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Author: Edward Ho
Supplied By: Acronis
ESP: $49.99
Introduction:
Rule of thumb for owning a computer - backup, backup, and backup some more. You can never do enough backups. However, I'll be the first to admit I hardly do enough backups and frequently neglect to do them. When it comes down to it, you can either do 3-4 hours of software reinstalls and patches or you can do an image restore which takes a hour or so. Sadly, I recently had the displeasure of resintalling my Windows operating system on my 2nd PC and all its software. Now if I hadn't neglected to perform a backup for that system, everything would have turned out just fine. Now why didn't you do your backups... I thought you knew better than that, you ask? I've yet to encounter any backup utility that makes it easy or convenient to perform backups.
When it comes to backups, the first name that comes to mind is Symantec. Their Norton Ghost is the premiere non-enterprise backup software utility on the market. However, Ghost is sadly way behind the times. It still is heavily reliant on DOS. The user still has to reboot out of Windows in order to start their backup procedure. Oh sure Ghost now ships with their own version of PC-DOS that is supposed to improve hardware support, however, that is not the case. With neverending stream of new hardware peripherals coming on to the market today, Ghost's PC-DOS hardware support is severely lacking. At best, Ghost has spotty support for USB 1.1/2.0, Firewire, and a handful of burners. The only sure way to perform a backup via Ghost is to direct the image to an internal hard drive. Through my own experiences, I've learned that Ghost is not able to support my laptop's DVD/CD-RW drive and has no support for the Firewire/USB 2.0 enclosure that I use with my Pioneer DVD-R/RW drive. Am I supposed to remove my laptop's hard drive or install my DVD-R/RW drive internally just to perform my backup? Symantec certainly seems to think so. Considering Symantec charges $99.95 for Ghost 2003, the search for the ideal backup utility goes on.
My journey eventually brings me to a company called Acronis. It seems that Acronis has been making quite a splash with its Acronis True Image software racking up Editor's Choice from both CNet and ZDnet last year. Now what were some of the things that drew so much attention? What makes True Image stand out from its peers? For one, this utility is not DOS reliant. You are able to perform backups and restores from within Windows. Also because you are in Windows while you perform backups, you minimize hardware compatibility and support issues. And that's just a short list of what Acronis True Image is capable of. Here is a list off Acronis' site with more details:
Transparently create exact disk images for complete backup Restore entire hard disk contents and/or replaces lost or damaged files Deploy the same hard disk image on another PC Create and restore disk images in Windows — no need to reboot to DOS even when backing up system partition Unique technology that allows you to continue to work in Windows while imaging your hard disk drive Extremely easy to use Windows XP-like wizard-driven interface Stores only the necessary disk sector contents Offers user-defined compression levels Allows to divide archives into several volumes Protects archives by password Supports any size hard disks Changes partition type, file system, size, and disk location during restoration — for supported partitions only.Certainly a program that touts so much to offer deserves a closer inspection...
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