(e-mail address removed) wrote in
http://www.acronis.com/mag/vnu-ati7
I've read others here say it was a little buggy, yet some past messages
indicate it did a good job.
Would it be a good test to create an image of several directories and
just restore them to a different partition (if possible). Is there a
better test of the program, before I part with the cash for ver 10?
A lot depends on your machine OS, and how would you restore if your OS got
totally trashed. A back-up image software is so essential IMHO, that I
believe 'shame-on-Microsoft' for not including a good one with their OS's.
A lot of people use older versions of Norton Ghost and absolutely swear by
it. I still use PowerQuest Drive Image 2002 on several machines that use a
floppy disk access recovery procedure with absolute dependability.
My problem with Acronis roots back to a few years ago when I tried it, and
upon an image-restore-operation it tampered with the cluster sizes on a
large HDD... I ended up restoring to backed-up PowerQuest image, and
problem was resolved. That could have been unique to my HDD or something.
I would say that it's good practice to get the software, then do a complete
image, then do a restore to see if it works, how it works, etc. Of course
the fear of doing it the first time is always "what if it doesn't work or
trashes the system?" I don't know if there's an answer to that IRL. For
every person who uses a backup software with success, there's one out there
that says... you know, the usual, "it trashed my machine."
"Newer" is not always "better" with software, but newer software is
sometimes more compatible with newer systems; to wit, a recovery routine
that only uses floppy disks is rather cumbersome on a machine that depends
on CD bootable media.
With a freeware, you could always try it out before you buy the newer
version, which I think is good for end-users as well as a smart marketing
strategy, because people are becoming increasingly aware that image backups
are really prudent policy for both home and business users, and because
most folks seem to stay loyal to their first backup software's brand,
probably because it is so scary the first time you do it.
But the good news is that once you do it, it is so incredibly fast and easy
that it really doesn't make sense not to do it.
Best wishes to all for a safe and joyous holiday season.
--
Higher beings from outer space
may not want to tell us all the secrets of life,
because, in their little grey minds,
we're not quite ready for that advanced step - yet.
But maybe they'll change their superior tune - after a little torture.
