Less Updates Please

I used Acronis True Image for about 5 years. I had done a hard drive restore from the backup with one of my earlier Acronis Versions an had no problems. However, Acronis failed me with both the 2012 and 2013 versions trying to do restores. Two strikes and Acronis is history. I now use Macrium Reflect (paid version) and have not had any problems restoring. Creating a WinPE recovery disc is much easier in Macrium. Its an automated utility, where Acronis requires the Plus Version and its mostly a manual process. (I had several problems with the Acronis Linux version recovery program not recognizing hard drives in my systems).

My problems were not "corrupted backups", my problems were with the Acronis program. In one case I had used the backup previously without problems but when I really needed it after a motherboard failure caused a hard drive corruption, I couldn't get Acronis to work (properly) from either a Linux or WinPE Acronis rescue disc to restore the hard drive from a USB connected drive backup with the replacement (ASUS) motherboard. I tried to restore it wih my primary PC via booting with Acronis and it didn't work there either. Ultimately I did get the drive restored with my primary PC that had Acronis installed on that PC, and restored the drive installed in an external drive caddy, connected as a USB drive to that PC. Quite a hassle.

TechnoMage, post: 6423, member: 121 said:

One of the worse things that often happens is someone makes a backup of their hard drive, but the backup/restore program is ON the hard drive and probably runs in Windows. When that drive totally crashes, both the backup and the restore program just went up in smoke.
So what to do? Well, the backup/restore program must be on some bootable media, like a CD or Bootable Flash Drive. It does you no good at all, to have it on the hard drive that may crash at any time. Several of the better Backup programs will offer to make a Rescue Boot CD for you.
I have my own Ghost program, on CD's, Flash Drives, and even one bootable SD Flash Memory CARD.

I came late to this discussion, but my technique for backups is a little cruder than yours.
Since switching from the Atari TOS to Windows '98 (in '98,even had a boot screen that incorporated a stock screen with the word "Microsoft" changed to "Microborg 98" 'Resistance is Futile') I've been using the free XXCLONE for copying boot drives, so IF anything happened, all it would take is a drive swap, with perhaps a 3-7 day difference. Ditto with data drives using Roadkil's Unstoppable Copier [yes one 'L' only] , a simple swap and I'm back in business. Though I've been lucky, never had a boot drive failure, even the old 4gig Fujitsu IDE
from that first Windows machine still works but I've since burned it to a DVD for posterity if I ever need to reference something. Now IDE data drives have been more disappointing, failing regularly, unlike my 'pure' SCSI units and now, with SATA [a variant of SCSI] I seem to have as good fortune as I've had with pure SCSI. If you read my specs, you'll see one new drive replaced four smaller SATAs than now sit on the shelf as backups on their own.

Also have used PortableApps since they came out, with each transfer to a new flashdrive, older units serve as password/setup and Mozilla backups so as not to lose important details.
Heat, including friction, is the no.1 enemy of mechanical drives and now in this build they're all running under 98 degrees F. Mostly in the 80s F. The Seasonic P/S protects against electrical anomalies.
So I feel pretty secure. Just need cash to add to my stock of spare data drives.
Though my way does require taking a side cover off and using an empty port.

Well, yesterday I finally got a new, smaller harddrive. Will be using that for OS and installs while the larger harddrive will be used for storage. Once everything is set up how I want then I will put Macrium to good use.

bigseb, post: 17806, member: 98 said:

Well, yesterday I finally got a new, smaller harddrive. Will be using that for OS and installs while the larger harddrive will be used for storage. Once everything is set up how I want then I will put Macrium to good use.

Just a HDD, and not a SSD. . .

Lee, post: 17844, member: 135 said:

Just a HDD, and not a SSD. . .

You know how expensive SSD's are here? Insane pricing. I could buy a 4th gen i7 and new mobo for the same price...

Beside, our electricity is less than reliable. Many peaks and troughs in the current. Not convinced that an SSD is the way to go...