Acronis True Image 9 Adds File-Based Backup

Acronis True Image has been on its way to becoming the standard for affordable image-based backup for Windows users. Now, with version 9, Acronis True Image adds support for rudimentary file-based backup as well. At $50 (for the downloadable version of the product), this makes True Image 9 a formidable offering in the Windows home backup software market.

Image-based backup involves low-level disk copying without paying attention to how the bits and bytes are organized into files. The pros of image-based backup center on the ability to restore an entire disk back to a previous state, a great time saver in case of disk failure, corruption by virus, etc. The cons, of course, are that image-based backup can require large amounts of time and space on the backup medium.

File-based backup, on the other hand, can be very fast and space-efficient, since you need only backup the most crucial files. The downside, of course, is that restoring an entire disk can require lengthy and tedious reinstallation of the operating system and each individual application, since those are exactly the sorts of files one avoids backing up to save time and space.

This version also offers differential backups, which let you backup only what has changed since the previous full backup. As with incremental backup, which True Image already supported, this feature works with image-based backups, not just file-based backups, which is somewhat unusual. Supporting incremental and differential image backups lets True Image reduce the time required, one of the principal drawbacks of any image-based backup scheme.

See Also

• Our Backup Software Buyer's Guide, which explains many of the features to consider when purchasing Windows backup software.

September