Guide to Acronis True Image disk images

Acronis TI is now the application of choice for many professional and expert PC users who wish to create disk images for fast recovery from a crashed Windows system. However, like many - if not most - companies in the computing sphere, Acronis do not provide a simple 1-2-3 guide to using the program. It will take most users at least one failed restore to achieve a faultless crash-recovery procedure, and unless they have a perfect memory they will need to make their own notes on the routine. This article therefore attempts to present a clearer picture of how best to use A.T.I. for a right-first-time system restore.

Especially, this guide shows how to use Acronis TI for USB disk images. There are three requirements here:

1. To present a clear routine for back-up and restore success
2. To discuss issues that may prevent a working backup image
3. To describe the USB disk image process

Acronis TI version notes

This Guide refers exclusively to versions 8 and 9. Some issues in v8 are detailed here that will assist users of that version. These issues were resolved in v9 and later. Versions 10 and later are not covered, though the basic information should still be valid. Especially, the use of USB disks is well covered here. There are also some notes on the new freeware v8 version, Acronis Personal Edition 8, which follow.

New Acronis 8 version

A new version of Acronis 8 is being distributed as freeware, here:
www.acronis.co.uk/mag/pcpro/ati8pe

That offer has now ceased; however, you can still get Acronis free: if you buy a new Seagate hard disk or USB disk, the free Seagate Disk Utilities contains Acronis True Image 8. You must download the software from the Seagate website; it is about 105MB, so not a 5-minute job. It's well worth getting this, and since I recommend Seagate disks, this is another good reason to buy this brand. The version notes here in this Guide can be applied to the new Acronis 8 version in Seagate's tools, except that the 'file exclusion' default config error has been fixed - so this is now an even better application.

The faulty image creation configuration that meant system files weren't included by default has been fixed; all images now include hidden files by default. Therefore you can safely ignore this issue if you are using ATI Personal v8 build 896 onward, from this source.

Acronis 8 has trouble with SATA RAID arrays, especially when the PC mainboard uses the ICH9 controller chip. There are some workarounds but these are too lengthy to explain here. Ask in our forum.

Acronis with Vista and SATA disks

At mid-2008 it looks as if there are serious issues if running Vista and SATA disks, and especially with disk arrays. Until this is resolved you may find another application is a better choice, if you are running the latest software and hardware, certainly with RAID arrays.

What is a disk image - and why?

How long does it take you to reinstall Windows, plus your favourite programs, plus your main useful data - either for a brand new disk, or to copy it onto another machine? Answer: a long time. A disk image does it in one shot, sometimes in less than an hour. This is also called a cloned disk or ghost disk.

Why Acronis TI?

ATI has emerged as one of the favourites in this field because Acronis have succeeded in developing a product that both works extremely well, and fits user requirements. Their competitors have not necessarily achieved this.

Acronis TI basics

There are two types of ATI backup image: a full disk image (or just one partition), and a file or folder backup. While some users will only want to back up their files, most will want to take advantage of the full disk restore capability that ATI offers. In order to use this facility, considerations must be given to aspects not obvious to first-time users.

ATI can restore a complete working Windows OS, plus all the added Service Packs, plus all the user data including programs and data folders, plus multiple partitions, in one shot. In other words, you can have a bare-metal crash and recover in one shot with an ATI image; or, of course, build a disk up from scratch. This is so useful that it's surprising more people don't take advantage of this capability. Most working PCs now will have a minimum of 10GB of OS, apps, and data on the HD, and often more than one partition. Many have 50GB-plus. To restore even a 10GB disk to full working original state is at least a day's work; but ATI will restore it in an hour or so. Faster, in fact, than the original OS install, never mind all the additional apps and data loading. To many, this facility is priceless.

It is unlikely, though, that a first-time effort will prove fully successful, since any app needs some working knowledge and experience for effective use. We aim to offer you a short cut.

What you need to know

The full system restore capability is the app's best feature, since a file and folder restore can be handled just as competently by a remote Briefcase sync, or just about any other networked or removable media solution. In any case, if you wanted to be certain your folders and files are replaced exactly as they existed before the crash, the best route would be to first make a full system backup image and then follow with incremental images to save the folders.

A 'system crash' can consist of any number of types of faults, or simply an accumulation of minor problems that make it desirable to return to a clean system. It may also be useful to clone the disk – to copy it to a new but larger disk for the same PC, or to set up another PC with the same configuration. Faults might include any of the following: an unrepairable fault in the Windows OS; a virus or multiple virus infection; the eventual instability of a long-term Windows installation; a general PC slowdown due to overloading with network connections and device drivers, many of which may be redundant but still hang on in the background; and so on. Returning to a known clean (and fast) state is a useful option.

There are several possible ways to store the backup image with ATI, though only one that will always prove satisfactory. These are:

1. Secure Zone / Recovery Manager backups.
2. Network disk backups (LAN solutions).
3. USB disk backups.
4. CD backups.
5. DVD backups.
6. Cloned disk backups.
7. Other alternatives.
8. Future possibilities.
9. CDs + USB disk - my personal choice.

Taking these in turn:

1. Setting an Acronis Secure Zone on the disk sounds a good idea. This method invokes the Acronis Recovery Manager, which manages the image creation and a backup restore if needed. This is the ideal method since it is the fastest to create, the fastest to restore, and much the simplest overall.
 
It would be perfect except for one small problem: it takes a lot of space. At a minimum it takes a quarter of the disk, and usually more; which most users simply won't want to sacrifice to something that may not be needed for a while. With a hard drive of only 20GB for instance, as on some laptops, giving away 5 to 8GB just isn't on. Although this is certainly the most trouble-free solution, there cannot be many users who will go this route. Perhaps office workstations with only 30 or 40% disk usage can use this method.

Using a Secure Zone on a PC's second hard disk sounds attractive. In practice it won't normally be possible, even for those who have two HDs, because you can't boot from the second drive on an IDE cable. Most people who have two drives have them both set up on the same cable; running with a HD as master on each cable usually needs extra-long IDE cables of 0.9 meter length, which few have. Of course, for an ATI recovery zone to work, you have to boot to it.

2. Network disks, i.e. a HD on a server or remote PC, may work for some. In the case of those who can boot from a network drive, this will most likely succeed. It may require something like Novell Network to be practical. To boot from a simple cable LAN, and especially a WiFi LAN, would be asking a lot. If you can actually boot from a remote PC, then this will probably work for you – but it would be advisable to test this solution fully before needing it for real. You will need the BIOS enabled for a drive boot sequence of: NIC (LAN card), A (FD), D (CD drive), C (HD). Some cases may need: A, NIC, D, C. The commonly-seen sequence of A, C, D will not prove workable in some situations and is best avoided; although this is frequently seen on unskilled user's machines when managed by experts (in order to avoid them inadvertently booting to a CD then wasting the IT department's time by claiming there is a fault). It overlooks the fact that C may have a faulty OS that will boot but is unworkable. If you can change the boot sequence by keyboard choice at boot-up, though, it's OK – but not every BIOS allows this.

3. USB external hard drives are a good solution. For a restore, you first need to load the Acronis Boot CD, and then you can follow with the image from a USB disk.

It's safer to get the first part of the image, the bit with the operating system, on CDs as well - for redundancy.

You can't use a USB disk for the entire restore process because (a) you first need to boot with the Acronis Boot CD, and (b) drivers for the USB hard disk aren't available in a bare-metal restore - they can only be used from Windows or a specialist boot environment (like the Acronis Boot CD).

So therefore they won't work for the first part of the recovery process (apart from one method detailed in the Appendix, a custom solution that involves loading a bunch of proprietary USB disk drivers at boot-up). This is because you cannot access USB disks until Windows is running - but you are looking to start the image restore from a bare drive. Many USB disks will require their own specific drivers, and therefore to provide a mass-market working solution would involve an impossibly large number of drivers. For this to work, you will need to be able to access the drive letter for the USB disk on boot-up, in DOS.

Note: USB drivers in BIOS is nothing to do with this scenario; here we are talking about manufacturer-specific drivers for external hard disks. They are all different. USB disks often work faultlessly in Windows without any driver install because this is one of the things Windows – especially XP – is very good at: it has a lot of drivers built in. In fact some might say it's XP's best feature; and it's also one reason why XP is so big.

*** See Appendix 1 for latest USB disk image info***

4. CD backups always work and are a good all-round solution. ATI contains both bare-drive CD drivers for the restore process, and a burner app to create the image CDs in the first place. You'd need a lot of CDs, though, for a fully-loaded system restore. The image is compressed, of course, but still takes around 50% of the original data size (not the partition size) to store. Look at how big the Secure Zone needs to be, if you chose that option.

Note that the image CDs are not bootable: an Acronis Boot CD has to be loaded first – so don't forget to create that.

5. DVD backups are a good option if you have a DVD burner on the PC to create them with in the first place. ATI doesn't contain DVD drivers, so you need to load 3rd-party drivers with the ATI Boot CD for this to work. Again, there are too many different versions for ATI to encompass this method; you will have to provide your own solution here. On balance, the CD method is safer.

6. Cloning your HD to another disk on the PC is a good option. ATI is so flexible that the new disk doesn't even have to be the same size, though obviously it needs to be big enough to get the full image on. You could connect another HD, perhaps in a drive caddy so that it is removable, and clone your drive. If your first drive dies, then you can run straight away with your second disk (depending of course on the cable positions of each, which may have to be swapped around, as you can't boot from the second drive on an IDE cable). You could run with a 'hot spare', as some RAID arrays do.

A basic argument against this, though, is that if you've got two HDs for your PC, you'll most likely want to use them both. If you have them available, you tend to fill them. Nevertheless, this option will suit expert users who are not afraid to fit two disks and/or swap them around. You could always get three disks for the machine. Experts will be aware of the issues surrounding 2-disk arrays, and the cable positions / IDE cable issues / jumper issues that have to be taken into account before this will work. And let's not get involved with SCSI just now...

7. There are of course other backup methods that may or may not be available, and that may or may not work. Firewire external disks for instance: but this does't sound like a workable method for a total solution since IE1394 drivers are not available on a bare drive. Like USB disks, this will work for the second stage (see later). Tape drives: same again. Zip drives: possible – but think of the number of discs, and the cost per disc.

8. The new Blu-Ray discs coming out now have a 25 GB capacity at £5 per disc [at 2007-08-01]. This sounds good to me, and may well be the solution of choice soon. The same issues surrounding the use of DVDs will apply. At present, the £400 cost of a burner drive doesn't sound too clever.

This works

9. And finally, a method that will always work, with the minimum hassle: use CDs for the initial OS image, and a USB disk for the big incremental images with all the apps and data on.

Say for instance you are backing up a hard disk with 25 GB of OS, apps, and data on. The initial OS install can be burnt to CDs. This will only take 1 CD for a basic Windows 2000 install without the Service Packs (the install may be up to 1.3GB but Acronis compresses it); and around two for an XP skinny install. In other words, don't load the OS up fully with all the options and SPs at first. Install the smallest OS version, then burn it to CDs. Then create the same image again on a USB external hard drive – this repeated first stage is for safety, and to provide a complete image on file in the USB disk's image folder. Then expand it with network options and SPs, and create an incremental full disk image on the USB disk. Then add programs and data, and create an incremental backup. Then create another at a later date, with all the added apps and data at that stage.

This solution results in the minimum number of CDs required to ensure an always-workable image restore, and also the entire image on a USB disk. It means you will be able to restore by loading first the Acronis Boot CD, then going straight to the USB disk. If by some chance the USB disk image failed, then you have the operating sytem image on CDs - always the most basic and reliable part of a solution.

USB plug-in hard drives are commonly available at around 100 to 300GB now, and price-wise are often a bargain per GB of storage – around 25p per GB – so there should be plenty of space available. USB 2.0 on both the PC and the USB disk means a reasonably quick procedure. USB 1.0 will be slow.

Laptop owners using USB hubs should be warned that there are very few hubs that provide full bandwidth to all connected devices – the bandwidth is split between all connected hardware, so eventual traffic throughput can be very slow indeed in the case of a USB 1.0 device anywhere in the system. For a start the hub needs to be powered (with an external PSU), and at present it seems only the Belkin TetraHub guarantees full bandwidth to all devices.

To create your first Acronis disk image, you can:

• Install Acronis. Create an Acronis Boot CD. Create a full disk image on a USB external disk.

• Or, replace your hard drive with a new one, and start from scratch. Install Windows and image it to both CDs and a USB disk; add programs and data, and create incremental images.

• Do both, then all your options are covered.
  

In short

If you are starting with a bare drive, install a minimum OS and burn an Acronis image to CD. Also save this stage on a USB disk. Then, expand the installation and create incremental Acronis backups at each stage, onto the USB disk. Also create an Acronis Boot CD, which is required to boot a bare drive.

If you are starting with a fully-built and working drive, you can create a full image on a USB disk. Incremental backups will keep this up to date. You need to create an Acronis Boot CD, for the first boot-up on a bare-metal system (one with no OS, partitions, or formatted space).

I personally don't feel safe and secure unless the first part of the image, with the basic OS on it, is also on CDs - but that's just the paranoia that comes with having lost data. Remember, the world is divided into people who have lost their data, and people who will lose their data.

A real paranoid would get a full image on CDs - though even I'm not that bad. You could set the compression level to high when burning the image, to reduce the image size; but it then takes longer both to burn and to restore.

To back up files and folders, simply use the USB disk. Of course, there is a popular saying 'If data doesn't exist in three places, it doesn't exist', and this has a lot of truth in it. Duplicate the image on other media for safety.

Plugging an image

You may decide at some stage to change your OS, for instance if you have Windows ME installed (as many still do) and wish to upgrade. In this case Acronis TI offers a very useful facility: you can create a full disk image before reformatting the disk, and then if you later find there was some data you forgot to retrieve before formatting the disk and installing the new OS, all is not lost. You can 'plug the image': that's to say you can connect to the image on the USB disk while in the new OS, and explore the old disk image in its entirety. All the files and folders will be accessible, exactly as if you were accessing the old hard drive.

Note that the data is accessible if discrete, but not if embedded in an application. You cannot normally run applications across the disks like this. So if the data you need is in a folder, that's fine - you can retrieve it. If you want an email out of Thunderbird, say - you are unlikely to be able to retrieve it.

Procedural issues

The first time you create an image, the task is a little unnerving since there are so many options presented by ATI at this point that you may worry that something has been overlooked. You won't know if your chosen procedure works until you have created a full image and restored it; given a choice, a practice run-through on an unimportant older machine, and some full notes on what you did, would be a wise choice.

In just a second we'll look at the precise method to use, but first let's first consider the program options. In my opinion the best way to use the app is to create a full image, and add incremental backups as and when. You can choose from differential or incremental additions, but most users think the incremental choice is better. You could do both until you're satisfied (in different folders).

Setting up the image creation parameters 

This is an important area and needs some attention, because:



There are three areas where one might justifiably complain Acronis have fallen short:

• They do not provide a simple ABC run-through for creating a full image, whether by the Secure Zone method or the more realistic removable media / remote disk method. The whole subject is so complex that ordinary PC users are frightened off.

• The default image creation settings (of program versions v8 and earlier) will not produce a satisfactory working backup.

• When you have changed the defaults and set them up exactly as you need them, closing the app may scrub your settings. Earlier program versions return to non-usable defaults. There is no 'Save Configs' option.

The second point is a serious bug in v8 and v9. The third point was corrected in v9 onward. Unless you alter the default settings, your backup simply won't work. These defaults seem to be set up for file & folder backups, and not disk backups, which is surely the reason most people will use ATI. Even backing-up folders might not produce a working directory backup on these settings.

When creating your image – whether a full disk or just a directory – you must change the default options manually. You can do this in the middle of the image creation procedure, and in fact this is the preferred method. These defaults can be accessed via the Tools menu (top menu bar - Tools - Options - Default Backup Options - Source Files Exclusion). Don't forget to alter these options each time you use ATI – the program may not keep your alterations, and may return to the unusable default settings (earlier program versions lose the user settings – later versions may keep them).

The problem is within the settings for file exclusion: wthout altering these settings, no system files will be copied. Since the main reason for using the program must surely be to backup the system files, this is a little strange. Even if backing up a new folder, and certainly with a bunch of them in a directory, one feels that excluding hidden files will not be a safe option. The only case in which these defaults will work is if you are just backing up a few files in an existing folder - in which case using ATI is probably not the best choice anyway.

Therefore, when creating an image with Acronis TI 8, be certain to 'manually change' (as ATI calls it) the following defaults, via the main Tools menu, just before you start:

Tools - Options -
Backup Defaults:
Source Files Exclusion:
:: Exclude all hidden files and folders
:: Exclude all system files and folders
:: Exclude all files matching the following criteria: (etc.)

UNCHECK ALL THESE BOXES, so that ALL files are copied.


Then, in the same Options menu, set the backup priority to high; compression to normal; and check image for errors = on. These settings ensure a fast error-free image creation. You most likely don't need an archive password, or want to use scripts; setting either of these to on introduces unwanted complexity into your first run-through.

You can leave the Archive Splitting method setting on auto; or set a value yourself. This means that when ATI is burning the image on CDs – or putting it on some other type of media with a size limitation – it will stop when the first CD is full, and prompt you to insert the next. Since this means it might fill up every last MB of data space, some may think it wise to set a filesize limit of for instance 675 MB if your CDs hold 700 MB, so that the risk of a CD read-error might be reduced. This setting should be used even when using a USB external disk, since: (a) you might want to put the image on CD at some stage, and (b) the image file size may be unacceptably large otherwise. Files of 5GB or whatever on a disk are just not a sensible option.

Make sure to enable the option to check the image for errors. This unfortunately doubles the image creation time (or even more in some cases) - but a dud image is of little use.

Partitions

One partition only may be copied, instead of the entire disk. However, if this is a bootable partition containing an OS, and especially if it wasn't the first partition on the disk, it may not prove bootable when restored. This may be because the MBR might not be included: this is the master boot record at the front of the disk, which tells the BIOS what partitions exist and if they are bootable. There are ways around this perhaps: use MBRtool, an MBR-adjusting utility available on the very useful UBCD**; or use an Acronis or PowerQuest partition utility to adjust things afterward. The safe option though is to image the whole disk first, then do incrementals for the individual partition required.

** UBCD = ultimate boot CD: a free download – Google it. Note that you can't actually boot from this CD unless you get the bootable Windows version, or add the files from a boot floppy, or adjust the visible files content. The idea of the CD is that it contains a lot of tools useful at boot-time (though they don't really make this very clear). Somehow, the user guide never gets the attention it deserves...

Burn Baby Burn

OK, let's do it. You need a PC or laptop with a CD-RW; some blank CD-Rs (do not be tempted to use CD-RWs, for umpteen different reasons); USB ports on the PC; a USB external hard disk; and an hour or two. Yes, you can set the image backup creation process to Low Priority, and keep working while it does it's stuff in the background; but is that a good idea? I don't think so. Would you defrag your hard drive while also compiling the Company's annual financial report at the last moment, with the printer's courier waiting at the door? Probably not. So just let it do it's thing and go out to lunch. Oh, and get the office junior to keep loading the CDs as required...

Let's assume a clean drive, a Windows OS, and access to the Service Packs, programs, and data you need to install in the first session. The drive has one or more partitions and is newly formatted. However, the quickest way to get a multi-partition drive working is to install one OS first, then run the preferred Acronis or PowerQuest partition utility; but that's by-the-by.

1. Boot to your Windows CD (if bootable) or floppy. Install the OS. Choose the fastest, skinniest way to get the OS up and running: don't choose all the options at this stage – you can easily add network or media capability later. You want a quick install and the minimum number of CDs to have to burn it to. Unless, of course, you have a spindle pack full of CDs to waste, and loads of time to kill.

2. Install Acronis TI. Reboot for safety.

3. Run Scandisk, or a 3rd-party tool like Ontrack Fix-It Utilities' Disk Checker. This checks that everything is as it should be. If somehow there's been a glitch in the OS install, you really don't want to record it for posterity.

4. Install a 3rd-party defragger – i.e. load and run a defragmentation utility. The Windows install leaves the whole disk looking like a dustbin, and you need to defrag and compact it to reduce the data block size overall, to save time and CDs on the image backup burn. ATI does a very good job on the compression, but there's no harm in helping it out. There is no point in saving a badly-fragmented image in any case. Plus, some of these utilities will also defrag, compact, and optimise the pagefile – a valuable bonus. Tip: VoptXP and Raxco PerfectDisk work well.

5. Now plug in your USB disk and check it works. You need to be able to see the disk in My Computer – it needs a drive letter assigned – you must save a file onto it – you must alter the file while it is on the external disk – you must then transfer the changed file back to your desktop. If you can do all these things then the USB HD is usable at this stage of the OS / driver install process. You may well find that it isn't, in which case you might need to load the disk's proprietary drivers into Windows. Sometimes it seems to be working but there is no drive letter for it in My Computer; this normally means you must install the drivers. If you've already done this, then in W2K you can resolve it in Control Panel - Administrative Tools - Computer Management - Storage - Disk Management.

6. When the USB disk is working and usable, you can proceed. Forget the Secure Zone and Recovery Manager options unless you can give away one-third of your hard drive. Load a blank CD into the burner drive.

7. Create an Acronis Boot CD. This is separate from and different to the backup CD. It contains a Windows boot sequence and an Acronis program loader, which together create an environment that can accept the first Acronis image CD.

8. Start the backup process. Choose your CD drive for the backup location, and use a filename like (ATI adds the .tib extension). This avoids the app calling it MyBackup or some such non-specific name. You want + . ATI will automatically name subsequent backups with the same filename plus 2, 3, etc.

ATI then creates the image CDs. Label the CDs as they are used.




You must change the file exclusions option in the Tools menu, to NO files excluded.
You should change the priority to high, and 'check archive' to on – these can be changed in the Tools menu, or within the option choices given as you create the image.

9. When the initial OS backup finishes, run the whole same procedure on the USB disk. Make a folder called for instance Disk Images, and point the app to that. If you want to try cutting corners, then just paste the CD contents into the folder. Up to you. You'd have to be certain you got all the hidden files and folders, and that the disk image was in precisely the same form.

10. Now install any extra Windows components you need; then add Service Packs where required. Defrag the disk again.

11. Add an incremental backup to the USB disk.

12. Load programs and data onto your PC, defrag, then put another incremental backup on the USB disk. Make sure to put all backups in the same folder. They only work as a a linked series (though you can pull out the first file and use it separately, as it is a complete backup for that early stage).


And you're done. You can recover from a bare-metal crash, or get a fully-loaded disk back rapidly, or just plug the image (navigate to the backup folder and allow ATI to interpret the contents) to simply pull a folder or files out that you maybe deleted in error. If you go to the user forums for ATI, you'll find plenty of people who are very glad they used it. Your first backup and restore experience may not always go smoothly, but we hope that with this info it will at least work pardonably well.

We could say test the final result on another PC, and keep some brief notes on how you created the image and then restored it; but would anybody listen?

Notes

A Windows 2000 SP4 new install will image at ~540MB, so it fits on one CD at the normal compression setting.

The CD burn procedure may have some glitches at the start, where the app cannot seem to see the CD drive. Just keep on going, though, and it turns out OK.

Checking that the archive is valid takes a lot longer than creating it in the first place, which can be fairly quick with bare OS installs. For example, it takes 20 minutes or less to create a 1-CD image, then more than half an hour to validate it. Alarmingly, the validation sequence opens with a message that it will take 10 hours, or something else equally ridiculous; but this is like file download time first estimates, and soon drops to a reasonable figure.

The CD burn may finish with an error message, but will be OK. The error probably refers to the CD drive glitches referred to earlier. In my experience you can ignore this; the CD will work fine.

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Appendix 1 – USB disk images

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Appendix 2 – Ensuring the smallest filesize for the first CD image

During the image creation run-through above, it was mentioned that the smaller, skinnier, and more compact the initial bare OS install could be kept at, then the less CDs would be required and the faster the first image could be burnt.

There are more ways to achieve this, if you are in search of the most compact solution. As mentioned, you should help ATI out by defragging the installed OS. If you check just after the install you can see the disk totally splattered. Forget the Windows defragger, always use a 3rd-party app. In addition, you can do one or more of the following, which all help to reduce the total filesize:

1. Install and run Ontrack Fix-It Utilities registry cleaner; remove all the unnecessary languages, time zones, keyboard settings, and desktop schemes. Make sure to leave one of each item.
2. Run the Ontrack registry defragger.
3. Run a boot-time defragger (Raxco PD for instance).
4. Optimise the pagefile (VoptXP is best; or Raxco PD, Ontrack).
5. Load and run WinWasher. This clears out all temporary and history files that you don't need. It's like Windows Disk Clean-up utility, but much, much better. It takes more time to run than you would think – because it finds files you would never be able to locate yourself without a long reference list and four hours spare time.

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Appendix 3 - Restoring An Image

All the hard work was done at the image-creation stage. Now you just have to load the image back onto the PC or laptop.

With the Secure Zone option, there isn't much to do:
1. Load the Acronis Boot CD (recovery CD) – you still need this.
2. Start Recovery Manager.
3. Give it 20 minutes and you're back at work, even if the full image hasn't been fully restored yet.

Using the more likely CD + USB disk option, or USB disk only, if you have a corrupt Windows system then it may be better to reformat the disk and start from scratch, rather than loading an image on top (especially if there was any chance of a virus).

With a bare drive you can just load the image straight on, you don't have to format it. Even so, I do as it feels safer.

1. Start with a boot floppy or OS CD, then FDISK and format c: (if that's your choice).
2. Remove that media.
3. Load the Acronis Boot CD.
4. Then, load the first image CD or point to the USB disk, to start the image reload.
5. When the basic OS is loaded, reboot.
6. If the first stage was CD-only, then connect the USB disk, open ATI, start Recovery again, point ATI to the USB backup image and finish restoring the image.

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Appendix 4 - boot failures


Acronis fails to load
If Acronis fails to boot up from the Boot CD, but will boot in safe mode from the CD, then the most likely reason is disk errors. This is the cause when the Acronis loader stops / hangs, on boot-up with the Boot CD. You need to run a disk error correction utility first, to fix the errors, before Acronis will load.

The easiest way to do this is to run a Windows 98 CD install, which will automatically fix the disk errors first, then ask if you wish to format the disk, then if you wish to install W98. Format the disk, then shut down and go to the Acronis boot CD, which should now run.

If it doesn't the disk should be treated as faulty. You may well be able to install an OS and go ahead as normal, but the disk has errors that mean it is not wise to use it for a main drive.

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[This tute was written several years ago, and has been upgraded in parts. The info is still valid for most versions of Acronis TI, certainly v8 and 9.]