Acronis True Image Home - 2012 User's Guide

Update 2

User's Guide

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Table of conte nts

1 Getting started ......................................................................................................................8

1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 8

1.1.1 What is Acronis True Image Home 2012? ..................................................................................................... 8

1.1.2 What is Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack? .................................................................................... 9

1.1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 basic concepts ........................................................................................... 9

1.1.4 New in Acronis True Image Home 2012 ...................................................................................................... 11

1.1.5 System requirements and supported media .............................................................................................. 12

1.1.6 Technical Support .......................................................................................................................................... 14

1.1.7 Trial version information .............................................................................................................................. 14

1.2 Acronis True Image Home 2012 installation ...........................................................................14

1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 activation .............................................................................16

1.4 Program workspace .................................................................................................................18

1.4.1 Get started tab .............................................................................................................................................. 18

1.4.2 Backup and recovery tab .............................................................................................................................. 19

1.4.3 Synchronization tab ...................................................................................................................................... 23

1.4.4 Tools and utilities tab .................................................................................................................................... 25

1.4.5 Wizards and notification area icons ............................................................................................................. 25

1.4.6 Acronis Backup Explorer ............................................................................................................................... 26

1.4.7 Integration with Windows ............................................................................................................................ 32

1.4.8 Settings menu ................................................................................................................................................ 34

1.4.9 Help menu ..................................................................................................................................................... 35

1.4.10 Installing Acronis Hotfixes............................................................................................................................. 35

2 How to ................................................................................................................................ 37

3 Backing up data ................................................................................................................... 38

3.1 The difference between file backups and disk/partition images ............................................38

3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups ..............................................................................38

3.3 Backing up partitions and disks ...............................................................................................40

3.4 Backing up files and folders .....................................................................................................42

3.4.1 Data categories .............................................................................................................................................. 43

3.4.2 Support for Zip format .................................................................................................................................. 44

3.5 Backing up e-mail .....................................................................................................................45

3.6 Using Acronis Nonstop Backup ................................................................................................46

3.6.1 Protecting your data continuously ............................................................................................................... 48

3.6.2 Protecting your system continuously .......................................................................................................... 49

3.6.3 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage ........................................................................................................ 50

3.6.4 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions........................................................................................... 51

3.7 Making reserve copies of your backups ..................................................................................52

3.8 Backup to various places .........................................................................................................54

3.9 Adding an existing backup to the list .......................................................................................55

3.10 Deleting backups and backup versions ....................................................................................55

3.11 Backup options ........................................................................................................................56

3.11.1 Backup schemes ............................................................................................................................................ 57

3.11.2 Single version scheme ................................................................................................................................... 58

3.11.3 Version chain scheme ................................................................................................................................... 58

3.11.4 Custom schemes ........................................................................................................................................... 59

3.11.5 Image creation mode .................................................................................................................................... 62

3.11.6 Backup protection ......................................................................................................................................... 63

3.11.7 Pre/Post commands for backup ................................................................................................................... 63

3.11.8 Backup splitting ............................................................................................................................................. 64

3.11.9 Backup validation option .............................................................................................................................. 65

3.11.10 Backup reserve copy ..................................................................................................................................... 65

3.11.11 Removable media settings ........................................................................................................................... 66

3.11.12 Backup comment .......................................................................................................................................... 67

3.11.13 Screenshot settings ....................................................................................................................................... 67

3.11.14 Error handling ................................................................................................................................................ 67

3.11.15 Computer shutdown ..................................................................................................................................... 68

3.11.16 File-level security settings for backup .......................................................................................................... 68

3.11.17 Windows account .......................................................................................................................................... 68

3.11.18 Performance of backup operation ............................................................................................................... 69

3.11.19 Notifications for backup operation .............................................................................................................. 70

3.11.20 Excluding items from backup ....................................................................................................................... 71

3.12 Validating backups ...................................................................................................................72

3.13 Consolidating backup versions ................................................................................................73

3.13.1 Archive to consolidate protection ................................................................................................................ 73

3.13.2 Backup selection ............................................................................................................................................ 73

3.13.3 Result location ............................................................................................................................................... 73

3.13.4 Consolidation summary ................................................................................................................................ 74

3.14 Cloning backup settings ...........................................................................................................74

4 Recovering data ................................................................................................................... 75

4.1 Recovering your system after a crash......................................................................................75

4.1.1 Trying to determine the crash cause ........................................................................................................... 75

4.1.2 Preparing for recovery .................................................................................................................................. 76

4.1.3 Recovering your system ................................................................................................................................ 76

4.2 Recovering partitions and disks ...............................................................................................79

4.3 Recovering partitions protected with Acronis Nonstop Backup .............................................81

4.4 How to recover more than one partition at once ...................................................................81

4.5 Recovering a disk backup to a different disk under rescue media ..........................................85

4.5.1 Recovering a disk with a hidden partition ................................................................................................... 85

4.6 Recovering data from file-level backups .................................................................................91

4.7 Recovering file versions ...........................................................................................................92

4.8 Recovering to different hardware ...........................................................................................93

4.8.1 Recovering your system with the help of Acronis Universal Restore ....................................................... 93

4.8.2 Recovering your system with the help of Acronis Universal Restore under rescue media ..................... 94

4.9 Acronis Universal Restore ........................................................................................................97

4.9.1 Purpose of Acronis Universal Restore ......................................................................................................... 97

4.9.2 General principles of Acronis Universal Restore ......................................................................................... 98

4.10 How to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager ......................................................................98

4.11 About recovery of dynamic/GPT disks and volumes ...............................................................99

4.12 Backup protection dialog box ................................................................................................100

4.13 Arranging boot order in BIOS.................................................................................................100

4.14 Recovery options ...................................................................................................................101

4.14.1 Pre/Post commands for recovery .............................................................................................................. 101

4.14.2 Validation option ......................................................................................................................................... 102

4.14.3 Computer restart ......................................................................................................................................... 102

4.14.4 File recovery options ................................................................................................................................... 102

4.14.5 Overwrite file options ................................................................................................................................. 102

4.14.6 Performance of recovery operation .......................................................................................................... 103

4.14.7 Notifications for recovery operation ......................................................................................................... 104

5 Synchronizing data ............................................................................................................. 106

5.1 Acronis server login ...............................................................................................................107

5.2 What you can and cannot synchronize..................................................................................107

5.3 Sync icons ...............................................................................................................................108

5.4 Sync creation .........................................................................................................................109

5.4.1 Sync between computers ........................................................................................................................... 109

5.4.2 How to sync two local folders .................................................................................................................... 115

5.4.3 How to synchronize two local folders and another computer ................................................................ 116

5.5 Versions of synchronized files ...............................................................................................118

5.5.1 Reverting to a previous file version ........................................................................................................... 119

5.5.2 Cleanup options for sync versions ............................................................................................................. 120

5.6 Synchronization examples .....................................................................................................120

6 Using online backup ........................................................................................................... 123

6.1 What is Acronis True Image Online? .....................................................................................123

6.2 Subscription information .......................................................................................................123

6.3 Backing up to Acronis Online Storage....................................................................................124

6.4 Managing online backups ......................................................................................................126

6.5 Online backup options ...........................................................................................................127

6.5.1 Online storage connection attempts ......................................................................................................... 128

6.5.2 Online storage cleanup ............................................................................................................................... 128

6.5.3 Encryption key ............................................................................................................................................. 129

6.5.4 Windows account for Online backup ........................................................................................................ 129

6.5.5 Operation priority ....................................................................................................................................... 130

6.5.6 Network connection speed limit ................................................................................................................ 130

6.5.7 Notifications ................................................................................................................................................. 131

6.5.8 Exclusions ..................................................................................................................................................... 132

6.6 Recovery from Online storage ...............................................................................................132

6.6.1 Recovering data from Online storage ........................................................................................................ 132

6.6.2 Selecting a version to recover .................................................................................................................... 133

6.7 Removing data from Online storage ......................................................................................134

7 Useful information ............................................................................................................. 135

7.1 Protecting your system ..........................................................................................................135

7.2 Deciding where to store your backups ..................................................................................137

7.2.1 FTP connection ............................................................................................................................................ 138

7.2.2 Authentication settings ............................................................................................................................... 138

7.3 Making sure that your rescue media can be used when needed ..........................................139

7.3.1 Selecting video mode when booting from the rescue media .................................................................. 142

7.4 Testing that your backups can be used for recovery .............................................................143

7.5 Trying system changes safely ................................................................................................143

7.5.1 What is Try&Decide .................................................................................................................................... 144

7.5.2 Starting the Try mode ................................................................................................................................. 146

7.5.3 Stopping the Try mode ............................................................................................................................... 146

7.5.4 Try&Decide options and notifications ....................................................................................................... 147

7.5.5 Try&Decide: typical use cases .................................................................................................................... 148

7.6 Scheduling ..............................................................................................................................149

7.6.1 Daily execution parameters........................................................................................................................ 151

7.6.2 Weekly execution parameters ................................................................................................................... 151

7.6.3 Monthly execution parameters ................................................................................................................. 152

7.6.4 Upon event execution parameters ............................................................................................................ 152

7.7 Searching backups and their content ....................................................................................152

7.7.1 Searching ...................................................................................................................................................... 152

7.7.2 Using Windows Search with Acronis True Image Home 2012 ................................................................ 153

7.8 Choosing columns for viewing in wizards ..............................................................................158

7.9 Backup information ...............................................................................................................158

7.10 Timeout settings ....................................................................................................................158

8 Tools and utilities .............................................................................................................. 159

8.1 Acronis Startup Recovery Manager .......................................................................................160

8.1.1 How it works ................................................................................................................................................ 160

8.1.2 How to use ................................................................................................................................................... 160

8.2 Creating bootable rescue media ............................................................................................161

8.2.1 Acronis Media Builder ................................................................................................................................. 161

8.2.2 Creating BartPE disc with Acronis True Image Home 2012 ..................................................................... 166

8.2.3 Creating WinPE-based rescue media ......................................................................................................... 168

8.3 Working with Acronis Secure Zone ........................................................................................172

8.3.1 Acronis Secure Zone .................................................................................................................................... 172

8.3.2 Acronis Secure Zone location ..................................................................................................................... 174

8.3.3 Selecting partitions ...................................................................................................................................... 174

8.3.4 Size of Acronis Secure Zone ........................................................................................................................ 175

8.3.5 Managing Acronis Secure Zone .................................................................................................................. 175

8.3.6 Acronis Secure Zone summary ................................................................................................................... 178

8.4 Cloning a hard disk .................................................................................................................178

8.4.1 General information .................................................................................................................................... 179

8.4.2 Security......................................................................................................................................................... 179

8.4.3 Selecting clone mode .................................................................................................................................. 180

8.4.4 Selecting a source disk ................................................................................................................................ 181

8.4.5 Selecting a destination disk ........................................................................................................................ 182

8.4.6 Move method .............................................................................................................................................. 182

8.4.7 Data migration ............................................................................................................................................. 183

8.4.8 Manual partitioning .................................................................................................................................... 183

8.4.9 Cloning summary ........................................................................................................................................ 185

8.5 Adding a new hard disk..........................................................................................................186

8.5.1 Selecting a hard disk .................................................................................................................................... 186

8.5.2 Selecting initialization method ................................................................................................................... 188

8.5.3 Creating new partitions .............................................................................................................................. 188

8.5.4 Add new disk summary............................................................................................................................... 191

8.6 Acronis Extended Capacity Manager .....................................................................................191

8.6.1 If Acronis Extended Capacity Manager does not start ............................................................................. 193

8.7 Security and Privacy Tools .....................................................................................................193

8.7.1 Acronis DriveCleanser ................................................................................................................................. 194

8.7.2 File shredder ................................................................................................................................................ 201

8.7.3 System Clean-up .......................................................................................................................................... 203

8.7.4 Hard Disk Wiping methods ......................................................................................................................... 209

8.8 Mounting an image ................................................................................................................211

8.9 Unmounting an image ...........................................................................................................213

8.10 Working with vhd files ...........................................................................................................214

8.10.1 Converting tib images into vhd virtual disks and vice versa .................................................................... 214

8.10.2 Recovery using vhd files created by Windows Backup ............................................................................ 216

8.10.3 Booting from a tib image of your Windows 7 system partition .............................................................. 217

8.10.4 Acronis Boot Sequence Manager ............................................................................................................... 218

8.11 Importing and exporting backup settings ..............................................................................218

9 Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................ 220

9.1 Acronis System Report ...........................................................................................................220

9.2 Acronis Smart Error Reporting ...............................................................................................220

9.3 General recommendations ....................................................................................................222

9.4 Creating a custom rescue CD .................................................................................................223

9.5 Viewing log.............................................................................................................................223

9.6 Acronis Customer Experience Program .................................................................................225

10 Glossary of Terms .............................................................................................................. 226

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 .................................................................................... 14

Trial version information .......................................................................... 14

1.1.1 What is Acronis T r ue Image Home 2012?

Acronis True Image Home 2012 is an integrated software suite that ensures the security of all of the information on your PC. It can back up the operating system, applications, settings and all of your data, while also securely destroying any confidential data you no longer need. With this software, you can back up selected files and folders, settings and messages of Microsoft e-mail clients — or even the entire disk drive or selected partitions. Online backup will allow you to store your most important files on a remote storage. Your data will be protected even if your computer is lost, stolen or destroyed. Acronis Nonstop Backup continuously saves changes in your system and files, as often as every five minutes, so you can rollback easily to any point in time if needed.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 provides you with all the essential tools to recover your computer system should a disaster occur, such as losing data, accidentally deleting critical files or folders, or suffering a complete hard disk crash.

With the unique technology developed by Acronis and implemented in Acronis True Image Home 2012 you can perform exact, sector-by-sector disk backups. Such backups include all operating systems, applications and configuration files, personal settings, and data.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 helps you protect your identity as well. Simply deleting old data will not remove it permanently from your computer. Acronis True Image Home 2012 includes Acronis DriveCleanser that permanently destroys files and wipes personal information from partitions and/or entire disks, as well as the System Clean-up tool that cleans up your Windows system of all traces of user activity.

When performing scheduled backups, Acronis True Image Home 2012 automatically selects a backup mode (full, incremental, differential), in accordance with the backup scheme set by the user.

You can store backups on almost any PC storage device.

Windows-style interface and wizards will make your work easier. Just perform a few simple steps and let Acronis True Image Home 2012 take care of everything else! When a system problem occurs, the software will get you up and running in no time.

1.1.2 What is Acronis T r ue 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. Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack also installs Acronis WinPE ISO builder and provides support for dynamic disks.

Here are the features of Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack in more details:

 Support of dynamic disks – operations with dynamic disks expand the range of hard drive

configurations supported by Acronis True Image Home 2012. Dynamic disks offer greater flexibility for volume management and may provide benefits in computers with more than one hard drive.

 Users of Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack have the Universal Restore feature available to

them. Acronis Universal Restore lets you restore an image of a Windows operating system to a different hardware environment. You can restore information on independent computers regardless of the hardware used on the independent computer. This may come in handy, for example, after replacing a damaged motherboard or when deciding to migrate your system from a desktop to a laptop. For more information see Acronis Universal Restore (p. 97).

 Acronis WinPE ISO builder – This program adds Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in to WinPE

(Windows Preinstallation Environment) distributions based on any of the following kernels: WinPE 1.5, 2.x, 3.0. To be able to create or modify PE 2.x and 3.0 images, you must have Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK) installed. Running Acronis True Image Home 2012 in the preinstallation environment may provide better compatibility with your computer’s hardware because the preinstallation environment uses Windows drivers. For more information see Creating WinPE-based rescue media (p. 168).

1.1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 basic concepts

This section provides general information about basic concepts which could be useful for understanding how the program works.

Backup and recovery

Backup refers to the making copies of data so that these additional copies may be used to recover

the original after a data loss event.

Backups are useful primarily for two purposes. The first is to restore a state following a disaster (called disaster recovery). The second is to recover small numbers of files after they have been accidentally deleted or corrupted.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 does both by creating disk (or partition) images and file-level backups respectively.

Backup versions

Backup versions are the file or files created during each backup operation. If you do not use consolidation feature, the amount of versions created is always equal to the amount of times the backup is executed or to the amount of stored points in time.

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. A backup version allows you to recover your data in a similar way.

This could be useful when trying to find damaged or deleted files. Simply browse through the backup versions in the Acronis Backup Explorer until you find the backup version containing the required files. Additionally, you can recover different saved versions of the found files.

There is one more type of incremental backup version. If you mount a partition in the read-write mode, the program assumes that the mounted image will be modified and creates an incremental version to capture the changes. This type of incremental version has somewhat different properties. For example, it cannot be consolidated.

Disk cloning

This operation migrates or copies the entire contents of one disk drive to another disk drive. This may be necessary, for example, when installing a larger capacity disk. The result is two identical drives with the same file structure. The "Disk Clone" tool effectively copies all of the contents of one hard disk drive onto another hard disk drive. The operation allows you to transfer all the information (including the operating system and installed programs) from one hard disk drive to another without having to reinstall and reconfigure all of your software.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not provide for cloning a single partition. You can only clone the entire drive.

You can also transfer all the information from your hard disk drive to another one by backing up the entire old hard disk and then recovering the backup to the new disk.

Backup file format

Acronis True Image Home 2012 usually saves backup data in the proprietary tib format using compression. This reduces the amount of needed storage space.

When creating a tib file, the program calculates checksum values for data blocks and adds these values to the data being backed up. These checksum values allow for the verification of data integrity.

The data from tib file backups can be recovered only through the Acronis True Image Home 2012 program. This may be done in Windows or in the recovery environment.

However, Acronis True Image Home 2012 is also able to save data in the well-known zip format. This allows you to retrieve files from backups anywhere without using Acronis True Image Home 2012.

The most widely used operating systems Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, have built-in support for the zip file format.

Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a special hidden storage for data and metadata. The backed up data is compressed and split into files of about 1 GB. These files also have a proprietary format and the data they contain can be recovered only with the help of Acronis True Image Home 2012.

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.

Consolidation

Consolidation allows you to delete backups which you no longer need from a backup chain.

A chain to be consolidated can consist of a full backup and one or more incremental backups.

If necessary, you can delete the base full backup from the chain. The program will create a new full backup in place of the oldest remaining backup. Consolidation keeps whichever backups you choose and deletes any backups that are not selected.

Because consolidation may require significant time and system resources (including disk space), we recommend using it sparingly. In many cases, starting a new backup chain and then deleting the old one will be a better choice.

Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a different consolidation mechanism. The program consolidates the metadata it uses for managing the backed up data. Because the metadata information volume is significantly less than the backed up data volume, consolidation requires much less time and system resources.

Disaster recovery

Recovering from a disaster usually requires a rescue media and a backup of the system partition.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 provides for recovery from a disaster caused by system data corruption, viruses, malware, or other causes.

If the operating system fails to boot, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will recover the system partition. The boxed product comes with a rescue CD. Other legal owners of the program can create a rescue media by using the Media Builder tool.

Scheduling

For your backups to be really helpful, they must be as "up-to-date" as possible. This means that you should run backups on a regular basis, say once a day. Although creating an Acronis True Image Home 2012 backup is quite easy, on occasion, you may forget to do a backup.

With the scheduler, you do not have to remember. You can schedule automatic backups ahead of time. Your data will be backed up as long as there is sufficient storage space.

Understanding these terms and concepts will be helpful when using the program's features.

1.1.4 New in Acronis True Image Home 2012

 Data synchronization - With this feature you can keep data identical in two or more

synchronized folders, which may be located on different computers, a removable storage device, NAS, etc. You can share photos and videos with your relatives and friends, use the same set of documents to work as a team with your colleagues, or synchronize your files and folders

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.

 Enhanced Acronis Nonstop Backup - Now you can protect the nonstop backup data with a

password and can use a remote storage including the Acronis Online storage and NAS. Obsolete nonstop backup versions are automatically deleted according to the cleanup rules you define. This helps you to save the storage space and keep only the backup versions you need.

 Full support of GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks and Extensible Firmware Interface (EFI*/UEFI) -

Operations with GPT disks expand the range of hard drive configurations supported by Acronis True Image Home 2012. GPT is a new hard disk partitioning scheme providing advantages over the old MBR partitioning scheme. It was introduced as a part of the EFI initiative. So now you can back up and recover any files, folders, volumes, partitions and disks. The only condition - your operating system must be able to "see" the hard drive you want to back up.

* Development of the EFI specification ceased in favor of UEFI (Unified EFI) in 2005, though "EFI" is still often used to refer to "UEFI".

 Improved log - The new log contains much more detailed information concerning operations of

Acronis True Image Home 2012 and allows you to track the operation history. A calendar makes navigation through logs much easier.

 Deeper integration with Windows 7 - A shortcut menu for the Acronis True Image Home 2012

icon on the Windows taskbar is added. This menu allows you to easily run online backup and Acronis Nonstop Backup. In addition to the ability to back up Windows categories and libraries, now you can recover them the same way - as categories and libraries, and not only as a set of separate files and folders.

 Large capacity hard drive support - Now Acronis True Image Home 2012 supports hard drives

larger than 2TB even on operating systems that originally do not support such hardware (for example, 32-bit versions of Windows XP). You can use both internal and external (USB) large hard drives.

 E-book file category - Along with other file categories such as images, music, etc., now you can

use a new category, namely electronic books. The program collects from your computer all files of popular e-book formats and allows you to easily back up and recover them all at once.

1.1.5 System requirements and supported media

1.1.5.1 Minimum system requirements

Acronis True Image Home 2012 has minimum hardware requirements corresponding to that of the operating system installed on the computer to be used for running Acronis True Image Home 2012. In addition Acronis True Image Home 2012 requires the following hardware:

 CD-RW/DVD-RW drive for bootable media creation  Mouse or other pointing device (recommended)

Using Acronis Nonstop Backup requires at least 1 GB RAM.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 rescue media has the following hardware requirements:

 512 MB RAM

 Processor Pentium 1 GHz or faster

The recommended screen resolution is 1280 x 1024.

The minimum screen resolution is 1024 x 768.

1.1.5.2 Supported operating systems

Acronis True Image Home 2012 has been tested on the following operating systems:

 Windows XP SP3  Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2  Windows Vista SP2 (all editions)  Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)  Windows Home Server 2011

Acronis True Image Home 2012 also lets you create a bootable CD-R/DVD-R that can back up and recover a disk/partition on a computer running any Intel- or AMD- based PC operating system, including Linux®. (Note that the Intel-based Apple Macintosh is not supported.)

1.1.5.3 Supported file systems

 FAT16/32  NTFS  Ext2/Ext3/Ext4 *  ReiserFS *  Linux SWAP *

If a file system is not supported or is corrupted, Acronis True Image Home 2012 can copy data using a sector-by-sector approach.

* The Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, ReiserFS, and Linux SWAP file systems are supported only for disk or partition backup/recovery operations. You cannot use Acronis True Image Home 2012 for file-level operations with these file systems (file backup, recovery, search, as well as image mounting and file recovering from images). You also cannot perform backups to disks or partitions with these file systems.

1.1.5.4 Supported storage media

 Hard disk drives*  Solid State Drives (SSD)  Networked storage devices  FTP servers**  CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R (including double-layer DVD+R), DVD+RW, DVD-RAM, BD-R, BD-

RE***

 USB 1.1 / 2.0 / 3.0, FireWire (IEEE-1394) and PC card storage devices  REV® and other removable media

* Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not support the following dynamic volume types: Mirrored and RAID-5. There are some additional limitations on operations with dynamic and GPT disks:

 To perform operations with dynamic disks, you need separately purchased Acronis True

Image Home 2012 Plus Pack

 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. For more information see Acronis Extended Capacity Manager (p. 191).

** An FTP server must allow passive mode file transfers. For data to be recovered directly from an FTP server, the backup must consist of files no greater than 2GB each.

The firewall settings of the source computer should have Ports 20 and 21 opened for the TPC and UDP protocols to function. The Routing and Remote Access Windows service should be disabled.

*** Burned rewritable discs cannot be read in Linux without a kernel patch.

1.1.6 Technical Support

Maintenance and Support Program

If you need assistance with your Acronis product, please go to http://www.acronis.com/support/

Product Updates

You can download the latest updates for all your registered Acronis software products from our website at any time after logging into your Account (https://www.acronis.com/my) and registering the product. See Registering Acronis Products at the Website (http://kb.acronis.com/content/4834) and Acronis Website User Guide (http://kb.acronis.com/content/8128).

1.1.7 Trial version information

The trial version of Acronis True Image Home 2012 will work only during the trial period of 30 days. It has the following limitations:

 Disk cloning is disabled;  Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack is not available;  Only recovering is available when booting from an Acronis Bootable Media.

To purchase the full version, please visit http://www.acronis.com/buy/atih/

Click Go to main screen to start Acronis True Image Home 2012 trial version.

Click Buy now to go to the official Acronis online store.

Click Activate if you have already purchased the full version and have a valid product serial number.

1.2 Acronis True Image Home 2012 installation

Installing Acronis True Image Home 2012

To install Acronis True Image Home 2012:

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. In the Serial number window, enter a serial number for the full or trial version. Type or copy and

paste the serial number in the text box.

To get a serial number for the free trial version at Acronis Web site, click Get trial serial number. The serial number will be sent to a specified e-mail address. The trial version of Acronis True Image Home 2012 works for 30 days.

Additional parameters:

 Set additional options - if this check box is selected, the Setup options step becomes

available.

 Activate the product automatically - select this check box to activate the product via the

Internet during the installation. You may clear the check box. In that case you will need to activate the product after installation. See details in Acronis True Image Home 2012 activation.

6. This step is available only if the Set additional options check box is selected in the Serial number

window.

In the Setup options window, choose the installation options:

 Select the components which you want to install:

 Acronis True Image Home 2012 - the main component which allows you to back up,

recover and synchronize your data, add and clone hard disks, etc.

 Rescue Media Builder - this component allows you to create bootable rescue media,

such as CDs, USB flash drives, etc. You might not need this tool if you purchased a boxed product that contains a bootable CD. Installing the Bootable Rescue Media Builder will allow you to create bootable media or its ISO image at any time from the main program window or running Bootable Rescue Media Builder on its own.

 Under Administrator options, choose the program availability: Install for all users that share

this computer or Install for the current user only.

 Change the installation folder, if necessary.

7. Click Proceed to begin installation. To make changes in the setup, use the Back and Next buttons.

Note

 If you purchased a boxed product, the installation CD contains an installation file for installing an

Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in for the BartPE utility. BartPE (Bart Preinstalled Environment) is a bootable Windows CD/DVD created from the original Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation/setup CD. Applications are installed into BartPE in the form of plug-ins and the Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in can be included into the BartPE plug-in tab. Booting from the BartPE CD/DVD with the included Acronis True Image Home 2012 plug-in will allow you to work in a well-known Windows environment and use practically all Acronis True Image Home 2012 functionality for recovering your system from a disaster. For more information on the BartPE visit the BartPE homepage at http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/.

 You can also download that installation file from the Acronis Web site.

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.

Removing Acronis True Image Home 2012

Select Start -> Settings -> Control panel -> Add or remove programs -> Acronis True Image Home 2012 -> Remove. Then follow the instructions on the screen.

If you use Windows Vista, select Start -> Control panel -> Programs and Features -> Acronis True Image Home 2012 -> Remove. Then follow the instructions on the screen. You may have to reboot

your computer afterwards to complete the task.

If you use Windows 7, select Start -> Control Panel -> Uninstall a program -> Acronis True Image Home 2012 -> Uninstall. Then follow the instructions on the screen. You may have to reboot your computer afterwards to complete the task.

If you used the Acronis Secure Zone, Acronis Nonstop Backup or Acronis Extended Capacity Manager, select in the window that appears what to do with the zone, Nonstop Backup storages or extended capacity disks. Then click Next to proceed with the uninstallation procedure.

Upgrading from old versions of Acronis True Image Home

If you already have Acronis True Image Home installed, the new version will simply update it; there is no need to remove the old version and reinstall the software.

Please keep in mind that the backups created by the later program version may be incompatible with the previous program versions. Therefore if you roll back Acronis True Image Home 2012 to an older version, you likely will have to re-create the backups using the older version. We strongly recommend that you create new bootable media after each Acronis True Image Home upgrade.

1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 activation

To use Acronis True Image Home 2012, you need to activate it via the Internet. Without activation the fully functional product works for 30 days. If you do not activate it during that period, all the program functions become unavailable except the recovery.

You can activate Acronis True Image Home 2012 either on your computer or from another computer, if your computer is not connected to the Internet.

Activation on a computer connected to the Internet

If your computer is connected to the Internet, you can activate the product either automatically or from within the program.

To activate the product automatically:

1. Start the installation procedure. See details in Acronis True Image Home 2012 installation (p. 14).

2. At the Serial number step, select the Activate Acronis True Image Home 2012 automatically

check box. In this case Acronis True Image Home 2012 will try to perform activation during the first start after installation.

To activate the product from the main screen:

1. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012.

2. On the main program screen, click Activate now on the information bar.

If the computer where you install Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not have Internet connection or if the program cannot connect to Acronis Activation Server, you may select one of the following actions:

 Try again - select this option to try to connect to the Acronis Activation Server again;  Retry automatically later - Acronis True Image Home 2012 will try to connect to the Acronis

Activation Server every hour without the user interaction;

 Activate from another computer - you can activate the program manually from another

machine that is connected to the Internet (see below).

Activation from another computer

If your computer is not connected to the Internet, you may activate Acronis True Image Home 2012 by using another computer which has connection to the Internet.

To activate the product from another computer:

1. Install and start Acronis True Image Home 2012.

2. On the main program screen, click Activate now on the information bar.

3. In the opened window, select Activate from another computer.

4. In the Acronis True Image Home 2012 Activation window, perform 3 simple steps:

1. Save your installation code to a file by clicking the Save to file button, and specify a

removable media as the file location (for example, a USB flash drive). You may also simply write down this code on a piece of paper.

2. On another computer which has the Internet connection, go to

http://www.acronis.com/activation/. The instructions on the screen will help you to get your activation code by using the installation code. Save the obtained activation code to a file on a removable media, or write it down on paper.

3. On your computer, click the Load from file button and specify a path to the file with the

activation code; or, simply type it into the box from the piece of paper.

5. Click Activate.

Moving license between computers

One serial number allows you to install Acronis True Image Home 2012 on a limited number of computers. The Standard edition of the product can be activated on 1 computer only. For the Family Pack edition the limit is 3 computers. If during activation Acronis True Image Home 2012 detects that the limit is exceeded, it displays an appropriate error message. In such a case you can either buy a new serial number or move the license to your new computer from another one on which the product is already activated. If you want to move the license, perform the following steps.

To move the license from another computer:

1. In the window with the error message, click Move license from another computer.

2. On the opened Web page follow the instructions on the screen.

To perform this step, you need to have Acronis account. If you do not have an account yet, then create it first. You also have to register your serial number, if you have not done it. Then you need to choose from the list a computer from which you want to move the license. Note that on the chosen computer the product will be deactivated.

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 ......................................................... 25

Acronis Backup Explorer .......................................................................... 26

Integration with Windows ....................................................................... 32

Settings menu .......................................................................................... 34

Help menu ................................................................................................ 35

Installing Acronis Hotfixes ........................................................................ 35

1.4.1 Get started tab

Starting Acronis True Image Home 2012 for the first time opens the Home screen with the Get started tab selected.

The Get started tab will help you to begin using the main Acronis True Image Home 2012 features, namely backup, recovery and synchronization. The program leads you through the actions required for performing those operations.

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 t ab

The Backup and recovery tab provides quick access to all of the program functionality related to data backup and recovery.

If you have not created any backups yet, the program will offer to create a new backup or add an existing backup. If you have at least one backup, the screen will display the list of your backups.

The toolbar

See the toolbar commands description in Backup toolbar (p. 21).

The backups area

The area shows the backups you already have. It provides access to all operations with the existing backups and allows you to start recovery of your data.

 Back up now - adds a new backup version to the existing backup or replaces the existing backup

version, depending on the backup scheme being used.

 Start (available for a nonstop backup only) - starts nonstop backup protection.  Stop (available for a nonstop backup only) - suspends nonstop backup protection.

 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.

Operations menu

Clicking the gear icon in the box of a selected backup or right-clicking in the free area of the box opens an Operations menu containing the following items:

 View log - click to open the log for the current backup.  Expand - expands the selected backup box (available for collapsed boxes).  Collapse - collapses the selected backup box into a narrow stripe (available for expanded boxes).  Explore and recover - opens the Backup Explorer window, where you can select any version of

the backup.

 Open location - opens the folder containing the backup files.  Edit settings - allows editing of the current backup settings.  Recreate backup settings (available only for backups manually added to the backup list) - allows

configuring the settings for image, file, and e-mail backups created by a previous Acronis True Image Home 2012 version. This item may also appear for backups created on another computer and added to the backup list without importing their settings.

Without backup settings, you will be unable to perform certain operations. Specifically, you cannot refresh the backup by clicking Back up now. Also, you cannot edit and clone the backup settings and schedule.

 Validate - starts backup validation.  Delete - deletes all backup versions of the current backup at their location. Be careful, because

the deletion cannot be undone.

 Create shortcut - creates a shortcut on the Desktop. With the shortcut you can run a backup

without starting Acronis True Image Home 2012.

 More - opens the following additional items:

 Consolidate versions - you can delete the backup versions you no longer need while

maintaining the consistency of the backup.

 Clone settings - clones the current backup settings when you need to create several similar

backups. Clone the backup settings and then introduce the required changes.

 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. This operation also turns off the scheduling of the removed backup (if a schedule was set), but it does not delete the backup files.

 Clean up... (available for Nonstop Backup only) - opens the Cleanup dialog box where you can

delete the backup versions you no longer need. The backup chain will not be corrupted.

In case of Nonstop Backup and Online backup, the Operations menu will have less items. The Operations menu of backups created on another computer and added to the backup list without importing the backup settings will also have less items.

1.4.2.1 Backup and rec overy t oolba r

The toolbar at the top of the Backup and recovery tab contains the most frequently used commands for creating new backups, managing the backup list, validating backups, etc.

Command Description

Disk and partition backup This feature allows you to protect your computer

by creating backups of your partitions (including the system one) and whole disks.

Online Backup This feature allows you to store your data in the

secure online storage which is accessible via the Internet. If the backup list already includes an online backup, this item changes to Edit Online Backup settings, because you can run only one online backup at a time.

File backup This feature allows you to back up your files and

folders.

Other backups E-mail backup This feature allows you to back up your e-mail

messages and settings.

Nonstop Backup This feature continuously protects your partitions

and files.

Create bootable media If your computer cannot start, use bootable rescue

media to run the standalone version of Acronis True Image Home 2012, and recover your system from a previously created system partition backup.

Browse for backup Click this item to browse for backups on your

computer and add them to the backup list. This may be useful when you have backups created by a previous Acronis True Image Home 2012 version which are not shown in the backup list.

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

Collapse all backup boxes

This icon expands all collapsed backup boxes.

This icon collapses all expanded backup boxes into narrow stripes.

Type This command sorts all backups by types. The

order is as follows: disk backups - file backups - email backups - nonstop backup - application settings backups - system state backups Windows backups - ZIP archives.

Name This command sorts all backups in alphabetical

order.

Date created This command sorts all backups starting from the

newest down to the oldest.

Sort by Date updated This command sorts all backups by date of the last

version. The newer the last backup version, the higher the backup will be placed in the list.

Total size This command sorts all backups by size, starting

Scheduling type This command sorts all backups into two groups -

Explore all backups This command allows you to explore all your

Validate all backups This command checks the integrity of all your

More features

Remove from

from the biggest down to the smallest.

backups with a schedule and backups without a schedule, which can be started only manually.

backups in the Acronis Backup Explorer using the time line.

backups.

Update backup list Click to search for lost backups.

All backups This command removes all backup boxes from the

the list

backup list. The removed backups can be returned to the list by using the Browse for backup tool.

Not-

backed-upyet boxes

This command removes all "empty" backup boxes from the backup list. Be careful because, after removal, such backup boxes cannot be returned to the list.

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.

Every created sync is represented by a box, similar to backup boxes. A sync box contains short information about the corresponding sync process and allows you to manage this process.

Sync toolbar

This area contains the following items:

 New sync - allows you to select a folder to synchronize and send an invitation to the computer

you want to synchronize your data with.

 Manage shared syncs - opens the Web page where you can manage your shared syncs.  Show only my favorite syncs (icon) - filters the syncs which you have marked as favorite.  Expand all syncs (icon) - expands all collapsed sync boxes.  Collapse all syncs (icon) - collapses all expanded sync boxes into narrow stripes.  Sort by

 Name - sorts all syncs in alphabetical order.

 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. The program will open the Acronis Time Explorer. You will be able to explore the existing versions using the time line.

For more information on storing file versions in the online storage, see Versions of synced files.

For more information on using the time line for navigating through versions, see Time line (p. 29).

Operations menu

Clicking the gear icon in the box of a selected sync opens the Operations menu containing the following items:

 View log - opens the log of Acronis True Image Home 2012 operations.  Pause - allows you to pause and resume the sync process. Note that the action does not delete

the sync itself and your data will not be lost.

 Sync now - runs data synchronization process forcibly. If a sync process has been interrupted for

some reason (for example, your Internet connection has failed) or it has completed with errors, you can manually restart the sync process. To do this, first try to resolve the issue and then click Sync now.

 Rename - allows you to rename the sync.  Unsync - allows you to break the link between your current computer and an already existing

sync. Note that the action does not delete the sync itself, your data will not be lost.

 Do not store versions online... (Store versions online...) - allows you to stop or start the process

of storing versions of the synced files in Acronis Online Storage. Note that, if you stop storing versions online, all versions except the last ones will be permanently deleted from the online storage.

 View versions - allows you to view versions of the synced files.  Cleanup options - allows you to set automatic cleanup rules for versions of the synced files.  Invite collaborators... - opens the window where you can specify e-mail addresses of your

friends you want to invite to join the selected sync.

 Set password - select for protecting the synchronization with a password.  Sync with local folder... - allows you to synchronize the selected folder with a local folder, for

example, located on an external hard drive.

If you delete or rename the folder selected for synchronization, Acronis True Image Home 2012 excludes your computer from that sync. If you delete a subfolder inside the folder you have specified for synchronization, this subfolder will be deleted on all other computers as well.

Taskbar notification area icon

When at least one Sync is active, the corresponding icon appears in the Windows taskbar notification area. Right-clicking the icon opens the shortcut menu with the following items:

 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.  Acronis Web site - opens in your default browser the page with information about

synchronization on Acronis Web site.

 Help - opens Acronis True Image Home 2012 Help.

1.4.4 Tools and utilities tab

This tab allows you to select the tools and utilities provided by Acronis True Image Home 2012. Launch the required tool or utility by clicking the appropriate link. For more information see Tools and utilities.

1.4.5 Wizards and notification area icons

When you use the available Acronis True Image Home 2012 tools and utilities, the program will in many cases employ wizards to guide you through the operations.

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.

Taskbar notification area icons

During most of the operations, special indicator icons appear in the Windows taskbar notification area (the right portion of the status bar with the clock). If you mouse over the icon, you will see a tool tip indicating the operation's progress or state. Right-clicking on the icon opens a shortcut menu where you can change the operation's status or cancel the operation if necessary. This icon doesn't depend on the main program window being open. It is present for background execution of scheduled backups as well.

1.4.6 Acronis Backup Explorer

The Acronis Backup Explorer provides you with a wealth of information on your backups: backup types, backup versions number, dates, contents, backup results, etc. In addition, the Backup Explorer allows you to explore and recover backed up data (both partitions and individual files and even file versions). It also allows for operations with backups - you can validate them, convert to Windows backup (only disk backups), mount images as disks, and delete backup versions you no longer need.

Let's have a closer look on the Acronis Backup Explorer. It has two tabs for viewing backups and their content: Disks and partitions (available for disk backups only) and Files and folders.

1.4.6.1 Disks and partitions tab

The Disks and partitions tab shows the backed up disks and partitions that the selected backup version contains.

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. Your data will be recovered to the state it was at that point in time.

2. Select the corresponding check boxes of the disks or partitions you want to recover.

3. Click the Recover button.

To recover specific files and folders from the disk/partition backups:

1. Click the Files and folders tab.

2. Select files and folders you want to recover.

3. Click the Recover button.

For more information on recovering files and folders see Files and folders tab (p. 28).

Right-clicking on a backup version opens the shortcut menu with other available operations:

 Recover - select to recover the current backup version.  Validate - select to check the integrity of the backup version data.

 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.

Both tabs also show backup comments, and allow for adding, editing and deleting comments to the selected backup version. If a backup version does not have comments, click the Add comment icon, then type your comments in the comments area and click the Save icon. If there is already a comment, you can edit it after clicking the Edit icon. Having finished editing, click the Save icon to save the changed comment or the Cancel icon to cancel the changes. To remove the comment, click the Delete icon.

1.4.6.2 Files and folders tab

The Files and folders tab shows the backed up files and folders contained in the selected backup version. The left-hand area of the tab shows a directory tree and the right-hand area - the contents of a selected directory tree item.

The tab shows the files and folders states 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 on using the time line see Time line.

To recover files and/or folders:

1. On the time line, select the backup version, from which you want to recover your files/folders.

The version's exact date and time will be displayed near the backup name. Your data will be recovered to the state it was at this point in time.

2. Select the corresponding check boxes of the files and folders you want to recover (see selection

rules below). Short information about the selected items (their number and total size) will be displayed near the Recover button.

3. Click the Recover button.

You can also recover files and folders by dragging them to your Desktop or into a selected folder in Windows Explorer.

You cannot recover files by dragging them to an FTP, recordable CD/DVD or other optical media, as well as mounted ISO files.

Selection rules

Check boxes that correspond to the items may be in the following states:

 Selected (check mark in square) - this state indicates that the item is selected for recovery. A

selected folder means that all items in the folder are selected.

 Cleared (clear square) - this state indicates that the item is not selected.  Mixed (filled square) - this state is available for folders only and indicates that some items in the

folder are selected and the others are not. Note that you cannot set the state by clicking the check box, but you can change it to a cleared or selected state.

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. Clicking the View versions link opens the View Versions window with a list of all versions of the file in the backup. You can recover a desired version by its backup time.

By double-clicking on a file in the right-hand area, you will recover the file to a temporary folder. Then Acronis True Image Home 2012 will open the file using the associated application.

1.4.6.3 Time line

Usually the time line at the bottom of Acronis Backup Explorer screen shows information on the backup versions stored in the selected backup. The time line provides easy navigation through backup versions and allows you to recover your data to the state it was in at a certain date and time.

The squares that represent backup versions have colored stripes at the bottom. The color of the stripes depends on the backup types (violet for disk backups, turquoise for file backups, green for Nonstop Backup, and brown for other backups, e.g. created by a previous Acronis True Image Home version).

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".

When today is Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, the "week" interval is named "Week ago". In such cases, the time line shows backup versions created during the previous week and from the beginning of the current week to the beginning of today.

When today is Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday, the "week" interval is named "This week". In such cases the time line shows backup versions created from the beginning of the current week to the beginning of today.

The "month" interval can be named either "Month ago" or "This month".

When today is any date from the 1st to 15th day of the month, the "month" interval is named "Month ago". In that case the time line shows backup versions created during the previous month and from the beginning of the current month to the "week" interval.

When today is any date from the 16th to 31st day of the month, the "month" interval is named "This month". In that case the time line shows backup versions created from the beginning of the current month to the "week" interval.

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. Such an icon indicates that warning(s) or error(s) have been written into the Log during version creation.

If more than one backup version has been created during a day within "week", "month", "year", or "older" time interval, such a date is shown on the time line using a special "version pack" icon.

If you hover over a folded block for more than half a second, a balloon will show the information about the time interval start, its end, and the number of backup versions it contains.

If you hover over a backup version within an expanded time interval, a balloon will show more detailed information about the backup version.

Clicking on a folded block or its name above or below the time line expands the corresponding time interval. If the number of backup versions within the time interval is too big to fit onto the time line, the horizontal scroll line allows you to navigate through the backup versions within the time interval.

If you select another folded block and there is no room for displaying all backup versions of the newly expanded block, then the current expanded block will collapse.

By clicking on a backup version, you select it in the Backup Explorer.

Shortcut menus

Right-clicking on the time line opens the shortcut menu. The menu contents will change depending on the selected item.

Disk backup version:

 Recover  Validate  Convert to Windows backup...  Mount...  Delete version

File backup version:

 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 View submenu is opened by right-clicking on a backup version or by right-clicking on time line's free space.

 Show software installations - if this item is selected, the time line shows icons that indicate

moments when new programs have been installed on your computer.

 Show software updates - if this item is selected, the time line shows icons that indicate updates

of Windows and programs installed on your computer.

 Show warnings - if this item is selected, the time line shows all the backup versions that have

been suspended or completed with warning messages (selected by default).

 Show errors - if this item is selected, the time line shows failed backup versions and backup

versions that have completed with errors.

1.4.7 Integration with Windows

During installation Acronis True Image Home 2012 provides closer integration with Windows. Such merging allows you to get the most out of your computer. The new user-friendly interface makes starting backup and recovery much faster.

Integration adds Acronis True Image Home 2012 items to the Windows Start menu, changes the properties of the Acronis True Image Home 2012 button on the taskbar, and adds the ability to configure and perform Acronis True Image Home 2012 operations using Windows 7 Control Panel.

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. You can recover the backed up data, refresh the backups, and pause/start Nonstop Backup directly from the Control Panel.

If you want to resume using Windows Backup, click Turn on Windows Backup on the left pane. This will remove Acronis True Image Home 2012 from the Control Panel and replace it with Windows Backup.

If later you decide to integrate Acronis True Image Home 2012 into Windows 7 again, click a gear icon and select Integrate True Image into Windows.

Furthermore, the Start menu acquires the following Acronis True Image Home 2012 items:

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 Integration settings

You can select the Acronis components that should be integrated into Windows.

 Acronis console in Windows Control Panel (available for Windows 7 users only)

Select this item to replace Windows Backup with Acronis console in the Windows Control Panel. In such a case, you will be able to manage your backups without running Acronis True Image Home 2012.

 The Acronis Recovery tab in the Properties window

Select this item to add the Acronis Recovery tab to the Properties window. To open the window, in Windows Explorer, right-click the required file or folder, and then click Properties. The Acronis Recovery tab allows you to view and recover versions of the selected file or folder.

If you rename a file or folder protected by Acronis Nonstop Backup or included into a regular backup, the versions of the renamed item on the Acronis Recovery tab will disappear. They may reappear after certain time.

 Shortcut menu commands

In Windows Explorer, right-clicking on a file, folder, partition or disk opens the shortcut menu. Along with Windows commands, this menu may contain Acronis commands, such as Back Up, Acronis Recovery, etc.

1.4.8 Settings menu

With the Settings menu you can make or change some settings of Acronis True Image Home 2012. To open the menu, click the gear icon at the upper-right corner of the program screen. The Settings menu contains the following items:

 View log - opens the log of Acronis True Image Home 2012 operations.  Integrate True Image into Windows... - allows selecting the Acronis components to be

integrated into Windows.

 Customer Experience Program - allows joining or leaving Acronis Customer Experience Program.

For more information on the program click the Learn more link in the opened window.

 Timeout settings - allows you to specify the time interval the program should wait for your

response. For more information see Timeout settings (p. 158).

 Log out - logs you out from the Acronis account used for synchronization or work with Acronis

Online storage.

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.  Check for updates - click to check for Acronis True Image Home 2012 updates (you can also

disable or enable automatic checking for updates by selecting or clearing the Automatically check for updates at startup check box).

 Activate - click to activate the product.  Change serial number - click to change the serial number of the product.  Upgrade to full version - click to buy the full version of the product if you are using the trial

version.

 Acronis Web site - takes you to the Acronis Web site.  About Acronis True Image Home - shows information about Acronis True Image Home 2012

including the product's serial number and build number.

1.4.10 Installing Acronis Hotfixes

What is an Acronis Hotfix?

Acronis Hotfix is a small update for Acronis products. It makes changes to one or more application files or registry keys but does not change an application version. A hotfix targets only a specific Acronis True Image Home 2012 build, and cannot be applied to any other build.

Acronis Hotfixes are distributed through Acronis Knowledge Base articles, which describe the problem to be fixed in detail. Each article can be accessed through SER or directly by searching Acronis Knowledge Base.

Advantages of installing Acronis Hotfixes:

 Hotfix installation does not require much time and resources. You do not need to wait until the

next product update to fix a particular issue.

 A hotfix package is much smaller than the product installation package, though it may include

files from previous hotfixes for consistency.

 You can install only necessary hotfixes, if several hotfixes are available.

All changes from hotfixes released between updates will be included in the new product versions (updates or upgrades).

How to install Acronis Hotfixes?

To check whether new Acronis Hotfixes are available, click Check for updates from the Help menu. A list of available hotfixes for the current build will be displayed in a table, where you can select those you want to install. When you select an Acronis Hotfix, its release notes (changes and enhancements to be applied to the product) will be displayed below.

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. Though, if you check for updates manually (Help -> Check for updates), the window will appear even when this option is selected.

After all selected Acronis Hotfixes are installed, click Close and run True Image button to start the product.

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)  recover your system when your computer refuses to boot (p. 75)  back up your photos, finance documents, music, home video (p. 42)  recover your photos, finance documents, music, etc. (p. 91)  continuously protect your daily work (p. 48)  back up your e-mail (p. 45)  recover your e-mail (p. 91)  synchronize the contents of your folder with a folder on a computer of your relative or friend (p.

109)

 subscribe to Acronis True Image Online service (p. 123)  back up your data to Acronis Online storage (p. 124)  recover your data from Acronis Online storage (p. 132)  clone your disk drive (p. 178)  automatically refresh your backups: Backup schemes (p. 57) or Scheduling (p. 149)  create a bootable rescue media (p. 161)  create a bootable USB flash drive (p. 166)  make sure that your rescue media can be used when needed (p. 139)  try some changes to your system without risk (p. 143)  create and use the Acronis Secure Zone (p. 172)  recover your old backup to a new hardware/migrate the system from one computer to another

(p. 93)

 add and partition a new hard disk (p. 186)  be sure that your data is not accessible to anyone else (p. 63)  find a backup that contains the file you need to recover (p. 152)

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 .............................................. 38

Backing up partitions and disks ................................................................ 40

Backing up files and folders ..................................................................... 42

Backing up e-mail ..................................................................................... 45

Using Acronis Nonstop Backup ................................................................ 46

Making reserve copies of your backups ................................................... 52

Backup to various places .......................................................................... 54

Adding an existing backup to the list ....................................................... 55

Deleting backups and backup versions .................................................... 55

Backup options ......................................................................................... 56

Validating backups ................................................................................... 72

Consolidating backup versions ................................................................. 73

Cloning backup settings ........................................................................... 74

3.1 The difference between file backups and disk/partition image s

When you back up files and folders, only the files and folder tree are compressed and stored.

Disk/partition backups are different from file and folder backups. Acronis True Image Home 2012 stores a sector-by-sector snapshot of the disk or partition. This includes the operating system, registry, drivers, software applications, data files, and system areas hidden from the user. This procedure is called "creating a disk image," and the resulting backup is often called a disk/partition image.

By default Acronis True Image Home 2012 stores only the hard disk sectors that contain data.

Furthermore, Acronis True Image Home does not back up pagefile.sys under Windows XP and later and hiberfil.sys (a file that keeps RAM contents when the computer goes into hibernation). This reduces image size and speeds up image creation and recovery.

A partition image includes all files and folders (including hidden and system files), boot record, and FAT (file allocation table). It also includes files in the root directory and the zero track of the hard disk with the master boot record (MBR).

A disk image includes images of all disk partitions and the zero track with the MBR.

3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups

Acronis True Image Home 2012 offers you three backup methods:

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.

We suggest you to choose one of the following three approaches of using the backup methods:

"Full" - A standalone full backup might be an optimal solution if you often roll back the system to its initial state or if you do not like to manage multiple files.

"Incremental" - These are most useful when you need frequent backups and the ability to roll back to a specific point in time. Having created a full backup once, if you then create an incremental backup each day of a month, you will get the same result as if you created full backups every day of the month. As a rule, incremental backups are considerably smaller than full or differential backups.

Such a backup scenario may consist of a weekly full system backup with intermediate, daily backups that cover data that was changed since the LAST backup.

This scenario, while requiring less storage space and time for the daily backups, will require more work for the program to provide recovery after a system crash. In the event of a Thursday crash, the program would have to recover the Wednesday, Tuesday, and Monday incremental backups and the last FULL backup.

"Differential" – is an intermediate between the first two approaches. Each differential backup includes all the files changed since the last full backup. It takes less time and space than "Full", but more than "Incremental". The good thing is that recovering is simpler than for (2) - the program will have to recover the last differential backup and the last full backup.

To choose a desired backup method, you usually need to configure a custom backup scheme. For more information see Custom schemes (p. 59).

An incremental or differential backup created after a disk is defragmented might be considerably larger than usual. This is because the defragmentation program changes file locations on the disk and the backups reflect these changes. Therefore, it is recommended that you re-create a full backup after disk defragmentation.

If you lose an incremental backup or it becomes corrupted, all later incremental backups will be unusable.

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 the disk has several partitions and you want to back up the whole disk, click Switch to disk mode in the upper-right corner and then select the disk's check box. To return to the partition selection, click Switch to partition mode.

2. Select a destination for backup (you can leave the default destination when it suits you or browse

for a destination after clicking the down arrow to the right of the current destination and selecting Browse...).

When the backup destination is any removable media (USB stick, BD, DVD...), the Make this media bootable check box becomes selectable. Selecting the check box results in creating a bootable recovery environment on the removable media and adding a standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012 version. You will be able to run Acronis True Image Home 2012 from the removable media on a bare-metal system or the crashed computer that cannot boot.

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. You can also change the default backup scheme by clicking on the appropriate link. For more

information see Backup schemes (p. 57).

5. You can exclude hidden or system files and folders from backup, as well as files matching the

criteria you specify. For more information see Excluding items from backup.

6. If you would like to assign a specific name to the backup, type the name in the Backup name field

instead of the default one.

You can also add useful information to the backup name. To do so, click the down arrow to the

right of the destination and click Browse.... Select the items you want to add in the right field of

the File name line:

 add date - the backup creation date will be added  add time - the backup creation time will be added  add user name - the current user name will be added  add machine name - the computer name will be added  add task name - the name of the task that includes the backup will be added  add task run number - the sequence number of the task run will be added

7. Click Disk backup options to set the options for the backup being configured. For example, when

your data disk contains sensitive information, you may want to protect the information by encryption. You can also choose to validate the backup immediately after its creation, though it can be done later. For more information see Backup options (p. 56).

8. When you set up the backup as needed, you can run it immediately by clicking the Back up now

button. If you want to run the backup later or on a schedule, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up now button and select Later in the drop down list to save the settings you have made.

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. 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...).

3. By default the program will assign the name of the folder to be backed up to the backup, but if

you would like to assign another name, type the name in the Backup name field.

You can also add useful information to the backup name. To do so, click the down arrow to the

right of the destination and click Browse.... Select the items you want to add in the right field of

the File name line:

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).

If you want to run the backup on a schedule, click the Turn on link to set up a schedule (for more information see Scheduling (p. 149)). To run the backup on the schedule, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up now button and select Later in the drop down list. The backup with the settings you have made will run according to the schedule. You can also start the backup manually later on the Backup and recovery tab.

The program allows you to back up files by categories. For more information see Data categories.

You can exclude hidden or system files and folders from backup, as well as files matching the criteria you specify. For more information see Excluding items from backup.

3.4.1 Data categories

The program allows you to back up files by categories. When selecting the file category(ies), you automatically select for backup all files of associated types found on the computer's hard drives. You can use the following default categories: Video, Music, Images, Finance, E-Books, and Documents. Furthermore, you can add any number of custom categories containing files and folders. The new categories will be saved and displayed along with the above. You can change the contents of any custom or default file category (edit the category) or delete it. The default file categories cannot be deleted.

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.

To set a filter, select its type: Only the following file types or All data except the following file types.

You can add file types for the selected filter by entering their extensions in the appropriate field one at a time and then clicking Add.

The added file types appear in the window below.

3.4.2 Support for Zip format

If you use the zip format instead of the tib format, you will be able to retrieve files from backups anywhere without Acronis True Image Home 2012.

For example, you can back up files to a USB stick at the office and retrieve those backed up files on your notebook at home without installing Acronis True Image Home 2012. This is true because the most widely used operating systems (Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X) have built-in support of the zip file format.

Please note that built-in support of zip files in Windows does not cover operations with multivolume zip archives, and zip backups exceeding 4GB in size or which contain files of more than 4GB each. So if file size of your zip backup exceeds 4GB, you will not be able to recover files from that backup without using Acronis True Image Home 2012.

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. If a zip archive was created by a file archiver program, it cannot be recovered and validated by Acronis True Image Home 2012.

3.5 Backing up e-mail

Acronis True Image Home 2012 allows you to back up messages, accounts and settings for Microsoft Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010, Microsoft Outlook Express, Windows Mail, and Windows Live. E-mail backup is a subset of file-level backups that backs up predefined folders and requires minimum user selections. However, if need be, you can select Microsoft Outlook components and folders individually.

You can select the following items:

 Messages contained in .PST/.DBX Database Files  E-mail accounts

For Microsoft Office Outlook 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2010:

 Mail Folders  Calendar  Contacts

 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.

Take note that Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not support Unicode characters in the items backed up using the E-mail backup type.

To back up your E-mail:

1. On the Backup and recovery tab, click Other backups and then select Mail backup. This will open

the E-mail Backup window.

2. Select the mail items you want to back up in the What to back up area. The right side will show

the item contents with all subitems selected. There you can unselect the subitems you do not need to back up, if any.

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. The program will assign a default name to the backup, but if you would like to assign another

name, type the name in the Backup name field.

5. 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.

Note that you will have to specify your Windows account name and password. This is done for confidentiality reasons. See details in Windows account (p. 68).

When you need to change the default backup options, click E-mail backup options and set the options as required. You can also change the default backup scheme by clicking on the appropriate link. For more information see Backup schemes (p. 57).

If you want to run the backup on a schedule, click the Turn on link to set up a schedule (for more information see Scheduling (p. 149)). To run the backup on the schedule, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up now button and select Later in the drop down list. The backup where you have made the settings will run according to the schedule. You can also start the backup manually later on the Backup and recovery tab.

3.6 Using Acronis Nonstop Backup

Acronis Nonstop Backup provides easy protection of your disks and files. It allows you to recover entire disks, individual files and their different versions.

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.

How it works

Once you start Acronis Nonstop Backup, the program will perform an initial full backup of the data selected for protection. Acronis Nonstop Backup will then save changes in the protected files (including open ones) every five minutes, so that you will be able to recover your system to an exact point in time.

Usually the different states of the protected data will be backed up at 5-minute intervals for 24 hours.

The older backups will be consolidated in such a way that Acronis True Image Home 2012 will keep daily backups for the last 30 days and weekly backups until all Nonstop Backup data destination space is used.

Note, that if Acronis Nonstop Backup protects a non-system partition and no changes have occurred for 5 minutes since the last backup, the next scheduled backup will be skipped. Acronis Nonstop Backup will wait for a significant data change and will create a new incremental backup only when such change has been detected. In those cases, the actual time interval will exceed 5 minutes. In addition, if, for instance, you are working in Word and do not use the "Save" operation for an hour, changes in the Word document will not be backed up every five minutes, because Acronis True Image Home 2012 checks file changes on the disk and not in the memory.

The consolidation will be performed every day between midnight and 01:00 AM. The first consolidation will take place after the Nonstop Backup has been working for at least 24 hours. For example, you have turned on the Nonstop Backup at 10:00 AM on July 12. In this case the first consolidation will be performed between 00:00 and 01:00 AM on July 14. Then the program will consolidate the data every day at the same time. If your computer is turned off between 00:00 and 01:00 AM, the consolidation will start when you turn the computer on. If you turn off Nonstop Backup for some time, the consolidation will start after you turn it on again.

You may think that at these backup rates the storage will fill in no time. Do not worry as Acronis True Image Home 2012 will back up only so called "deltas". This means that only differences between old and new versions will be backed up and not whole changed files. For example, if you use Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, your pst file may be very large. Furthermore, it changes with each received or sent E-mail message. Backing up the entire pst file after each change would be an unacceptable waste of your storage space, so Acronis backs up only its changed parts in addition to the initially backed up file.

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. There you can unselect the files you do not need to protect. If you need to protect more items, just continue selecting items on the directory tree in the same way.

3. Select a destination for nonstop backup (you can leave the default destination or browse for a

destination after clicking on the current destination. Select a suitable destination from the dropdown list). For more information on selecting and managing Nonstop Backup storage see Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage (p. 50).

4. The Nonstop Backup will get a default name, but if you would like to assign another name, type

the name in the Backup name field.

5. Click the Start now button to start protecting the selected data immediately.

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 the current Try&Decide session.

You can change the Nonstop Backup settings any time. To do so, click the gear icon in the Nonstop Backup box and then select Edit settings in the Operations menu. Save the edited Nonstop Backup settings by clicking the Save button and Nonstop Backup will immediately start working with the new

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. If you have sufficient storage space, Acronis Nonstop Backup can simultaneously protect more than one partition.

To protect the system partition continuously:

1. Click Other backups on the Backup and recovery tab and then select Nonstop Backup. This

opens the Nonstop Backup window.

2. Click Switch to partition mode in the upper right-hand corner of the Nonstop Backup window.

The partitions that exist on the local hard disks will appear in the What to back up area. Select the system partition by selecting the appropriate check box.

3. Select a destination for nonstop backup (you can leave the default destination or browse for a

destination after clicking on the current destination and selecting a suitable destination from the dropdown list).

You cannot select the partition to be protected as the destination for Nonstop Backup storage.

4. The nonstop backup will get a default name, but if you would like to assign another name, type

the name in the Backup name field.

5. Click the Start now button to start protecting the selected partition(s) immediately.

You can exclude from protection files that match the criteria you specify. To add exclusion criteria, click the Nonstop backup options link. While adding criteria, you can use the common Windows wildcard characters. For more information see Excluding items from backup.

3.6.3 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage

Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage can be created on local hard disk drives (both internal and external).

In many cases an external hard disk will be the best choice for Nonstop Backup data storage. You can use an external disk with any of the following interfaces: USB (including USB 3.0), eSATA, FireWire, and SCSI.

You can also use an NAS as the storage, but with one limitation - it must accessible with the SMB protocol. It does not matter whether an NAS share you want to use for the storage is mapped as a local disk or not. If the share requires login, you will need to provide the correct user name and password. For more information see Authentication settings (p. 138). Acronis True Image Home 2012 remembers the credentials and the subsequent connections to the share do not require login.

When an external hard disk or NAS is unavailable, the Nonstop Backup destination can be an internal disk, including a dynamic one. Please note that you cannot use a partition to be protected as a Nonstop Backup storage. If your computer has a single hard disk drive with a single partition, but you want to use Acronis Nonstop Backup anyway, you can create Acronis Secure Zone and use it as the Nonstop Backup data storage.

Before creating Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage, Acronis True Image Home 2012 checks whether the selected destination has enough free space. It multiplies the volume of data to be protected by 1.2 and compares the calculated value with the available space. If the free space on the destination satisfies this minimum storage size criterion, the destination can be used for storing Nonstop Backup data.

Managing Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage

Inevitably the Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage becomes full after a period of time which depends on the selected Nonstop Backup destination and the volume and composition of the data protected by Acronis Nonstop Backup.

When the free space on the storage becomes less than 200 MB, the program will alert you. You can choose another destination without losing the previously backed up data. You will be able to recover the data backed up on the old storage. Note that after selecting a new destination, Acronis True Image Home 2012 creates a new full backup of the data selected for protection by Nonstop Backup.

One more way of managing the Acronis Nonstop Backup storage is by deleting the backup versions you no longer need. To clean up the storage, click the gear icon on the Nonstop Backup box to open

the Operations menu and then select Clean up.... Acronis True Image Home 2012 displays a window

allowing you to select a period of time for deleting the backup versions created during that period. Select the required period and click OK.

You can clean up only the active Acronis Nonstop Backup storage.

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. When the system load rises to a critical level, Acronis Nonstop Backup receives the overload alarm from Windows and pauses itself. This is done to aid Windows relieve the load caused by other applications. The overload can be caused by running resource-intensive applications (for example, performing a deep system scan with your antivirus software).

In such a case Nonstop Backup automatically pauses and you cannot restart it. After pausing, Acronis Nonstop Backup gives the system one hour to relieve the load and then attempts to restart.

The automatic restart count for Acronis Nonstop Backup is 6. This means that after the first automatic restart Acronis Nonstop Backup will attempt to restart five more times with intervals of exactly one hour between attempts.

After the sixth unsuccessful attempt, Acronis Nonstop Backup will wait for the next calendar day. On the next day the automatic restart count will automatically reset. When not interfered with, Acronis Nonstop Backup performs six restart attempts per day.

The restart attempt count can be reset by doing any of the following:

 Restarting Acronis Nonstop Backup service;  Rebooting the computer.

Restarting Acronis Nonstop Backup service will only reset the restart count to 0. If the system is still overloaded, Acronis Nonstop Backup will pause again. An Acronis Support Knowledge Base article at http://forum.acronis.com/forum/14958 describes the procedure for restarting the Acronis Nonstop Backup service.

Rebooting the computer will reset the load and the restart count. If the system overloads again, Acronis Nonstop Backup will pause.

Why does Acronis Nonstop Backup sometimes cause a high CPU load? - This is the expected behavior of Acronis Nonstop Backup. This may happen on restart of a paused Acronis Nonstop Backup if a considerable amount of protected data has been modified during the pause.

For example, if you manually pause the Acronis Nonstop Backup that you use for protecting your system partition and then install a new application. When you restart Acronis Nonstop Backup, it loads the CPU for some time. However, the process (afcdpsrv.exe) then goes back to normal.

This happens because Acronis Nonstop Backup needs to check the backed up data against the data that have been modified during the pause to ensure protection continuity. If there was a considerable amount of data modified, the process may load CPU for some time. After the check is done and all the modified data is backed up, Acronis Nonstop Backup goes back to normal.

Can I have Acronis Nonstop Backup storage on an FAT32 partition of a local hard disk? - No, only an NTFS partition can be used as the storage. This limitation is due to the fact that Acronis Nonstop Backup needs the sparse file attribute to function (for example, to perform autoconsolidation). The sparse file attribute was introduced in NTFS.

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. It has been protecting your partition since that day. Let's suppose that today is December 15, 2011 and your Acronis Nonstop Backup storage is almost full. You decide to clean up unnecessary data to free up some storage space. To clean up the storage, click the gear icon in the Nonstop Backup box to open

the Operations menu and then select Clean up.... Acronis True Image Home 2012 displays a window

allowing you to select a period of time for deleting the backup versions created during that period. Let's suppose that you did not make important changes to the system during a period from September 1 to December 1. Select the period and click OK. The program will delete all backup versions created during the selected period and consolidate the remaining backup versions to keep their consistency. Let's consider some cases to explain which data is deleted and which data is kept. First let's consider a system file, for example, notepad.exe. It was backed up during the initial full backup on August 15 and naturally did not change since then. In this case the file will remain in Nonstop Backup after clean up. And now suppose you installed a game on September 15, played for some time, and then uninstalled the game on October 5. In this case all files related to the game will be deleted from Nonstop Backup. One more example: you started to write your master's thesis using Microsoft Word on November 16. In this case, all thesis file versions backed up from November 16 to December 1 will be deleted and only the versions from December 2 to today will remain. To sum up the above, all data modifications made during the selected period will be lost. All files that did not change since the initial full backup made on August 15 and all data modifications made before September 1 and after December 1 will be kept.

How to pause Acronis Nonstop Backup? - You can pause Nonstop Backup by clicking the gear icon on the Nonstop Backup box and selecting Stop in the menu. To resume Nonstop Backup, click the gear icon again and select Start in the menu. If the Nonstop Backup box is expanded, you can also pause and resume Nonstop Backup by clicking the corresponding buttons in the box.

How can I turn off and delete Acronis Nonstop Backup? - To turn off and delete Acronis Nonstop Backup, click the gear icon on the Nonstop Backup box of the Backup and recovery tab and select Delete in the menu. This deletes all the Nonstop Backup data.

3.7 Making reserve copies of your backups

You can create reserve copies of your backups and save them on the file system, a network drive, or a USB flash drive. A reserve copy may help you if the main backup becomes corrupted or if the storage of the main backup fails.

In addition to enhancing the backed up data security with replication, this feature allows you to copy a set of documents, for example, to a USB stick for working on them at home. So now you can perform a normal backup and copy the same files to a USB stick or any local hard drive. You have the choice of making a reserve copy in the form of regular files in their native format, a zip compressed file, or a tib file (optionally with password protection and encryption). A password-protected reserve copy can be encrypted only if you choose to encrypt the main backup and an encryption key of the same length will be used for encrypting the reserve copy.

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.

For example, to make a reserve copy of some files on a USB stick:

1. While configuring a backup, click the File backup options link, expand the Backup reserve copy

item and then select the Create a reserve copy of my backups box. This opens the Browse for folder window.

2. Select the destination and create a folder for a reserve copy by clicking the New folder button.

3. Choose how to duplicate the files on the USB stick. If you need to save space, choose duplicating

as a zip file and then click OK.

4. Finish configuring your backup as usual.

5. Click Back up now.

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. You can save full, incremental and differential backup versions to different places including a network share, CD/DVD, USB stick, as well as any local internal or external hard drive.

You can save backup versions to different destinations by changing the backup destination when editing the settings of a selected backup. For example, after you save the initial full backup to an external USB hard drive, you can change the backup destination to a USB stick by editing the backup settings. The subsequent incremental or differential backups will be written to the USB stick.

You cannot use Acronis Secure Zone as one of the places for storing a part of backup versions belonging to the same backup "chain", because such backup versions may be automatically deleted during automatic backup consolidation in Acronis Secure Zone. As a result, the backup chain will be corrupted. In addition, the feature does not work with FTP servers.

One more useful aspect of this feature is the ability to split backups "on-the-fly". Suppose you perform a backup to a hard disk and in the middle of the backup process Acronis True Image Home 2012 finds out that the disk to which you are backing up, does not have sufficient free space for completing the backup. The program displays a message warning you that the disk is full.

To complete the backup, you may either try to free up some space on the disk and click Retry or select another storage device. To choose the latter option, click Browse... in the confirmation window. The Browse for Destination window appears.

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 backup versions belonging to the same backup "chain" have been saved to different destinations, Acronis True Image Home 2012 may prompt you for the locations of previous backup versions during data recovery. This may occur when the selected backup version does not contain the files you want to recover (or contains only a part of them). This may also happen when you recover a backup that was split on-the-fly.

3.9 Adding an existing backup to the list

If you have backups that are not shown in the backups list on the Backup and recovery tab (for example, backups created by a previous Acronis True Image Home version), you can add them to the list. Click Browse for backup on the Backup and recovery tab. This opens a window where you can browse for backups on your computer.

To add an existing backup to the backup list, select the backup and click the Add to backup list button.

3.10 Deleting backups and backup versions

You may want to delete backups and backup versions you no longer need. Acronis True Image Home 2012 stores information on the backups in a metadata information database.

Therefore, deleting unneeded backup files in Windows Explorer will not delete information about these backups from the database, and Acronis True Image Home 2012 will consider that they still exist.

This will result in errors when the program tries to perform operations on the backups that no longer exist. So you must only remove obsolete backups and backup versions by using the tools provided by Acronis True Image Home 2012.

To delete an entire backup:

Find the corresponding backup box on the Backup and recovery tab of Acronis True Image Home

2012. Click the gear icon to open the Operations menu and then click Delete.

When you delete an entire backup, all its versions will be deleted as well.

To delete a specific backup version:

1. On the Backup and recovery tab, find the corresponding backup box, click Explore and recover.

2. In Backup explorer, right-click on the time line the version you want to delete, and then click

Delete version.

When you delete a backup version, please remember that this version may have dependent versions. In this case the dependent versions will be deleted as well, because data recovery from such versions becomes impossible.

 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.

3.11 Backup options

In the Disk Backup Options, File Backup Options, E-mail Backup Options, Nonstop Backup Options and Online Backup Options windows you can configure options for a disk/partition, file, e-mail, nonstop and online backup processes respectively. To open the options window, click the appropriate link.

After you have installed the application, all options are set to the initial values. You can change them for your current backup operation only or for all backups that will be created in future. Select the Save the settings as default check box to apply the modified settings to all further backup operations by default.

Note that options of each backup type are fully independent, and you should configure them separately.

If you want to reset all the modified options to the values that were set after the product installation initially, click the Reset to initial settings button.

In this section

Backup schemes ....................................................................................... 57

Single version scheme .............................................................................. 58

Version chain scheme .............................................................................. 58

Custom schemes ...................................................................................... 59

Image creation mode ............................................................................... 62

Backup protection .................................................................................... 63

Pre/Post commands for backup ............................................................... 63

Backup splitting ........................................................................................ 64

Backup validation option ......................................................................... 65

Backup reserve copy ................................................................................ 65

Removable media settings ....................................................................... 66

Backup comment ..................................................................................... 67

Screenshot settings .................................................................................. 67

Error handling .......................................................................................... 67

Computer shutdown ................................................................................ 68

File-level security settings for backup ...................................................... 68

Windows account ..................................................................................... 68

Performance of backup operation ........................................................... 69

Notifications for backup operation .......................................................... 70

Excluding items from backup ................................................................... 71

3.11.1 Backup schemes

Backup schemes along with the scheduler help you to set up your backup strategy. The schemes allow you to optimize backup storage space usage, improve data storage reliability, and automatically delete the obsolete backup versions.

Backup scheme defines the following parameters:

 Backup methods that will be used to create backup versions (full, differential or incremental)  Sequence of the backup versions created using different methods  Version cleanup rules

Acronis True Image Home 2012 allows you to choose the following backup schemes:

 Single version (p. 58) - select this scheme if you want to use the smallest backup storage.  Version chain (p. 58) - this may be the optimal scheme in many cases.  Incremental - select this scheme if you want to create only incremental backups after an initial

full backup (this is the default scheme).

 Differential - select this scheme if you want to create only differential backups after an initial full

backup.

 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.

Result: you have a single up-to-date full backup version.

Required storage space: minimal.

3.11.3 Version chain scheme

This backup scheme differs for disk backup and file backup types.

Disk backup version chain

At first the program creates the 1st full backup version. The version will be kept until you delete it manually. After that, according to the specified schedule (or when you run backup manually) the program creates: 1 full and 5 differential backup versions, then again 1 full and 5 differential backup versions and so on. The versions will be stored for 6 months. After the period the program analyzes if the oldest backup versions (except the 1st full version) may be deleted. It depends on the minimum number of versions (eight) and version chains consistency. The program deletes the oldest versions one by one after creating new versions with the same backup method (for example, the oldest differential version will be deleted after creation of the newest differential version). First of all the oldest differential versions will be deleted, then - the oldest full version.

Backup scheduler setting: monthly.

Result: you have monthly backup versions for the last 6 months plus the initial full backup version that may be kept for a longer period.

Required storage space: depends on the number of versions and their sizes.

File backup version chain

According to the specified schedule (or when you run backup manually) the program creates: 1 full and 6 incremental backup versions, then again 1 full and 6 incremental versions and so on. The versions will be stored for 1 month. After the period the program analyzes if the oldest backup versions may be deleted. It depends on the version chain consistency. To keep the consistency, the program deletes the oldest versions by chains "1 full + 6 incremental backup versions" after creating a new analogous version chain.

Backup scheduler setting: daily.

Result: you have backup versions for every day of the last month.

Required storage space: depends on the number of versions and their sizes.

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.

So first of all select one of the backup methods in the appropriate box.

 Full (p. 38)

Select this method if you want to create only full backup versions.

 Differential (p. 38)

Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and differential backup versions.

You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:

 Create only differential versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only

one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.

 Create a full version after every [n] differential versions - select this item to create several

backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.

 Incremental (p. 38)

Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and incremental backup versions.

You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:

 Create only incremental versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only

one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.

 Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions - select this item to create several

backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.

Automatic cleanup rules

To delete obsolete backup versions automatically, you can set one of the following cleanup rules:

 Delete versions older than [defined period] (available for full method only) - Select this option to

limit the age of backup versions. All versions that are older than the specified period will be automatically deleted.

 Delete version chains older than [defined period] (available for incremental and differential

methods only) - Select this option to limit the age of backup version chains. The oldest version chain will be deleted only if, after deletion, the age of the oldest version exceeds the specified period.

 Store no more than [n] recent versions (available for full method only) - Select this option to

limit the maximum number of backup versions. When the number of versions exceeds the specified value, the oldest backup version will be automatically deleted.

 Store no more than [n] recent version chains (available for incremental and differential methods

only) - Select this option to limit the maximum number of backup version chains. When the number of version chains exceeds the specified value, the oldest backup version chain will be automatically deleted.

 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. This is true because it stores the initial data state (for example, your system partition with recently installed Windows) or some other stable data state (for example, data after a successful virus check).

Do not delete the first version of the backup - Select this check box to keep the initial data state. The program will create two initial full backup versions. The first version will be excluded from the automatic cleanup, and will be stored until you delete it manually.

If you select incremental or differential method, the first backup chain will start from the second full backup version. And only the third version of the backup will be incremental or differential one.

Note that when the check box is selected, the Store no more than [n] recent versions check box will change to Store no more than 1+[n] recent versions.

3.11.4.1 Managing custom backup schemes

If you change anything in an existing backup scheme, you can save the changed scheme as a new one. In this case you need to specify a new name for that backup scheme.

 You can overwrite existing custom schemes.  You cannot overwrite existing pre-defined backup schemes.  In a scheme name, you can use any symbols allowed by OS for naming files. The maximum length

of a backup scheme name is 255 symbols.

 You can create not more than 16 custom backup schemes.

After creating a custom backup scheme, you can use it as any other existing backup scheme while configuring a backup.

You can also use a custom backup scheme without saving it. In this case, it will be available only for the backup where it was created and you will be unable to use it for other backups.

If you do not need a custom backup scheme anymore, you can delete it. To delete the scheme, select it in the backup schemes list, click Delete, and then click Delete scheme in the confirmation window.

The pre-defined backup schemes cannot be deleted.

3.11.4.2 Automatic version consolidation

Automatic consolidation of a backup is enabled by setting the overall limitations for the backup. These limitations include:

 a maximum number of backup versions  a maximum storage period for the backup files  a maximum backup size

Automatic backup version consolidation is available only for the incremental and differential methods of the custom backup version scheme.

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. For example, if you've pre-set your backup to store 50GB of backup files and your backup versions reach 55GB, you have exceeded a quota and the system will respond automatically based on rules that you've already set. This operation creates a temporary file and thus requires disk space. Consider also that the quota must be violated so that the program can detect the violation. Therefore, to be able to consolidate the files, the program needs some space on the disk in excess of the backup quota. The extra amount of space can be estimated as the size of the largest backup version in the backup.

In case of setting a limit on the number of backup versions, the actual number of versions can exceed the maximum number of versions by one. This enables the program to detect quota violation and start consolidation. Similarly, if you pre-set a backup version storage period, for example, 30 days, the program will start consolidation when the oldest backup version is stored for 31 days.

3.11.4.3 Examples of custom schemes

1. File backup “Daily incremental version + weekly full version”

Case: You have files and/or folders you work with every day. You need to save your daily work results and want to be able to recover data state to any date for the last three weeks. Let’s see how you can do this using a custom backup scheme.

1. On the Backup and recovery tab, click Other backups and then select File backup.

2. In the File Backup window select files and/or folders you want to back up, and specify the backup

destination. For more information see Backing up files and folders (p. 42).

3. Click Turn on for the Schedule item. In the Scheduler window click Daily, and specify a start time

for the backup operation. For example, if you finish your everyday work at 8 PM, specify this time or a little later (8.05 PM) as the start time.

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

5. In the File 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 Incremental from the drop down list.

8. Click Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions, and type or select "6".

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 6 incremental versions day by day. Then, it will create 1 full version and 6 incremental versions again and so on. So every new full version will be created in exactly a week's time.

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

10. Click Delete version chains older than [n] days, type or select "21", and click OK.

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

your first backup to 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.

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.

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.  To increase the security of your confidential data, you can encrypt the backup with strong

industry-standard AES (Advanced Encryption Standard) cryptographic algorithm. AES is available with three key lengths – 128, 192 and 256 bits to balance performance and protection as desired.

The 128-bit encryption key is sufficient for most applications. The longer the key, the more secure your data. However, the 192 and 256-bit long keys significantly slow down the backup process.

If you want to use AES encryption, choose one of the following keys:

 AES 128 - to use 128-bit encryption key  AES 192 - to use 192-bit encryption key  AES 256 - to use 256-bit encryption key

If you do not want to encrypt the backup and only want to protect a backup with a password, select None.

Having specified the backup protection settings, click OK.

Note that you cannot change the password of a password-protected backup after the backup was created.

If you try to recover data from a password-protected backup, the program will ask for the password in a special window, allowing access only to authorized users.

3.11.7 Pre/Post commands for backup

You can specify commands (or even batch files) that will be automatically executed before and after the backup procedure.

For example, you may want to start/stop certain Windows processes, or check your data before starting backup.

To specify commands (batch files):

 Select a command to be executed before the backup process starts in the Pre-command field. To

create a new command or select a new batch file, click the Edit button.

 Select a command to be executed after the backup process ends in the Post-command field. To

create a new command or select a new batch file, click the Edit button.

Please do not try to execute interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for example, "pause"). These are not supported.

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.

Disabling the Do not perform operations until the command's execution is complete parameter (enabled for Pre commands by default), will permit the backup 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 a command you entered by clicking the Test command button.

3.11.8 Backup splitting

Acronis True Image Home 2012 cannot split already existing backups. Backups can be split only when being created.

Large backups can be split into several files that together make up the original backup. A backup can also be split for burning to removable media.

The default setting - Automatic. With this setting, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will act as follows.

When backing up to a hard disk:

 If the selected disk has enough space and its file system allows the estimated file size, the

program will create a single backup file.

 If the storage disk has enough space, but its file system does not allow the estimated file size, the

program will automatically split the image into several files.

 If you do not have enough space to store the image on your hard disk, the program will warn you

and wait for your decision as to how you plan to fix the problem. You can try to free some additional space and continue or select another disk.

When backing up to a CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, BD-R/RE:

 Acronis True Image Home 2012 will ask you to insert a new disk when the previous one is full.

Alternatively, you may select the desired file size from the drop-down list. The backup will then be split into multiple files of the specified size. That comes in handy when backing up to a hard disk with the view to burning the backup to CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW or BD-R/RE later on.

Creating images directly on CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW, BD-R/RE might take considerably more time than it would on a hard disk.

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.

Regular validation

You can also schedule validation of your backups to ensure that they remain "healthy". By default regular validation is turned on with the following settings:

 Frequency: once a month  Day: the date when the backup was started  Time: the moment of backup start plus 15 minutes  Advanced settings: the Run the validation only when the computer is idle check box is selected

Example: You start a backup operation on July 15, at 12.00. The backup version is created at 12.05. Its validation will run at 12.15 if your computer is in the "screen saver" state at the moment. If not, then the validation will not run. In a month, August 15, at 12.15, the validation will start again. As before, your computer must be in the "screen saver" state. The same will occur on September 15, and so on.

You can change the default settings and specify your own schedule. This may be useful if you set a custom backup scheme with incremental backups. For example, you may want to schedule validation of all backup versions (the initial full backup version and subsequent incremental backup versions) once a week.

For more information see Scheduling (p. 149).

3.11.10 Backup reserve copy

You can create reserve copies of your backups and save them on the file system, a network drive, or a USB flash drive.

To make a reserve copy:

 Select the Create a reserve copy of my backups check box  Click Set location... and specify a location for the backup copies  Choose one of the reserving methods:

 duplicate the backups as tib files  make reserve copies as zip archives  copy the files and/or folders to a specified location "as is"

If you choose reserve copies to be made in the tib format, all backup options (such as backup compression, backup splitting, etc.) will be inherited from the source backup. You can also protect the tib backup reserve copy with a password. To do so, click Set password and specify a password for the reserve copy.

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.

Please, be aware that built-in support of zip files in Windows does not cover operations with multivolume zip archives, and with zip archives exceeding 4GB in size or which contain files of more than 4GB each. Also remember that CD/DVDs are not supported as locations for reserve copies.

3.11.11 Removable media set tings

When backing up to removable media, you can make this media bootable by writing additional components to it. Thus, you will not need a separate bootable disk.

The following settings are available:

 Place Acronis True Image Home on media

Acronis True Image Home - includes support of USB, PC Card (formerly PCMCIA) and SCSI interfaces along with the storage devices connected via them, and therefore is strongly recommended.

 Place Acronis System Report on media

Acronis System Report - the component allows you to generate system report that is used for collecting information about your system in case of any program problem. Report generation will be available before you start Acronis True Image Home 2012 from the bootable media. The generated system report can be saved to a USB flash drive.

 Place Acronis One-Click Restore on media

Acronis One-Click Restore is a minimal addition to your bootable media, allowing one-click data recovery from an image backup stored on this media. This means that when booting from the media and after clicking Recover, all data will be silently recovered to its original place. No options or selections such as resizing partitions will be possible.

Acronis One-Click Restore can be added to the media only when creating a full backup of an entire hard disk. It cannot be added when creating an incremental or differential backup, as well as backup of a partition. In such case the Place Acronis One-Click Restore on media check box will not be present on the General tab of the current backup options, even if the box is selected in the default Removable media settings.

 Ask for first media while creating backups on removable media

You can choose whether to display the Insert First Media prompt when backing up to removable media. With the default setting, backing up to removable media may not be possible if the user is away, because the program will wait for someone to press OK in the prompt box. Therefore, you should disable the prompt when scheduling a backup to removable media. Then, if the removable media is available (for example, CD-R/RW inserted) the backup can run unattended.

If you have other Acronis products installed on your computer, the bootable versions of these programs' components will be offered as well.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 does not support creating bootable media if a flash drive is formatted in NTFS.

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.

3.11.13 Screenshot settings

Along with backup comments, screenshots help you to recognize a previous data state you need to recover. Acronis True Image Home 2012 allows you to take screenshots at the moment of starting a disk or partition backup. To enable the option, select the Take screenshot upon a disk backup start check box. The screenshots will be shown in Backup Explorer on the Disks and partitions tab. Every screenshot corresponds to its own disk backup version. Thus, switching between the backup versions on the time line, you will see different screenshots and will be able to find the required backup version faster.

3.11.14 Error handling

When the program encountered an error while performing backup, it stops the backup process and displays a message, waiting for a response on how to handle the error. If you set an error handling policy, the program will not stop the backup process and warn you about an error with a message, but will simply handle the error according to the set rules and continue working.

You can set the following error handling policy:

 Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode) (the preset is disabled) - You

can enable this setting to ignore errors during backup operations. This feature was mainly designed for unattended backups when you cannot control the backup process. In this mode no notifications will be displayed to you if errors occur during backup. Instead you can view the detailed log of all operations after the backup process finishes.

 Ignore bad sectors (the preset is disabled) - This option is present only for disk and partition

backups. It lets you run a backup even if there are bad sectors on the hard disk. Although most disks do not have bad sectors, the possibility that they might occur increases during the course of the hard disk's lifetime. If your hard drive has started making strange noises (for example, it starts making quite loud clicking or grinding noises during operation), such noises may mean that the hard drive is failing. When the hard drive completely fails, you can lose important data, so it is high time to back up the drive as soon as possible. There may be a problem though – the failing hard drive might already have bad sectors. If the Ignore bad sectors check box is left unselected, a backup is aborted in case of read and/or write errors that could occur on the bad sectors. Selecting this box lets you run a backup even if there are bad sectors on the hard disk ensuring that you save as much information from the hard drive as possible.

 When not enough space in ASZ, delete the oldest backup (the preset is enabled) - When this

setting is disabled and there is not enough space in the Acronis Secure Zone for the backup file being created, the program will display a dialog warning you that the zone is full and will require your action. The backup is suspended until you take a desired action and this makes unattended

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. You can configure this option by specifying two settings - number of attempts and time interval between attempts. According to these settings, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will try to back up your data until the backup is successfully created. But if the error interrupting the backup persists, then the backup will not be created.

3.11.15 Computer shutdown

If you know that the backup process you are configuring may take a long time, you may select the Shut down the computer after the backup is complete check box. In this case, you will not have to wait until the operation completion. The program will perform the backup and turn off your computer automatically.

This option is also useful when you schedule your backups. For example, you may want to perform backups every weekday in the evening to save all your work. Schedule the backup and select the check box. After that you may leave your computer when you finish your work knowing that the critical data will be backed up and the computer will be turned off.

3.11.16 File-level security settings for backup

You can specify security settings for backed up files (these settings relate only to file/folder backups):

 Preserve file security settings in backups - selecting this option will preserve all the security

properties (permissions assigned to groups or users) of the backup files for further recovery.

By default, files and folders are saved in the backup with their original Windows security settings (i.e. permissions for read, write, execute and so on for each user or user group, set in file Properties -> Security). If you recover a secured file/folder on a computer without the user specified in the permissions, you may not be able to read or modify this file.

To eliminate this kind of problem, you can disable preserving file security settings in backups. Then the recovered files/folders will always inherit the permissions from the folder to which they are recovered (parent folder or disk, if recovered to the root).

Or, you can disable file security settings during recovery, even if they are available in the backup. The result will be the same.

 In backups, store encrypted files in a decrypted state (the preset is disabled) - check the option

if there are encrypted files in the backup and you want them to be accessed by any user after recovery. Otherwise, only the user who encrypted the files/folders will be able to read them. Decryption may also be useful if you are going to recover encrypted files on another computer.

If you do not use the encryption feature available in Windows XP and later operating systems, simply ignore this option. (Files/folders encryption is set in Properties -> General -> Advanced Attributes -> Encrypt contents to secure data).

These options relate only to file/folder backups. In addition, they are unavailable for zip backups.

3.11.17 Windows account

When you create a backup, you can specify a Windows account under which this backup should be performed. This may be useful if your computer is used not only by you, but also by your relatives. In

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. Select the Run backup as different Windows account check box.

2. Type the account name and password in the appropriate fields.

3.11.18 Performance of backup operation

On the Performance tab you can configure the following settings:

Compression level

You can choose the compression level for a backup:

 None - the data will be copied without any compression, which may significantly increase the

backup file size.

 Normal - the recommended data compression level (set by default).  High - higher backup file compression level, takes more time to create a backup.  Maximum - maximum backup compression, but takes a long time to create a backup.

The optimal data compression level depends on the type of files stored in the backup. For example, even maximum compression will not significantly reduce the backup size, if the backup contains essentially compressed files, like .jpg, .pdf or .mp3.

Operation priority

Changing the priority of a backup or recovery 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 more resources for other CPU tasks. Increasing backup or recovery priority may speed up the process by taking resources from the other currently running processes. The effect will depend on total CPU usage and other factors.

You can set up the operation priority:

 Low (enabled by default) - the backup or recovery process will run slower, but the performance

of other programs will be increased.

 Normal - the backup or recovery process will have the equal priority with other processes.  High - the backup or recovery process will run faster, but the performance of other programs will

be reduced. Be aware that selecting this option may result in 100% CPU usage by Acronis True Image Home 2012.

Network connection speed limit

If you frequently back up data to network drives or FTP, think of limiting the network bandwidth used by Acronis True Image Home 2012.

You can specify the network backup data transfer speed by choosing the following:

 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.

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. If after starting a backup Acronis True Image Home 2012 finds out that the free space in the selected backup location is already less than the specified value, the program will not begin the actual backup process and will immediately inform you by displaying an appropriate message. The message offers you three choices - to ignore it and proceed with the backup, to browse for another location for the backup or to cancel the backup.

If the free space becomes less than the specified value while the backup is being run, the program will display the same message and you will have to make the same decisions.

To set the free disk space threshold:

 Select the Show notification message on insufficient free disk space check box  In the Size box, type or select a threshold value and select a unit of measure

Acronis True Image Home 2012 can monitor free space on the following storage devices:

 Local hard drives  USB cards and drives  Network shares (SMB/NFS)

The message will not be displayed if the Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode) check box is selected in the Error handling settings.

This option cannot be enabled for FTP servers and CD/DVD drives.

E-mail notification

You can specify an e-mail account that will be used for notifying you of the backup process.

To specify the e-mail settings:

 Select the Send e-mail notifications about the operation state check box.  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.  Set the port of the outgoing mail server. By default the port is set to 25.  Enter the user name in the User name field.  Enter the password in the Password field.  To check whether your settings are correct, click the Send test message button.

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.

 To send a notification with full log of operations, select the Add full log to the notification check

box.

3.11.20 Excluding items from backup

If you want to exclude unnecessary files from a backup, specify the appropriate file types on the

Exclusions tab of the backup options. You can specify exclusions for Disk and partitions backup, File Backup or Online Backup.

How to use the default exclusion settings

After you have installed the application, all the exclusion settings are set to the initial values. You can change them for your current backup operation only or for all backups that will be created in future. Select the Save as default check box to apply the modified settings to all further backup operations by default. If you want to reset all the modified settings to the values that they were originally set to when the product was installed, click the Reset to initial settings button.

What you can exclude and how

1. You can exclude hidden and system files from a backup by selecting the corresponding check

boxes.

We do not recommend excluding hidden and system files from the backups of your system partition.

2. You can exclude files meeting the criteria you specify. To do this, select the Files matching the

following criteria check box, enter the exclusion criterion, and then click Add.

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:

 file.ext - all such files will be excluded from the backup.  C:\file.ext - the file.ext file on the C: disk will be excluded.

 You can use wildcard characters (* and ?):

 *.ext - all files with a .ext extension will be excluded.  ??name.ext - all files with a .ext extension, having six letters in their names (starting with any

two symbols (??) and ending with name), will be excluded.

 To exclude a folder, click Browse, select the folder you want to exclude on the directory tree,

click OK, and then click Add.

To delete a criterion, for example, added by mistake, click the Delete icon to the right of the criterion.

3.12 Validating backups

The validation procedure checks whether you will be able to recover data from a particular backup version, so when you select for validation on the time line…

 a full backup version, the program validates the full backup version only.  a differential backup version, the program validates the initial full backup version and the

selected differential backup version.

 an incremental backup version, the program validates the initial full backup, the selected

incremental backup version, and the whole chain (if any) of backup versions to the selected incremental backup version. If the chain contains one or more differential backup versions, the program validates (in addition to the initial full backup version and the selected incremental backup version) only the most recent differential backup version in the chain and all subsequent incremental backup versions (if any) between the differential backup version and the selected incremental backup version.

This information can be helpful, for example, when you find out that a backup comprising a full backup version and a chain of incremental ones is corrupted. To troubleshoot the backup, do as follows. First of all validate the full backup version by selecting it on the time line, right-clicking and choosing Validate in the shortcut menu. If it is damaged, all the backup chain will be useless. When it is not damaged, proceed to validating incremental backup versions starting from the oldest, until you find the culprit. All incremental backup versions made after the corrupted one will be unusable, but you will be able to recover the data at least from the previous backup versions.

To validate an entire backup:

1. Select the backup to validate, click the gear icon to open the Operations menu and select

Validate. If the selected backup is password-protected, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will ask for the password in a dialog box.

2. After you enter the correct password the program will start the validation procedure.

3. When the validation is complete, you will see the result in the line below the backup's box. You

can cancel validation by clicking Cancel.

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. This requires more disk space but ensures security of the backup in case the consolidation fails because of power failure or a lack of disk space.

The current Acronis True Image Home 2012 version does not support consolidation of backups created in the zip format.

Acronis True Image Home 2012 cannot consolidate backup versions created when "editing" partition images mounted in the Read/Write mode.

To consolidate backup versions in a backup:

 Select a backup for consolidation on the Backup and recovery tab  Click the gear icon on the selected backup's box, point to More and then click Consolidate

versions

 Follow the wizard's steps

You cannot choose another location when consolidating backup versions located in the Acronis Secure Zone.

3.13.1 Archive to consolidate protection

The archive you chose is password-protected in order to prevent it from unauthorized access. You need to specify the previously entered password to obtain access to the archive.

To specify the password:

 Type-in the password in the Password field. If you enter the wrong password, the consolidate

archive procedure will not be able to continue.

 Click OK to continue.

3.13.2 Backup selection

The Backup selection window displays a list of backups belonging to the selected archive with the backup creation date and time (like in the Recovery wizard). The top backup is the full backup; the rest are incremental backups.

To select the backups you want to keep:

 Select the backups you want to keep. The other backups will not be included into the

consolidated archive. Information on the selected backup (its name, date of creation, type and comments) is displayed on the right pane of the window.

 Click Next to continue.

3.13.3 Result location

Specify the place where you want to save the archive copy and its name. By default, the program suggests the same location and the source archive name. Your original archive will be overwritten.

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

Delete button).

Create new

 In the File name field enter a name for the consolidated archive, or click the Generate name

button to generate the name automatically.

 If you don't need the original archive, you may delete it by selecting the Delete the original

archive check box

 Click Next to continue.

You cannot choose another location when consolidating backups in an archive located in Acronis Secure Zone.

3.13.4 Consolidation summary

The summary window contains a list of briefly described operations that Acronis True Image Home 2012 will perform after clicking Proceed. If some parameters need to be changed, choose the necessary step in the left part of the window and correct the parameter.

Click the Proceed button to start the listed operations.

Click the Options button to perform the optional steps.

Click the Cancel button to exit the wizard without performing any operations.

3.14 Cloning backup settings

When you already have a backup and you need to create a new backup of the same type (disk, file or e-mail backup), there is no need to configure the backup process from scratch. The program allows you to copy all settings from an existing backup. After that, you only have to slightly correct the copied settings for your new backup and click Back up now.

To create a new backup based on an existing backup:

1. On the Backup and recovery tab, find the corresponding backup box, click the gear icon to open

the Operations menu, point to More, and then click Clone settings.

A new backup box named (1) [the initial backup name] will be created. It will contain the same settings as the "parental" backup.

2. On the cloned backup box, click the gear icon to open the Operations menu, and then click Edit

settings.

3. Change selection of items to back up. You may modify backup name, destination, and other

settings if needed.

4. Click the Save button.

5. To create the first backup version, click Back up now on the backup box.

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. For more information see Acronis Backup Explorer (p. 26).

In this section

Recovering your system after a crash ...................................................... 75

Recovering partitions and disks ............................................................... 79

Recovering partitions protected with Acronis Nonstop Backup .............. 81

How to recover more than one partition at once .................................... 81

Recovering a disk backup to a different disk under rescue media .......... 85

Recovering data from file-level backups .................................................. 91

Recovering file versions ........................................................................... 92

Recovering to different hardware ............................................................ 93

Acronis Universal Restore ........................................................................ 97

How to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager ...................................... 98

About recovery of dynamic/GPT disks and volumes ............................... 99

Backup protection dialog box ................................................................ 100

Arranging boot order in BIOS ................................................................. 100

Recovery options.................................................................................... 101

4.1 Recovering your system after a crash

When your computer fails to boot, it is advisable to at first try to find the cause using the suggestions given in Trying to determine the crash cause (p. 75). If the crash is caused by corruption of the operating system, use a backup to recover your system. Make the preparations described in Preparing for recovery (p. 76) and then proceed with recovering your system.

4.1.1 Trying to determine the crash cause

A system crash can be due to two basic factors. One reason is that your computer will not boot due to a hardware failure. The second reason is that the operating system is corrupted and Windows will not start up.

In the first scenario, it is better to let your service center handle the repairs. However, you may want to perform some routine tests. Check the cables, connectors, power of external devices, etc. Then, restart the computer. The POST (power-on self test) that starts immediately after you turn on your computer, checks your system hardware. If the POST has found a failure, you will need to send the PC for repairs.

If the POST does not reveal a hardware failure, enter BIOS and check whether it recognizes your system hard disk drive. To enter BIOS, press the required key combination (Del, F1, Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Esc, or some other, depending on your BIOS) during the POST sequence. Usually the message

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.

If the system drive is healthy, try to recover the system using a backup of your system disk or system partition. Because Windows does not boot, you will have to use Acronis bootable rescue media.

You will also need to use a system disk backup when recovering the system after replacing the damaged hard disk drive.

4.1.2 Preparing for rec overy

a) Scan the computer for viruses if you suspect that the crash occurred due to a virus or malware attack.

b) Boot from the rescue media and validate the backup you want to use for recovery. This is necessary because, when a backup is validated in the recovery environment, the program sometimes declares it corrupted though it has been successfully validated in Windows. This may be due to the fact that Acronis True Image Home 2012 uses different device drivers in Windows and in the recovery environment. If Acronis True Image Home 2012 considers the backup corrupted, it will not proceed with recovery.

4.1.3 Recovering your system

After you have performed the steps described in Preparing for recovery (p. 76), begin the system recovery procedure. Here we will explain how to recover a corrupted system to the same hard disk. System recovery to a replaced hard disk drive will be similar with some minor differences. You do not need to format the new disk, as this will be done in the process of recovery.

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. Boot from the rescue media and select Acronis True Image Home.

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.

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.

4.2 Recovering partitions and disks

You can start recovering a partition or disk from an image backup both on the Backup and recovery tab and in Acronis Backup Explorer. To start recovery from the Backup and recovery tab, select the box of a backup containing the partition image you need to recover. Click the Recover button (or the Recover icon if the backup box is collapsed). This opens the Disk Recovery window.

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.

If you backed up an entire disk, you can choose to recover the entire disk at once by clicking Switch to disk mode. To be able to select partitions again, click Switch to partition mode.

2. In the recovery destination field below the partition name, select the destination partition. Those

partitions where the partition to be recovered can fit are marked by black lettering. Unsuitable partitions are marked by red lettering. Note that all data on the destination partition will be lost because it is replaced by the recovered data and file system.

To recover an image to the source partition without resizing, at least 5% of free space is required on the partition. Otherwise, the Recover now button will be unavailable.

3. After you finish with your selections, click Recover now to start recovery.

Sometimes you need to recover the MBR (Master Boot Record). For instance, it may be necessary when Windows does not boot after recovery. To recover the MBR (either together with the partition or individually), click Show MBR and then select the MBR check box.

If you recover the entire disk, the Recover disk signature check box appears. Disk signature is a part of a hard disk MBR. It is used for uniquely identifying the disk media.

We recommend that you select the Recover disk signature check box due to the following reasons:

 Acronis True Image Home 2012 creates scheduled backups using the signature of the source hard

disk. If you recover the same disk signature, you don't need to re-create or edit the backups created previously.

 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.

Use Acronis Universal Restore - click to use Acronis Universal Restore technology during recovery.

Acronis Universal Restore (provided by separately purchased Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack) will help you create a bootable system clone on different hardware (for more information see Acronis Universal Restore (p. 97)).

Choose this option when recovering your system disk to a computer with a processor, motherboard or mass storage device that is different from the one in place when the system was originally backed up.

4.3 Recovering partitions protected with Acronis Nonstop Backup

You can recover partitions protected by Acronis Nonstop Backup as follows. Let's first recover a data partition in Windows.

1. Start Acronis True Image Home 2012.

2. Click Explore and recover in the Nonstop Backup box on the Backup and recovery tab.

3. Select the backup version you want to recover on the time line at the Disks and partitions tab.

4. Select the partition to recover and click Recover.

5. The further operations are similar to those performed when recovering data partitions or disks

from a "classic" image backup. For further information see Recovering partitions and disks (p.

79).

Depending on the circumstances, recovery of the system partition may be performed both in Windows and after booting from your rescue media (e.g. when Windows does not start). Recovery in Windows is similar to recovery of a data partition. However, you will need to reboot. Usually, it is safer to recover the system partition using the rescue media.

When using the rescue media, the recovery procedure is very similar to the procedure used for recovering the system partition from a "classic" disk or partition backup. The only difference is the Recovery point step that allows you to select the point in time from which you can recover the system partition. Recovery points correspond to backup versions shown on the time line of Backup explorer.

4.4 How to recover more than one partition at once

Here we describe recovery of two partitions. If an image of a hard disk has more than two partitions, the procedure is similar.

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. Click the down arrow to the right of the field and select the destination hard disk. The partition

to be recovered is then placed on the selected hard disk. It occupies all the available disk space. To reduce the partition size so as to leave enough disk space for the remaining partition, click the

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. When you finish the settings, click OK to confirm them and return to the main Disk Recovery window.

6. Select the next partition's check box.

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.

If the image contains more than two partitions, leave enough unallocated space for other partitions to be recovered and repeat steps 5-7 until you make the settings for all partitions.

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).

If you have not already done so, assign unique names (labels) to the partitions of your computer's disks. This will allow for identification of the partitions by their names and not by the disk letters. Disk letters may differ when booting from the rescue media. The names will help you find the drive containing your backups, as well as the target (new) drive.

Information on partition sizes, drive capacities, their manufacturers, and model numbers can also help to correctly identify the drives.

It is highly recommended to install the new hard drive to the same position in the computer and to use the same cable and connector that was used for the original drive. This is not always possible, e.g. the old drive may be an IDE and the new drive may be a SATA. In any case, install the new drive to where it will be used.

4.5.1 Recovering a disk with a hidden partition

A hidden partition may be created by the PC manufacturer for diagnostics or system recovery. Users of Windows 7 usually have the hidden System Reserved partition. Recovering a backup of a system disk with a hidden partition requires that you to take into account some additional factors. First of all, it is necessary for the new drive to keep the physical order of the partitions that existed on the old drive. In addition, you should place the hidden partition in the same location - usually at the start or the end of the disk space. To minimize the risk of possible problems, it is better to recover the

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. Boot from the rescue media and select Acronis True Image Home.

3. Select Recovery → Disk and Partition Recovery in the main menu. Choose the image backup of

your system disk that you want to use for recovery.

Before continuing with the recovery, you need to know the sizes and physical order of all existing partitions. To see this information, click Details on the wizard's toolbar. Acronis True Image Home 2012 displays information about the backup. This includes a graphical view of all partitions the disk contains and their physical order on the disk.

4. Select Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step.

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 ...". Note that these steps start with partitions which do not have an assigned disk letter (as usually is the case with hidden partitions). The partitions then take an ascending order of partition disk letters. This order cannot be changed. The order may differ from the physical order of the partitions on the hard disk.

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. You should remember that the System Reserved partition must be primary and marked as active.

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. Or you can enter corresponding values into the appropriate fields (Partition size, Free space before, Free space after). Click Accept when the partition has the required size and location and then click Next.

Specify the settings for the second partition which in this case is your system partition. Click New location, and then select unallocated space on the destination disk that will receive the partition.

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.

In the case being described (recovery of the System Reserved partition) steps 10-12 are optional. You need to perform them when recovering a hidden partition created by the PC manufacturer.

10. When the operation finishes, proceed to MBR recovery. You need to recover the MBR because

the PC manufacturer could change the generic Windows MBR or a sector on track 0 to provide access to the hidden partition.

11. Select the same backup again. Right-click and select Recover in the shortcut menu. Choose

Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step and then select the MBR and Track 0 box.

12. At the next step, select the destination disk as the target for MBR recovery, click Next and then

Proceed. After MBR recovery is complete, exit the standalone version of Acronis True Image

Home 2012.

Windows should not "see" both the new and old drive during the first boot after recovery because this could result in problems booting Windows. If you upgrade the old drive to a larger capacity new one, disconnect the old drive before the first boot.

Switch off the computer, if you need to disconnect the old drive. Otherwise, just reboot the computer after removing the rescue media.

Boot the computer to Windows. It may report that new hardware (hard drive) is found and Windows needs to reboot. After making sure that the system operates normally, restore the original boot order.

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. For more information on

selection in the Backup Explorer see Files and folders tab (p. 28). Click Recover to start recovery. This will open the File Recovery window.

2. Select a destination on your computer to where you want to recover selected files/folders. You

can recover data to its original location or choose a new one, if necessary. To choose a new location, click the Browse... button.

3. When you choose a new location, the selected items will be recovered by default without

recovering the original, absolute path. You may also wish to recover the items with their entire folder hierarchy. In this case select the Recover absolute path check box.

4. When needed, set the options for the recovery process (recovery process priority, file-level

security settings, etc.). To set the options, click the File recovery options link. The options you set here will be applied only to the current recovery operation.

5. To start the recovery process, click the Recover now button.

6. The recovery progress will be shown in a special window. You can stop the recovery by clicking

Cancel. Please keep in mind that the aborted recovery may still cause changes in the destination folder.

How to recover mail, application settings, and system state

This refers to recovering data from your E-mail backups. Application settings and system state can be recovered only from old backups created by an earlier Acronis True Image Home version, for instance, Acronis True Image Home 2010.

Let's see how you can recover data from e-mail, application settings, and system state backups.

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. The recovery progress will be shown in a special window. You can stop the recovery by clicking

Cancel. Please keep in mind that the aborted recovery may still cause changes in the original location.

4.7 Recovering file versions

If you need to recover a specific version of a file, select the file in the Backup Explorer. When you select the file, the View versions link appears below the file size information. Clicking the link opens the View Versions window with a list of all versions of the file in the backup.

Until you select a file version, the Open and Recover... buttons remain disabled. Selecting a file version enables the buttons:

Select the required version by its backup time and click the Recover... button. This will open the File Recovery window. Select the destination and recover the file version to the folder of your choice. For more information see Recovering data from file-level backups.

You can also recover the version by dragging it into a selected folder 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.

4.8 Recovering to different hardware

Using Acronis Universal Restore (provided by separately purchased Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack) will help you create a bootable system clone on different hardware. For more information see Acronis Universal Restore (p. 97). Choose this option when recovering your system disk to a computer with a dissimilar processor, different motherboard or a different mass storage device than in the system you originally backed up. This may be useful, for example, after replacing a failed motherboard or when deciding to migrate the system from a desktop to a laptop. You can use Acronis Universal Restore for recovering your system disk both from tib and vhd files.

Acronis Universal Restore is unavailable when recovering the system partition from an Acronis Nonstop Backup.

Before proceeding with recovery, make sure you have drivers for the hard disk drive controller or chipset drivers for the new motherboard. These drivers are critical for booting the operating system. You can download the drivers for your motherboard on the Vendor's web-site. Please note that if you downloaded the drivers in *.exe, *.cab, *.zip format, you should extract them first. The driver files should have *.inf, *.sys or *.oem extensions.

4.8.1 Recovering your system with the help of Acronis Universal

Restore

1. Select on the Backup and recovery tab a backup containing your system partition.

2. Click the Recover button on the backup's box if the backup consists of a single version. When

there are several backup versions, click Explore and recover. Select the backup version you want to recover on the Disks and partitions tab, and then click Recover.

3. When the Disk Recovery window opens, select the system partition's check box and choose the

recovery destination.

4. Select the Use Universal Restore check box. Then click Settings to open the Drivers manager

window.

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. 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, click Add

custom driver locations.... Then, browse to the driver or drivers location. After you finish

specifying the drivers locations, click OK.

Acronis Universal Restore does not support search for drivers on FTP servers.

In most cases, Acronis Universal Restore will use three sources for drivers:

- the removable media;

- the drivers storage location or locations specified at this step; and

- the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image being recovered).

The program will find the most suitable of all available drivers and install them into the recovered system.

6. To start recovery, click the Recover now button.

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.

Acronis Universal Restore patches the registry and installs the new drivers after the system is recovered. Therefore, make sure that the driver location will still be available. For example, do not specify the search path for the drivers on the same disk to which you are recovering the backup. We recommend that you place the drivers on a separate USB hard disk, USB flash stick or on a network share.

After successfully recovering the system partition boot to the recovered Windows.

During the first booting, Windows will display numerous "Found new hardware" pop-up messages and will then ask you to reboot the computer.

If you use Acronis Universal Restore for recovering a backup of multiboot configuration with two or more editions of Windows, the most critical drivers will be replaced for all Windows installations.

4.8.2 Recovering your system with the help of Acronis Universal

Restore under rescue media

In most cases it is preferable to use your bootable rescue media for system recovery. The rescue media must include Acronis Universal Restore add-on. Therefore, you need to re-create the rescue media after installing the Acronis True Image Home 2012 Plus Pack.

1. Make your rescue media the first boot device in BIOS. See Arranging boot order in BIOS (p. 100).

2. Boot from the rescue media and select Acronis True Image Home.

3. Click the My Disks link below Recover on the Welcome screen to start the Recovery Wizard.

Then, choose the backup of the system disk for recovery. Because drive letters in the standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012 may differ from the way Windows identifies drives, you may need to specify the path to the backup file. In such a case click Browse and select the disk and folder that stores the backup.

4. Choose Recover whole disks and partitions and select the Use Acronis Universal Restore check

box.

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). Specify the path to the driver or drivers after clicking Add Search Path.

When both boxes are selected at this step, Acronis Universal Restore will use three sources for drivers:

- the removable media;

- the drivers storage folder or folders specified at this step; and

- the Windows default driver storage folders (in the image being recovered).

The program will find the most suitable of all available drivers and install them into the recovered system.

6. Select the system disk at the What to recover step. Then, specify the destination of the disk

being recovered (new system disk). At this point the program checks whether the destination disk is free. If not, you will be prompted by the Confirmation window stating that the destination disk contains partitions, perhaps with useful data. To confirm deletion of the partitions, click OK.

7. Carefully read the summary of operations at the Finish step and then click Proceed.

If the capacities of the source (backed up) disk and the destination disk are different, the new disk space will be proportionally distributed between the recovered partitions.

After successfully recovering the system partition, exit Acronis True Image Home 2012. Enter the BIOS, make the system hard disk the first boot device, and boot to the recovered Windows.

4.9 Acronis Universal Restore

4.9.1 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.

A system disk image can be restored easily on the hardware where it was created or to identical hardware. However, if you change the motherboard or use another processor version, a likely possibility in case of hardware failure, the recovered system could fail to boot.

Trying to move the system to a new more powerful computer will usually produce the same result. This is because the new hardware is incompatible with critical drivers included in the image.

Microsoft System Preparation Tool (Sysprep) will not resolve this problem. Sysprep allows you to replace only Plug-and-Play device drivers (sound cards, network adapters, video cards etc.).

However, System Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers must be identical on both the source and the target computers (see Microsoft Knowledge Base, articles 302577 and 216915).

Acronis Universal Restore technology provides an efficient solution for hardware-independent system restoration by replacing the crucial Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) and mass storage device drivers.

Acronis Universal Restore is applicable for:

1. Instant recovery of a failed system on different hardware

2. Hardware-independent cloning of operating systems

4.9.1.1 Limitations in using Acronis Universal Restore

1. The system recovered by Acronis Universal Restore might not start, if the partition structure in the

image or the target disk partitioning does not coincide with that of the source disk. The loader restored from the image will point to the wrong partition and the system will not boot or will malfunction.

This may occur if you:

 back up only selected partitions but not the entire source disk  restore only selected partitions and not the entire source disk. In some cases, especially if your

system resides on a partition other than the original one, this can confuse the loader and prevent the restored system from rebooting.

To avoid this problem, we recommend that you back up and recover the entire system disk.

2. The Acronis Universal Restore option does not work if a computer is booted with Acronis Startup

Recovery Manager (using F11) or the backup image is located in Acronis Secure Zone. This is because Acronis Startup Recovery Manager and Acronis Secure Zone are primarily meant for data recovery on the same computer.

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. In addition, Acronis Universal Restore can search drivers on removable media.

The Windows default driver storage folder is determined in the registry value "DevicePath", which can be found in the registry key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\DevicePath. This storage folder is usually WINDOWS/inf.

2. Installing drivers for Plug-and-Play devices Acronis Universal Restore relies on the built-in Plug-

and-Play discovery and configuration process to handle hardware differences in devices that are not critical for the system start. This includes video, audio and USB. Windows takes control over this process during the logon phase. If some of the new hardware is not detected, you will have a chance to install the drivers for it later manually.

4.10 How to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager

The Acronis Startup Recovery Manager enables you to start Acronis True Image Home 2012 on a local computer without loading the operating system.

If Windows won’t load, this feature allows you to use Acronis True Image Home 2012 by itself to recover damaged partitions.

To be able to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager at boot time:

 Click the Tools and utilities tab and then select Acronis Startup Recovery Manager  Click the Activate button

Attention

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 have to reactivate them after activating the Startup Recovery Manager. For Linux loaders (e.g. LiLo and

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.

Disk letters in standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012 might sometimes differ from the way Windows identifies drives. For example, the D: disk identified in the standalone Acronis True Image Home 2012 might correspond to the E: disk in Windows. The disk labels and information on partition sizes, file systems, drive capacities, their manufacturers, and model numbers can help in correctly identifying the disks and partitions.

You won't be able to use the previously activated Acronis Startup Recovery Manager if the Try&Decide is turned on. Rebooting the computer in the Try mode will allow you to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager again.

4.11 About recovery of dynamic/GPT disks and volumes

1) Acronis True Image Home 2012 supports recovery of dynamic volumes to the following locations

on the local hard drives:

 To the original location (to the same dynamic volume).  To another dynamic disk or volume.  To unallocated space of the dynamic group.  To a basic disk.

If a dynamic volume is recovered to an unallocated space of the dynamic group, the recovered volume type will be the same as it was in the backup.

Manual resizing of dynamic volumes during recovery to dynamic disks is not supported. If you need to resize a dynamic volume during recovery, it should be recovered to a basic disk.

When performing a so called "bare-metal recovery" of dynamic volume(s) to a new unformatted disk, the recovered volumes become basic. If you want the recovered volumes to remain dynamic, the target disk(s) should be prepared as dynamic (partitioned and formatted). This can be done using third-party tools, for example, Windows Disk Management snap-in.

2) The target disk's partition style after recovery:

 If a GPT disk image is recovered over an MBR disk; the target disk remains an MBR disk.  If an MBR disk image is recovered over a GPT disk; the target disk becomes an MBR disk.

3) The target volume type does not change when recovering over an existing volume. Examples:

 When recovering a dynamic volume over a basic volume the target volume remains basic.  When recovering a dynamic striped volume over a dynamic spanned volume the target volume

remains spanned.

4) Recovering a basic volume or disk to the dynamic group:

 When recovering a basic volume to an unallocated space of the dynamic group, the recovered

volume becomes dynamic.

 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.

If you try to recover data from a password-protected backup, mount it or append an incremental backup to such a backup, the program will ask for the password in a special window, allowing access only to authorized users. In this case, you must specify the correct password for the selected backup file. Only then will you be able to proceed with the selected operation.

4.13 Arranging boot order in BIOS

BIOS has a built-in setup utility for initial computer configuration. To enter it, you have to press a certain key combination (Del, F1, Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Esc, or some other, depending on your BIOS) during the POST (power-on self test) sequence that starts immediately after you turn your computer on. Usually the message with the required key combination is displayed during the startup test. Pressing this combination takes you to the menu of the setup utility that is included in your BIOS.

The menu can differ in appearance, sets of items and their names, depending on the BIOS manufacturer. The most widely known BIOS makers for PC motherboards are Award/Phoenix and AMI. Moreover, while items in the standard setup menu are mostly the same for various BIOSes, items of the extended (or advanced) setup heavily depend on the computer and BIOS version.

Among other things, the BIOS menu allows you to adjust the boot order.

Computer BIOS allows booting operating systems not only from hard disks, but also from CD-ROMs, DVD-ROMs, and other devices. Changing the boot order may be required, for example, to make your rescue media (CD, DVD or USB stick) device the first booting device.

If there are several hard disks installed in your computer labeled as C:, D:, E:, and F:, you can change the boot order so that an operating system is booted from, for example, disk E:. In this case, you have to set the boot order to look like E:, CD-ROM:, A:, C:, D:.

This does not mean that booting is done from the first device in this list; it only means that the first attempt to boot an operating system will be from this device. There may be no operating system on disk E:, or it may be inactive. In this case, BIOS queries the next device in the list.

The BIOS numbers disks according to the order in which they are connected to IDE controllers (primary master, primary slave, secondary master, secondary slave); next go the SCSI hard disks.

This order is broken if you change the boot order in BIOS setup. If, for example, you specify that booting has to be done from hard disk E:, numbering starts with the hard disk that would be the third in usual circumstances (it is usually the secondary master for IDE hard drives).

Some motherboards have a so called boot menu opened by pressing a certain key or key combination, for instance, F12. The boot menu allows selecting the boot device from a list of bootable devices without changing the BIOS setup.

Acronis True Image Home - 2012 User's Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

1 Getting started

1.1 Introduction

1.1.1 What is Acronis T r ue Image Home 2012?

1.1.2 What is Acronis T r ue Image Home 2012 Plus Pack?

1.1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 basic concepts

1.1.4 New in Acronis True Image Home 2012

1.1.5 System requirements and supported media

1.1.5.1 Minimum system requirements

1.1.5.2 Supported operating systems

1.1.5.3 Supported file systems

1.1.5.4 Supported storage media

1.1.6 Technical Support

1.1.7 Trial version information

1.2 Acronis True Image Home 2012 installation

1.3 Acronis True Image Home 2012 activation

1.4 Program workspace

1.4.1 Get started tab

1.4.2 Backup and recovery t ab

1.4.2.1 Backup and rec overy t oolba r

1.4.3 Synchronization tab

1.4.4 Tools and utilities tab

1.4.5 Wizards and notification area icons

1.4.6 Acronis Backup Explorer

1.4.6.1 Disks and partitions tab

1.4.6.2 Files and folders tab

1.4.6.3 Time line

1.4.7 Integration with Windows

1.4.7.1 Integration settings

1.4.8 Settings menu

1.4.9 Help menu

1.4.10 Installing Acronis Hotfixes

2 How to

3 Backing up data

3.1 The difference between file backups and disk/partition image s

3.2 Full, incremental and differential backups

3.3 Backing up partitions and disks

3.4 Backing up files and folders

3.4.1 Data categories

3.4.2 Support for Zip format

3.5 Backing up e-mail

3.6 Using Acronis Nonstop Backup

3.6.1 Protecting your data continuously

3.6.2 Protecting your system continuously

3.6.3 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage

3.6.4 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions

3.7 Making reserve copies of your backups

3.8 Backup to various places

3.9 Adding an existing backup to the list

3.10 Deleting backups and backup versions

3.11 Backup options

3.11.1 Backup schemes

3.11.2 Single version scheme

3.11.3 Version chain scheme

3.11.4 Custom schemes

3.11.4.1 Managing custom backup schemes

3.11.4.2 Automatic version consolidation

3.11.4.3 Examples of custom schemes

3.11.5 Image creation mode

3.11.6 Backup protection

3.11.7 Pre/Post commands for backup

3.11.7.1 Edit user command for backup

3.11.8 Backup splitting

3.11.9 Backup validation option

3.11.10 Backup reserve copy

3.11.11 Removable media set tings

3.11.12 Backup comment

3.11.13 Screenshot settings

3.11.14 Error handling

3.11.15 Computer shutdown

3.11.16 File-level security settings for backup

3.11.17 Windows account

3.11.18 Performance of backup operation

3.11.19 Notifications for backup operation

3.11.20 Excluding items from backup

3.12 Validating backups

3.13 Consolidating backup versions