PC Authority
March, 2006

by Davey Winder

Backup power

Acronis True Image 9.0

Rating: 5/6

'Acronis True Image adds features that simple backup tools can't match, such as migrating an entire drive to another — partitions and all.'

Where Acronis really pulls away from Norton's Ghost 10 is in its sheer speed and power, particularly when it comes to restoring images, taking around a third less time in our tests.

There's also the unique Snap Restore feature, which lets you boot directly from the disk image while the image is still being restored, and gets you up and running again in seconds rather than minutes. This works by booting a small Linux kernel to restore enough data to reboot into Windows before proceeding with the full restore process. It's even intelligent enough to note if you're trying to launch an application that isn't fully restored yet, and make that restoration a priority.

Disk imaging alone isn't enough for a data backup and recovery strategy for the home or small business, and Acronis addresses this by incorporating more holistic features. You'll need to plough through the documentation, as Acronis doesn't provide the friendliest of interfaces. The Management window is too cluttered, with none of the point-and-click focus of Ghost. Yet, by sticking with the wizard approach, it soon becomes second nature. Most important of the new features is the arrival of a full backup system, with the ability to back up individual files and folders, as well as the full disk image. This works so well there's no need for additional backup tools — unlike Ghost. Acronis True Image also adds features that simple backup tools would be hard-pressed to match, such as the cloning feature that allows you to migrate an entire drive to another, and both format and partition new drives.

Tasks such as cloning your hard disk can be achieved with just a few simple mouse clicks.

Acronis True Image allows you to back up and restore individual files and folders.

Whereas Ghost can only perform full and incremental image backups, Acronis True Image has upped the stakes and introduced full differential support. While this results in larger images, it does ensure you'll always have all the files needed to perform a restore in one place. The Startup Recovery Manager configures your PC to boot up and restore to the most recent image without the need for a separate boot disk in the event of some catastrophic Windows failure. Once enabled, you can then press F11 during bootup, be taken into the application and restore an image from any local or network location in a matter of minutes.

Data verification is well supported, both after creating an image and before restoring one. Images can be saved to just about any media, including both USB and FireWire drives, a network and writeable CD or DVDs. There is no built-in DVD packet-writing capability though, and it only officially supports Roxio and Nero software. We didn't find this a problem, as most UDF DVD packet-writing software worked in our tests.

Everything you'll need to implement a comprehensive backup regime.

Acronis True Image offers comprehensive OS support, covering most workstation versions of Windows from 95 upwards and non-Windows environments such as Linux and Novell NetWare. Unfortunately, coverage doesn't run to supporting remote installation or central management. Acronis True Image 9.0 is strictly an individual product and you'll need a corporate workstation version of Acronis True Image 8 for that, and you need server versions of Acronis True Image 8 (or Ghost 10) to get support for dynamic disks.

There are other potential areas of irritation, particularly in archive management. Whereas Norton will list and automatically delete old backups based upon your parameters, Acronis True Image requires manual deletion. Also, the "locate by filename" approach can be tiresome when dealing with multiple daily archives.

Archive security isn't perfect either. Compared to Ghost's level of encryption, basic password protection just doesn't cut it. The resizable Acronis Secure Zone is restricted to storing images within a hidden partition on the source drive. This can't be accessed by normal user activity, should be safe from most viruses and, in combination with the Startup Recovery Manager, provides a handy system-restore option. It isn't much use if the drive itself suffers a catastrophic failure, so for serious backup strategy, external media is preferred.

Nonetheless, while Ghost 10's more focused, friendlier interface and tighter security make it a reasonable choice, Acronis True Image 9.0 beats it in every other area. As such, it's our disk-imaging application of choice.