Backup to an external drive and restore data from an external drive. Disk Copy: A program to create a backup copy of your hard drive
Greetings to all blog readers! :) In one of the articles where I talked about ways to protect your computer from various threats, I also touched on simple security measures that are recommended for every PC user to follow in order to always have a stable working system and not lose important data. Data safety and ability to quickly recover Windows performance(or whatever system you are working on) - this is very important for each of us.
For example, you make money on axle boxes, you already have necessary programs, everything is configured for your convenience and suddenly your system crashes and refuses to boot no matter how hard you try. Those. simple ways to bring the system back to life do not work. The system could “die” for a number of reasons: infection with viruses, installation of “crooked” drivers and programs, failure of some computer component, and much more.
In this case, the solution for most is to reinstall operating system, then installing all new programs again, setting everything up for the convenience of your work and a number of other actions to make everything as convenient for you before. And all this can take up, if not the whole day, then definitely half a day :) And it’s good if you have some experience and can copy important data to return it later. But imagine if you can’t do this or they are damaged and part of them is deleted, for example, if the hard drive is damaged? This can become a very big problem.
Knowing all of the above and what I had to deal with many times, I decided to write a couple or more articles about how you can conveniently make a copy of all the files you need from your computer, as well as create an entire copy of your system with all the programs already installed and the necessary settings .
For this purpose it is possible to use both built-in using Windows, and third-party. Funds for backup data in Windows itself is extremely inconvenient, slow and has no large quantity comfortable, useful functions. Therefore, I recommend using by third party means, for example, the program – Acronis True Image. The program is paid and the cost of a simple home version for one computer on at the moment– 1700 rubles.
But, as is the case with antiviruses (for example, Kaspersky) and others paid programs As a rule, it is always possible to download an already activated full copy from the Internet and use it for free :) The program is very, very useful and sometimes simply necessary.
Now I will tell you how to create a full system backup, going through each step of the settings and explaining each function.
Let's start by installing the program.
Installing a data backup / recovery program - Acronis True Image
The installation process, as well as the interface of the program itself, of course, may differ with the release of new versions, but the essence of the program and its functions remain unchanged. Therefore, having learned how to backup and restore using this guide, you will be able to do this in any new version of Acronis.
You can purchase the program from the official website at the price indicated there, or download the activated full latest version here:
Acronis True Image Home 2014 PREMIUM.zip
ZIP archive
216 MB
Download
The downloaded archive “Acronis True Image Home 2014 PREMIUM.zip” must be unpacked before starting the installation from the file inside. To do this, right-click on the archive and select “Extract all...”:
A window will open in which by clicking the “Browse” button you can select the path to unpack the archive. By default it will be unpacked into the same folder where it is currently located. I recommend checking the box “Show extracted files” and then after unpacking the folder with the unpacked contents will immediately open. To start unpacking, click the “Extract” button:
After unpacking we launch installation file. For this version it has the name: “ATIH.2014.PREMIUM.v17.0.0.5560.exe”:
The first installer window will appear, in which you just need to agree to continue the installation by clicking the “Yes” button:
After unpacking, the first window of the Acronis True Image installer will appear, in which we simply click the “Next” button, since there is nothing you need to do here:
We accept the license agreement in the next window by selecting “I agree to the terms of the agreement” and click the “Next” button:
In the next window we are asked to select the installation type. I recommend always choosing “Custom” when installing any programs in order to remove completely unnecessary components:
A new window will open where we see the components that will be installed. IN in this case nothing extra will be installed, so we leave everything as it is and click “Next”:
In the next window, select “Install for all users” and click “Next”. This parameter I also recommend choosing when installing any software, and in the event that only you or your loved ones work on this computer:
All that remains is to click the “Proceed” button and the process of installing the program on your computer will begin with the parameters we have chosen:
After the installation process is completed, which does not require your intervention (takes about 2-3 minutes), the last window will appear, in which we click the “Close” button:
This completes the Acronis True Image installation process. Now let’s look at how to make a complete backup copy of the system: the operating system and all the programs installed on it, so that if the system “crash”, you can very easily return it to the same state, with the same programs and settings.
Creating a complete copy of the system with all data for further rapid restoration to its original state
First of all, you need to take care of where your backups will be stored, which you will now, I think, regularly create for your own convenience and safety.
If you have 2 separate hard drives on your computer, you can store backups on one of these drives. The main thing is that there is enough space, because a backup copy of the entire system without compression will take up exactly the same volume as the system itself, along with the files, actually occupies in your space. For example, if the volume of everything stored on your computer takes up 200 GB, then a backup copy without compression will take up approximately the same volume. Acronis allows you to compress your backup, which I always use, and with maximum compression, the volume is often reduced by as much as 2 times. Therefore, based on the explanations above, you can already estimate how much space you need to store a full copy of your computer.
I create backups to an external hard drive, which I connect to my laptop via USB. This is very convenient if the space on this hard drive allows. And after the copies are created on my external HDD (hard drive), I sometimes transfer them to cloud services(online storage), for example, on Mail.ru, where 100 GB of free space is given for free.
I have written a number of separate articles about remote storages and I recommend, first of all, that you read the very first one:
It's up to you to decide :) The main thing is not to store backup copies of your data on the same hard drive from which you make these copies. This makes no sense, because if this HDD is damaged, you will lose all the data along with the copy, since they were stored on one disk. I hope everything is clear here :)
So, let's start creating a backup copy of your system, including everything that is in it:
And now let's move on to the last ones important settings, which will be located on several tabs. To do this, click on the “Disk backup options” link, which is located on the left:
A window will open where we go to the very first tab – “Scheme”. On this tab, you configure the backup scheme – i.e. the method in which the current and subsequent backups will be created.
I recommend choosing the "Custom Scheme" scheme and setting everything up manually. In the “Backup method” item, it is best to select “Incremental”. In this case, it will first be created full copy sections you have chosen or the whole hard drives, and subsequent times small copies will be created, storing only changes since the last full copy.
For example, my backup plan is as follows: I make backups daily and once a month I create a full version, and for the next 30 days only changes are saved. Therefore, in my example, I set the value to “after every 30 incremental copies.”
And since with the advent of a large number of copies (especially with regular creation of full copies), all this will take up everything more space on your storage device, then I also include the function automatic cleaning chains of old versions. I also recommend that you use this to save space.
To do this, enable the item “Delete version chains, since the creation of which ... ... has passed” and indicate the number of days.
Since I make backups once a day and a full copy is created after every 30 incremental ones (that is, after every 30 days), I set automatic removal old versions that are older than 30 days. Thus, it turns out that I create another new full copy, and the old chain (from complete to the last incremental one for a given month) is deleted. Due to this, I don’t waste a lot of space on my storage device and there are no 2 or more complete copies stored there, which will take up a lot of space :)
To avoid having to configure these settings again, I recommend checking the “Save as default settings” option.
Go to the “Advanced” tab. On this tab we will go through all the sections and set the necessary settings. In the first section “Image creation mode” we check that the “Archive in sector-by-sector mode” option is disabled. This function will create a copy for us, taking into account all errors on the disk, i.e. will create a complete copy along with the disk structure in addition to the data itself.
In the “Backup protection” section we are asked to protect the created archive with a password and encrypt it. I recommend creating a password primarily to protect the archive from viruses. And secondly, in order to protect the copy from prying eyes, if you think that someone might spy on or destroy your data.
If you are setting a password only for the purpose of protecting against viruses, then I recommend setting a simple one, for example: “123”:
We will not choose an encryption method, since it is advisable to do this when working in an environment that is dangerous in every sense, and at the same time, the time to create a backup copy will increase due to encryption.
Nothing should be included in the Pre/Post Commands section, check:
In the “Backup splitting” section, check that the value is “Automatic”. In this case, Acronis will split the archive itself depending on the selected scheme or even create a copy from one file:
In the “Verification” section, you can enable checking the backup copy for its functionality. Since I constantly create new copies and every month a new full copy, I turn off the check so as not to take up resources again and not be distracted by it. You can enable verification after creation or on a schedule:
In the next section, “Duplicate backups,” you can specify an additional storage location for your backup, and it will be duplicated into this storage. This will give even greater security to your data, since a copy will be stored in as many as two places. But not everyone has the opportunity to allocate additional memory space on some storage medium for this. I don't enable this option and just periodically manually copy backups additionally to other locations:
In the “Setting up removable media” section, I recommend unchecking the only checkbox. This is so that when you schedule an automatic backup, you do not need to manually confirm that removable media(for example, a flash drive) connected to the computer:
Let's move on to the "Comments on the backup copy" section, where you can optionally set any notes regarding the backup copy being created. You can leave the field empty:
The Screenshot Settings section allows the program to take a screenshot when starting a backup. The function is almost never used, so it's easier to leave it disabled:
Let's move on to the "Error Handling" section. Here I recommend unchecking the item: “If there is not enough space in the Security Zone, delete the oldest backup copy”:
I’ll tell you later what “Acronis Secure Zone” is and why it might be needed.
The penultimate section, “Turning off the computer,” sometimes turns out to be useful. Here we can activate the function to shut down the computer after the backup is created. It is good to use this function when the backup is, for example, scheduled for the night or at a time when no one will use the computer, so that the computer then turns off itself and does not remain idle.
The last section “Windows Account” is, in principle, never needed if you work under the user – Administrator. Therefore, we leave the function of starting a backup from another user disabled here:
That's it with the "Advanced" tab :) Let's move on...
Launch Acronis True Image from a shortcut on the desktop or from the Start menu.
After the program starts, go to the “Backup and Restore” tab. To create a backup copy of the entire system along with all programs and settings, click on open tab“Back up disks and partitions” button:
A new window will open for you to set backup options. Starting from this, all subsequent steps are very important. First of all, on the left, select the sections for hard drives, a copy of which will be created.
Let's move on to the "Performance" tab, which is also not unimportant. Here I recommend setting the compression level to the maximum. In my experience, the duration of creating a backup copy in this case does not increase significantly, but the created archive is sometimes reduced by almost 2 times.
The priority affects how much computer resources Acronis will consume when creating a backup. The higher the priority, the more of them will be consumed, but the faster the backup will be created. If the computer is very productive, then you can safely set the maximum priority, but I recommend “Normal”:
The last 2 tabs: “Notifications” and “Exceptions”, as a rule, are not needed and I recommend leaving everything there as it is configured by default:
The “Exceptions” tab can be useful if you want to indicate some files and folders that do not need to be backed up and Acronis will skip them.
To save the settings, click the “OK” button at the very bottom of this window:
To start a backup, in the main settings window, click the “Archive” button:
If you click not the “Archive” button itself, but the arrow on the side, a list of options will appear: delay the start of the backup for a period of 1 to 6 hours or until it is started manually at any time.
As a result, the backup process we configured will start. Its duration will depend on the volume that is being archived, on the performance of the computer, the selected priority, the degree of compression of the archive and other parameters:
We just have to wait for the backup to finish.
After the copying is completed, its verification may begin if you specified this during setup. And then go to your media or the place where the copy was made and check that the backup copy is in place :)
This is what the archive created by Acronis True Image looks like:
In my example, the archived space had a volume of about 12 GB, and the archive turned out to be 4.9 GB in size. Those. maximum compression made it possible to reduce the archive by more than half, which is just great!
Now let's look at how to backup individual files and folders, rather than the entire system, for restoration if necessary in case of their loss
Backing up individual files/folders
As I mentioned earlier, in Acronis you can create not only entire backup copies of partitions for further restoration of your computer if necessary, but also individual files/folders. This way, you can save space on the media where you will store backups and back up only those data that are really important and cannot be lost.
For example, those who work in boxes using multi-accounts probably have a large table with logins and passwords for the boxes themselves, wallets, and emails. I know from myself that losing this data is a very sad situation :)
So, let's look at the process of backing up files and folders step by step:
Now all that remains is to configure the additional backup settings that you are already familiar with. Click on the link below “File backup options”:
A settings window with 5 tabs will open. All tabs and settings on them are completely identical to those that we have already made when creating a backup copy of the entire system:
We can only wait until the operation is completed and if the volume the copy being created big, then you can go about your business for now, for example, work :)
After completing the backup process, just in case, go to the media where it was performed and check the presence of your backup copy (file with the “.tib” extension):
Having launched Acronis True Image, go to the “Backup and Restore” tab as before and click the “File Backup” button there, and from the list that appears select “To local storage”:
The File Backup window will open.
This is how you can create complete copies of your system on a regular basis so that if it “crash,” you can then quickly restore it entirely or some individual files/folders. Of course, the instructions turned out to be voluminous and at first glance it all seems complicated :) In fact, the steps are simple, I’m just used to describing each action. But you won’t get confused anywhere and, having done this once, everything will become clear and next time you won’t need any instructions at all.
I will tell you how to restore a system from a backup immediately to a ready working state, as well as restore individual files/folders in the following article:
I won't say goodbye for a long time :) Bye everyone!
26.06.2017
Acronis True Image is a tool for creating backup copies of entire disks and individual files. Thanks to this program, you can install Windows not in 2-3 hours with all programs and drivers, but in 20 minutes, for example. In addition, you can restore absolutely all files that were on the system before removal and reinstallation. Using Acronis True Image after a system crash, you don’t have to worry about the documents you were working on for a long time.
Acronis has free versions of the program for owners Seagate drives and W.D. Application functionality is limited.
Free versions of programs
- Bootable media for Windows 10 PE with programs and Acronis True Image 2017
The cloud is paid in Acronis. A Premium subscription with a 1 TB cloud costs 3,400 rubles per year. Another option is to rent or buy a server or other cheaper cloud storage (only it will not be as convenient as with the Acronis cloud).
Free data protection method
I use a free cloud and copy files there. For greater reliability, I delete the backup copies from the computer, while copying the files to a folder that I disconnect from synchronization. Open your cloud settings and find Selective sync or Set up sync. And disable synchronization of folders where your backup files are stored. Pros - free, cons - you need fast internet and large volume memory in the cloud for copying. For example, if you managed to receive 1 TB as a gift in the Mail Cloud, then use it. No, then register several accounts in Yandex Disk for example.
The best option for the reliability of your data is to copy backups to an external drive that is not connected over the network. This way, viruses and other infections will not get to the backup copy. By the way, this is relevant after an attack by a ransomware virus.
As an option, you can set up a backup to the network.
The advantage of your own server over the cloud is that the access speed over the network is many times higher than the access speed to the cloud (1 GB per second versus 100 MB per second, for example, this is in the best case). The files will be immediately available for recovery at high speed. But in this case, you can spend more than those 3,400 rubles on electricity in a year, so you need to think about whether you will need to save at all. Access speed is of course a plus, electricity costs are a minus. This is if you need to make backups at home for yourself; for companies, energy costs do not play such an important role. If the possibility of fast backup and minimal backup access time is preferable, then naturally your own server or external drive will be the best choice.
Backup encryption
Before you back up your data, you should know about some important features. The first is encryption. Before creating a backup, you can set encryption parameters and set a password for the archive so that no one but you can open the archives. To encrypt your data, click on Encrypt backup. Enter your password in the appropriate field and click Save.
The second method is more detailed; here you can already set the encryption method, and not just a password. Before creating a backup, click on Options and open the Advanced tab, open the line Backup protection. Here we enter the password and select the encryption method. The larger the number after AES, the more difficult it will be to crack the password.
Copy Schedule
Another great option for backing up your data. Decide how often you will do it data backup, determine which data needs to be archived frequently, and which once a month. And create different copies in the program. To configure the schedule, click Options and the Schedule option will open in the first tab. All parameters, except one, I think, do not require attention, everything is clear here, I think. But what is Continuous copy mode? This is a frequent backup mode; a backup of data will be created every five minutes. Therefore, do not use this mode to backup your entire computer, as backups will take up a lot of memory. Enable continuous backup only for very important data.
Spoiler - Using Acronis Nonstop Backup - Acronis Help
Using Acronis Nonstop Backup
Acronis Nonstop Backup makes it easy to protect your disks and files. With its help you can restore disks, files and their versions.
The main purpose of Acronis Nonstop Backup is permanent protection data (files, folders, contacts, etc.), but it can also be used to protect partitions. If you choose to protect an entire partition, you can recover the entire partition by performing an image recovery procedure.
It is not recommended to use this feature as the primary method of protecting your system. To protect your system, use any other schedule. For examples and more information, see Custom Schema Examples.
Limitations of Nonstop Backup
- Only one continuous copy can be created.
- Windows libraries (Documents, Music, etc.) can only be protected using continuous disk-level backup.
- It is not possible to protect data on external hard drives.
- Continuous protection and Try&Decide mode cannot operate simultaneously.
Operating principle
After running Acronis Nonstop Backup, the program will create an initial full backup of the data selected for protection. Acronis Nonstop Backup will then continuously monitor protected files (including open ones). If a change is detected, a backup copy of the modified data is created. The shortest interval between incremental backup operations is five minutes. This allows you to restore the system to any point in time.
Acronis Nonstop Backup checks for file changes on disk, not in memory. If, for example, when working in Word editor save operation is not running for a long time, backup current changes to Word document will not be created.
You'd think that with backup speeds like this, the storage would fill up immediately. There is no need to worry, since Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation only backs up so-called “deltas”. This means that only the differences between the old and new versions are saved in the backup, and not the entire changed files. For example, when using Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, the resulting PST file may be very large. Moreover, it changes with every email message received or sent. Backing up a full PST file after each change can take up too much storage space, so Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation only backs up the changed parts of the file in addition to the original backup file.
Storage rules
Acronis Continuous Protection saves all backups from the last 24 hours. The consolidation of older backups will be done so that Nonstop Backup will keep daily backups for the last 30 days and weekly backups until all the free space in the continuous backup storage is used.
The merge occurs every day between midnight and 1 am. The first merger will be performed after Continuous Protection has been running for at least 24 hours. For example, Non-stop protection was turned on at 10 am on July 12th. In this case, the first merge will occur between midnight and 1 am on July 14th. The program will then merge the data every day at the same time. If the computer was turned off between midnight and 1 a.m., merging will begin when the computer is turned on. If Nonstop Backup has been disabled for some time, merging will begin when it is enabled again.
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Copy method
If you are really concerned about the safety of your data, you need to decide how often you will make backups. If you select Continuous copy mode, you do not need to configure a schedule.
Full copy – a full copy of all selected folders and files is created each time.
Incremental backup - each backup saves only changes that occurred since the previous copy was created. The disadvantage of this method is that to restore files you need to keep all backup copies. If you delete one copy, you cannot restore the files.
Differential Copy – Here, each of the following copies retains the changed data after a full backup is created.
Spoiler - Full, incremental and differential backups - Acronis Help
Full, incremental and differential backups
Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation offers three backup methods.
Full backup
The result of a full backup operation (also called a full backup) contains all the data that existed at the time the backup was created. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and back up that document using the full backup method. Acronis True Image saves the entire document every time you perform a backup.
1.tib, 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are full versions of the backup. 
Additional information
The full version of the backup forms the basis for subsequent incremental and differential backups. and it can also be used to create an offline backup. Creating an offline full backup may be the best solution if you frequently return your system to initial state or don't want to manage different versions backup copies.
Incremental backup
The result of an incremental backup operation (also called an incremental version of a backup) contains only those files that have changed since the LAST BACKUP OPERATION. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and create a backup using the incremental backup method. Acronis True Image saves new page each time you perform a backup. Note: Always created first full version backup.
- 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are incremental backup versions.
Additional information
Incremental backups are most useful if you need to frequently create backup versions and be able to return to a point in time. Typically, incremental backup versions are significantly smaller than full or differential backup versions. On the other hand, incremental backup versions require more work from the program during recovery. In the example above, to restore all work from a 4.tib file, Acronis True Image reads data from all versions of the backup. If an incremental version of a backup is lost or damaged, all subsequent incremental versions of the backup are useless.
Differential Backup
The result of a differential backup operation (also called a differential backup version) contains only those files that have changed since the LAST FULL BACKUP CREATE. Example: Every day you write one page of a document and create a backup using the differential backup method. Acronis True Image saves the entire document except the first page, which is stored in the full backup version. Note. The full version of the backup is always created first.
- 1.tib is the full version of the backup.
- 2.tib, 3.tib, 4.tib are differential versions of the backup.
Additional information
The differential method is intermediate between the two previous ones. This approach requires less time and storage space than a full backup, but more than an incremental backup. To restore data from a differential backup version of Acronis True Image, only the differential version and the latest full version are required. Therefore, restoring from a differential version will be easier and more reliable than from an incremental one. An incremental or differential backup created after disk defragmentation can be significantly larger than a regular one. This is because the defragmentation program changes the location of files on the disk and these changes are reflected in the backup. Therefore, after defragmenting the disk, it is recommended to create a full backup again. To select a backup method, you must set a custom backup scheme.
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How to make a system backup
By default, when you start the wizard, a full backup is configured, so in the first window you only need to select the location to save the backup.
Ideally, it is better to use an external drive for saving, since even if the computer is infected, the data from external drive will not be deleted at all. In this case, recovering from an external drive will not be difficult. When selecting a FOLDER to copy, copy all backup files either to an external drive or to the cloud. Otherwise, if the system disk fails, all files will be lost, including the saved backup.
After entering all the necessary parameters (encryption, maximum file size, compression ratio, enabling image verification, etc.), click on Create a copy.
Depending on the size of the files, the time it takes to create a backup will depend.
How to backup files
Backing up your files is very easy. We do the same as for system backup, only instead of the entire disk we select required folder and files.
Hard drive cloning
To completely copy the disk, in the backup parameters, check the Archive in sector-by-sector mode checkbox. Also, if you need to create a more exact copy of the disk, and not just the files on it, check the Archive unallocated space checkbox.
Next, click on Create a copy. In general, to make a copy of all files and the hard drive in Acronis True Image 2017, no more steps are required. To restore a disk or individual data from a backup, you will have to perform a couple more steps, which, of course, is unlikely to affect the speed of data recovery. Everything will be restored quickly, in any case, you will spend 2-3 times less time than standard installation Windows.
How to restore the system completely
To restore the system, you need to write it to a flash drive or ISO disk True Image bootable media image - download the image from this link - https://yadi.sk/d/UYKGvGZe3JVPKa
Or go to Tools - Create Wizard boot image. Select image parameters and saving method – ISO image or write directly to a flash drive.
To restore from a backup, use the computer from which the backup was made - otherwise the system may not start and there will definitely be problems with the drivers, or use exactly the same computer, with the same processor, maternal memory and a video card.
We insert the media into the computer and boot from it. To do this, when you turn on the computer, open BIOS program or UEFI and configure boot priority. Depending on model motherboard V system unit and laptop model it can be – F1, F2, Del, F10, Esc, etc. Or just press the keys immediately to select the boot source before loading Windows– F9, F11, F12. Depending on the motherboard manufacturer and laptop manufacturer, the hotkeys will differ. When checking all system devices - many different white letters when turning on computers - the keys for opening must be indicated BIOS settings and selecting a download source.
After loading from the media, launch Acronis True Image. From a media with Windows 10 PE, look for Acronis in Start - All Programs - Backup and Restore - Acronis True Image 2017. From booting from Acronis media, simply click on the name Acronis True Image and wait for it to download.
Click on the Recovery - Disks option, since we need to restore the system disk. Accordingly, to restore individual files from the entire backup – Files and folders.
In the next window you need to select the backup file from which all data will be restored. To do this, click on the Browse button and file explorer We are looking for the system backup file. Connect external media if you need to recover from external hard disk for example. Click Next after selecting the backup archive.
Here you need to select the volumes that will be restored. Be sure to check the box in front of the disk where Windows is installed and in front of the boot disk (area) - here it is usually signed Reserved by the system in parentheses. Be sure to uncheck the section where the backup is stored. Click Next.
Select the disk to which the recovery will be performed. Click Next.
After selecting a disk for recovery, all disk partitions that will be recovered will be checked. During setup, you can change their size, letter, and change the partition type. We will not do this, because we want to get exactly the system that we had before the breakdown, before the effects of viruses, for example. It is the parameters of the old system that are now set by default in the backup parameters. We won’t change anything here and in the next windows we simply click Next all the way to the Completion window.
Click Finish and begin system recovery. 
When restoring, do not change any parameters; the system will create a complete copy of the disk automatically. In most settings you only need to click Next.
It took me only 10 minutes to restore the system with all the files, settings and installed programs with drivers in the test bench. How much would I spend installing everything? in a standard way? 2-3 hours, this is a good program for system recovery.
Plus full backup systems do not have to be done in a program installed in Windows, just boot from bootable media and make a backup. The only downside to using bootable media is that you cannot automate this process to copy the necessary files and documents.
Data Recovery
To restore files from a backup, find the backup file made in Acronis True Image and double-click on it. The file will open in Explorer as a folder and you can drag and drop it with your mouse necessary files to your computer. The main thing is that you have Acronis True Image installed on your system, otherwise the backup files will not be opened.
This was one of the file recovery options. Now open Acronis True Image, click on the copy from which you want to restore files, this can be either a complete copy of the system or a copy of individual files and folders. Click on the Recover files button.
In Acronis Explorer, select the necessary files and folders to restore. On the left side of the window we look for the folder that needs to be opened, on the right side we select folders and files to restore. After selecting the data, click Next.
Next, you can manually specify a folder to save the recovered data. By default, the folder is selected as in the created backup. To change the path, click Browse and select the desired folder. Click on Restore.
We wait a while for the files to be copied to the selected folder.
The same can be done using bootable media.
Special project with Acronis
We all sooner or later face the need for backup. And believe me: better early than late. Once upon a time, in 2009, I lost all my data. Back then I made backups on DVD-R/RW, which was not very convenient, so they were rarely made. Some of the data was sent by colleagues (it’s good that they kept it), but a lot of it was lost. It was from that time that I regularly make backups, and today we will talk about finding the ideal product for the family budget.
Where will we store backups?
Before choosing software, we need to decide where we will store the backup. You understand that DVD-R is of little use for backup. Firstly, it is small, secondly, it is slow, and thirdly, it is noisy. And since I switched to laptops a very long time ago and I don’t recognize stationary devices at all (although I have them on the farm), I had to buy several external drives. First 250 GB, then larger.
I did not consider the cloud for one simple reason - there is not enough space:
You understand that even 15 GB is not enough, especially if the minimum size of the external screw available on the farm is 250 GB. Extra space? You could, of course, pay $2 a month for 100 GB of storage. Google Drive or 10 dollars for an additional 1 TB, but 100 GB will not save me, and 1 TB is a little expensive. Ideally, 500 GB would be suitable for 2-3 dollars per month :)
Later, the family acquired two Android smartphones and one tablet, from which they also made backups to an external screw from time to time, the old fashioned way (after all, I was used to just such a process). Here one could safely use the cloud, but habit is a strong thing.
Search for backup software
Now we come to the most interesting part. How to make a backup?
In principle, you can use the free Clonezilla. The capabilities of this program, if not impressive, are at least quite good. Here are some of them that I consider the most important:
- support for Linux/macOS/Windows file systems: from ext2 to ext4, xfs, jfs, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, HFS (macOS);
- MBR and GPT support;
- support for data encryption (AES 256);
- the ability to deploy one image to several local devices;
- support for SSH, Samba, WebDAV and NFS.
If you need to make a backup of a server in a corporate environment, and even on a shared server, there is no better option. For cloning systems in the case of deploying one operating system on many machines with the same configuration, that’s it: they brought in a fleet of computers, installed an axis on one of them, configured everything, made an image of it and deployed it to other computers. An admin's dream!
I have also been familiar with Acronis products for a long time, but mainly with server versions. I won’t compare them with Clonezilla now, since we are talking about home backup: after all, you have one or two computers and several Android devices at home; you don’t need to constantly create images of all these devices. In general, CloneZilla is not suitable for home use. Once, I remember, I made a backup at home with it, when I changed the system disk to a larger disk and was too lazy to reinstall all the systems. Then this program, of course, saved me.
CloneZilla good program, but it’s 2016 and I want something more modern, but she’s stuck in the past. I want some kind of automation, management of backups from all devices, including mobile ones, I want to copy photos from my profile on social networks, I want to search inside the backup copy in order to find required file. I want a lot of things. Sometimes I even think about buying a NAS specifically for storing backups.
Actually, I started searching for the ideal software for myself. I came across the “File History” function in Windows 8/10. I somehow missed “Eight”, and “Ten” is installed on only one computer. Although File History was created in the image and likeness of Apple Time Machine and should be convenient, in practice it turned out to be not very convenient to use, moreover, with computers running the “seven” and Android smartphones it is not compatible.
If anyone is interested, while I was looking necessary software, all this time I was making backups using Total Commander by simply copying files. But this is very inconvenient. Firstly, no automation: you need to go to each computer with an external screw and make a backup. Secondly, irrational use of space. I didn't use compression. Why? Yes, because I periodically need to search for information on a backup. Have you tried searching for something in an archive of several GB in size?
Quite by accident, I remembered Acronis True Image and discovered that version 2017 had been released. Let's see what it can do now:
It looks like the perfect backup software exists! However, it’s not very ideal, but I’ll tell you about the shortcomings later, but for now I’ll boast about the capabilities: Acronis True Image 2017 is quite modern program for backup, and unlike ancient software like CloneZilla, it has everything you might need to modern man. This is what I personally really liked...
Firstly, saving space on the screws that are used for backup. The backup is made in compressed form, but Acronis allows you to search inside the backup.
Secondly, now I don’t have to worry about data on mobile devices. Over the past two years, two microSD cards have failed: one on my wife’s phone, the other on her tablet. One photograph was at least partially saved, but the second was not, it “died” completely. Acronis True Image 2017 allows you to backup an unlimited number of Android/iOS mobile devices to your local computer.
Thirdly, you can (as I already noted) remotely control the backup on all home devices. Using the web panel, you can check the status of backups and configure data protection in real time.
Fourthly, there is support for copying Facebook profile content. A lot of information is now published on social networks: photos, videos, comments. A backup of this data will protect against page hacking or accidental deletion.
Finally, cloud orientation. I couldn’t even imagine that Acronis now has such powerful cloud support: by purchasing a subscription, you get 500 GB cloud space! This volume is quite enough for me for home purposes (unless, of course, I upload entire hard drive images to the cloud, although Acronis allows this too).
About the disadvantages
Everything has its drawbacks. I hope the Acronis developers will listen to the criticism. Personally, I didn’t like two things about the program.
The first is the lack of Linux support. Data stored in Linux will have to be done the old fashioned way: either by copying, or using Clonezilla by creating an image of the partition with the data (fortunately, I have /home on a separate partition, out of habit).
The second is the lack of support for other social networks other than Facebook. I think, however, that over time it will appear. But whether Linux support will appear is a question. Of course Acronis has Linux product Server, but I don’t want to use it for several reasons: firstly, using the server version for home use is tantamount to firing a cannon at sparrows, secondly, you don’t want to pay for another product (which is at least 792 rubles per month), and thirdly, you want everything to be managed from one product.
About the price
We all know that Acronis has never been free. However, the prices also pleasantly surprised me: on the official website there is a calculator that allows you to find out how much Acronis will cost you.
A one-time license for 1 computer (the number of mobile devices is unlimited) will cost 1,700 rubles (approximately $27 at the current exchange rate). But it’s more profitable to buy a subscription: in this case, you will get both the program itself and 500 GB of cloud storage. The cost of a subscription for a year will cost 1400 rubles. (~22$), for two years - only 2000 rubles (~32$), which is approximately 1.83$ or 1.33$ per month. For that kind of money you can only buy 100 GB of storage space. Google Drive! And here I got an excellent backup tool + 500 GB in the cloud.
If we calculate a more realistic configuration: 3 computers and 1 TB in the cloud, then a subscription for a year will cost 2400 rubles, and for 2 years - 3600 rubles. Only 150 rubles per month compared to 600 rubles for 1 TB on Google Drive! To me, the conclusion was obvious. 150 rubles - an amount quite affordable for home user, this will not hit the family budget.
In this article I will tell you how to backup data: work files, multimedia and the operating system (make an image of it). Backup (data archiving) is extremely necessary, because as a result breakdown of hard disk, or a virus, you can lose important documents, photo archives, works created in various programs. Maybe you just want to reinstall a clean copy of the OS with all the programs. Once this happens, the situation will be easy to correct.
The most common case among users is the failure of the operating system. In order to restore the computer to its previous state (programs, settings, etc.), you need to spend from several hours to several days installing and configuring the Windows OS, but the installation of additional software takes the most time. Often inexperienced users store their data on the system drive without thinking about transferring information to other sections of the hard drive, not to mention external HDDs.
Backup (archiving) and recovery methods
Windows 7: Built-in Backup and Restore Tool
It is quite easy to use and even allows you to perform this procedure automatically on a schedule. Location of the backup tool on the system: "Start | All programs | Service | Archiving and recovery". Menu in the left column - "Create a system repair disc" And "Creating a system image".
Creating a system image. It is necessary to indicate the location of the future archive: select another disk partition, external HDD or optical disk(DVD, Blue Ray). It is also possible to save a backup copy to network drive. It is not practical to use optical media, so use a logical drive with sufficient storage space or external HDD. Select a location and click the “Archive” button. The entire system partition will be archived. This procedure can be carried out on a schedule, and Windows updates a previously recorded system image without creating it again, which significantly saves time.
If you select the Backup tool, you can set up regular backups of important user data. To do this, select “Set up backup”, indicate which drive the backup will be saved to, click “Next”, in the next window select “Give me a choice” and then select the objects to be backed up. To restore the contents of a backup, select one of three suggested actions: “Restore my files from this backup”, “Restore files for all users on this computer" or "Manage the disk space this backup takes up."
To restore the system if it does not boot or produces an error that you are unable to fix, you may need a disk disaster recovery. To create it, select “Create a system repair disk” in the menu on the left and indicate on what media to organize it. Unfortunately, only supported laser discs, which is not suitable for owners of laptops without an optical drive.
This built-in Windows tool is not without its drawbacks, such as long archive creation times and the lack of a compression function. However, there are other, more functional products.
Backup and recovery using Acronis True Image Home 2013
For users of Windows XP, where there is no built-in backup tool, as well as users with higher requirements for the functionality of a backup program, I recommend using Acronis True Image Home 2013.
Acronis True Image Home uses 3 backup methods.
Full image - archiving absolutely all data, including the MBR (if the partition is bootable).
Differential - the backup copy includes only those data that have changed since the creation of the archive using the first (full) method.
Incremental method - allows you to supplement the backup copy with files changed since the last backup procedure.
It’s easy to make a backup copy of the system partition: in the main program window, select the first option - "Backup disks and partitions", then specify the partition or disk, set the location to save the archive and, if necessary, change the archiving parameters (for example, set the compression level of the archive on the "Performance" or protect the archive with a password). At the end of the process, a file with the extension will be created in the storage you specified. *.tib. Acronis True Image Home 2013 allows you to connect a backup copy as a logical drive and work with the necessary data. In this way, you can extract the desired file from a pre-created archive that you accidentally completely deleted from your hard drive.
In addition to backing up partitions and disks, you can archive (including on a schedule) individual directories and files, as well as the Windows address book, contact list and Microsoft Outlook correspondence. For recovery in the most severe cases, you can use bootable version programs (boot disk or boot disk), and it is possible to create such a solution on both optical and USB media.
It happens that when experimenting with installing several operating systems, the Master Boot Record turned out to be damaged; you can try to “revive” it by checking the “MBR” checkbox when restoring from the image. Also, Acronis True Image Home 2011 can convert backups from its “native” format to VHD format (these are backups created by the system Windows tools 7, and at the same time images virtual disks, that is, they can be connected to almost any virtual machines) and back.
In most cases, recovery comes down to selecting the desired archive and partition in which the contents of the backup copy will be deployed. It is worth noting the extremely long installation time and low performance of Acronis True Image Home in Windows XP.
Paragon Backup & Recovery Professional: Backup with More Features
About the Paragon Backup & Recovery Professional program, which provides file backup and recovery I told in, however, for the purpose of transferring Windows to another PC. Unlike the Acronis product, in addition to archiving operations, it also allows you to perform some actions with partitions - for example, changing the label, formatting, hiding and deleting. However, to do this you will need to switch to "Mode for experienced users».
Before backing up, it is recommended to create a rescue disk to restore data from the image. To do this, go to the “Utilities” section and select “Create rescue disk" Here you can also choose either an optical drive, an external hard drive, or a USB flash drive as a storage medium.
To create a backup copy of your data, go to the “Data Protection and Recovery | Intelligent archiving”, without forgetting to prepare secure storage. You can choose what to back up: “Disks or partitions”, e-mail (e-mails, accounts and address books of Outlook, Outlook Express and Windows Mail), “Media Files” and “Documents” (texts, photos, videos and music stored in the “My Documents” directory) or “Other Files or Folders”.
Next, you can make additional copying parameters - selecting the degree of image compression, password protection and sector-by-sector copying mode (all sectors of the disk are processed “as is”, including unused ones). You can also assign an FTP server as an archive storage, if you have one. If you prefer optical media, the program will warn you that it will be impossible to save the main boot entry disk.
For experienced users, Backup & Recovery has a professional tool for working with virtual images Virtual machines PC, VMware Workstation and VMware Fusion. Thanks to it, you can convert an image of a real hard drive, such as a system partition, and then open it along with all the data and programs in a virtual machine, even on another computer.
Very often during the operation of a computer a situation arises when it is necessary to reinstall the operating system. And this can lead to a lot of troubles, since all programs installed during the operation of the PC will be lost along with the OS. And if reinstalling Windows takes a little more than one hour, then it can take days or even weeks to find all the necessary software. However, this problem is easily solved thanks to special software that allows you to create a backup copy of your hard drive in advance.
Backing up a hard drive is classified as a preventative measure, which is a very labor-intensive process. After all, simply clearing the tin of accumulated debris is sometimes not enough. Sometimes it becomes necessary to configure normal work some applications or install a more recent driver version. Absolutely all users face these challenges. However, the most advanced approach the task more intelligently and optimize this process by backing up the most important files and programs.
This approach allows you to optimize the process of operating your computer and save a lot of time when servicing the device. After all, as statistics show, every user very rarely uses programs from other developers and gives preference to more familiar and time-tested utilities. Therefore, the optimal solution if the operating system crashes is to not completely reinstall it, but to restore it using a backup copy to a working state, preserving all installed programs. And this procedure takes much more time than doing everything from scratch.
There is a special category of software designed to create a backup copy of a physical or logical partition. All of them are almost identical, have a similar set of tools and are completely free, and the main difference lies in the interface of the working window. One of the most common programs in this category on the RuNet, which even novice users know about, is Acronis. The program has simple interface, great functionality, however, for the right to use it you must purchase a license. However, this utility has many analogues that perform similar operations and are free. It is about them that we will talk in our article today.
Redo Backup
This utility has become widespread among many novice users thanks to minimum set the most important tools, high reliability and an intuitive interface. The program works in Linux environment, does not load the system and contains a minimal amount of information.
Among the main features that the utility is endowed with are the creation of backup copies of physical partitions, the ability to roll back all HDD parameters to factory settings, collection detailed statistics about the status of the hard drive, partition editor, recovery of deleted files, graphical and integrated into the utility text editor document viewer and file manager.
When creating an image of one of the partitions of a persistent storage device, you can specify one of the available logical partitions, any external drive with the required amount of free space, or remote computer. The program packs the image very tightly, so you can even save it to a regular CD or an old USB flash drive with a capacity of 2 gigabytes.
AOMEI Backupper
This program has several editions, two of which are freely available. It is worth noting that one of them is intended for the elderly Windows versions, and the second - for seven and above. As for the set of tools and functionality, both versions of the program are almost identical and allow you to perform similar operations with hard drives. As for the commercial edition, its main advantage is the ability to create an image of a hard drive partition through incremental copying, during which copies are created only of files changed during the operation of the operating system. This allows you to significantly reduce the time it takes to create a disk image. In addition to this, in paid version implemented the ability to backup via local network, and also supports work via the command line.
According to the developers themselves, the paid license works many times faster than its free counterparts. However, in practice this difference is not significant, so there is no point in paying for this program.
If we compare this utility with Redo Backup, discussed earlier, AOMEI Backupper has much more advanced functionality. For example, this program can create a disk image in different ways: by cloning, by copying contents from one partition to another, by creating a standard image in which all data is combined in one file. In addition, the utility supports setting the compression ratio, which allows you to, if necessary, control the size of the image in order to save free space.
For further work with the image, it must be burned to a CD or flash drive. In most cases, to implement this, you need to install special utilities, however, AOMEI Backupper supports writing an image to a USB drive, so installing additional software is not required.
It is also worth noting that the utility allows you to pre-configure the process of creating a hard drive image. For example, the user can tell the program to create copies only of the files in use that are stored in the involved HDD sectors. This allows you to significantly reduce the image size. In addition, you can manually adjust the degree of file compression.
Clonezilla
Another app for creating an image HDD partitions, available for free. Its creator is private programmer Stephen Shiau, originally from Taiwan. Despite the fact that the utility was created on open source, it has a very complex interface, or rather it would be even more accurate to say that there is practically no interface at all, so it will be very problematic for inexperienced users to understand how to work with it. The entire process of working with the program is carried out using text commands. The program has Russian localization, so it will be easy to use for domestic users. You can specify the required language at the very beginning of the backup process.
One of the main advantages of this utility is maximum level localization. It can work with all desktop operating systems that exist today and supports all modern file systems.
To create a bootable flash drive, the first thing you need to do is download the installer from the developer’s official Internet resource onto your computer. Type installation package depends on the operating system installed on your computer. It is worth noting that if the function is activated on your OS secure boot, then you need to download a separate distribution designed for Linux operating systems.
The installation file will be downloaded to zip format. After the download process is completed, you need to unpack its contents onto a USB flash drive, and then run the makeboot.bat file.
A backup can be created in two modes: in the form in which the system is presented on the computer (i.e., with all folders and individual files) or as a single file. Regardless of the form in which you create an image of the logical partition, using each of them you can subsequently restore the OS. The utility has very good functionality and practically does not consume hardware resources, so it can be used even on weak machines.
However, the program also has one drawback, namely, it creates a full backup of the entire logical partition, so the volume of the external data storage device must be equal to the amount of space occupied by the operating system.
It is worth noting that there is a regular and server version of Clonezilla available. The second is designed to work over a network and allows simultaneous copying on multiple computers connected over a local network.
Backup & Recovery 14 free version
The arsenal of software from the Paragon studio contains a lot of useful free and commercial utilities created for the Windows OS, one of which is Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition, with which users can create an image of the operating system.
The program is free, however, it can be used exclusively for non-commercial purposes. Today the developer has created a newer version with a paid license, however, old version still does not lose its relevance. At the same time, it works excellently not only with the seven, but also with newer versions of Windows operating systems.
It is worth noting that in the free version most of the tools are blocked, and to use them you need to update the utility to the commercial version, however, they are quite enough to backup the system. In addition to the main function, using the program you can control various parameters of logical partitions, for example, assign a different letter, perform a check file system, hide the section from prying eyes and some other operations.
In the main menu of the program there is an integrated utility designed to create an image of the system partition. Before creating an image, the user can specify the type of operating system, image storage location, and a set of drivers necessary devices, which will be included in the image, local network connection settings and many other parameters. The image is saved in the standard ISO format, supported by most modern programs.
The utility can work in two modes: firstly, the image can be created standard method, which implies saving the image file to any other logical partition of the computer or external drive, and secondly, the file can be saved to a virtual disk created by the utility itself, in order to save a large number of backup copies in one place. This approach is very useful, since there is no need to create a separate directory and constantly move files into it from other sections.
The big advantage of this utility over other programs in this category is the increased level of security. Its essence lies in the fact that when this function is activated, the backup copy is placed in the so-called capsule, located in a hidden hard section disk to which user access is blocked.
It is worth noting that the utility has two interfaces: standard and tiled. In addition to differences in design and ergonomics, standard interface may be unstable. This manifests itself in the following: when creating an image of a Windows OS, the program may generate a system error and interrupt the image creation process. The reason for this is unknown, however, the problem can be solved very easily. If, while creating an image of a logical hard drive partition, the process was interrupted by the utility, you need to restart the application in tiled mode. After this, no problems will arise during the operation of the utility.
The software works reliably with all types of HDD, regardless of the cluster size and the file system used.
DriveImage XML
The DriveImage XML program was developed by Runtime Software, which is known to most users as a manufacturer of utilities for recovering deleted files. The company is the author of many software products, however, they did not receive much recognition from users for various reasons. Nevertheless, the utility for creating a hard drive image, DriveImage XML, is a very useful and practical solution that is used by many Russian-speaking users. The main reason why the utility has become widespread is its accessibility.
To use the program, it is not necessary to install it on your computer, since the developer has provided the ability for the utility to work in a Linux environment. It is worth noting that of all the backup tools discussed in our article today, this particular utility has the widest range of tools and the greatest functionality.
By and large, this program is a set of utilities that allow you to back up your hard drive, restore deleted files, check logical partitions for errors, defragment, format, delete existing and create new partitions, change the volume label and much more. Such a large set of tools and functionality is not found in any utility that is freely available on the Internet these days.
In addition, on the official Internet resource of the company you can download an installation file, which is a set of programs, which, in addition to the utility mentioned above, includes a set of programs for viewing Internet sites, working with multimedia content and text files.
Runtime Software implements a shadow copying algorithm that allows you to create a backup copy of entire hard drive partitions, including files located in the system and hidden partitions that are not visible in the operating system. The final hard drive image consists of two files: the first has an xml extension and is a description of the created image, and the second is assigned the dat format, which directly acts as a backup copy of all files that are stored on logical partition. The tools and some functions integrated into the utility that are tied to standard operating system services may not work during the operation of the program, however, the developer himself warns about this, so if you are faced with the fact that some Runtime Software functionality is not available, do not be alarmed worth it, the utility is fully functional.
Conclusion
Utilities designed to backup a system partition are universal solution, which can be used not only to roll back a crashed operating system to a working state, but also to ensure the safety of important information that you want to save no matter what. For example, these days everyone uses digital cameras, and the captured images are stored on the computer’s hard drive. Imagine what would happen if your PC was infected with malware software and will it damage or completely remove memories that are dear to you? And with the help of the applications discussed in this article, you can ensure complete safety not only of photographs that depict all the most pleasant and important points from your life, but also other important information. And this opportunity is available to you completely free of charge.