Creating a Hard Drive Image using Acronis True Image

For the sake of this review of Acronis True Image, lets say that I have just spent hours loading Windows XP on a new computer. I used Windows Update to install all 93 security updates, loaded and tweaked all of my applications to get them just the way I need them to be able to have my computer function exactly the way I like it. I do not want to do that job again any time soon. Another scenario would be that you are about to try something that you are not sure will work, like trying the latest and greatest video driver, and it has the possibility of crashing your computer. If you need to upgrade your hard drive without reinstalling Windows, this is the easiest way to get the job done.

The first thing that needs to be done is to take an exact image of the hard drive just in case it crashes or you accidentally step in some scumware and do not feel like taking the two hours it probably would take to remove it. The tool for the job is Acronis True Image. Here is the step-by-step tutorial or walkthrough of Acronis True Image in action.

Although there are many different ways to image a hard drive, the easiest way to image a computer hard drive is to use the Acronis True Image hard drive cloning utility. The installation is a snap. The defaults work just fine. When you open the program, you will see the user interface below with a lot of options to manage and protect all of those megabytes and gigabytes.

We want to take an exact image of the hard drive. For that task, click on the Backup option on the program interface.

Then choose the "My Computer" option on the folowing screen.

Acronis True Image will analyze the configuration and have you choose which partition to make a backup image of. Choose your main partition to image.

Then you will be asked where you want to store the image. In this case, there are two hard drives installed in the computer so I will choose the Data drive to store the image.

Then we will have it create a full backup archive.

You can just use the defaults on the next few screens and then you will come to the following screen. True Image is basically telling you what it is going to do. Double check this screen to make sure that all the backup options are correct and then click proceed.

You then will see a progress indicator for a short time. The following screenshot is the operation in progress. You notice that you can still be working at your computer while the image is being taken.

When the image has been successfully created, you will see the following prompt.

Go to the location where the image was created to see the image file.

That file should be stored in a safe place away from the computer. There are many home computer backup scenarios to consider but just remember to backup your files regularly. I recommend using an online backup solution. Whatever you choose to do with it, choose a safe location for it so if the computer crashes, the image file will not be lost. What is a Hard Drive Crash? Now if the computer does crash or maybe you step in some scumware or something, you can restore it to the original state in a matter of minutes. Even if you just want to upgrade your hard drive without reinstalling your Operating System, this image will work on a bigger hard drive too!

On a scale of Bytes to Brontobytes, the Acronis True Image disk imaging process gets a Brontobyte. It just works.

The next review shows just how easy Acronis makes it to restore the image.

Another review shows you how to make a bootable CD in case your system is unbootable and you need to restore the image.

Acronis True Image 2010 - Complete disk imaging and system disk backup for home PCs

Acronis True Image 2010

Acronis True Image 2010 has just been released with some exciting new features to keep your data safer than ever.  The hard drive backup and imaging program still has all of the useful features as before with some great improvements including virtual hard drive support and the Universal Restore feature which allows you to restore an image to dissimilar hardware or a virtual machine.  See our Full Review of Acronis True Image Home 2010. True Image now supports Windows 7 and includes an online backup solution to keep your files safe, secure and available.  See the Review of all of the new features of Acronis True Image Home 2010 here. Download a free trial of the Newest Version.

The image you make with Acronis True Image should be stored in a safe spot away from the physical computer. We recommend a large flash drive, an external hard drive or an online backup solution. Check some of our recommended storage solutions.

See some External Hard Drives>>

See some Flash Drives>>

Post your Questions or Comments or Reviews about Acronis True Image Home

By Randy	2009-01-26 12:03:09
Bob, As with most software, you will need a separate license for each computer.
By Bob Austino	2009-01-26 09:45:49
Can this software be used on more than one machine, or are multiple copies of True Image needed?
By Waldo	2008-12-02 11:12:48
Great Article - Very Helpful -THANKS!
By Randy	2008-10-25 09:31:57
The image you create is a file that is at least half the size of the used Gigabytes on your hard drive. For instance, if you are using 100 Gigabytes on your hard drive, the image size will be less than 50 Gigabytes. You will still have 950 Gigabytes left on your Terabyte drive.
By Raheem Reid	2008-10-24 20:10:33
This was helpful. I still have a question about imaging my notebook which has a 320 gb hard drive to a 1tb usb drive. How would that work. What happens to the extra 680 gb?
By ben croft	2008-10-02 07:45:08
this infromation was realy help full this will help me pass my task fanx a lot
By Bhupesh	2008-09-12 05:44:48
this info. was helpful .I want little more info

Comments	Date
By ZAIN	2009-09-15 18:13:17
PLZ HELP ITS URGENT. I have made an image of my C drive to another drive. ok so.... How do I write it to a DVD because its size is 11.2 GB and a DVD's size is 4.7 GB. I dont know how to break this image into chunks to fit into DVD. And more importantly, will Acronis still recognise it in chunks??? Also to clairify that I also have Nero 8. I would love to hear from some experiences users. Thanks.
By Randy	2009-09-05 09:36:42
Juno - Yes, simply create a boot CD. The True Image program is included on the CD.
By juno	2009-09-03 16:48:35
Thanks for the tutorial. Is it possible to create a disk image of a computer without having first installed the software, by using the bootable CD and running True Image off the CD? My hard drive is starting to go south so I wanted to avoid the strain of installing another piece of software.
By Randy	2009-07-27 10:30:58
One Boot CD will work for all of the computers. Laptops are no different when it comes to using Acronis. You may have to hit a certain key at boot time to invoke a boot menu to select booting from the CD. For instance, for a Dell laptop you would need to hit the F12 key for the boot menu. Other laptops may use a different key. You should be able to simply deselect the external drive from the backup job when you create it. Acronis won’t backup anything that you don’t tell it to backup.
By George	2009-07-27 06:15:05
Me again.. Have two copies (liecences) (looking at 1 or 2 more) Discovered the recover Disk I made while it was trialed is rejected because I made it was under trial, Does each computer have to make it's own recovery disk or will one recover disk do for the others as well (Provided it's not by a trial version :)). Are laptops different (am still trying to get it to boot from a boot cd and not sure it's suitable for acronis). Also when creating the second comps protect backup it tried to include the usb disk I use (and already had the other comps backup on.) Didn't want to backup the backup. Got around this by not adding the USB drive till I'd started the backup and needed to tell it were to put it. Is this right or is there a better way?
By Randy	2009-06-01 09:19:14
George, Acronis True Image for Home will not let you backup multiple computers. You may want to look into the Echo Workstation. http://www.whatsabyte.com/P1/echoworkstation.htm The Workstation allows you to remotely deploy and manage multiple licensed computers from a single location. No you don’t need the USB disk connected while making the recovery disk. A full backup is more of a file backup, backing up data only. The system backup would allow you to restore the entire computer, including the Operating System. Hope this helps.
By George	2009-06-01 03:37:13
pss Whats the difference between a "Full Backup" and a "System Backup"?
By George	2009-06-01 03:31:49
Further questions after a weekend comparing it with 2 other back softwares. Do I need the USB disk comected while making the "Recovery Disk" if that is were I plan to store the copies? Can it make a full disk copy of a USB disk? Can it create the image on another computer over a network? and does this second computer (that just stores the backup) need to also have a liecence?, Does this second computer need to be up when the recovery disk for the first computer is made so it can retrieve it's image? And could this second computer (if liecenced and installed) be used to recover the original computers disk even though it didn't create the backup just stored it. PS the special offer finished last week, dam it, however of the three I'm trialling one has already been rejected and this is looking like being the winner although I do not plan to get the full 6 liecences but am looking at conecting other computer disks to the liecenced computer(s) ever 3/4 months to make a stored backups (thet are only kids computers after all) or use the other software on those wich is cheaper.
By George	2009-06-01 02:19:54
Thanks for your quick reply and sorry for the unclear mening of my question.... I am aware of the leicence requirements but ment is it possible for Computer A to take a full backup of computer B's disk over a network. where they both have leicences. I'm guessing after a bit more reading the answer is No.
By Randy	2009-05-26 10:34:58
George, Unfortunately, as with most software, you will need a separate license for each computer. But there is a deal on multiple licenses. You can save $30 when you buy a 2 copy bundle. If you order 3 bundles you would save $90 compared to purchasing 6 separate copies.

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