose the version by its backup time, and then click the Open button. Acronis True Image Home 2012 will recover the file version to a temporary folder. Then it will open the file using the associated application. 4.
7. When a warning appears that you need to reboot the computer to continue the operation, click Reboot to continue. During recovery, the program may be unable to find some driver in the specified sources and will display an error message. In this case, you can click Ignore to continue recovery or click Cancel to cancel the process and then try to find the required driver. You can then continue with the recovery process.
4. Choose Recover whole disks and partitions and select the Use Acronis Universal Restore check box. 95 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
5. If the target hardware has a specific mass storage controller (such as an SCSI, RAID, or Fibre Channel adapter) for the hard disks, specify where to find the driver or drivers for the specific hardware at the Drivers manager step. If the driver is stored on a diskette or CD, select the Search removable media for device drivers box. If some drivers are stored on a local hard disk or a network share, select the Search for device drivers in the following locations box (when it is not selected by default).
4.9 4.9.1 Acronis Universal Restore Purpose of Acronis Universal Restore Universal Restore is part of the Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack which must be purchased separately. Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack has its own license and is installed from its own setup file. You need to re-create bootable media in order to make the newly installed Universal Restore add-on operational in the bootable recovery environment.
4.9.2 General principles of Acronis Universal Restore 1. Automatic selection of HAL and mass storage drivers Acronis Universal Restore searches the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image being restored) for HAL and mass storage device drivers and installs drivers that best fit the target hardware. You can specify a custom driver repository (a folder or folders on a network drive or CD) which will also be used to search for drivers.
GRUB), you might consider installing them to a Linux root (or boot) partition boot record instead of an MBR before activating Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. If a failure occurs, turn on the computer and press F11 when you see the "Press F11 for Acronis Startup Recovery Manager" message. This will start a standalone version of Acronis True Image Home 2012 that differs only slightly from the complete version. Browse for a backup containing an image of your system partition and recover your system.
When recovering a basic disk to a dynamic disk of a dynamic group consisting of two disks, the recovered disk remains basic. The dynamic disk to which the recovery is performed becomes "missing" and a spanned/striped dynamic volume on the second disk becomes "failed". 4.12 Backup protection dialog box A backup file can be protected with a password. You can set password protection in backup options while creating a backup.
4.14 Recovery options In the Disk Recovery Options, File Recovery Options and E-mail Recovery Options windows you can configure options for a disk/partition, file and e-mail recovery processes respectively. After you installed the application, all options are set to the initial values. You can change them for your current recovery operation only or for all further recovery operations as well.
Disabling the Do not perform operations until the command execution is complete parameter (enabled by default), will permit the recovery process to run concurrently with your command execution. The Abort the operation if the user command fails (enabled by default) parameter will abort the operation if any errors occur in command execution. You can test the command you entered by clicking the Test command button. 4.14.2 Validation option Validate backup before recovery The preset is disabled.
This option is available only while restoring data from file-level backups. Selecting the Overwrite existing files check box will give the files from the backup unconditional priority over the files on the hard disk, though, by default, the more recent files and folders are protected against overwriting. If you want to overwrite those files and folders too, clear the appropriate check box.
4.14.7 Notifications for recovery operation Sometimes a backup or recovery procedure can last an hour or longer. Acronis True Image Home 2012 can notify you when it is finished via e-mail. The program can also duplicate messages issued during the operation or send you the full operation log after operation completion. By default all notifications are disabled. Free disk space threshold You may want to be notified when the free space on the backup storage becomes less than the specified threshold value.
To send a notification concerning process failure, select the Send notification upon operation failure check box. To send a notification with operation messages, select the Send notification when user interaction is required check box. To send a notification with full log of operations, select the Add full log to the notification check box. 105 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
5 Synchronizing data Data synchronization is a process of keeping data identical in two or more synchronized folders. These folders may be located on the same computer or on different computers connected via a local network or via the Internet. When you create, copy, modify or delete a file or a subfolder in your sync folder, the same action is automatically done in the other sync folders. And vice versa - when something changes in the other sync folders, the same change is done in your folder.
Your computer will be excluded from all syncs. After installing the full version of Acronis True Image Home 2012 you will be able to connect to the syncs again. All the versions of synced files will be permanently deleted from the server. In this section Acronis server login................................................................................107 What you can and cannot synchronize ..................................................107 Sync icons ...........................................
Within one sync process you may assign only one sync folder on every computer and storage device (except a sync between two local folders). You cannot select for synchronization a single file. To synchronize the file, select for synchronization the folder that contains that file. Data types You can synchronize the following data: Files (your photos, music, videos, documents, etc.), except those listed below Only the native FAT32 and NTFS file attributes are synchronized.
The sync is paused. An error occurred during the last synchronization. Acronis Time Explorer and Windows Explorer Sync state icons for files and folders: The file or folder is synchronized. The file or folder is being synced at the moment. The file or folder has not been synchronized because of an error. The notification area Sync state icons: The last synchronization completed successfully. (rotating) (static) The sync is in progress at the moment.
General scheme of sync creation To create a new sync, it is necessary to perform the following main steps: Steps on the computer which will own the sync: 1. Select the folder containing the data you want to synchronize. 2. Create a new sync and send invitations to other computers to join the new sync. Steps on other computers: 1. Accept the invitation (join the sync). 2. Specify the folder to synchronize with the folder on the first computer.
To create a new folder for synchronization of its contents, click the New folder button and then name the created folder before clicking Next. 5. Select Other computers and online storage as an object with which you want to synchronize your data, and click Next. You may protect your data and the sync from unauthorized access. To do this, click Set password, type a password, and then click the Save icon (green check mark). 6.
version when necessary. Note that Acronis True Image Online service is required for that task. See details in Versions of synchronized files. 7. Click Create sync. You can also create a new sync using Windows Explorer. To do this, right-click the folder that you want to synchronize, and then click Sync this folder. Steps to perform on computer 2: 1. 2. 3. 4. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012. On the Synchronization tab, specify your Acronis account credentials and then click Log in.
4. In the opened window, select on the directory tree the folder that you want to synchronize, and click Next. 5. Select Other computers and online storage as an object with which you want to synchronize your data, and click Next. You may protect your data and sync from unauthorized access. To do this, click Set password, type a password, and click the Save icon. 6. Select the Store file versions in the online storage check box, if you want to store data versions on the remote Acronis server.
when necessary. Note that Acronis True Image Online service is required for that task. See details in Versions of synced files. 7. Click Create sync. 8. On the created sync box, click the gear icon to open the Settings menu and then select Invite collaborators. 9. In the opened window, type e-mail addresses of the users who you want to invite, and click Send. You can also create a new sync by using Windows Explorer.
file_name your_computer_name 15.04.2011 10.04.doc - the file with your changes A sync conflict occurs every time when you and your friend simultaneously create, save, rename or delete files or subfolders inside the sync folders. There are many different variants of the conflicts, but only one of them leads to deletion of a file or subfolder. This happens when both of you simultaneously delete the same file or subfolder.
5. Select Local folder as an object with which you want to synchronize your data, and then click Next. 6. Select on the directory tree the second folder that you want to synchronize. 7. Click Sync now and wait for the synchronization process completion. You can also create a new sync using Windows Explorer. To do this, right-click the folder that you want to synchronize, and then click Sync this folder. 5.4.
1. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012. 2. On the Synchronization tab, specify your Acronis account credentials (your registration e-mail address and password) and then click Log in. Login is required only when you create your first sync. Afterwards login is performed automatically. 3. Click New sync. 4. In the opened window, select on the directory tree the first local folder that you want to synchronize, and click Next. 5.
You may protect your data and sync from unauthorized access. To do this, click Set password, type a password, and click the Save icon. 6. 7. 8. 9. Select on the directory tree the second local folder that you want to synchronize. Click Sync now and wait for the progress completion. On the created sync box, click Settings and select Invite collaborators. In the opened window, type e-mail addresses of the users who you want to invite, and click Send. You can also create a new sync using Windows Explorer.
By default, this option is turned off. Acronis True Image Home 2012 starts to store versions of synced files from the moment you turn this option on. All versions are stored in the Acronis Online storage which is accessible via the Internet. To use the Acronis online storage, you must have a subscription to the Online Backup service. If you do not have a subscription, a trial subscription with 250 GB of storage space will be automatically provided. See details in Subscription information.
5.5.2 Cleanup options for sync versions To control number of synced file versions stored in Acronis Online Storage, you can set automatic cleanup options. In this case obsolete versions are deleted automatically according to the specified rules. You can set the following cleanup rules: Delete versions older than [defined period] - Select this option to limit the age of sync versions. All versions that are older than the specified period will be automatically deleted.
Hint: Keep your USB drive attached while working with the sync folder on your computer. Firstly you will not forget to sync your files at the end of your work, secondly Acronis True Image Home 2012 will process data changes gradually and quickly. 2. Synchronization "My computer 1 - My computer 2" Popular cases: You want to sync your documents between your home computer and work computer (via the Internet).
5. On the created sync box, click the Settings icon and select Invite collaborators. 6. In the opened window, type e-mail address of your friends who you want to invite, and click Send. Steps for your friend or colleague to perform on his computer: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Find and open the e-mail message sent from computer 1. To join the sync, click the link in the message and then click Accept invitation. Yow will be redirected to your Acronis account in your browser.
6 Using online backup In this section What is Acronis True Image Online? ......................................................123 Subscription information .......................................................................123 Backing up to Acronis Online Storage ....................................................124 Managing online backups ......................................................................126 Online backup options ...................................................................
If you do not have an Acronis account, fill in the appropriate fields, and the account will be created for you. Provide your first and last names and e-mail address. You will be offered a country selected on the basis of the IP address of your computer, though you can select another country, if you wish. Then provide a password for your new account and confirm the password by retyping it once more in the appropriate field.
Have forgotten your password, click Forgot your password? and follow the instructions on the opened Web page. A new password will be sent to you by e-mail. Do not have an Acronis account, click Create account and then fill in the appropriate fields on the opened Web page to create your account. See details in Subscription information. To use the Acronis Online Storage, you must have a subscription to Acronis True Image Online.
6.4 Managing online backups You can have up to five online backups from up to five different computers, but only one online backup can be active at the same time. When you log in to your Acronis account, Acronis True Image Home 2012 tries to find out whether you already have online backups. If you already have online backups created under your account, for example, performed on another computer or with Acronis True Image Online, the program operates as follows.
Selecting the second item shows the existing online backups on the Backup and recovery tab. You can select any one of the existing online backups and then make it active by clicking the Continue backup here button. It does not matter from which computer you backed up data using this backup earlier. The backed up data remains available for recovery and you can back up more data from the current computer.
If you want to reset all the modified options to their initial values that were set after the product installation, click the Reset to initial settings button. 6.5.1 Online storage connection attempts You can specify the number of connection attempts and the time interval between the attempts. In case of any network problems, if the first connection attempt fails, the program will repeat the attempts until a connection is successfully established.
Select the Store no more than … recent versions check box and enter a value that limits the maximum number of all versions in the storage. 6.5.3 Encryption key To protect your data on the Online storage from unauthorized access, you can use encryption. In this case your data will be stored on the Online storage in encrypted form. To encrypt and decrypt your data, the program needs the encryption key, that you should specify when you register your computer.
6.5.5 Operation priority Changing the priority of an operation process can make it run faster or slower (depending on whether you raise or lower the priority), but it can also adversely affect the performance of other running programs. The priority of any process running in a system determines the amount of CPU usage and system resources allocated to that process. Decreasing the operation priority will free up more resources for other CPU tasks.
Select the Limit transfer rate to check box and specify an optimal value and an appropriate measurement unit (kilobits or megabits per second) 6.5.7 Notifications You can specify an e-mail account that will be used for notification of the backup process. To specify the e-mail settings: Enter the e-mail address in the E-mail address field. You can enter several e-mail addresses in a semicolon-delimited format. Enter the outgoing mail server (SMTP) in the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field.
Enter the password in the Password field. To specify additional notification settings, click the Additional notification settings link. To send notification concerning process completion, select the Send notification upon operation's successful completion check box. To send notification concerning process failure, select the Send notification upon operation failure check box.
computer is stored on the Online storage in encrypted form, you will be asked to enter the encryption key which has been used for encryption. You will not be able to access the data until you enter the correct encryption key. 1. Select in the Backup Explorer the files and folders you want to recover. For more information on items selection in the Backup Explorer see Files and folders tab (p. 28). Click Recover to start recovery. This opens the File Recovery window. 2.
In the View Versions dialog window that appears, select a version, and then click Recover, or simply drag the version to a destination in Windows Explorer. To choose the correct version, you can open the version in the associated application and view the file contents. Choose the version by its backup time, and then click the Open button. Acronis True Image Home 2012 will recover the file version to a temporary folder. Then it will open the file using the associated application.
7 Useful information In this section Protecting your system ..........................................................................135 Deciding where to store your backups ..................................................137 Making sure that your rescue media can be used when needed ..........139 Testing that your backups can be used for recovery .............................143 Trying system changes safely .................................................................143 Scheduling ................
1. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012, select the Backup and recovery tab and then click Disk and partition backup. 2. This opens the Disk Backup window with your system partition (usually C:) selected by default. 3. Select a destination for backup (you can leave the default destination or browse for a destination after clicking the down arrow to the right of the current destination and selecting Browse...). 4. Click Back up now.
One more argument in favor of several backups: when starting recovery, Acronis True Image Home 2012 deletes the target partition (or disk). If you have just a single backup, you are at great risk. The moment the system partition is deleted on the computer being recovered the only thing you have is the image being recovered. If the image is corrupted, you will not be able to recover the system. 7.2 Deciding where to store your backups Acronis True Image Home 2012 supports quite a few of storage devices.
Online backup Acronis True Image Home 2012 allows you to use Acronis True Image Online service for safeguarding your most important files by saving them to a secure remote location. Because files are stored on a remote storage, they are protected even if your computer gets stolen. So the risk of data loss as a result of fire, theft, or other natural disasters is practically eliminated. If something happens to your backup image, PC, or external storage device, you can get your most important files back. 7.
Having provided the required information, click Connect. 7.3 Making sure that your rescue media can be used when needed To maximize the chances of your computer's recovery, you must test that your computer can boot from the rescue media. In addition, you must check that the rescue media recognizes all your computer's devices, such as the hard drives, the mouse, the keyboard and network adapter. If you purchased a boxed version of the product that has a bootable CD, please test this CD.
If you have a spare hard drive, we strongly recommend you to try a test recovery of your system partition to this hard drive. How to test recovery, as well as check the drives and network adapter 1. If you have file backups, start Recovery Wizard by clicking Recovery -> File Recovery on the toolbar. If you have only disk and partition backup, Recovery Wizard also starts and the recovery procedure is similar. In such a case, you need to select Recover chosen files and folders at the Recovery Method step.
If the Computers Near Me icon is not available under My Computer, there may be problems either with your network card or with the card driver provided with Acronis True Image Home 2012. 5. Select the destination for the files and then click Next. 6. Select several files for recovery by selecting their check boxes and then click Next. 7. Click Proceed on the Summary window to start recovery. 8. After the recovery finishes, exit the standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012.
7.3.1 Selecting video mode when booting from the rescue media When booting from the rescue media the optimal video mode is selected automatically depending on the specifications of your video card and monitor. However, sometimes the program can select the wrong video mode, which is unsuitable for your hardware. In such case you can select a suitable video mode as follows: 1. Start booting from the rescue media.
After you find the optimal video mode for your hardware, you can create a new bootable rescue media that will automatically select that video mode. To do this, start Acronis Media Builder, select the required media components, and type the mode number with the "0x" prefix (0x338 in our instance) in the command line at the "Bootable media startup parameters" step, then create the media as usual. 7.
7.5.1 What is Try&Decide The Try&Decide feature allows you to create a secure, controlled temporary workspace on your computer without requiring you to install special virtualization software. You can perform various system operations without worrying that you might damage your operating system, programs or data. If you make virtual changes that you want to keep, you may apply them to your original system.
install the updates. If you encounter any sort of problem, discard the changes and leave your real operating system and applications untouched. You can leave the Try&Decide turned on as long as you like, because this mode "survives" across reboots of your operating system.
When the Try mode is started, you won't be able to use the previously activated Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. Rebooting the computer in the Try mode will allow you to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager again. Try&Decide and Nonstop Backup cannot work simultaneously. Starting the Try mode suspends Nonstop Backup. Nonstop Backup will resume after you stop the Try mode. 7.5.2 Starting the Try mode To start the Try mode: Click Try&Decide on the Tools and utilities tab.
7.5.4 Try&Decide options and notifications To view or edit the default options of the Try&Decide feature, select the Tools and Utilities tab and then click Try&Decide. The options and notifications will be displayed in the corresponding areas of the Try & Decide window. You can change the following Try&Decide options and notifications: Protected partitions: specify the partitions you want to protect from unauthorized changes during a Try&Decide session.
On free disk space remaining - using this option, the program automatically checks the amount of free space left on the disk used by Try&Decide with values that you specify. If the amount of free space becomes less than the specified value, the program displays a notification message. On time elapsed since Try&Decide started - using this option, the program will notify you if Try&Decide has been working for longer than the period of time you specified. Having specified the alert settings, click OK.
applications do not provide enough information for it to be able to uninstall them without a trace. So almost every time you install a trial program and then remove it, you have some garbage left on your computer and after a while Windows may get slower. Even use of special uninstaller utilities cannot guarantee complete uninstallation. The Try&Decide feature, however, will ensure complete and perfect uninstallation of any software quickly and easily. Here's how: Turn on the Try mode.
Here you can specify the backup and validation schedule settings. You can choose and set up one of the following backup or validation frequencies: Daily (p. 151) - the operation will be executed once a day or more frequently. Weekly (p. 151) - the operation will be executed once a week or several times a week on the selected days. Monthly (p. 152) - the operation will be executed once a month or several times a month on the selected dates. Upon event (p.
If you schedule a backup to a USB flash drive or validation of a backup that is located on a USB flash drive, one more check box appears: Run when the current destination device is attached. Selecting the check box will let you perform a missed operation when the USB flash drive is attached if it was disconnected at the scheduled time.
7.6.
Enter a search string into the Search field at the top right of the Acronis True Image Home 2012 window. You will be taken to the Acronis Backup Explorer screen. The program shows search results on the Files and folders tab. By default Acronis True Image Home 2012 performs the search in all the sources where it can search information. That is, it searches files in all backups and their versions on all local storage devices.
If you do not have Windows Search installed, but would like to use it, you can download Windows Search 4.0 for free from Microsoft's Web site. To download, click http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=23. Double-click on the downloaded file and follow the instructions for installation. Acronis True Image Home 2012 has a plug-in for Windows Search. To speed up searches in your backups, you can install the plug-in for indexing the backups.
To open the Indexing Options window in Windows Vista or Windows 7, open the Control Panel and then double-click the Indexing Options icon. The Windows Vista and Windows 7 indexing options have some differences in content and appearance, though most of the following information is applicable to those operating systems as well. 3. Click Advanced, select the File Types tab and then make sure that the tib extension is selected and ".tib IFilter" is shown in the Filter Description field.
the backups will not be indexed. To include the disks, click Modify and select them in the window that appears. If you store backups on a network share, Windows Search can index them too. You just have to add the share to the Indexed Locations list by typing the appropriate UNC path after selecting the Add UNC Location tab of Advanced Options. 156 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Give Windows Search some time for indexing Acronis backups on your computer's hard disks and adding the indexing information to its index database. The required time depends on the number of backups and the number of files they contain. After completing the indexing, the Windows Search will be able to search files in tib backups. The search engines in Windows Search and Windows Vista or Windows 7 have similar functionalities, though search results are presented somewhat differently.
7.8 Choosing columns for viewing in wizards You can change the way the columns are represented in various wizards. To sort items by a particular column, click the header (another click will switch the items to the opposite order). To select columns to view, right-click in the right pane and select Choose Columns in the shortcut menu. Then flag the columns you want to display. You can also change the display order of columns using the Move Up and Move Down buttons.
8 Tools and utilities Acronis Tools and utilities include Try&Decide, protection tools, mounting tools, backup conversion tools, clone disk utility, security and privacy utilities, disk management utilities, and backup settings transfer tools. Try&Decide Try any unsafe operation in the Try mode and then decide whether to apply or discard it.
With the File Shredder you can quickly select unnecessary files and folders and destroy them permanently. System Clean-up With the System Clean-up utility, you can clean up components (folders, files, registry sections, etc.), related to general system tasks. These Windows components retain evidence of user PC activity, so they too should be thoroughly wiped to maintain confidentiality. Disk management Add new disk Add new disk wizard helps you to add a new hard disk drive to your computer.
2. Activate Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. When Acronis Startup Recovery Manager is activated, it overwrites the master boot record (MBR) with its own boot code. If you have any third-party boot managers installed, you will need to reactivate them after the Startup Recovery Manager has been activated. For Linux loaders (e.g. LiLo and GRUB), you might consider installing them to a Linux root (or boot) partition boot record instead of MBR before activating Acronis Startup Recovery Manager.
Notes If you have chosen not to install the Bootable Media Builder during Acronis True Image Home 2012 installation, you will not be able to use this feature. When booting from the Rescue Media, you cannot perform backups to disks or partitions with Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, ReiserFS, and Linux SWAP file systems. Please keep in mind that the backups created by the later program version may be incompatible with the previous program versions.
Select the check box of the program you want to include into the bootable media. The bottom field displays the space required for the selected components. If you have other Acronis products installed on your computer, you can also include standalone versions of these programs into the same bootable media. If automatic start of the program is necessary, select the Starts automatically after check box. The Start automatically after parameter specifies the timeout interval for the boot menu.
nodma Disables DMA for all IDE disk drives. Prevents kernel from freezing on some hardware. nofw Disables FireWire (IEEE1394) support. nopcmcia Disables PCMCIA hardware detection. nomouse Disables mouse support. [module name]=off Disables the module (e.g. sata_sis=off). pci=bios Forces to use PCI BIOS, and not to access the hardware device directly. For instance, this parameter may be used if the machine has a non-standard PCI host bridge.
If you use non-optical media, the media must have a FAT file system. This limitation is not applicable for an ISO image. 8.2.1.4 Destination file selection If you chose to create a bootable disk ISO image, specify the ISO file name and the folder where to place it: Select the destination folder from the folder tree Enter a name for the .iso file in the File name field Click Next to continue 8.2.1.5 Bootable media creation summary This page displays operations to be performed.
8.2.1.6 How to create a bootable USB flash drive You can create a bootable USB flash drive containing a standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012. This may be handy, for example, if your notebook does not have an internal CD/DVD-drive. You will need a USB flash drive with a capacity of 256 MB or more. The drive must be formatted in FAT16 or FAT32 file system. To create a bootable USB flash drive, attach the drive to a USB port.
Copy this folder into the Plugin folder in the BartPE builder installation directory. (The default directory is C:\pebuilder3110a or similar); Run the PE builder, put in the necessary paths (the online help is available at http://nu2.nu/pebuilder/help/), and click the Plugins button: Make sure you have the Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in enabled on the Plugins screen: 167 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
Close the Plugins window and click the Build button to start the building process. If you want the image to be burned to CD, select the Burn to CD option and choose the necessary burner in the Device menu; After the image is created, burn it to CD or DVD. (If you did not check the Burn to CD option at the previous step.) After booting from the CD/DVD, you can find the Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in in Go/System/Storage.
3. Install the Microsoft .NET Framework v.2.0 from this kit (NETFXx86 or NETFXx64, depending on your hardware). 4. Install Microsoft Core XML (MSXML) 6.0 Parser from this kit. 5. Install Windows AIK from this kit. It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the help documentation supplied with Windows AIK. A good starting point is the "Create an image" section of "Getting Started for IT Professionals" white paper.
4. Specify the path to the folder WinPE\ISO, e.g. c:\winpe_x86\ISO. 5. On the next screen choose the Add components and build an ISO option and click Next. 6. Specify the full path to the resulting image file including the filename or leave the default path and filename (AcronisMedia.iso). 170 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
7. Check your settings in the summary screen and click Proceed. 8. Burn the .ISO to a CD using a third-party tool (for example, Nero) and you will have a bootable Windows PE disc with Acronis True Image Home 2012. Once a machine boots into WinPE, Acronis True Image Home 2012 starts automatically. Be aware that startup may take a considerable amount of time. 8.2.3.2 Adding the Acronis Plug-in to the existing WinPE 2.x or 3.
2. Specify the path to the source WINPE.WIM file. The standard path to this file for x86 hardware is \Program Files\Windows AIK\Tools\PETools\X86\winpe.wim. 3. Specify the full path to the resulting WIM file, including the filename or leave the default path and filename (AcronisMedia.wim). 4. Check your settings in the summary screen and click Proceed. To create a PE image (ISO file) from the resulting WIM file: 1. Select Microsoft Windows AIK → Windows PE Tools Command Prompt from the Start menu.
When you create an Acronis Secure Zone, an icon appears under My Computer in the Other section. Double-clicking on the Acronis Secure Zone icon opens the Secure Zone and you can view all the backups it contains. You can also open the Secure Zone by right-clicking on its icon and choosing Open in the shortcut menu. Double-clicking on a backup icon shows all backup versions (full, incremental, differential) contained in that backup.
8.3.2 Acronis Secure Zone location If you are creating the Acronis Secure Zone, select a disk and its partition whose space will be used to create Acronis Secure Zone. You can also select free or unallocated space of other partitions, if these partitions are located on the selected disk. Note that the Acronis Secure Zone can be located on basic disks only; you cannot create it on dynamic disks and volumes.
8.3.4 Size of Acronis Secure Zone You can specify the size of the Acronis Secure Zone. The minimum size is about 50 MB, depending on the geometry of the hard disk. The maximum size is equal to the disk’s unallocated space plus the total free space on all partitions selected at the previous step. When creating/enlarging the Acronis Secure Zone, the program will first use the unallocated space.
Remove (p. 177) - choose this item if you want to remove the Acronis Secure Zone from your hard disk. Convert file system to NTFS (p. 177) - choose this item if you want to convert the zone file system from FAT32 to NTFS. This item appears only if you have the Acronis Secure Zone created by a previous Acronis True Image Home 2012 version. Change password (p. 176) - choose this item if you want to change the password for accessing the Acronis Secure Zone. 8.3.5.
Click Next to continue. Acronis True Image Home 2012 repair or update will not affect the password. However, if the program is removed and then installed again while keeping the Acronis Secure Zone on the disk, the password to the Acronis Secure Zone will be reset. 8.3.5.4 Convert file system to NTFS When you upgrade from a previous version of Acronis True Image Home 2012 and the Acronis Secure Zone exists in your system, you can convert the zone file system from FAT32 to NTFS.
Acronis Secure Zone deletion will automatically destroy all backups stored in the zone. 8.3.6 Acronis Secure Zone summary The Acronis Secure Zone summary window displays a list of operations to be performed. Creating or managing the Acronis Secure Zone operations may require reboot. In that case, after clicking the Proceed button you will be asked to confirm the reboot. Click the Proceed button to start the listed operations.
8.4.1 General information You might find that your hard disk does not have enough space for the operating system and installed applications, preventing you from updating your software or installing new applications. In this case, you have to transfer the system to a higher-capacity hard disk. To transfer the system, you must first install the new disk in the computer. If your computer doesn't have a bay for another hard disk, you can temporarily install it in place of your CD drive or use a USB 2.
8.4.3 Selecting clone mode There are two transfer modes available: Automatic (recommended in most cases). In automatic mode, you will only have to take several simple actions to transfer all the data, including partitions, files and folders, to a newer disk, making it bootable if the original disk was bootable. Manual. Manual mode will provide more data transfer flexibility. Manual mode can be useful if you need to change the disk partition layout.
8.4.4 Selecting a source disk You can determine the source and destination using the information provided in this window (disk number, capacity, label, partition and file system information). If the program finds several partitioned disks, it will ask you which is the source (i.e. the older data disk). Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not support cloning of dynamic disks. Select the source disk and click Next to continue.
8.4.5 Selecting a destination disk After you select the source disk, you have to select the destination where the disk information will be copied to. The previously selected source becomes grayed-out and disabled for selection. Select the destination disk and click Next to continue. At this point, the program checks to see if the destination disk is free. If not, you will be prompted by the Conformation window stating that the destination disk contains partitions, perhaps with useful data.
Manual - you will specify a new size and other parameters yourself If you elect to transfer information "as is," a new partition will be created for every old one with the same size and type, file system and label. The unused space will become unallocated. Afterwards, you will be able to use the unallocated space to create new partitions or to enlarge the existing partitions with special tools, such as Acronis Disk Director Suite.
Along with the hard disk number, you can see disk capacity, the label, volume and file system information. Different volume types, including primary, logical and unallocated space are marked with different colors. To resize, change the volume type, change the label of the existing volume, right click on it, and select Edit in the shortcut menu. This will open the Partition Settings window.
If the cursor turns into two vertical lines with left and right arrows, it is pointed at the partition border and you can drag it to enlarge or reduce the partition's size. If the cursor turns into four arrows, it is pointed at the partition, so you can move it to the left or right (if there's unallocated space near it). Having provided the new location and size, click Accept. You will be taken back to the Change disk layout window.
Cloning a non-system disk or a disk containing an operating system, but one that is not currently active, will proceed without the need to reboot. After you click Proceed, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will start cloning the old disk to the new disk, indicating the progress in a special window. You can stop this procedure by clicking Cancel. In that case, you will have to repartition and format the new disk or repeat the cloning procedure.
If there are any partitions on the new disk, they must be deleted first. If the added disk contains partitions, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will warn you by displaying the warning message. Click OK to delete the existing partitions on the added disk. You can also see the properties of all the hard disks installed in your system, for example, the name and the model of the selected disk drive, its capacity, file system and its interface. 187 Copyright © Acronis, Inc.
8.5.2 Selecting initialization method Acronis True Image Home 2012 supports both MBR and GPT partitioning. GUID Partition Table (GPT) is a new hard disk partitioning method providing advantages over the old MBR partitioning method. If your operating system supports GPT disks, you can select the new disk to be initialized as a GPT disk. To add a GPT disk, click Initialize disk in GPT layout. To add an MBR disk, click Initialize disk in MBR layout.
partition type (available only for MBR disks), partition letter and label. If you allocate all unallocated space on the disk to the new partition, the Create new partition button disappears. 8.5.3.1 Partition settings Specify the settings for the partition being created. Size You can resize and relocate the partition being created. If you want to resize the partition: Point the cursor at the partition border.
If you create one or more logical drives, the program will reserve some unallocated space for system needs in front of the created partition(s). If you create a primary partition or a primary partition together with a logical one then no unallocated space will be reserved for system needs. File System Choose the file system type for the partition being created. Different partitions may have different type of file system.
Logical - choose this parameter if you don’t intend to install and start an operating system from the partition. A logical drive is part of a physical disk drive that has been partitioned and allocated as an independent unit, but functions as a separate drive. When you finish to specify the settings for the partition being created, click Accept to continue. 8.5.
Acronis Extended Capacity Manager wizard displays all hard disks larger than 2 TB (unallocated or with MBR partition style). You can see the disk space which Windows recognizes and allocates. This space is called Windows Native Capacity in the wizard. The space beyond 2 TB is displayed as Extended Capacity. You can enable Extended Capacity Disks, and once it is done, this space becomes visible to the operating system and ready for disk management operations. 1.
After allocating the space, you can temporarily switch off the Extended Capacity Disks by clicking Temporary switch off Extended Capacity Disks. This makes the Extended Capacity Disks invisible for disk management tools, though the disk space will remain allocated and you will be able to make these partitions visible again later. To do this, start the Acronis Extended Capacity Manager and then click Allocate space.
standards. You can select an appropriate data destruction method depending on the importance of your confidential information. The File Shredder provides the same capabilities for individual files and folders. Finally, the System Clean-up wizard ensures elimination of all of the traces of your computer activities When working on a PC, you leave thousands of bytes of evidence showing your actions. You may not even be aware of these traces.
8.7.1.1 Data selection First, you must select the hard disk partitions where you want to destroy data. To select a partition, click the corresponding rectangle. You will see a red mark in the upper right corner indicating that the partition is selected. You can select an entire hard disk or several disks for data destruction. To do this, click the rectangle corresponding to the hard disk (with a device icon, disk number and capacity).
If the disks and/or partitions you have selected include the system disk or partition, you will see a warning window. Be careful, because clicking OK in this warning window and then Proceed in the Summary window will result in wiping the system partition containing your Windows operating system. 8.7.1.2 Algorithm selection Acronis DriveCleanser utilizes a number of the most popular data destruction algorithms. Select the desired algorithm from the drop-down list.
Acronis DriveCleanser offers you another useful capability — to estimate the results of executing a data destruction algorithm on a hard disk or partition. It features an integrated Disk Editor (hard disk browsing tool). The aforementioned algorithms offer various levels of confidential data destruction. Thus the picture you might see on a disk or partition depends on the data destruction algorithm. But what you actually see are disk sectors filled with either zeros or random symbols.
The window has the following legend: The first column of the list contains the type of operation on a disk (there are just two: to write a symbol to disk, "writing"; and to verify written, "verification"); the second column contains the pattern of data to be written to disk. The pattern to be written is always a hexadecimal value, for example, a value of this kind: 0x00, 0xAA, or 0xCD, etc. These values are 1 byte long, but they may be up to 512 bytes long.
In the same way, you can create any data destruction algorithm to match your security requirements. Saving custom algorithm In the next Saving Custom Algorithm window, you will be able to save the algorithm you have created. This will be useful if you are going to use it again. In order to save your algorithm, you need to give it a filename and define the path in the Select file field or locate an existing file on the disk. Each custom algorithm is stored in a separate file with its own name.
8.7.1.5 Disk Editor (read-only mode) Acronis DriveCleanser offers you another useful capability — to estimate the results of executing a data destruction method on a hard disk or partition. To view the state of your cleaned up disks or partitions, click the Tools & Utilities tab. Then click the View current state of your disks link and choose the partition whose cleaning results you wish to view. This opens an integrated Acronis Disk Editor (in read-only mode).
Go to sector You can go to the necessary sector according to its absolute offset by selecting the Go to… line in the Search menu (or by pressing the Alt+P key combination). Selecting this line opens the Go to… dialog window. The transition is performed by entering the absolute sector offset, or cylinder, head, and sector numbers.
Having selected the contents for shredding, click Next to continue. 8.7.2.2 Data destruction method selection File Shredder utilizes a number of the most popular data destruction methods. Here, you need to select the desired data destruction method. The data destruction methods are described in detail in Hard Disk Wiping Methods (p. 209) of this guide.
In some cases, the operation may take a long time to be completed. If this is the case, select the Shutdown the computer after completion check box. When the operation finishes, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will turn the computer off. 8.7.3 System Clean-up The System Clean-up wizard enables you to securely remove all traces of your PC actions stored by Windows.
After you start the wizard by selecting the Tools and utilities tab and then clicking System Clean-up, it will search for any traces of user actions stored by Windows. When the search is finished, its results will be available at the top of the wizard window. You can view the search results and manually select the items you wish to remove. If you want to change the default system clean-up settings, click the corresponding link in the first window of the System Clean-up wizard.
Find Computer list Find File list Recently Used Documents list Windows Run List Opened/saved files history User Credentials Windows Prefetch Directory 8.7.3.2 Default clean-up options The default clean-up options are available by clicking the Click to change this setting… link on the Data Destruction Method option page. To change the default clean-up options: Choose on the tree the component clean-up settings which you need to change.
Use common method - if you leave this parameter selected, the program will use the default method (the initial setting is Fast method). If you need another destruction method to be set as a default, click on the corresponding link. Use custom method for this component - selecting this parameter allows you to choose one of the preset data destruction methods from the drop-down list. The data destruction methods are described in detail in Hard Disk Wiping Methods (p. 209) of this guide.
Upon entering the Files setting value, you can browse the files matching the search strings. To do this, click Show Files. You will see a window with the names of the found files. These files will be cleaned. Drive free space Here you can manually specify physical and/or logical drives to clean up free space on. By default, System Clean-up cleans up free space on all available drives.
"Commands" setting Here you can select the commands to remove during Windows Run List clean-up. This template can contain any command names or their parts separated by semicolons, e.g.: *help; cmd; reg* This will result in removing commands with names corresponding to or containing any of the names or parts of names you entered. Network places filter Here you can enter (separated by semicolons) any hostnames or IP addresses of network places, servers, FTP servers, network shares, etc.
Expand the System Components item in the System Clean-up tree and make sure that the component you wish to clean up is selected. If you do not want to clean up a component, simply clear its check box. If required, you can dig deeper by expanding a component and selecting/unselecting its contents. Having specified the components for clean-up, click the Clean-up button to continue. Windows Vista and Windows 7 do not keep information on file and computer searches.
8.7.4.1 Functioning principles of Information wiping methods Physically, the complete wiping of information from a hard disk involves the switching of every elementary magnetic area of the recording material as many times as possible by writing specially selected sequences of logical 1's and 0's (also known as samples).
No. Algorithm (writing method) Passes Record nd 0xFF, 2 pass – 0x00, and then five times with a cryptographically secure pseudo-random sequence. 8. Fast 8.8 1 Logical zeros (0x00 numbers) to all sectors to wipe. Mounting an image Acronis True Image Home 2012 offers mounting for images and exploring for both images and filelevel backups. Exploring images and file-level backups lets you view their contents and copy the selected files to a hard disk.
If you selected a backup containing incremental images, you can select one of the successive incremental images (also called "backup versions") by its creation date/time. Thus, you can explore the data state at a certain moment. To mount an incremental image, you must have all previous backup versions and the initial full backup. If any of the successive backups are missing, mounting is not possible. To mount a differential image, you must have the initial full image as well.
You can also select a letter to be assigned to the virtual disk from the Mount letter drop-down list. If you do not want to mount a partition, select Do not mount in the list or clear the partition's check box. 4. If you select the Mount the partitions in the read-write mode box, the program assumes that the mounted image will be modified and creates an incremental backup file to capture the changes. It is strongly recommended that you list the forthcoming changes in the Comments section to this file.
If you have mounted several partitions, by default all of them will be selected for unmounting. You can disconnect all mounted drives together or disconnect only those you do not need mounted anymore. You can also do this in Windows Explorer by right-clicking on the disk icon and choosing Unmount. 8.10 Working with vhd files In this section Converting tib images into vhd virtual disks and vice versa ..................214 Recovery using vhd files created by Windows Backup ..........................
1. Click Acronis backup conversion on the Tools and utilities tab. 2. Select the disk image to convert. If the backup is password-protected, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will ask for it. Note that the resulting vhd file will lose password protection. Converting an incremental backup requires all the previous incremental backups and the original full backup. Converting a differential backup requires the original full backup. The result of conversion is always a full backup. 3.
1. Click Windows backup conversion on the Tools and utilities tab. 2. Select the vhd file to convert. 3. Specify the path to the tib file to be created. By default, the converted file will be created in the same location as the file to be converted. However, you can select another location by clicking Browse. The file can be directed to any storage supported by Acronis True Image Home 2012, except for Acronis Secure Zone. 4. The next step allows you to set options for the tib backup to be created.
4. Choose the vhd backup file to be used for recovery by its creation date. When the required vhd backup is not shown, click Browse, choose Windows Backup Archives (*.vhd) in the "Files of type" field and locate the backup for recovery. Even if the required vhd backup is shown on the screen, after you choose it Acronis True Image Home 2012 may display the following message: "Acronis True Image Home 2012 cannot detect volume 1 of "Backup_Name" archive", where Backup_Name is the name of the chosen backup.
To use the VHD for booting, the partition with the converted vhd file must have sufficient free space. Tib files are converted into dynamic VHDs with the maximum size that equals the size of a partition backed up into a tib file. When you boot from a dynamic vhd file, the VHD is automatically expanded to the maximum size. If the physical host partition of the vhd file does not have enough free disk space for the maximum size of the dynamic VHD, the boot process will fail.
The settings content can be different depending on a backup type.
9 Troubleshooting In this section Acronis System Report ...........................................................................220 Acronis Smart Error Reporting ...............................................................220 General recommendations ....................................................................222 Creating a custom rescue CD .................................................................223 Viewing log ..........................................................................
Acronis True Image Home 2012 displays an appropriate error message. The error message contains an event code and a short description of the error (sometimes with a possible solution), for instance: "Check the disk and file system for errors and try to repeat the operation Event Code: 0x000101F6" The error message may also include the program module where the error has occurred and the error message from the module.
Select the Acronis product version you use and manually enter the event code into the appropriate field. Then, click the Search button to search for an article that may contain the solution to your issue. Sometimes, an error may occur in a low-level program module and then propagate to higher-level modules resulting in errors in those modules as well. This is a so called composite error, where every higher level module generates its own error (event) code.
code displayed in the error box to search for a solution in the entire KB. For more information, see Acronis Smart Error Reporting (p. 220). System report Acronis Support personnel may request you to provide the system report. To create the report, select Generate system report in the Help menu, then save the report and send it to Acronis Customer Central. For more information see Acronis System Report. 9.
You can also open the log for viewing by selecting View log in the Operations menu of a backup box. In this case you will see only the log items for the last run of the selected backup. By default all logs are selected for viewing. The right pane shows all major log entries in the collapsed state. To expand a log entry for viewing individual log items, double-click it. To collapse the expanded log entry, double-click it again.
The buttons with up and down arrows at the top and bottom of the calendar allow you to browse the months being shown in the calendar. The color marks in the calendar show information about the days when operations completed with errors (red marks), warnings (yellow marks), and success (green marks). The current day is highlighted. Clicking a marked day shows the logs for that date. To delete a log entry, select it, right-click and select Delete in the shortcut menu.
10 Glossary of Terms A Acronis Secure Zone A secure partition for storing backups (p. 226) on a hard disk. Advantages: enables recovery of a disk to the same disk where the disk's backup resides offers a cost-effective and handy method for protecting data from software malfunction, virus attack, operator error eliminates the need for a separate media or network connection to back up or recover the data B Backup 1. The same as Backup operation (p. 226). 2.
Bootable media A physical media (CD, DVD, USB flash drive or other media supported by a machine BIOS as a boot device) that contains standalone version of Acronis True Image Home 2012.
Full backup version A self-sufficient backup version (p. 226) containing all data chosen for backup. You do not need access to any other backup version to recover the data from a full backup version. I Image The same as Disk backup (p. 227). Incremental backup 1. A backup method used for saving data changes that occurred since the last backup version (p. 226) (of any type) within a backup. 2. A backup process that creates an incremental backup version (p. 228).
version and the selected differential backup version. an incremental backup version (p. 228) the program validates the initial full backup version, the selected incremental backup version, and the whole chain (if any) of backup versions to the selected incremental backup version.
