Acronis True Image Lite User Guide

RTM

User's Guide

Table of contents

1 Getting started ......................................................................................................................4

1.1 What is True Image™ Lite 2013 by Acronis®? ............................................................................ 4

1.2 True Image Lite 2013 basic concepts ......................................................................................... 4

1.3 System requirements and supported media ............................................................................. 5

1.4 Technical Support ...................................................................................................................... 6

1.5 True Image Lite 2013 installation .............................................................................................. 6

1.5.1 True Image Lite 2013 activation ..................................................................................................................... 8

1.6 How to get started ..................................................................................................................... 9

1.7 Trial version information .........................................................................................................10

1.8 How to get a full version ..........................................................................................................10

1.9 What to do if you bought a box version ..................................................................................11

2 Program workspace ............................................................................................................. 12

2.1 Main window ...........................................................................................................................12

2.2 Notification area icons .............................................................................................................14

2.3 Settings menu ..........................................................................................................................14

2.3.1 Integration settings ....................................................................................................................................... 14

2.4 Help menu ...............................................................................................................................15

3 Acronis Nonstop Backup ...................................................................................................... 16

3.1 What is Acronis Nonstop Backup? ...........................................................................................16

3.2 How to create nonstop backup ...............................................................................................17

3.2.1 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage ........................................................................................................ 18

3.3 Recovering data .......................................................................................................................20

3.3.1 Acronis Backup Explorer ............................................................................................................................... 21

3.3.2 Recovering files and folders ......................................................................................................................... 26

3.3.3 Recovering file versions ................................................................................................................................ 27

3.4 Deleting backups and backup versions ....................................................................................27

3.5 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions .......................................................................28

4 Acronis Online Backup ......................................................................................................... 30

4.1 What is Acronis Cloud? ............................................................................................................30

4.2 What is True Image for mobile devices? .................................................................................30

4.3 How to get a subscription ........................................................................................................31

4.4 Sign-in menu ............................................................................................................................31

4.5 Backing up to Acronis Cloud ....................................................................................................32

4.5.1 Online backup options .................................................................................................................................. 33

4.6 Recovery from Acronis Cloud ..................................................................................................39

4.6.1 Recovering data from online backups ......................................................................................................... 39

4.6.2 Selecting a version to recover ...................................................................................................................... 40

4.7 Managing online backups ........................................................................................................40

4.8 Removing data from Acronis Cloud .........................................................................................41

5 Troubleshooting .................................................................................................................. 42

5.1 Acronis System Report .............................................................................................................42

5.2 Acronis Smart Error Reporting .................................................................................................42

5.3 How to collect crash dumps ....................................................................................................44

5.4 General recommendations ......................................................................................................44

5.5 Viewing log...............................................................................................................................45

5.6 Acronis Customer Experience Program ...................................................................................47

6 Glossary of Terms ................................................................................................................ 49

1 Getting started

1.1 What is True Image™ Lite 2013 by Acronis

True Image Lite 2013 by Acronis is a software product that ensures the security of data on your PC. With this software, you can continuously back up selected files and folders by using two main utilities:

 Acronis Nonstop Backup

This utility continuously saves changes in your files, as often as every five minutes. If needed, you can rollback easily to any point in time.

 Acronis Online Backup

This utility allows you to store your most important files on Acronis Cloud, a special secure remote storage. Your data will be protected even if your computer is lost, stolen or destroyed.

True Image Lite 2013 allows you to recover your photos, videos, documents and other personal data should a disaster occur, such as losing data, accidentally deleting critical files or folders, or suffering a complete hard disk crash.

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 True Image Lite 2013 take care of everything else! When a system problem occurs, the software will get you up and running in no time.

1.2 True Image Lite 2013 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 making copies of data so that these additional copies can 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.

Since True Image Lite 2013 protects only your files and folders, and not your disks and partitions, it serves only the second purpose. The full version of True Image 2013 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 number of versions created is always equal to the number 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 data can be restored.

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 found files.

Backup boxes

All your backups are represented as rectangles on the main window. These rectangles are called backup boxes. A backup box contains all the main information about the corresponding backup and provides you full control over this backup. Every time you want to create a new backup version, recover your data or change backup settings, just find the required backup box and click the appropriate button or link.

Nonstop backup file format

Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a special storage for data and metadata. This storage is a hidden folder named Time Explorer Storage. This folder contains auxiliary files (for example, config.xml, cdp.metadata) and your backed up data. The data is compressed and split into files of about 1 GB (for example, cdp.data, cdp2.data, cdp3.data, and so on). These files also have a proprietary format and the data they contain can be recovered only with the help of True Image Lite 2013.

Nonstop backup consolidation

Consolidation allows you to delete unneeded backup versions, without risking backup chain corruption.

Acronis Nonstop Backup performs consolidation automatically. 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.

Online backup schedule

For your backups to be really helpful, they must be as "up-to-date" as possible. True Image Lite 2013 automatically creates backup versions every hour. If you want to back up your data more often, you can always run the backup manually. 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.

1.3 System requirements and supported media

True Image Lite 2013 has minimum hardware requirements corresponding to that of the operating system installed on the computer to be used for running True Image Lite 2013. In addition, True Image Lite 2013 requires the following hardware:

 Mouse or other pointing device.  Using Acronis Nonstop Backup requires at least 1 GB RAM.  The minimum screen resolution is 1024 x 768.

Operating system

True Image Lite 2013 has been tested on the following operating systems:

 Windows XP SP3  Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2  Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)  Windows 8 (all editions)

Correct work on other Windows operating systems is possible, but not guaranteed.

File system

Supported file systems:

 FAT16/32  NTFS

Storage media

Supported storage media:

 Internal hard disk drives*  External hard disk drives with any of the following interfaces: USB (including USB 3.0), eSATA,

FireWire (IEEE-1394), and SCSI

 Solid State Drives (SSD)  Networked storage devices

* True Image Lite 2013 does not support the following dynamic volume types: Mirrored and RAID-5.

1.4 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).

1.5 True Image Lite 2013 installation

Installing True Image Lite 2013

To install True Image Lite 2013:

1. Run the setup file. Before starting the setup process, True Image Lite 2013 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 Setup options window, change the installation folder, if necessary.

6. Click Proceed to begin installation.

Updating True Image Lite 2013

You can update your current version of the product in the following ways:

 Updating before the installation start.

True Image Lite 2013 checks for a new version automatically in the installation window. If a new version is available at the Acronis website, True Image Lite 2013 will suggest you to download and install the new version.

 Updating the installed program in the Acronis Update window.

If the Automatically check for updates at startup check box is selected, this window will notify you about a new version of the product. To check for updates manually, click the Help menu and then click Check for updates.

 Purchasing a serial number directly from the program interface.

If your use a trial version of the product and you want to update it to the full version, you can purchase a serial number directly from the program interface, without the need to go to the Acronis website. To do this, on the toolbar, click Acronis Store, and follow the on-screen instructions.

Recovering from an True Image Lite 2013 error

If True Image Lite 2013 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 True Image Lite 2013 installer again. It will detect True Image Lite 2013 on your computer and will ask you if you want to repair or remove it.

Removing True Image Lite 2013

Select Start -> Settings -> Control panel -> Add or remove programs -> True Image Lite 2013 -> Remove. Then follow the instructions on the screen.

If you use Windows Vista, select Start -> Control panel -> Programs and Features -> True Image Lite 2013 -> 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 -> True Image Lite 2013 -> Uninstall. Then follow the instructions on the screen. You may have to reboot your computer afterwards to complete the task.

If you use Windows 8, click the Settings icon, then select Control Panel -> Uninstall a program -> True Image Lite 2013 -> Uninstall.

If you used Acronis Nonstop Backup, select in the window that appears what to do with the Nonstop Backup storages. Then, click Next to proceed with the uninstallation procedure.

1.5.1 True Image Lite 2013 activation

True Image Lite 2013 activation is a fully automatic process. You do not need to activate the product manually.

The product requires activation via the Internet. Without activation, the fully functional product works for 30 days. After that, all the program functions become unavailable except recovery.

Note that only True Image Lite 2013 with a full subscription must be activated. The product with a trial subscription does not require activation.

Activation will be performed automatically if the following conditions are met:

 Your computer has an Internet connection.  You have an Acronis account.  You purchased a full product license or entered a serial number.  You installed the product only on 1 computer.

True Image Lite 2013 is activated when you sign in for the first time after purchasing the full subscription.

Moving license between computers

If you have one Acronis account, you can activate True Image Lite 2013 on 1 computer only. If you install the product on a second computer, you will see a corresponding error message at the bottom of the console window. In such an event, you can move the license to your new computer from the one where the product is already activated. If you want to move the license, perform the following steps.

To move the license from a computer that has an installed activated product:

1. Install True Image Lite 2013 on another computer.

2. Sign in using the same Acronis account.

3. Find the error message at the bottom of the window and click Resolve problem.

4. In the opened window, click Deactivate one of the previous installations.

5. On the opened webpage, follow the on-screen instructions. From the list, choose a computer you

want to move the license from. Note that the product will be deactivated on the chosen computer.

1.6 How to get started

After the product installation, you need to sign in using your Acronis account.

If you do not have an Acronis account yet, then perform the following steps:

1. In the registration form, provide your email address.

2. Provide a password for your new account and confirm the password by retyping it once more in

the appropriate field.

To keep your personal data secure, choose a strong password for your Acronis account, guard it from getting into the wrong hands, and change it from time to time.

3. Click Create account.

4. True Image Lite 2013 will send a message to the email address you specified. Open the message

and confirm that you want to create an Acronis account. To do this, click the corresponding link in the message.

Attention! If you do not confirm your account within 5 days, the account will be deleted.

If you already have an Acronis account, then perform the following steps:

1. In the registration form, click I already have an account.

2. Enter the email address and password of your Acronis account, and then click Sign in.

When you sign in, True Image Lite 2013 automatically provides you access to the trial version of the product. See details in Trial version information (p. 10).

1.7 Trial version information

After you install True Image Lite 2013 and sign in to your Acronis account, you can start using a trial version of the product. It is fully functional, but works only during the 30-day trial period. After the trial period expires you will only be able to recover data from Acronis Cloud.

Note that after the trial period you will not be able to back up your data to Acronis Cloud, even if you have a full subscription to the Acronis Cloud service.

For details about purchasing a full version, see How to get a full version (p. 10).

Acronis Cloud trial subscription

When you activate your trial subscription, you get fully functional Online Backup and 250 GB of storage space on Acronis Cloud for 30 days. After that, Online Backup will work for 30 days in recovery-only mode.

After the period of 60 days, all the versions of backed up files will be permanently deleted from Acronis Cloud.

1.8 How to get a full version

When you install True Image Lite 2013 and sign in to your Acronis account, you automatically get access to a 30-day free trial version of the product (see details in Trial version information (p. 10)). After that, you will be able to buy a full version.

To get a full version:

1. Start True Image Lite 2013.

2. On the toolbar, click Acronis Store.

3. In the opened window, choose a license you want to buy, click Proceed and provide your

payment information.

If you have a serial number, choose the corresponding option, click Proceed, enter the serial number in the box and click Submit.

1.9 What to do if you bought a box version

If you bought a box version of True Image Lite 2013, you will find a serial number inside the box. Serial number is a unique code that you need to activate your version of the product. Therefore, please keep it in a safe place.

To get a full version of True Image Lite 2013 using a serial number:

1. Install True Image Lite 2013 on your computer. See details in True Image Lite 2013 installation (p.

6).

2. When the installation completes, start True Image Lite 2013 and sign in to your Acronis account.

See details in How to get started (p. 9). After that, you automatically get access to a 30-day free trial version of the product (see details in Trial version information (p. 10)).

3. On the toolbar, click Acronis Store.

4. In the opened window, choose I already have my serial number and click Proceed.

5. In the opened window, enter your serial number in the box and click Submit.

2 Program workspace

In this section

Main window ........................................................................................... 12

Notification area icons ............................................................................. 14

Settings menu .......................................................................................... 14

Help menu ................................................................................................ 15

2.1 Main window

The main window provides quick access to all of the program functionality.

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

The toolbar contains the following commands:

 Local Nonstop Backup

This feature allows nonstop backup of your files and folders to a local disk. In most cases, True Image Lite 2013 automatically updates your nonstop backup every 5 minutes.

Note that you can run only one nonstop backup.

 Online Nonstop Backup

This feature allows you to store your data in the secure Acronis Cloud which is accessible via the Internet. In most cases True Image Lite 2013 automatically updates your online backup every hour.

Note that you can run only one online backup at a time.

 Acronis Store

When you click this button, True Image Lite 2013 opens a window where you can upgrade a trial version to a full one, purchase an Acronis Cloud subscription, renew this subscription, etc.

The backups area

This 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.

 Start - starts automatic creation of backup versions.  Stop - suspends automatic creation of backup versions.  Recover - click to recover data.

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.  Edit settings - allows editing of the current backup settings.  Recover (available for Online Backup only) - opens the Acronis Cloud application.  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.

 Delete - deletes all backup versions of the current backup at their location. Be careful, deletion

cannot be undone.

2.2 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.

2.3 Settings menu

With the Settings menu you can make or change some settings of True Image Lite 2013. 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 True Image Lite 2013 operations.  Integrate True Image Lite 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.

 Add existing nonstop backup - allows you to browse for nonstop backups on your computer and

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

2.3.1 Integration settings

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

 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, 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.

2.4 Help menu

The Help menu allows you to open the program's Help, perform certain operations, view the 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 True Image Lite 2013 updates (you can also disable or

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

 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 True Image Lite - shows information about True Image Lite 2013 including the product's

serial number and build number.

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