Acronis TrueImage Home 11?

[ncage]

Anyone used it extensively? I'm trying to replace the functionality of what my windows home server did in the past for backups. If you look on the reviews on amazon/newegg...the reviews definitely aren't glowing..but the same is true for Norton Ghost 15. I definitely don't want something that i have to do manually. I want something that i can schedule and do differential backups. I do have the trial and so far i've been impressed with it though i can say the interface can be buggy sometimes and crash. Of course i haven't tried all the functionality...like restoring (which is the important part) because i haven't had the need to yet.

 

[Emulex]

BESR 2010 smokes it in reliability.

why do differential? it's problematic for all software, find more bandwidth(store) and do full's - it may seem like a waste but when the isht hits the fan - you will be thankful for having a full bare metal versus a bunch of files to pray they go back together.

 

[ncage]

BESR 2010 smokes it in reliability.

why do differential? it's problematic for all software, find more bandwidth(store) and do full's - it may seem like a waste but when the isht hits the fan - you will be thankful for having a full bare metal versus a bunch of files to pray they go back together.

Thanks for the alternative. I haven't thought about checking out BSER. Is it basically ghost 15 with more added to it? So it does add image based backup? It would be perfect if it works with server based OS (Windows 2008 Server 2008 R2). Acronis won't unless you buy the expensive server version which i definitely won't do.

I can say there are a couple cool things with acronis. One would be that it has this continuous backup option that backs up your system continuously while you use it and doesn't seem to sap to much system resources though you do have to use a local drive (not network drives allowed).

Also when you right click on a file and choose properties. There is a tab on the window that comes up that you can view all the version of that file from the backups and recover it. I'll have to download BSER when i get home and give the trial a shot.

I can say reliability is was one of my concerns with acronis. It used to be very good back in the day but it seems like that have got lazy and its not as good as it used to be.

 

[mike2fix]

I am a huge fan of Acronis, I have used Home 10 for quite some time. I upgraded to the latest version recently and hated it, I found the new user interface to be clumsy and confusing, definitely a step backwards in my view. I removed it and went back to the older version.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

TI 11 and 12 work fine and I have been using them on my XP (11) and Win7 (12) systems with no issues (lots of restores to test).

IINM, the newer versions have a lot of issues, eg. being unable to restore, corrupted archive, etc.

 

[WildHorse]

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[Modelworks]

Macrium reflect is what I use. Consumes no resources when you don't want to have it do something. Doesn't hook into the OS and try and take control like many backup software apps. Small install size . Backups are mountable.
Free version does quite a bit.
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.asp

 

[WildHorse]

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[mike2fix]

I'm guessing:
Backup Exec System Recovery

The original reference was "BESR".

 

[Chiefcrowe]

I think it does, although i haven't used the native one too much. To me, it seems easier (and much faster) to create a complete image of a drive with high compression and restore it.

Is the free version of Macrium any better than the native backup utility in Windows 7?

Also, what does "BSER" mean?

 

[WildHorse]

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[Emulex]

backup exec system restore - about $79 per desktop - that price is for server licensing.

(veeam is $500/socket - far more reasonable with 8-25 vm's per socket)

But we're talking about desktops yeah? Do you think an imaging program really knows what it is restoring think about that for a minute.

norton sells home versions of symantec.

BESR is not Backup Exec. BESR is an option for Backup Exec but i'm talking standalone besr 2010. you can use the old besr 8 for XP which is easy to find cheap. Only need 2010 for win7 x64 .


Backup Exec System Restore. It's an acquisition product that was kludged together that is highly reliable and makes its own boot discs with pc-anywhere so you can tell grandma to put a new drive in and remote restore her junk

 

[WildHorse]

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[Modelworks]

Based on your recommendation I put it in.
The free version seems to only allow backup of one (1) drive at a time.

Really , I wasn't aware that was a limitation of the free version. It has been a while since I used the free one. I use the full version .

 

[pcslookout]

True Image is the best and fastest!

 

[ncage]

Just wanted to update you guys. Ordered 3 licenses of acronis trueimage 2011 home tonight. I've been using it for about 3 days without major issues except the interface can be buggy and crashes sometimes. Of course i haven't tested a restore which is the most important part. Hopefully i don't run into any issues. I looked at BSER and its definitely robust but it was slightly above 2x the price. For 3 machines that was going to be over $150 so i just decided to go with acronis. On top of that i use crashplan for data for my local PCs and Rsync on my FreeNAS box for backups. Hopefully i'm set.

 

[11thHour]

I'm assuming you're on windows 7, otherwise if you're on xp and using an ssd, make sure you initiate a restoration from the boot window (f11) and not from the desktop. From the desktop, you risk losing the proper ssd alignment.