Operation Manual

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. In the Disk Backup window, select your system partition (usually C:), and specify the backup

destination. For more information see Backing up partitions and disks (p. 40).

3. Click Turn on for the Schedule item. In the Scheduler window click Monthly, and specify, for

example, the 1st and 15th days of the month. This will result in a backup version in about every 2

weeks. Then specify a start time for the backup operation.

4. Click Incremental next to the Backup scheme item (Incremental is the default backup scheme).

5. In the Disk Backup Options window, make sure that the Backup scheme tab is selected.

6. Choose Custom scheme instead of Incremental scheme.

7. In the Backup method box, select Differential from the drop down list.

8. Click Create a full version after every [n] differential versions, and type or select "3".

In that case the program will first create the initial full backup version (no matter how you set up

a backup process, the first backup version will always be the full one), and then 3 differential

versions, each one in about two weeks. Then again a full version and 3 differential versions and

so on. So every new full version will be created in two months.

9. To limit storage space for the versions, click Turn on automatic cleanup.

10. Click Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size], type or select "100" "GB", and click

OK.

When the total backup size exceeds 100 GB, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will clean up the existing

backup versions to make the remaining versions satisfy the size limit. The program will delete the oldest

backup chain consisting of a full backup version and 3 differential backup versions.

11. In the Disk Backup window, check that all settings are correct and click Back up now. If you want

your first backup to be run only at the time you specified in the Scheduler, click the down arrow

to the right of the Back up now button and select Later in the drop down list.

3.11.5 Image creation mode

You can use these parameters to create an exact copy of your whole partitions or hard disks, and not

only the sectors that contain data. Note that the Back up unallocated space check box is available

only when the Back up sector-by-sector check box is selected.

 To make a sector-by-sector backup, check the Back up sector-by-sector parameter. By default

the program copies only the hard disk sectors that contain data. However, sometimes it might be

useful to make a full sector-by-sector backup. For example, you have deleted some files by

mistake and want to make a disk image before trying to undelete them, because sometimes

undeleting may create problems in the file system. Please note that this mode increases

processing time and usually results in a larger image file because it copies used and unused hard

disk sectors.

 The Back up unallocated space option becomes available if you have selected the previous

parameter, Back up sector-by-sector. By default, while performing sector-by-sector backup,

unallocated space is not included into the backup file. Enabling this option will include all

unallocated disk space into the backup.