A Look At Acronis True Image 11

September 22nd, 2007,

Updated November 7th, 2007

   It is no secret I'm a big fan of Acronis True Image. I believe that it is the best backup and imaging software there is. I'm not alone. TI has received many accolades and awards. So, version 11 is out and I'll show you what TI is, what has changed since version 10, and what I think about it. I spent several days using this program I and I could probably write a mini-book about it. But, I don't want to write it and you don't want to read it. So, I'll try and keep this short and sweet.

What It Is

  Acronis True Image is, at its core, backup imaging software. What this means is it doesn't just copy and replace files. It actually does a complete bit-by-bit copy of a partition or disk, an exact picture-in-time if you will. This picture-in-time is shockingly known as an "image". Maybe it will help if I explain how I use it...

  After I install an Operating System I begin making images. I'll make an original image, just the OS and it's updates with no other programs. Then I'll install all my programs and make another image. Next I tweak everything and make another image. Getting the gist of this? For every major change I'm making an image, if something goes awry I can quickly revert to the previous pristine state. New programs and new versions of programs are released all the time. I sometimes think I try more programs than any human alive and most of them, well, they stink. Of course I'll update as needed as I go along but I'll have what you can call "update days". I'll put aside an hour or so every 4 to 6 weeks. First I restore the computer from the latest backup then begin updating (Windows Update, program updates, new programs, new drivers, etc.). Then run a full cleanup and defrag and make a new image. This assures me of a clean and optimized computer and I know I can revert to that state in minutes. Now, as I use my computer I do so in complete confidence, knowing that I can recover from anything.

Other backup features:

   TI also allows for other types of backups. These include backups of music, pictures, and other data. To be quite honest, I don't use these other features. You can see more about them here.

What Has Changed

   Straight from Acronis:

What I Think

   I'm going to do this feature by feature. I'll give a grade to each one and a weighted overall grade at the end. Please keep in mind that this is simply my opinion based on how I use a computer and do backups.

Drive Imaging  grade = Incomplete

 See next section: Bootable Rescue Media

Bootable Rescue Media  grade=A-

***edited 07NOV2007

Allows you to boot your computer from a CD/DVD to backup / restore your computer. Works great on one of my desktops and my laptop. However, it WILL NOT READ my Intel RAID 0 array on my main computer. Version 10 has no such problem. If it can't read my disk setup I wonder how many other setups it misses? This is a show stopper and is inexcusable. BTW, I'm not the only one with this problem. I wandered over to the Acronis forums and found others having the same issue.

With the release of Build 8053 (07 November, 2007) comes support for Intel RAID. It is working now on my computer, BUT, it is slower than previous versions. It is approximately 2.5 times slower on my drives than was TI10. So, if you've got Intel RAID and this may be an issue for you I would suggest sticking with TI10.

Other Backup Methods  grade = B-

   It does the job of backing up your data files just fine. However, all backups are saved as a .tib file. For lack of a better explanation, this is Acronis's proprietary, zip type format. While this may be a good way to compress and protect backups I just don't like it. It adds another step to trying to access those backups. I prefer using a straight forward backup like Microsoft's SyncToy or Karen's Replicator (both free). Why not include something like those 2 in the program?

Acronis Secure Zone  grade = D

"The Acronis Secure Zone is a special, hidden partition on your hard disk that is inaccessible to normal applications. It is used to store disk and partition images and works with Acronis Startup Recovery Manager to let you restore images quickly and easily should your laptop become corrupted and fail to boot."

Wasted space that is only accessible from with the program. No thank you. I'll manage my partitions and backup locations myself. Both Try & Decide and Acronis Recovery Manager depend on this, which IMHO makes these features useless, for me at least.

Try & Decide  grade = F, errr, make that F-

"Create a safe portion of your hard disk where you can install new software, open questionable emails, surf the web, or do other tasks without putting your computer at risk; save what you want, delete what you don’t want"

First off it depends on using the Acronis Secure Zone (see above).  Secondly, this feature will not stay on during a reboot. This is Windows guys, most of what I would want to "try & decide" requires a reboot.

Screenshots here.

Acronis Recovery Manager  grade = C-

"Boot your computer even if your operating system has failed. Just hit the F11 key to start the recovery process, when the system is powered on. Restore your system image from the Acronis Secure Zone."

First off it depends on using the Acronis Secure Zone (see above). Secondly, it overwrites your Master Boot Record (MBR).

I grudgingly gave it a C- because 'road warriors' using laptops and a single OS (XP or Vista) may find this feature useful.

Drive Cleaner (and File Shredder) grade = A-

"Protect your sensitive data when you are discarding a hard drive or returning leased system by securely easing the whole hard drive"

It does the job, but there are plenty of freeware apps that will do this too. Looks to me like they just added the wipe feature from Acronis Disk Director.

System Cleanup  grade = F-

I honestly don't understand why this feature is even here. Just use CCleaner it does a much better job.

Set and Forget  grade = B

WOW you can actually SCHEDULE a backup. Oh come on guys, is the marketing department naming features now?

Well, at least it works...

Search and Explore archives  grade = D

For disk / partition images I could do this in version 10; Right-click,  and choose "mount".  As for exploring other images, it's why I use other backup methods.

Email backup and restore  grade = C-

Works fine but only does Outlook and Outlook Express. I use Thunderbird, 'nuff said.

Conclusion

***edited 07NOV2007

As it stands right now I'm afraid I cannot recommend True Image 11. I'm sure (or at least hopeful) that they will fix the Bootable Rescue Media issue(s) and if so I will revise this article. I write this with regret because version 10 is simply the best imaging program out there. Acronis: Somehow, somewhere your R&D / testing let you down.

With the release of Build 8053 (07 November, 2007) I am modifying my conclusion and recommendation...

   Throughout this review I've been pretty hard on Acronis so you might think I would not recommend this product. However, this is not the case. Despite all my ranting my conclusion is that Acronis True Image Home 11 is still the best imaging software there is. My recommendation is to ignore the fluff and the applications that you have no use for and use it for what it is great at, imaging your computer.

Eric

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