Acronis True Image for Western Digital

Acronis True Image for

Western Digital

USER GUIDE

Table of contents

1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................5

1.1 What is Acronis True Image for Western Digital? ..................................................................... 5

1.2 Backups created in Acronis True Image ..................................................................................... 5

1.3 System requirements and supported media ............................................................................. 6

1.3.1 Minimum system requirements .................................................................................................................... 6

1.3.2 Supported operating systems ........................................................................................................................ 6

1.3.3 Backing up all data on your PC ....................................................................................................................... 7

1.3.4 Supported file systems .................................................................................................................................... 8

1.3.5 Supported storage media ............................................................................................................................... 8

1.4 Installing Acronis True Image for Western Digital ..................................................................... 9

1.5 Activating Acronis True Image for Western Digital .................................................................10

1.6 Upgrading Acronis True Image for Western Digital .................................................................10

1.7 Technical Support ....................................................................................................................11

2 Getting started .............................................................................................................. 12

2.1 User interface language ...........................................................................................................12

2.2 Protecting your system ............................................................................................................12

2.2.1 Backing up your computer ........................................................................................................................... 13

2.2.2 Creating Acronis bootable media ................................................................................................................. 14

2.3 Backing up your files ................................................................................................................15

2.4 Cloning your hard drive ...........................................................................................................15

2.5 Recovering your computer ......................................................................................................17

2.6 Recovering your files and folders ............................................................................................19

3 Basic concepts ............................................................................................................... 20

3.1 Basic concepts ..........................................................................................................................20

3.2 The difference between file backups and disk/partition images ............................................21

3.3 Full, incremental and differential backups ..............................................................................22

3.4 Deciding where to store your backups ....................................................................................25

3.4.1 Preparing a new disk for backup .................................................................................................................. 26

3.4.2 Authentication settings ................................................................................................................................. 27

3.5 Using Acronis Nonstop Backup ................................................................................................27

3.5.1 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage ........................................................................................................ 28

3.5.2 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions ........................................................................................... 29

3.6 Backup file naming ...................................................................................................................29

3.7 Integration with Windows .......................................................................................................30

3.8 Wizards ....................................................................................................................................31

3.9 FAQ about backup, recovery and cloning ................................................................................32

4 Backing up data ............................................................................................................. 34

4.1 Backing up disks and partitions ...............................................................................................34

4.2 Backing up files and folders .....................................................................................................35

4.3 Backup options ........................................................................................................................36

4.3.1 Scheduling ...................................................................................................................................................... 37

4.3.2 Backup schemes ............................................................................................................................................ 39

4.3.3 Notifications for backup operation .............................................................................................................. 44

4.3.4 Image creation mode .................................................................................................................................... 46

4.3.5 Backup splitting ............................................................................................................................................. 46

4.3.6 Backup validation option .............................................................................................................................. 47

4.3.7 Backup reserve copy ..................................................................................................................................... 47

4.3.8 Error handling ................................................................................................................................................ 48

4.3.9 Computer shutdown ..................................................................................................................................... 48

4.3.10 Performance of backup operation ............................................................................................................... 49

4.3.11 Laptop power settings .................................................................................................................................. 50

5 Recovering data ............................................................................................................. 52

5.1 Recovering disks and partitions ...............................................................................................52

5.1.1 Recovering your system after a crash .......................................................................................................... 52

5.1.2 Recovering partitions and disks ................................................................................................................... 60

5.1.3 About recovery of dynamic/GPT disks and volumes .................................................................................. 62

5.1.4 Arranging boot order in BIOS or UEFI BIOS ................................................................................................. 64

5.2 Recovering files and folders .....................................................................................................65

5.3 Searching backup content .......................................................................................................66

5.4 Recovery options .....................................................................................................................67

5.4.1 Disk recovery mode ...................................................................................................................................... 67

5.4.2 Pre/Post commands for recovery ................................................................................................................ 67

5.4.3 Validation option ........................................................................................................................................... 68

5.4.4 Computer restart ........................................................................................................................................... 68

5.4.5 File recovery options ..................................................................................................................................... 68

5.4.6 Overwrite file options ................................................................................................................................... 69

5.4.7 Performance of recovery operation ............................................................................................................ 69

5.4.8 Notifications for recovery operation ........................................................................................................... 70

6 Active protection ........................................................................................................... 71

6.1 Configuring Active Protection ..................................................................................................72

6.2 Configuring Protection exclusions ...........................................................................................73

6.3 Ransomware quarantine .........................................................................................................74

7 Disk cloning and migration ............................................................................................. 75

7.1 Disk cloning utility ....................................................................................................................75

7.1.1 Clone Disk wizard .......................................................................................................................................... 75

7.1.2 Manual partitioning ...................................................................................................................................... 77

7.1.3 Excluding items from cloning ....................................................................................................................... 78

7.2 Migrating your system from an HDD to an SSD .......................................................................79

7.2.1 What to do if Acronis True Image for Western Digital does not recognize your SSD .............................. 79

7.2.2 Migrating to SSD using the backup and recovery method......................................................................... 80

8 Tools ............................................................................................................................. 82

8.1 Creating bootable rescue media ..............................................................................................82

8.2 Acronis Media Builder..............................................................................................................83

8.2.1 Creating Acronis bootable media ................................................................................................................. 84

8.2.2 Acronis bootable media startup parameters .............................................................................................. 85

8.2.3 Adding drivers to an existing .wim image ................................................................................................... 86

8.2.4 Creating an .iso file from a .wim file ............................................................................................................ 87

8.3 Making sure that your bootable media can be used when needed ........................................88

8.3.1 Selecting video mode when booting from the bootable media ................................................................ 92

8.4 Adding a new hard disk ............................................................................................................93

8.4.1 Selecting a hard disk ...................................................................................................................................... 93

8.4.2 Selecting initialization method ..................................................................................................................... 94

8.4.3 Creating new partitions ................................................................................................................................ 95

8.5 Security and Privacy Tools .......................................................................................................97

8.5.1 Acronis DriveCleanser ................................................................................................................................... 97

8.5.2 System Clean-up .......................................................................................................................................... 100

8.5.3 Hard Disk Wiping methods ......................................................................................................................... 106

8.6 Mounting an image ................................................................................................................107

8.7 Unmounting an image ...........................................................................................................108

8.8 Working with .vhd(x) files ......................................................................................................108

8.8.1 Converting Acronis backup ......................................................................................................................... 109

8.9 Importing and exporting backup settings ..............................................................................109

9 Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................... 111

9.1 Resolving the most frequent issues .......................................................................................111

9.2 Technical Support ..................................................................................................................112

9.3 Acronis System Report ...........................................................................................................112

9.4 Acronis Smart Error Reporting ...............................................................................................113

9.5 How to collect crash dumps ..................................................................................................113

9.6 Acronis Customer Experience Program .................................................................................114

1 Introduction

1.1 What is Acronis True Image for Western Digital?

Acronis True Image for Western Digital is an integrated software suite that ensures the security of all

of the information on your PC. It can back up your documents, photos, email, and selected partitions,

and even the entire disk drive, including operating system, applications, settings, and all of your data.

Backups allow you to recover your computer system should a disaster occur, such as losing data,

accidentally deleting critical files or folders, or suffering a complete hard disk crash.

Key features:

 Backing up your computer (p. 13)

 Acronis bootable media (p. 82)

 Hard disk cloning (p. 75)

 Security and privacy tools (p. 82)

Getting started

Learn how to protect your computer with two simple steps: Protecting your system (p. 12).

1.2 Backups created in Acronis True Image

Acronis True Image 2020 introduced a new backup format - TIBX, which is even more reliable and

convenient than the previous TIB format. The TIBX format is used for disk backups created to internal

drives, external drives, and network storage.

Backup file naming

With .tibx files, the file name has only the backup name and an incremental counter. It does not

contain any additional information such as backup method, backup chain number, backup version

number, or volume number, which were used with the TIB format.

A backup name may look like:

1. my_archive.tibx

2. my_archive_0001.tibx

3. my_archive_0002.tibx

4. my_archive_0003.tibx

Backup schemes

Backing up in the TIBX format supports all backup schemes. As opposed to the TIB format, which

saves every backup version as a separate file, the TIBX format saves full and differential backup

versions as separate files, while incremental backup versions are automatically merged into their

base backups (full or differential).

Cleaning up TIBX format backups

If you’d like to clean up backup versions you do not need anymore, use automatic and manual

cleanup methods.

In case automatic or manual cleanups are configured, some small auxiliary files may stay in the

storage after the cleanup. Windows may show the size of these files bigger than the real one. You

can see the physical size by checking Windows file properties.

Please do not delete any files manually!

Cleaning up local backups manually has the following scheme:

 Full backups can be deleted with the dependent versions only.

 Differential backup versions can be deleted independently of any other backup versions.

 Incremental backups:

 If it is the last backup chain, then any incremental backup can be deleted to free up the

space.

 If it is not the last backup chain, any incremental backup version can be deleted only

together with all other incremental versions of the same chain.

Which backups retain TIB format

The file-level backups continue to use the TIB format.

To compare naming of a .tibx archive with a .tib archive in detail, please refer to Backup file naming

(p. 29).

1.3 System requirements and supported media

1.3.1 Minimum system requirements

Acronis True Image for Western Digital requires the following hardware:

 At least one storage device by Western Digital hardware brands, including WD, SanDisk, and

G-Tech, or a network attached storage by Western Digital.

 Processor Pentium 1 GHz

 1 GB RAM

 3.5 GB of free space on the system hard disk

 CD-RW/DVD-RW drive or an USB drive for bootable media creation (about 600 MB of free space

is required)

 Screen resolution 1024 x 768

 Mouse or other pointing device (recommended)

 You need to have administrator privileges to run Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Warning Successful backup and recovery are not guaranteed for the installations on virtual machines.

1.3.2 Supported operating systems

Acronis True Image for Western Digital has been tested on the following operating systems.

 Windows 10 (all editions, including the October 2020 Update)

 Windows 8.1

 Windows 8

 Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)

 Windows Home Server 2011

Note

• Beta builds are not supported. See https://kb.acronis.com/content/60589

• Windows Embedded, IoT editions, Windows 10 LTSB, and Windows 10 LTSC are not supported

Acronis True Image for Western Digital also lets you create a bootable CD-R/DVD-R or USB drive that

can back up and recover a disk/partition on a computer running any Intel- or AMD- based PC

operating system, including Linux®. Note that the Intel-based Apple Macintosh is not supported.

It is possible for the software to work on other Windows operating systems, but it is not guaranteed.

Warning Successful recovery is guaranteed only for the supported operating systems. Other operating systems

can be backed up using a sector-by-sector approach, but they may become unbootable after recovery.

1.3.3 Backing up all data on your PC

What is an Entire PC backup?

An Entire PC backup is the easiest way to back up the full contents of your computer. We

recommend that you choose this option when you are not sure which data that you need to protect.

If you want to back up your system partition only, refer to Backing up disks and partitions (p. 34) for

details.

When you select Entire PC as a backup type, Acronis True Image for Western Digital backs up all your

internal hard drives in disk mode. The backup contains the operating system, installed programs,

system settings, and all your personal data including your photos, music, and documents.

The recovery from an Entire PC backup is also simplified. You only need to choose the date to which

you want to revert your data. Acronis True Image for Western Digital recovers all data from the

backup to the original location. Note that you cannot select specific disks or partitions to recover and

you cannot change the default destination. If you need to avoid these limitations, we recommend

that you back up your data with an ordinary disk-level backup method. Refer to Backing up disks and

partitions (p. 34) for details.

You can also recover specific files and folders from an Entire PC backup. Refer to Backing up files and

folders (p. 35) for details.

If an Entire PC backup contains dynamic disks, you recover your data in partition mode. This means

that you can select partitions to recover and change recovery destination. Refer to About recovery of

dynamic/GPT disks and volumes (p. 62) for details.

How do I create an Entire PC backup?

To back up the entire contents of your computer:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. Click the plus sign at the bottom of the backup list.

4. Click the Backup source icon, and then select Entire PC.

5. Click the Backup destination icon, and then select a destination for the backup.

Refer to Deciding where to store your backups (p. 25) for details.

6. [optional step] Click Options to set the options for the backup, including Schedule (p. 37),

Scheme (p. 39), and Password protection. For more information see Backup options (p. 36).

7. Click Back up now.

1.3.4 Supported file systems

 NTFS

 Ext2/Ext3/Ext4

 ReiserFS(3) *

 Linux SWAP *

 HFS+**/HFSX**

 FAT16/32/exFAT **

* File systems are supported only for disk or partition backup/recovery operations.

** Disk recovery, partition recovery, and cloning operations are supported without resizing.

If a file system is not supported or is corrupted, Acronis True Image for Western Digital can copy data

using a sector-by-sector approach.

1.3.5 Supported storage media

 Hard disk drives (HDD)*

 Solid State Drives (SSD)

 Network attached storage (NAS) devices

 My Cloud (Sequoia)

 My Cloud (Glacier)

 WD Cloud for Japan

 My Cloud Mirror

 My Cloud Mirror (Gen 2)

 My Cloud EX2

 My Cloud EX2 Ultra

 My Cloud EX2100

 My Cloud EX4

 My Cloud EX4100

 My Cloud DL2100

 My Cloud DL4100

 My Cloud PR2100

 USB 1.1 / 2.0 / 3.0, USB-C, eSATA, FireWire (IEEE-1394), SCSI, and PC card storage devices

* Limitations on operations with dynamic disks:

 Recovery of a dynamic volume as a dynamic volume with manual resizing is not supported.

 "Clone disk" operation is not supported for dynamic disks.

The firewall settings of the source computer should have Ports 20 and 21 opened for the TCP and

UDP protocols to function. The Routing and Remote Access Windows service should be disabled.

1.4 Installing Acronis True Image for Western Digital

Installing Acronis True Image for Western Digital

You cannot install Acronis True Image for Western Digital in the same system where Acronis True

Image or any other Cyber Protection software by Acronis is already installed.

To install Acronis True Image for Western Digital:

1. Run the setup file. Before starting the setup process, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will

check for a newer build on the website. If there is one, the newer version will be offered for

installation.

2. Click Install.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital will be installed on your system partition (usually C:).

3. When the installation is complete, click Start application.

4. Read and accept the terms of the license agreements for Acronis True Image for Western Digital

and Bonjour.

Bonjour software will be installed on your computer for advanced support of NAS devices. You

can uninstall the software at any time.

You can also agree to participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program. You can change

this setting at any time.

The product will be automatically activated when it detects a Western Digital storage device.

Recovering from an error

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital ceased running or produced errors, its files might be

corrupted. To repair this problem, you first have to recover the program. To do this, run Acronis True

Image for Western Digital installer again. It will detect Acronis True Image for Western Digital on your

computer and will ask you if you want to repair or remove it.

Removing Acronis True Image for Western Digital

Select Start -> Settings -> Control panel -> Add or remove programs -> Acronis True Image for

Western Digital -> Remove. Then follow the instructions on the screen. You may have to reboot your

computer afterwards to complete the task.

If you use Windows 10, click Start -> Settings -> System -> Apps & features -> Acronis True Image for

Western Digital -> Uninstall.

If you use Windows 8, click the Settings icon, then select Control Panel -> Uninstall a program ->

Acronis True Image for Western Digital -> Uninstall.

If you use Windows 7, click Start -> Control Panel -> Uninstall a program -> Acronis True Image for

Western Digital -> Uninstall.

If you used the Acronis Nonstop Backup (p. 27), select in the window that appears what to do with the Nonstop

Backup storages.

1.5 Activating Acronis True Image for Western Digital

Acronis True Image for Western Digital is activated automatically when a Western Digital storage

device is detected on your system. The license is valid for 5 years after the activation date.

Checking the license expiration date

To check the date when your license expires, navigate to the About tab in Acronis True Image for

Western Digital.

Extending the license for Acronis True Image for Western Digital

The license for Acronis True Image for Western Digital is valid for 5 years after the last addition of a

storage device by Western Digital. You can prolong your license for Acronis True Image for Western

Digital by adding a new storage device by Western Digital to your system.

To prolong your license expiration date:

1. On the sidebar, click About.

2. Click Prolong and follow the on-screen instructions.

1.6 Upgrading Acronis True Image for Western Digital

You can upgrade Acronis True Image for Western Digital to Acronis True Image 2021.

Your backups created with a previous version of Acronis True Image for Western Digital are

completely compatible with the newer version of Acronis True Image. After you upgrade, all of your

backups will automatically be added to your backup list.

We strongly recommend that you create а new bootable media after each product upgrade.

Purchasing the full version of Acronis True Image

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click About, and then click Upgrade. The online store opens.

3. Click Upgrade.

4. Provide your payment information and follow the on-screen instructions.

Updating Acronis True Image for Western Digital

To update Acronis True Image for Western Digital:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click About.

If there is a new version available, you will see the appropriate message next to the current build

number.

3. Click Download and install.

Before you start downloading, please make sure that your firewall will not block the download process.

4. When the new version is downloaded, click Install now.

To check for updates automatically, go to the Settings tab, and then select the Automatically check

for updates at startup check box.

1.7 Technical Support

Maintenance and Support Program

If you need assistance with Acronis True Image for Western Digital, please refer to the official

support resources of Western Digital at https://www.westerndigital.com/support

(https://www.westerndigital.com/support).

2 Getting started

In this section

User interface language .................................................................................................... 12

Protecting your system ..................................................................................................... 12

Backing up your files ......................................................................................................... 15

Cloning your hard drive ..................................................................................................... 15

Recovering your computer ............................................................................................... 17

Recovering your files and folders ...................................................................................... 19

2.1 User interface language

Before you start, select a preferred language for the Acronis True Image for Western Digital user

interface. By default, the language is set in accordance with your Windows display language.

To change the user interface language:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. In the Settings section, select a preferred language from the list.

2.2 Protecting your system

To protect your system:

1. Back up your computer (p. 13).

2. Create Acronis bootable media (p. 14).

It is recommended to test the bootable media as described in Making sure that your bootable

media can be used when needed (p. 88).

2.2.1 Backing up your computer

When should I back up my computer?

Create a new backup version after every significant event in your system.

Examples of these events include:

 You bought a new computer.

 You reinstalled Windows on your computer.

 You configured all system settings (for example, time, date, language) and installed all necessary

programs on your new computer.

 Important system update.

To ensure you save a healthy state of a disk, it is a good idea to scan it for viruses before backing it up. Please

use antivirus software for this purpose. Note this operation often takes a significant amount of time.

How do I create a backup of my computer?

You have two options to protect your system:

 Entire PC backup (recommended)

Acronis True Image for Western Digital backs up all your internal hard drives in disk mode. The

backup contains the operating system, installed programs, system settings, and all your personal

data including your photos, music, and documents. Refer to Backing up all data on your PC (p. 7)

for details.

 System disk backup

You can choose to back up your system partition or the entire system drive. Refer to Backing up

disks and partitions (p. 34) for details.

We do not recommend using nonstop backup as a primary way to protect your system, because the

main purpose of this technology is protection of frequently changed files. For the safety of your

system, use any other schedule. See examples in Examples of custom schemes (p. 43). Refer to Using

Acronis Nonstop Backup (p. 27) for more details about the Nonstop Backup feature.

To back up your computer:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

If this is your first backup, you will see the backup configuration screen. If you already have some

backups in the backup list, then click Add backup.

3. Click the Backup source icon, and then select Entire PC.

If you want to back up your system disk only, then click Disks and partitions, and then select your

system partition (usually C:) and the System Reserved partition (if any).

4. Click the Backup destination icon, and then select a storage place for the backup (see

recommendation below).

5. Click Back up now.

Result: A new backup box appears in the backup list. To create a new version of the backup in future,

select the backup box from the list, and then click Back up now.

Where do I store my disk backups?

You can store your backups on internal or external drives, and network attached storage (NAS)

devices by western digital.

Refer to Deciding where to store your backups (p. 25) for details.

How many backup versions do I need?

In most cases, you need 2-3 backup versions of your entire PC contents or your system disk, with a

maximum of 4-6 (see above for information about when to create backups). You can control the

number of backup versions by using automatic cleanup rules. Refer to Custom schemes (p. 41) for

details.

Remember, the first backup version (the full backup version) is the most important. It is the biggest

one, because it contains all data stored on the disk. Further backup versions (the incremental and

differential backup versions) may be organized in different schemes. These versions contain only

data changes. That’s why they are dependent on the full backup version and why the full backup

version is so important.

By default, a disk backup is created by using the incremental scheme. This scheme is optimal, in most

cases.

For advanced users: it is a good idea to create 2-3 full backup versions and store them on different storage

devices. This method is much more reliable.

2.2.2 Creating Acronis bootable media

What is Acronis bootable media?

Acronis bootable media is a CD, DVD, USB flash drive, or other removable media from which you can

run Acronis True Image for Western Digital when Windows cannot start. You can make a media

bootable by using Acronis Media Builder.

How do I create Acronis bootable media?

1. Insert a CD/DVD or plug in a USB drive (USB flash drive, or an HDD/SSD external drive).

2. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

3. On the sidebar, click Tools, and then click Rescue Media Builder.

4. On the first step, select Simple.

5. Select the device to use to create the bootable media.

6. Click Proceed.

How do I use Acronis bootable media?

Use Acronis bootable media to recover your computer when Windows cannot start.

1. Connect the bootable media to your computer (insert the CD/DVD or plug in the USB drive).

2. Arrange the boot order in BIOS so that your Acronis bootable media is the first device to be

booted.

Refer to Arranging boot order in BIOS (p. 64) for details.

3. Boot your computer from the bootable media and select Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Result: Once Acronis True Image for Western Digital is loaded, you can use it to recover your

computer.

Refer to Acronis Media Builder (p. 83) for details.

2.3 Backing up your files

To protect files such as documents, photos, music files, and video files, there is no need to back up

the entire partition containing the files. You can back up specific files and folders and save them to a

local or network storage.

To back up files and folders:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. Click the Backup source icon, and then select Files and folders.

4. In the opened window, select the check boxes next to the files and folders that you want to back

up, and then click OK.

5. Click the Backup destination icon, and then select a destination for backup:

 Your external drive—When an external drive is plugged into your computer, you can select it

from the list.

 NAS—Select a NAS from the list of discovered NAS devices. If you have only one NAS, Acronis

True Image for Western Digital will suggest using it as a backup destination by default.

 Browse—Select a destination from the folder tree.

Note This option is enabled only if you have an internal or external Western Digital storage device

attached to your system.

6. Click Back up now.

Refer to Backing up files and folders (p. 35) for details.

2.4 Cloning your hard drive

This option is available only if you have an internal or external storage device by Western Digital

attached to your system.

Why do I need it?

When you see that the free space on your hard drive is not enough for your data, you might want to

buy a new, larger hard drive and transfer all your data to the new drive. The usual copy operation

does not make your new hard drive identical to the old one. For example, if you open File Explorer

and copy all files and folders to the new hard drive, Windows will not start from the new hard drive.

The Clone disk utility allows you to duplicate all your data and make Windows bootable on your new

hard drive.

Before you start

We recommend that you install the target (new) drive where you plan to use it and the source drive

in another location, for example, in an external USB enclosure. This is especially important for

laptops.

Note: It is recommended that your old and new hard drives work in the same controller mode (for example, IDE

or AHCI). Otherwise, your computer might not start from the new hard drive.

Using the Clone disk utility

To clone a disk:

1. On the sidebar, click Tools, and then click Clone disk.

2. On the Clone Mode step, we recommend that you choose the Automatic transfer mode. In this

case, the partitions will be proportionally resized to fit your new hard drive. The Manual mode

provides more flexibility. Refer to Clone Disk wizard (p. 75) for more details about the manual

mode.

If the program finds two disks, one partitioned and another unpartitioned, it will automatically recognize

the partitioned disk as the source disk and the unpartitioned disk as the destination disk. In this case, the

next steps will be bypassed and you will be taken to the cloning Summary screen.

3. On the Source Disk step, select the disk that you want to clone.

4. On the Destination Disk step, select the destination disk for the cloned data.

If any disk is unpartitioned, the program will automatically recognize it as the destination and bypass this

step.

5. On the Finish step, ensure that the configured settings suit your needs, and then click Proceed.

By default, Acronis True Image for Western Digital shuts down the computer after the clone process

finishes. This enables you to change the position of master/subordinate jumpers and remove one of

the hard drives.

2.5 Recovering your computer

Please be aware that recovery of a system disk is an important operation. Before you start, we

recommend that you read the detailed descriptions in the following Help topics:

 Trying to determine the crash cause (p. 52)

 Preparing for recovery (p. 52)

 Recovering your system to the same disk (p. 53)

Let’s consider two different cases:

1. Windows works incorrectly, but you can start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. Windows cannot start (for example, you turn on your computer and see something unusual on

your screen).

Case 1. How to recover computer if Windows works incorrectly?

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. From the backup list, select the backup that contains your system disk. The backup can be

located on local or network storage.

4. On the right panel, click Recovery.

5. Depending on the backup type, click Recover PC or Recover disks.

6. In the opened window, select the backup version (the data state from a specific date and time).

7. Select the system partition and the System Reserved partition (if any) to be recovered.

8. Click Recover now.

To complete the operation, Acronis True Image for Western Digital must restart your system.

Case 2. How to recover computer if Windows cannot start?

1. Connect Acronis bootable media to your computer, and then run the special standalone version

of Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Refer to Step 2 Creating Acronis bootable media (p. 14) and Arranging boot order in BIOS (p. 64)

for details.

2. On the Welcome screen, select My disks below Recover.

3. Select the system disk backup to be used for recovery. Right-click the backup and choose

Recover.

When the backup is not displayed, click Browse and manually specify the path to the backup.

Note This option is enabled only if you have an internal or external Western Digital storage device

attached to your system.

4. At the Recovery method step, select Recover whole disks and partitions.

5. Select the system partition (usually C) on the What to recover screen. Note that you may

distinguish the system partition by the Pri, Act flags. Select the System Reserved partition (if any),

as well.

6. You may leave all settings of the partitions without changes and click Finish.

7. Check the summary of operations, and then click Proceed.

8. When the operation finishes, exit the standalone version of Acronis True Image for Western

Digital, remove the bootable media (if any), and boot from the recovered system partition. After

making sure that you have recovered Windows to the state you need, restore the original boot

order.

2.6 Recovering your files and folders

You can recover files and folders both from file-level and disk-level backups.

To recover files and folders:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. From the backup list, select the backup which contains the files or folders that you want to

recover.

The backup can be located on a local or a network storage.

4. On the right panel, click Recovery.

5. Select the backup version (the data state from a specific date and time).

6. Select the files and folders that you want to recover, and then click Next.

7. Select a destination on your computer for the recovered files/folders. You can recover data to its

original location or choose a new one, if necessary. To choose a new location, click the Browse

button.

Note This option is enabled only if you have an internal or external Western Digital storage device

attached to your system.

8. To start the recovery process, click the Recover now button.

3 Basic concepts

In this section

Basic concepts ................................................................................................................... 20

The difference between file backups and disk/partition images ..................................... 21

Full, incremental and differential backups ....................................................................... 22

Deciding where to store your backups ............................................................................. 25

Using Acronis Nonstop Backup ......................................................................................... 27

Backup file naming ............................................................................................................ 29

Integration with Windows ................................................................................................ 30

Wizards.............................................................................................................................. 31

FAQ about backup, recovery and cloning ......................................................................... 32

3.1 Basic concepts

This section provides general information about basic concepts which could be useful for

understanding how the program works.

Backup and recovery

Backup refers to the making copies of data so that these additional copies may be used to recover

the original after a data loss event.

Backups are useful primarily for two purposes:

 To recover an operating system when it is corrupted or cannot start (called disaster recovery).

Refer to Protecting your system (p. 12) for more details about protecting your computer from a

disaster.

 To recover specific files and folders after they have been accidentally deleted or corrupted.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital does both by creating disk (or partition) images and file-level

backups respectively.

Recovery method:

 Full recovery can be performed to the original location or to a new one.

When the original location is selected, the data in the location is completely overwritten with the

data from the backup. In case of a new location, the data is just copied to the new location from

the backup.

Backup versions

Backup versions are the file or files created during each backup operation. The number of versions

created is equal to the number of times the backup is executed. So, a version represents a point in

time to which the system or data can be restored.

Backup versions represent full, incremental and differential backups - see Full, incremental and

differential backups (p. 22).

The backup versions are similar to file versions. The file versions concept is familiar to those who use

a Windows feature called "Previous versions of files". This feature allows you to restore a file as it

existed on a particular date and time. A backup version allows you to recover your data in a similar

way.

Disk cloning

This operation copies the entire contents of one disk drive to another disk drive. This may be

necessary, for example, when you want to clone your operating system, applications, and data to a

new larger capacity disk. You can do it two ways:

 Use the Clone disk utility.

 Back up your old disk drive, and then recover it to the new one.

Backup file format

Acronis True Image for Western Digital usually saves backup data in the proprietary tibx format using

compression. The data from .tibx file backups can be recovered only through Acronis True Image for

Western Digital, in Windows or in the recovery environment.

Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a special hidden storage for data and metadata. The backed up data is

compressed and split into files of about 1 GB. These files also have a proprietary format and the data

they contain can be recovered only with the help of Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Backup validation

The backup validation feature allows you to confirm that your data can be recovered. The program

adds checksum values to the data blocks being backed up. During backup validation, Acronis True

Image for Western Digital opens the backup file, recalculates the checksum values and compares

those values with the stored ones. If all compared values match, the backup file is not corrupted.

Scheduling

For your backups to be really helpful, they must be as "up-to-date" as possible. Schedule your

backups to run automatically and on a regular basis.

Deleting backups

When you want to delete backups and backup versions you no longer need, please do it by using the

tools provided by Acronis True Image for Western Digital. Refer to Deleting backups and backup

versions for details.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital stores information on the backups in a metadata information

database. Therefore, deleting unneeded backup files in File Explorer will not delete information

about these backups from the database. This will result in errors when the program tries to perform

operations on the backups that no longer exist.

3.2 The difference between file backups and

disk/partition images

When you back up files and folders, only the files and folder tree are compressed and stored.

Disk/partition backups are different from file and folder backups. Acronis True Image for Western

Digital stores an exact snapshot of the disk or partition. This procedure is called "creating a disk

image" or "creating a disk backup" and the resulting backup is often called "a disk/partition image" or

"a disk/partition backup".

What does a disk/partition backup contain?

A disk/partition backup contains all the data stored on the disk or partition:

1. Zero track of the hard disk with the master boot record (MBR) (applicable to MBR disk backups

only).

2. One or more partitions, including:

1. Boot code.

2. File system meta data, including service files, file allocation table (FAT), and partition boot

record.

3. File system data, including operating system (system files, registry, drivers), user data and

software applications.

3. System Reserved partition, if any.

4. EFI system partition, if any (applicable to GPT disk backups only).

What is excluded from disk backups?

To reduce image size and speed up image creation, by default Acronis True Image for Western Digital

only stores the hard disk sectors that contain data.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital excludes the following files from a disk backup:

 pagefile.sys

 hiberfil.sys (a file that keeps RAM contents when the computer goes into hibernation)

You can change this default method by turning on the sector-by-sector mode. In this case, Acronis

True Image for Western Digital copies all hard disk sectors, and not only those that contain data.

3.3 Full, incremental and differential backups

Acronis True Image for Western Digital offers three backup methods: full, incremental, and

differential.

Full method

The result of a full method backup operation (also known as full backup version) contains all of the

data at the moment of the backup creation.

Example: Every day, you write one page of your document and back it up using the full method.

Acronis Acronis True Image for Western Digital saves the entire document every time you run

backup.

1.tibx, 2.tibx, 3.tibx, 4.tibx—files of full backup versions.

Additional information

A full backup version forms a base for further incremental or differential backups. It can also be used

as a standalone backup. A standalone full backup might be an optimal solution if you often roll back

the system to its initial state or if you do not like to manage multiple backup versions.

Recovery: In the example above, to recover the entire work from the 4.tibx file, you need to have

only one backup version—4.tib.

Incremental method

The result of an incremental method backup operation (also known as incremental backup version)

contains only those files which have been changed since the LAST BACKUP.

Example: Every day, you write one page of your document and back it up using the incremental

method. Acronis Acronis True Image for Western Digital saves the new page every time you run

backup.

Note: The first backup version you create always uses full method.

 1.tibx—file of full backup version.

 2.tibx, 3.tibx, 4.tibx—files of incremental backup versions.

Additional information

Incremental method is the most useful when you need frequent backup versions and the ability to

roll back to a specific point in time. As a rule, incremental backup versions are considerably smaller

than full or differential versions. On the other hand, incremental versions require more work for the

program to provide recovery.

Recovery: In the example above, to recover the entire work from the 4.tibx file, you need to have all

the backup versions—1.tibx, 2.tibx, 3.tibx, and 4.tibx. Therefore, if you lose an incremental backup

version or it becomes corrupted, all later incremental versions are unusable.

Differential method

The result of a differential method backup operation (also known as differential backup version)

contains only those files which have been changed since the LAST FULL BACKUP.

Example: Every day, you write one page of your document and back it up using the differential

method. Acronis Acronis True Image for Western Digital saves the entire document except the first

page stored in the full backup version.

Note: The first backup version you create always uses full method.

 1.tibx—file of full backup version.

 2.tibx, 3.tibx, 4.tibx—files of differential backup versions.

Additional information

Differential method is an intermediate between the first two approaches. It takes less time and space

than "Full", but more than "Incremental". To recover data from a differential backup version, Acronis

Acronis True Image for Western Digital needs only the differential version and the last full version.

Therefore, recovery from a differential version is simpler and more reliable than recovery from an

incremental one.

Recovery: In the example above, to recover the entire work from the 4.tibx file, you need to have

two backup versions—1.tibx and 4.tibx.

To choose a desired backup method, you usually need to configure a custom backup scheme. For

more information see Custom schemes (p. 41).

An incremental or differential backup created after a disk is defragmented might be considerably larger than

usual. This is because the defragmentation program changes file locations on the disk and the backups reflect

these changes. Therefore, it is recommended that you re-create a full backup after disk defragmentation.

Changed Block Tracker (CBT)

The CBT technology accelerates the backup process when creating local incremental or differential

disk-level backup versions. Changes to the disk content are continuously tracked at the block level.

When a backup starts, the changes can be immediately saved to the backup.

3.4 Deciding where to store your backups

Acronis True Image for Western Digital supports quite a few of storage devices. For more information,

refer to Supported storage media.

The table below shows possible backup destinations for your data.

HDD (internal or

external)

SSD (internal or

external)

USB flash drive

File server, NAS

or NDAS

Network share

Memory card

MBR partitions or

entire disks (HDD, SSD)

GPT/dynamic volumes

or disks

Files and folders

Though backing up to your local hard drive is the simplest option, we recommend that you store your

backups off-site because it enhances the security of your data.

Recommended storage media:

1. External drive

If you plan to use an external USB hard drive with your desktop PC, we recommend that you

connect the drive to a rear connector by using a short cable.

2. Home file server, NAS, or NDAS

Please check whether Acronis True Image for Western Digital detects the selected backup

storage, both in Windows and when booted from the bootable media.

To gain access to an NDAS-enabled storage device, in many cases you will need to specify the

NDAS device ID (20 characters) and the write key (five characters). The write key allows you to

use an NDAS-enabled device in write mode (for example, for saving your backups). Usually the

device ID and write key are printed on a sticker attached to the bottom of the NDAS device or on

the inside of its enclosure. If there is no sticker, you need to contact your NDAS device vendor to

obtain that information.

3. Network share

See also: Authentication settings (p. 27).

3.4.1 Preparing a new disk for backup

A new internal or external hard drive may not be recognized by Acronis True Image for Western

Digital. If this is the case, use the operating system tools to change the disk status to Online and then

to initialize the disk.

To change a disk status to Online:

1. Open Disk Management. To do this, go to Control Panel -> System and Security ->

Administrative Tool, start Computer Management, and then click Disk Management.

2. Find the disk marked as Offline. Right-click the disk and then click Online.

3. The disk status will be changed to Online. After that, you will be able to initialize the disk.

To initialize a disk:

1. Open Disk Management. To do this, go to Control Panel -> System and Security ->

Administrative Tool, start Computer Management, and then click Disk Management.

2. Find the disk marked as Not Initialized. Right-click the disk and then click Initialize Disk.

3. Select a partition table for the disk - MBR or GPT, and then click OK.

4. [optional step] To create a volume on the disk, right-click the disk, click New Simple Volume, and

then follow the wizard's steps to configure the new volume. To create one more volume, repeat

this operation.

3.4.2 Authentication settings

If you are connecting to a networked computer, in most cases you will need to provide the necessary

credentials for accessing the network share. For example, this is possible when you select a backup

storage. The Authentication Settings window appears automatically when you select a networked

computer name.

If necessary, specify the user name and password, and then click Test connection. When the test is

successfully passed, click Connect.

Troubleshooting

When you create a network share that you plan to use as a backup storage, please ensure that at

least one of the following conditions is met:

 Windows account has a password on the computer where the shared folder is located.

 Password-protected sharing is turned off in Windows.

You can find this setting at Control Panel —> Network and Internet —> Network and Sharing

Center —> Advanced sharing settings —> Turn off password protected sharing.

Otherwise, you will not be able to connect to the shared folder.

3.5 Using Acronis Nonstop Backup

Acronis Nonstop Backup provides easy protection of your disks and files. It allows you to recover

entire disks, individual files and their different versions.

The main purpose of Acronis Nonstop Backup is continuous protection of your data (files, folders,

contacts, etc.), though you can use it to protect partitions as well. If you choose to protect an entire

partition, you will be able to recover the partition as a whole using the image recovery procedure.

We do not recommend using nonstop backup as a primary way to protect your system. For the safety

of your system, use any other schedule. Refer to Examples of custom schemes (p. 43) for examples

and details.

Nonstop Backup limitations

 You can create only one nonstop backup.

 Windows libraries (Documents, Music, etc.) can be protected with a disk-level nonstop backup

only.

 You cannot protect data stored on external hard drives.

 Nonstop Backup and Try&Decide cannot work simultaneously.

How it works

Once you start Acronis Nonstop Backup, the program will perform an initial full backup of the data

selected for protection. Acronis Nonstop Backup will then continually monitor the protected files

(including open ones). Once a modification is detected, the changed data is backed up. The shortest

interval between the incremental backup operations is five minutes. This allows you to recover your

system to an exact point in time.

Acronis Nonstop Backup checks file changes on the disk, not in the memory. If, for instance, you are

working in Word and do not use the "Save" operation for a long time, your current changes in the

Word document will not be backed up.

You may think that at these backup rates the storage will fill in no time. Do not worry as Acronis True

Image for Western Digital will back up only so called "deltas". This means that only differences

between old and new versions will be backed up and not whole changed files. For example, if you use

Microsoft Outlook or Windows Mail, your pst file may be very large. Furthermore, it changes with

each received or sent E-mail message. Backing up the entire pst file after each change would be an

unacceptable waste of your storage space, so Acronis True Image for Western Digital backs up only

its changed parts in addition to the initially backed up file.

Retention rules

Local backups

Acronis Nonstop Backup keeps all backups for the last 24 hours. The older backups will be

consolidated in such a way that Nonstop Backup will keep daily backups for the last 30 days and

weekly backups until all Nonstop Backup data destination space is used.

The consolidation will be performed every day between midnight and 01:00 AM. The first

consolidation will take place after the Nonstop Backup has been working for at least 24 hours. For

example, you have turned on the Nonstop Backup at 10:00 AM on July 12. In this case the first

consolidation will be performed between 00:00 and 01:00 AM on July 14. Then the program will

consolidate the data every day at the same time. If your computer is turned off between 00:00 and

01:00 AM, the consolidation will start when you turn the computer on. If you turn off Nonstop

Backup for some time, the consolidation will start after you turn it on again.

All other versions are automatically deleted. The retention rules are pre-set and cannot be changed.

3.5.1 Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage

Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage can be created on local hard disk drives (both internal and

external).

In many cases an external hard disk will be the best choice for Nonstop Backup data storage. You can

use an external disk with any of the following interfaces: USB (including USB 3.0), eSATA, FireWire,

and SCSI.

You can also use an NAS as the storage, but with one limitation - it must be accessible with the SMB

protocol. It does not matter whether an NAS share you want to use for the storage is mapped as a

local disk or not. If the share requires login, you will need to provide the correct user name and

password. For more information see Authentication settings (p. 27). Acronis True Image for Western

Digital remembers the credentials and the subsequent connections to the share do not require login.

When an external hard disk or NAS is unavailable, the Nonstop Backup destination can be an internal

disk, including a dynamic one. Please note that you cannot use a partition to be protected as a

Nonstop Backup storage..

Before creating Acronis Nonstop Backup data storage, Acronis True Image for Western Digital checks

whether the selected destination has enough free space. It multiplies the volume of data to be

protected by 1.2 and compares the calculated value with the available space. If the free space on the

destination satisfies this minimum storage size criterion, the destination can be used for storing

Nonstop Backup data.

3.5.2 Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions

Why does Acronis Nonstop Backup pause on its own? - This is the designed behavior of Acronis

Nonstop Backup. When the system load rises to a critical level, Acronis Nonstop Backup receives the

overload alarm from Windows and pauses itself. This is done to aid Windows relieve the load caused

by other applications. The overload can be caused by running resource-intensive applications (for

example, performing a deep system scan with your antivirus software).

In such a case Nonstop Backup automatically pauses and you cannot restart it. After pausing, Acronis

Nonstop Backup gives the system one hour to relieve the load and then attempts to restart.

The automatic restart count for Acronis Nonstop Backup is 6. This means that after the first

automatic restart Acronis Nonstop Backup will attempt to restart five more times with intervals of

exactly one hour between attempts.

After the sixth unsuccessful attempt, Acronis Nonstop Backup will wait for the next calendar day. On

the next day the automatic restart count will automatically reset. When not interfered with, Acronis

Nonstop Backup performs six restart attempts per day.

The restart attempt count can be reset by doing any of the following:

 Restarting Acronis Nonstop Backup service;

 Rebooting the computer.

Restarting Acronis Nonstop Backup service will only reset the restart count to 0. If the system is still

overloaded, Acronis Nonstop Backup will pause again. An Acronis Support Knowledge Base article at

https://kb.acronis.com/content/14708 describes the procedure for restarting the Acronis Nonstop

Backup service.

Rebooting the computer will reset the load and the restart count. If the system overloads again,

Acronis Nonstop Backup will pause.

Why does Acronis Nonstop Backup sometimes cause a high CPU load? - This is the expected

behavior of Acronis Nonstop Backup. This may happen on restart of a paused Acronis Nonstop

Backup if a considerable amount of protected data has been modified during the pause.

For example, if you manually pause the Acronis Nonstop Backup that you use for protecting your

system partition and then install a new application. When you restart Acronis Nonstop Backup, it

loads the CPU for some time. However, the process (afcdpsrv.exe) then goes back to normal.

This happens because Acronis Nonstop Backup needs to check the backed up data against the data

that have been modified during the pause to ensure protection continuity. If there was a

considerable amount of data modified, the process may load CPU for some time. After the check is

done and all the modified data is backed up, Acronis Nonstop Backup goes back to normal.

Can I have Acronis Nonstop Backup storage on an FAT32 partition of a local hard disk? - Yes, FAT32

and NTFS partitions can be used as the storage.

Can I set up Acronis Nonstop Backup storage on a network share or NAS? - Yes, Acronis Nonstop

Backup supports network shares, mapped drives, NAS and other network attached devices with one

limitation - they must use the SMB protocol.

3.6 Backup file naming

Depending on the version by which a backup was created, its name will differ.

Naming convention for backup files created by Acronis True Image for Western

Digital

A backup file name has only the backup name and an incremental counter. It does not contain any

additional information such as backup method, backup chain number, backup version number, or

volume number.

A backup name may look like:

1. my_documents.tibx

2. my_documents_0001.tibx

3. my_documents_0002.tibx

4. my_documents_0003.tibx

Full and differential backups are stored in separate files and incremental backups are automatically

merged into full backups.

The following backups use the TIB format and naming convention:

 File-level backups for all destinations.

 Nonstop backups

A TIB backup file name has the following attributes:

 Backup name

 Backup method (full, inc, diff: full, incremental, differential)

 Number of backup chain (in the form of b#)

 Number of backup version (in the form of s#)

 Number of volume (in the form of v#)

For example, this attribute changes when you split a backup into several files. Refer to Backup

splitting (p. 46) for details.

Thus a backup name may look the following way:

1. my_documents_full_b1_s1_v1.tib

2. my_documents_full_b2_s1_v1.tib

3. my_documents_inc_b2_s2_v1.tib

4. my_documents_inc_b2_s3_v1.tib

If you are creating a new backup, and there is already a file with the same name, the program does

not delete the old file, but adds to the new file the "-number" suffix, for example,

my_documents_inc_b2_s2_v1-2.tib.

3.7 Integration with Windows

During installation Acronis True Image for Western Digital provides closer integration with Windows.

Such merging allows you to get the most out of your computer.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital integrates the following components:

 Acronis items on the Windows Start menu

 Acronis True Image for Western Digital button on the taskbar

 Shortcut menu commands

Windows Start menu

The Start menu displays Acronis commands, tools and utilities. They give you access to Acronis True

Image for Western Digital functionality, without having to start the application.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital button on the taskbar

The Acronis True Image for Western Digital button on the Windows taskbar shows the progress and

result of Acronis True Image for Western Digital operations.

Tray Notification Center

When Acronis True Image for Western Digital is open, you can see the status of any operation in it.

However, since some operations can take quite a while, such as a backup, there is no need to keep

Acronis True Image for Western Digital to learn its result.

The Tray Notification Center contains latest notifications in one place, lets you see important

operation statuses without opening Acronis True Image for Western Digital at the moment when you

need them. The following notifications are shown in Acronis Tray Notification Center: personal offers,

information on the results of backup operations, and other important notifications from Acronis True

Image for Western Digital. The Tray Notification Center is minimized and hidden under Acronis True

Image for Western Digital in the tray.

Shortcut menu commands

To access shortcut menu commands, open File Explorer, right-click selected items, point to Acronis

True Image for Western Digital, and then select a command.

 To create a new file-level backup, select New file backup.

 To create a new disk-level backup, select New disk backup.

 To mount a disk-level backup (.tib file), select Mount.

 To validate a backup (.tib file), select Validate.

File-level recovery in File Explorer

To recover files and folders:

1. In File Explorer, double-click the backup file (.tib file) that contains the data to recover.

2. Copy or drag the files and folders to any location on your computer, as if they were stored on an

ordinary disk.

3.8 Wizards

When you use the available Acronis True Image for Western Digital tools and utilities, the program

will in many cases employ wizards to guide you through the operations.

For example, see the screen shot below.

A wizard window usually consists of the following areas:

1. This is the list of steps to complete the operation. A green checkmark appears next to a complete

step. The green arrow indicates the current step. When complete all the steps, the program

displays the Summary screen in the Finish step. Check the summary and click Proceed to start

the operation.

2. This toolbar contains buttons to manage objects you select in area 3.

For example:

 Details - displays the window that provides detailed information about the selected

backup.

 Properties - displays the selected item properties window.

 Create new partition - displays the window where you can configure a new partition

settings.

 Columns - allows you to choose which table columns to display and in which order.

3. This is the main area where you select items and change settings.

4. This area displays additional information about the item you select in area 3.

3.9 FAQ about backup, recovery and cloning

 I have a 150GB system partition, but the occupied space on that partition is only 80GB. What

will Acronis True Image for Western Digital include in a backup? - By default, Acronis True

Image for Western Digital copies only the hard disk sectors that contain data, so it will include

only 80GB in a backup. You can also choose the sector-by-sector mode. Note than such a backup

mode is required only in special cases. For more information, see Image creation mode (p. 46).

While creating a sector-by-sector backup, the program copies both used and unused hard disk

sectors and the backup file will usually be significantly larger.

 Will my system disk backup include drivers, documents, pictures, etc.? - Yes, such a backup will

contain the drivers, as well as the contents of the My documents folder and its subfolders, if you

kept the default location of the My documents folder. If you have just a single hard disk in your

PC, such a backup will contain all of the operating system, applications and data.

 I have an old hard disk drive which is almost full in my notebook. I purchased a new bigger

HDD. How can I transfer Windows, programs and data to the new disk? - You can either clone

the old hard disk on the new one or back up the old hard disk and then recover the backup to a

new one. The optimum method usually depends on your old hard disk partitions layout.

 I want to migrate my old system hard disk to an SSD. Can this be done with Acronis True Image

for Western Digital? - Yes, Acronis True Image for Western Digital provides such a function. For

procedure details, see Migrating your system from an HDD to an SSD (p. 79)

 What is the best way to migrate the system to a new disk: cloning or backup and recovery? -

The backup and recovery method provides more flexibility. In any case, we strongly recommend

to make a backup of your old hard disk even if you decide to use cloning. It could be your data

saver if something goes wrong with your original hard disk during cloning. For example, there

were cases when users chose the wrong disk as the target and thus wiped their system disk. In

addition, you can make more than one backup to create redundancy and increase security.

 What should I back up: a partition or the whole disk? - In most cases, it is better to back up the

whole disk. However, there may be some cases when a partition backup is advisable. For

example, your notebook has a single hard disk with two partitions: system (disk letter C) and the

data (disk letter D). The system partition stores your working documents in the My documents

folder with subfolders. The data partition stores your videos, pictures, and music files. Such files

are already compressed and backing them up using Acronis True Image for Western Digital would

not give you significant reduction of the backup file size. However, we recommend creating at

least one whole disk backup if your backup storage has enough space.

 Could you tell me how to clone: in Windows or after booting from the Acronis bootable media?

Even when you start cloning in Windows, the computer will reboot into the Linux environment

the same as when booting from the Acronis bootable media. Because of this, it is better to clone

under Acronis bootable media. For example, there may be a case when your hard disk drives are

detected in Windows and not detected in Linux. If this is the case, the cloning operation will fail

after reboot. When booting from the bootable media, you can make sure that Acronis True

Image for Western Digital detects both the source and target disks before starting the cloning

operation.

 Can I clone or back up and recover a dual boot machine? Yes, this is possible when both

operating systems are Windows. If your systems are installed in separate partitions of the same

physical hard disk drive, cloning or recovery usually proceeds without any problems. If the

systems are on different physical hard disk drives, there may be some problems with bootability

after recovery.

 Does Acronis True Image for Western Digital support RAID? - Acronis True Image for Western

Digital supports hardware RAID arrays of all popular types. Support of software RAID

configurations on dynamic disks is also provided. Acronis bootable media supports most of the

popular hardware RAID controllers. If the standard Acronis bootable media does not "see" the

RAID as a single volume, the media does not have the appropriate drivers. In this case you can try

to create WinPE-based media. This media may provide the necessary drivers.

4 Backing up data

In this section

Backing up disks and partitions ......................................................................................... 34

Backing up files and folders .............................................................................................. 35

Backup options .................................................................................................................. 36

4.1 Backing up disks and partitions

As opposed to file backups, disk and partition backups contain all the data stored on the disk or

partition. This backup type is usually used to create an exact copy of a system partition of the whole

system disk. Such backup allows you to recover your computer when Windows works incorrectly or

cannot start.

To back up partitions or disks:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. Click Add backup.

4. [Optional] To rename the backup, click the arrow next to the backup name, click Rename, and

then enter a new name.

5. Click the Backup source area, and then select Disks and partitions.

6. In the opened window, select the check boxes next to the partitions and disks that you want to

back up, and then click OK.

To view hidden partitions, click Full partition list.

To back up dynamic disks you can use only the partition mode.

7. Click the Backup destination area, and then select a destination for backup:

 Acronis Cloud—Sign in to your Acronis account, and then click OK.

If you do not have an Acronis account, click Create account, type your email address,

password, and then click the Create account button. Refer to Acronis account for details.

 Your external drive—When an external drive is plugged into your computer, you can select it

from the list.

 NAS—Select an NAS from the list of found NAS devices. If you have only one NAS, Acronis

True Image for Western Digital will suggest using it as a backup destination by default.

 Browse—Select a destination from the folder tree.

If possible, avoid storing your system partition backups on dynamic disks, because the system partition is

recovered in the Linux environment. Linux and Windows work with dynamic disks differently. This may

result in problems during recovery.

8. [optional step] Click Options to set the options for the backup, including Schedule (p. 37),

Scheme (p. 39), and Password protection. For more information see Backup options (p. 36).

9. [optional step] Click the Add a comment icon, and then type a comment to the backup version.

Backup comments will help you to find the necessary version later, when recovering your data.

10. Perform one of the following:

 To run the backup immediately, click Back up now.

 To run the backup later or on a schedule, click the arrow to the right of the Back up now

button, and then click Later.

When you back up your data to Acronis Cloud, the first backup may take a considerable amount of time to

complete. Further backup processes will likely be much faster, because only changes to files will be transferred

over the Internet.

Once an online backup is started, you are free to close Acronis True Image for Western Digital. The backup

process will continue in background mode. If you suspend the backup, turn off your computer, or disconnect it

from the Internet, the backup will resume when you click Back up now or when the Internet connection is

restored. A backup interruption does not cause your data to be uploaded twice.

4.2 Backing up files and folders

To protect files such as documents, photos, music files, video files, there is no need to back up the

entire partition containing the files. You can back up specific files and folders.

To back up files and folders:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Backup.

3. Click Add backup.

4. [Optional] To rename the backup, click the arrow next to the backup name, click Rename, and

then enter a new name.

5. Click the Backup source area, and then select Files and folders.

6. In the opened window, select the check boxes next to the files and folders that you want to back

up, and then click OK.

7. Click the Backup destination area, and then select a destination for backup:

 Acronis Cloud—Sign in to your Acronis account, and then click OK.

If you do not have an Acronis account, click Create account, type your email address,

password, and then click the Create account button. Refer to Acronis account for details.

 Your external drive—When an external drive is plugged into your computer, you can select it

from the list.

 NAS—Select an NAS from the list of found NAS devices. If you have only one NAS, Acronis

True Image for Western Digital will suggest using it as a backup destination by default.

 Browse—Select a destination from the folder tree.

8. [optional step] Click Options to set the options for the backup, including Schedule (p. 37),

Scheme (p. 39), and Password protection. For more information see Backup options (p. 36).

9. [optional step] Click the Add a comment icon, and then type a comment to the backup version.

Backup comments will help you to find the necessary version later, when recovering your data.

10. Perform one of the following:

 To run the backup immediately, click Back up now.

 To run the backup later or on a schedule, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up

now button, and then click Later.

When you back up your data to Acronis Cloud, the first backup may take a considerable amount of time to

complete. Further backup processes will likely be much faster, because only changes to files will be transferred

over the Internet.

Additionally, watch the English-language video instructions at https://goo.gl/i4J1AN.

4.3 Backup options

When you create a backup, you can change additional options and fine-tune the backup process. To

open the options window, select a source and destination for a backup, and then click Options.

Note that options of each backup type (disk-level backup, file-level backup, online backup, nonstop

backup) are fully independent and you should configure them separately.

After you have installed the application, all options are set to the initial values. You can change them

for your current backup operation only or for all backups that will be created in future. Select the

Save as default check box to apply the modified settings to all further backup operations by default.

If you want to reset all the modified options to the values that were set after the product installation

initially, click the Reset to initial settings button. Note that this will reset the settings for the current

backup only. To reset the settings for all further backups, click Reset to initial settings, select the

Save the settings as default check box, and then click OK.

Additionally, watch the English-language video instructions at https://goo.gl/bKZyaG.

4.3.1 Scheduling

Location: Options > Schedule

The Schedule tab allows you to specify the backup and validation schedule settings.

You can choose and set up one of the following backup or validation frequencies:

 Nonstop (p. 27)—The backup will run every five minutes.

 Daily (p. 38)—The operation will be executed once a day or more frequently.

 Weekly (p. 38)—The operation will be executed once a week or several times a week on the

selected days.

 Monthly (p. 39)—The operation will be executed once a month or several times a month on the

selected dates.

 Upon event (p. 39)—The operation will be executed upon an event.

 Do not schedule—The scheduler will be turned off for the current operation. In this case the

backup or validation will run only when you click Back up now or Validate respectively in the

main window.

Advanced settings

Clicking Advanced settings allows you to specify the following additional settings for backup and

validation:

 To postpone a scheduled operation until the next time the computer is not in use (a screen saver

is displayed or computer is locked), select the Run the backup only when the computer is idle

check box. If you schedule validation, the check box will change to Run the validation only when

the computer is idle.

 If you want to wake up the sleeping/hibernating computer to perform the scheduled operation,

select the Wake up the sleeping/hibernating computer check box.

 When a backup takes a long time, it may be interrupted if the computer goes into sleep or

hibernation mode. To eliminate this situation, select the Prevent the computer from going to

sleep/hibernate check box.

 If the computer is switched off when the scheduled time comes, the operation won't be

performed. You can force the missed operation to run at the next system startup. To do so,

select the Run missed operations at the system startup with delay (in minutes) check box.

Additionally, you can set a time delay to start backup after the system startup. For example, to

start backup 20 minutes after system startup, type 20 in the appropriate box.

 If you schedule a backup to a USB flash drive or validation of a backup that is located on a USB

flash drive, one more check box appears: When an external device is connected. Selecting the

check box will let you perform a missed operation when the USB flash drive is attached if it was

disconnected at the scheduled time.

4.3.1.1 Daily execution parameters

You can set up the following parameters for daily operation execution:

 Start time or periodicity

 The operation starts once or twice a day at the specified time. Enter hours and minutes

manually, or set the desired start time using the up and down buttons.

 If you select Every, choose daily operation periodicity from the dropdown list (for example,

every 2 hours).

Description of the Advanced settings see in Scheduling (p. 37).

4.3.1.2 Weekly execution parameters

You can set up the following parameters for weekly operation execution:

 Week days

Select the days on which to execute the operation by clicking on their names.

 Start time

Set the operation's start time. Enter hours and minutes manually, or set the desired start time

using the up and down buttons.

Description of the Advanced settings see in Scheduling (p. 37).

4.3.1.3 Monthly execution parameters

You can set up the following parameters for monthly operation execution:

 Periodicity or dates

 If you select Every, choose a numeral and the day of the week from the dropdown lists

(example: First Monday - the operation will be performed on the first Monday of every

month)

 If you select On, choose the date(s) for operation execution (example: you may want the

operation to be run on the 10th, 20th, and last day of the month)

 Start time

Set the operation's start time. Enter hours and minutes manually, or set the desired start time

using the up and down buttons.

Description of the Advanced settings see in Scheduling (p. 37).

4.3.1.4 Upon event execution parameters

You can set up the following parameters for the Upon event operation execution:

 Event

 When an external device is connected – the operation will be executed each time the same

external device (USB flash drive or an external HDD) you previously used as a backup

destination is plugged into your computer. Note that Windows should recognize this device

as external.

 User logon – the operation will be executed each time the current user logs on to the OS.

 User logoff – the operation will be executed each time the current user logs off the OS.

 System startup with delay (in minutes) – the operation will be executed at every OS startup

with the delay time you specified.

 System shutdown or restart – the operation will be executed at every computer shutdown

or reboot.

 Additional condition

 If you want to run an operation only at the first occurrence of the event on the current day,

select the Once a day only check box.

Description of the Advanced settings see in Scheduling (p. 37).

4.3.2 Backup schemes

Location: Options > Backup scheme

Backup schemes together with the scheduler help you set up your backup strategy. The schemes

allow you to optimize backup storage space usage, improve data storage reliability, and

automatically delete the obsolete backup versions.

The backup scheme defines the following parameters:

 Backup methods (p. 22) that will be used to create backup versions (full, differential or

incremental)

 Sequence of the backup versions created using different methods

 Version cleanup rules

Acronis True Image for Western Digital allows you to choose from the following backup schemes:

 Single version (p. 40) - select this scheme if you want to use the smallest backup storage.

 Version chain (p. 41) - this may be the optimal scheme in many cases.

 Incremental - select to create a full version after every five incremental versions. This is the

default scheme.

 Differential - select to create only differential backups after an initial full backup.

 Custom (p. 41) - select to set up a backup scheme manually.

You can easily change the backup scheme for a pre-existing backup. This will not affect the integrity

of the backup chains, so you will be able to recover your data from any previous backup version.

You cannot change the backup scheme when backing up to optical media such as a DVD/BD. In this case,

Acronis True Image for Western Digital by default uses a custom scheme with only full backups. This is because

the program cannot consolidate backups stored on optical media.

4.3.2.1 Single version scheme

This backup scheme is the same for both disk backup and file backup types (except scheduler

settings).

The program creates a full backup version and overwrites it every time according to the specified

schedule or when you run the backup manually. In this process, the old version is deleted only after a

new version is created.

The very first file will remain for auxiliary purposes, without your data in it. Please do not delete it!

Backup scheduler setting for disk backup: monthly.

Backup scheduler setting for file backup: daily.

Result: you have a single up-to-date full backup version.

Required storage space: minimal.

4.3.2.2 Version chain scheme

This backup scheme differs for disk backup and file backup types.

Disk backup version chain

At first the program creates the 1st full backup version. The version will be kept until you delete it

manually. After that, according to the specified schedule (or when you run backup manually) the

program creates: 1 full and 5 differential backup versions, then again 1 full and 5 differential backup

versions and so on. The versions will be stored for 6 months. After the period the program analyzes if

the oldest backup versions (except the 1st full version) may be deleted. It depends on the minimum

number of versions (eight) and version chains consistency. The program deletes the oldest versions

one by one after creating new versions with the same backup method (for example, the oldest

differential version will be deleted after creation of the newest differential version). First of all the

oldest differential versions will be deleted, then - the oldest full version.

Backup scheduler setting: monthly.

Result: you have monthly backup versions for the last 6 months plus the initial full backup version

that may be kept for a longer period.

Required storage space: depends on the number of versions and their sizes.

File backup version chain

According to the specified schedule (or when you run backup manually) the program creates: 1 full

and 6 incremental backup versions, then again 1 full and 6 incremental versions and so on. The

versions will be stored for 1 month. After the period the program analyzes if the oldest backup

versions may be deleted. It depends on the version chain consistency. To keep the consistency, the

program deletes the oldest versions by chains "1 full + 6 incremental backup versions" after creating

a new analogous version chain.

Backup scheduler setting: daily.

Result: you have backup versions for every day of the last month.

Required storage space: depends on the number of versions and their sizes.

4.3.2.3 Custom schemes

With Acronis True Image for Western Digital you also can create your own backup schemes. Schemes

can be based on the pre-defined backup schemes. You can make changes in a selected pre-defined

scheme to suit your needs and then save the changed scheme as a new one.

You cannot overwrite existing pre-defined backup schemes.

In addition, you can create custom schemes from scratch based on full, differential or incremental

backup versions.

So first of all select one of the backup methods in the appropriate box.

 Full (p. 22)

Select this method if you want to create only full backup versions.

 Differential (p. 22)

Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and differential

backup versions.

You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:

 Create only differential versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only

one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.

 Create a full version after every [n] differential versions - select this item to create several

backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.

 Incremental (p. 22)

Select this method if you want to create backup chains containing only full and incremental

backup versions.

You can configure the scheme by using one of the following options:

 Create only incremental versions after the initial full version - select this item to create only

one backup version chain. Automatic cleanup is not available for this option.

 Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions - select this item to create several

backup version chains. This is a more reliable but more space-consuming backup scheme.

Automatic cleanup rules

To delete obsolete backup versions automatically, you can set one of the following cleanup rules:

 Delete versions older than [defined period] (available for full method only) - Select this option to

limit the age of backup versions. All versions that are older than the specified period will be

automatically deleted.

 Delete version chains older than [defined period] (available for incremental and differential

methods only) - Select this option to limit the age of backup version chains. The oldest version

chain will be deleted only when the most recent backup version of this chain is older than the

specified period.

 Store no more than [n] recent versions (available for full method only) - Select this option to

limit the maximum number of backup versions. When the number of versions exceeds the

specified value, the oldest backup version will be automatically deleted.

 Store no more than [n] recent version chains (available for incremental and differential methods

only) - Select this option to limit the maximum number of backup version chains. When the

number of version chains exceeds the specified value, the oldest backup version chain will be

automatically deleted.

 Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size] (not available for local backups) - Select this

option to limit the maximum size of the backup. After creating a new backup version, the

program checks whether the total backup size exceeds the specified value. If it's true, the oldest

backup version will be deleted.

The first backup version option

Often the first version of any backup is one of the most valuable versions. This is true because it

stores the initial data state (for example, your system partition with recently installed Windows) or

some other stable data state (for example, data after a successful virus check).

Do not delete the first version of the backup - Select this check box to keep the initial data state. The

program will create two initial full backup versions. The first version will be excluded from the

automatic cleanup, and will be stored until you delete it manually.

If you select incremental or differential method, the first backup chain will start from the second full

backup version. And only the third version of the backup will be incremental or differential one.

Note that when the check box is selected, the Store no more than [n] recent versions check box will

change to Store no more than 1+[n] recent versions.

Managing custom backup schemes

If you change anything in an existing backup scheme, you can save the changed scheme as a new one.

In this case you need to specify a new name for that backup scheme.

 You can overwrite existing custom schemes.

 You cannot overwrite existing pre-defined backup schemes.

 In a scheme name, you can use any symbols allowed by OS for naming files. The maximum length

of a backup scheme name is 255 symbols.

 You can create not more than 16 custom backup schemes.

After creating a custom backup scheme, you can use it as any other existing backup scheme while

configuring a backup.

You can also use a custom backup scheme without saving it. In this case, it will be available only for

the backup where it was created and you will be unable to use it for other backups.

If you do not need a custom backup scheme anymore, you can delete it. To delete the scheme, select

it in the backup schemes list, click Delete, and then click Delete scheme in the confirmation window.

The pre-defined backup schemes cannot be deleted.

Examples of custom schemes

1. Entire PC backup “Two full versions”

Case: You want to protect all data on your computer with two full versions and you want to update

the backup once a month. Let’s see how you can do it by using a custom backup scheme.

1. Start configuring an entire PC backup. Refer to Backing up all data on your PC (p. 7) for details.

2. Make sure Entire PC is selected as the backup source.

3. Click Options, open the Schedule tab, click Monthly, and then specify a day of the month (for

example, the 20-th). This will result in a backup version being created on a monthly basis, on the

day you specify. Then, specify a start time for the backup operation.

4. Open the Backup scheme tab, and then choose Custom scheme instead of Incremental scheme.

5. In the Backup method box, select Full from the drop-down list.

6. To limit the number of versions, click Store no more than [n] recent versions, and type or select

"2", and click OK.

In this case, the program will create a new full version every month, on the 20-th day. After

creating the third version, the oldest version will be automatically deleted.

7. Check that all settings are correct and click Back up now. If you want your first backup to be run

only at the time you specified in the Scheduler, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up

now button and select Later in the drop-down list.

2. File backup “Daily incremental version + weekly full version”

Case: You have files and/or folders you work with every day. You need to save your daily work results

and want to be able to recover data state to any date for the last three weeks. Let’s see how you can

do this using a custom backup scheme.

1. Start configuring a file backup. Refer to Backing up files and folders for details.

2. Click Options, open the Schedule tab, click Daily, and then specify a start time for the backup

operation. For example, if you finish your everyday work at 8 PM, specify this time or a little later

(8.05 PM) as the start time.

3. Open the Backup scheme tab, and then choose Custom scheme instead of Incremental scheme.

4. In the Backup method box, select Incremental from the drop-down list.

5. Click Create a full version after every [n] incremental versions, and type or select "6".

In that case, the program will first create the initial full backup version (no matter how you set up

a backup process, the first backup version will always be the full one), and then six incremental

versions day by day. Then, it will create one full version and six incremental versions again and so

on. So every new full version will be created in exactly a week's time.

6. To limit the storage time for the versions, click Turn on automatic cleanup.

7. Click Delete version chains older than [n] days, type or select "21", and click OK.

8. Check that all settings are correct and click Back up now. If you want your first backup to run

only at the time you specified in the Scheduler, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up

now button and select Later in the drop-down list.

3. Disk backup “Full version every 2 months + differential version twice a month”

Case: You need to back up your system partition twice a month and create a new full backup version

every two months. In addition, you want to use no more than 100 GB of disk space to store the

backup versions. Let’s see how you can do it using a custom backup scheme.

1. Start configuring a disk backup. Refer to Backing up disks and partitions (p. 34).

2. Select your system partition (usually C:) as the backup source.

3. Click Options, open the Schedule tab, click Monthly, and then specify, for example, the 1st and

15th days of the month. This will result in a backup version in about every two weeks. Then,

specify a start time for the backup operation.

4. Open the Backup scheme tab, and then choose Custom scheme instead of Incremental scheme.

5. In the Backup method box, select Differential from the drop-down list.

6. Click Create a full version after every [n] differential versions, and type or select "3".

In that case the program will first create the initial full backup version (no matter how you set up

a backup process, the first backup version will always be the full one), and then three differential

versions, each one in about two weeks. Then again a full version and three differential versions

and so on. So every new full version will be created in two months.

7. To limit storage space for the versions, click Turn on automatic cleanup.

8. Click Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size], type or select "100" "GB", and click

OK.

When the total backup size exceeds 100 GB, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will clean up the

existing backup versions to make the remaining versions satisfy the size limit. The program will delete the

oldest backup chain consisting of a full backup version and three differential backup versions.

9. Check that all settings are correct and click Back up now. If you want your first backup to be run

only at the time you specified in the Scheduler, click the down arrow to the right of the Back up

now button and select Later in the drop-down list.

4.3.3 Notifications for backup operation

Location: Options > Notifications

Sometimes a backup or recovery procedure can last an hour or longer. Acronis True Image for

Western Digital can notify you when it is finished via email. The program can also duplicate messages

issued during the operation or send you the full operation log after operation completion.

By default, all notifications are disabled.

Free disk space threshold

You may want to be notified when the free space on the backup storage becomes less than the

specified threshold value. If after starting a backup Acronis True Image for Western Digital finds out

that the free space in the selected backup location is already less than the specified value, the

program will not begin the actual backup process and will immediately inform you by displaying an

appropriate message. The message offers you three choices - to ignore it and proceed with the

backup, to browse for another location for the backup or to cancel the backup.

If the free space becomes less than the specified value while the backup is being run, the program

will display the same message and you will have to make the same decisions.

To set the free disk space threshold:

 Select the Show notification message on insufficient free disk space check box

 In the Size box, type or select a threshold value and select a unit of measure

Acronis True Image for Western Digital can monitor free space on the following storage devices:

 Local hard drives

 USB cards and drives

 Network shares (SMB)

The message will not be displayed if the Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode)

check box is selected in the Error handling settings.

This option cannot be enabled for CD/DVD drives.

Email notification

You can specify an email account that will be used to send you email notifications.

To configure the email notifications:

1. Select the Send email notifications about the operation state check box.

2. Configure email settings:

 Enter the email address in the To field. You can enter several addresses, separated by

semicolons.

 Enter the outgoing mail server (SMTP) in the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field.

 Set the port of the outgoing mail server. By default, the port is set to 25.

 If required, select the SMTP authentication check box, and then enter the user name and

password in the corresponding fields.

3. To check whether your settings are correct, click the Send test message button.

If the test message sending fails, perform the following:

1. Click Show extended settings.

2. Configure additional email settings:

 Enter the sender's email address in the From field. If you are not sure what address to specify,

then type any address you like in a standard format, for example [email protected].

 Change the message subject in the Subject field, if necessary.

To simplify monitoring a backup status, you can add the most important information to the

subject of the email messages. You can type the following text labels:

 %BACKUP_NAME%—the backup name

 %COMPUTER_NAME%—name of the computer where the backup was started

 %OPERATION_STATUS%—result of the backup or other operation

For example, you can type: Status of backup %BACKUP_NAME%: %OPERATION_STATUS%

(%COMPUTER_NAME%)

 Select the Log on to incoming mail server check box.

 Enter the incoming mail server (POP3) in the POP3 server field.

 Set the port of the incoming mail server. By default, the port is set to 110.

3. Click the Send test message button again.

Additional notification settings:

 To send a notification concerning a process completion, select the Send notification upon

operation's successful completion check box.

 To send a notification concerning a process failure, select the Send notification upon operation

failure check box.

 To send a notification with operation messages, select the Send notification when user

interaction is required check box.

 To send a notification with a full log of operations, select the Add full log to the notification

check box.

Note that the email notifications you configure work for a particular backup.

4.3.4 Image creation mode

Location: Options > Advanced > Image creation mode

You can use these parameters to create an exact copy of your whole partitions or hard disks, and not

only the sectors that contain data. For example, this can be useful when you want to back up a

partition or disk containing an operating system that is not supported by Acronis True Image for

Western Digital. Please note that this mode increases processing time and usually results in a larger

image file.

 To create a sector-by-sector image, select the Back up sector-by-sector check box.

 To include all unallocated disk space into the backup, select the Back up unallocated space check

box.

This check box is available only when the Back up sector-by-sector check box is selected.

4.3.5 Backup splitting

Location: Options > Advanced > Backup splitting

Acronis True Image for Western Digital cannot split already existing backups. Backups can be split only when

being created.

Large backups can be split into several files that together make up the original backup. A backup can

also be split for burning to removable media.

The default setting - Automatic. With this setting, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will act as

follows.

When backing up to a hard disk:

 If the selected disk has enough space and its file system allows the estimated file size, the

program will create a single backup file.

 If the storage disk has enough space, but its file system does not allow the estimated file size, the

program will automatically split the image into several files.

 If you do not have enough space to store the image on your hard disk, the program will warn you

and wait for your decision as to how you plan to fix the problem. You can try to free some

additional space and continue or select another disk.

Alternatively, you may select the desired file size from the drop-down list. The backup will then be

split into multiple files of the specified size. This is useful when you store a backup to a hard disk in

order to burn the backup to CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW, DVD+R/RW or BD-R/RE later on.

4.3.6 Backup validation option

Location: Options > Advanced > Validation

You can specify the following settings:

 Validate backup each time after it is completed - Select to check the integrity of the backup

version immediately after backup. We recommend that you enable this option when you back up

your critical data or system disk.

 Validate the latest diverse backup only - A quick validation of the last backup slice.

 Validate entire backup

 Validate backup on schedule - Select to schedule validation of your backups to ensure that they

remain "healthy".

 The latest diverse backup version when it is completed

 Entire backup when it is completed

The default settings are as follows:

 Frequency: once a month.

 Day: the date when the backup was started.

 Time: the moment of backup start plus 15 minutes.

You can also configure start of the validation manually from the backup context menu.

To do this, right-click the backup and choose:

 Validate all versions

 Validate last version

Example: You start a backup operation on July 15, at 12.00. The backup version is created at

12.05. Its validation will run at 12.15 if your computer is in the "screen saver" state at the

moment. If not, then the validation will not run. In a month, August 15, at 12.15, the validation

will start again. As before, your computer must be in the "screen saver" state. The same will

occur on September 15, and so on.

You can change the default settings and specify your own schedule. For more information see

Scheduling (p. 37).

4.3.7 Backup reserve copy

Location: Options > Advanced > Backup reserve copy

This option is not available for local backups.

Backup reserve copy is an independent full backup version created immediately after a normal

backup. Even when you create an incremental or differential backup version containing only data

changes, the reserve copy will contain all the data selected for the normal backup. You can save

reserve copies of your backups on the file system, a network drive, or a USB flash drive.

Please, be aware that CD/DVDs are not supported as locations for reserve copies.

To make a reserve copy:

1. Select the Create a reserve copy of my backups check box.

2. Specify a location for the backup copies.

3. Select the reserve copy format. You can create it as an Acronis backup (.tib files) or just copy the

source files to the selected location as is, without any modification.

4. [Optional step] Protect the reserve copy with a password.

All other backup options will be inherited from the source backup.

4.3.8 Error handling

When Acronis True Image for Western Digital encounters an error while performing a backup, it

stops the backup process and displays a message, waiting for a response on how to handle the error.

You can configure an error handling policy, so Acronis True Image for Western Digital will not stop

the backup process, but will handle the error according to the rules that you set, and will continue

working.

Note This topic applies to backups that use local or network backup destinations.

To set up the error handling policy:

1. On the Backup dashboard > Options > Advanced > Error handling

2. Set the error handling policy:

 Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode) - Enable this setting to

ignore errors during backup operations. This is useful when you cannot control the backup

process.

 Ignore bad sectors - This option is available only for disk and partition backups. It lets you

successfully complete a backup even if there are bad sectors on the hard disk.

We recommend that you select this check box when your hard drive is failing, for example:

 Hard drive is making clicking or grinding noises during operation.

 The S.M.A.R.T. system has detected hard drive issues and recommends that you back up

the drive as soon as possible.

When you leave this check box cleared, the backup may fail because of possible bad sectors

on the drive.

 Repeat attempt if a backup fails - This option allows you to automatically repeat a backup

attempt if the backup fails for some reason. You can specify the number of attempts and the

interval between attempts. Note that if the error interrupting the backup persists, the

backup will not be created.

Note: Scheduled backup operations will not start until all attempts are completed.

3. Click OK.

4.3.9 Computer shutdown

Location: Options > Advanced > Computer shutdown

You can configure the following options:

 Stop all current operations when I shut down the computer

When you turn off your computer while Acronis True Image for Western Digital is performing a

long operation, for example a disk backup to the cloud, this operation prevents the computer

from shutdown. When this check box is selected, Acronis True Image for Western Digital

automatically stops all its current operations before shutdown. This may take about two minutes.

The next time you run Acronis True Image for Western Digital, it will restart the stopped backups.

 Shut down the computer after the backup is complete

If you know that the backup process you are configuring may take a long time, you may select

the Shut down the computer after the backup is complete check box. In this case, you will not

have to wait until the operation completion. The program will perform the backup and turn off

your computer automatically.

This option is also useful when you schedule your backups. For example, you may want to

perform backups every weekday in the evening to save all your work. Schedule the backup and

select the check box. After that you may leave your computer when you finish your work

knowing that the critical data will be backed up and the computer will be turned off.

4.3.10 Performance of backup operation

Location: Options > Advanced > Performance

Compression level

You can choose the compression level for a backup:

 None - the data will be copied without any compression, which may significantly increase the

backup file size.

 Normal - the recommended data compression level (set by default).

 High - higher backup file compression level, takes more time to create a backup.

 Maximum - maximum backup compression, but takes a long time to create a backup.

The optimal data compression level depends on the type of files stored in the backup. For example, even

maximum compression will not significantly reduce the backup size, if the backup contains essentially

compressed files, like .jpg, .pdf or .mp3.

You cannot set or change the compression level for a pre-existing backup.

Operation priority

Changing the priority of a backup or recovery process can make it run faster or slower (depending on

whether you raise or lower the priority), but it can also adversely affect the performance of other

running programs. The priority of any process running in a system, determines the amount of CPU

usage and system resources allocated to that process. Decreasing the operation priority will free

more resources for other CPU tasks. Increasing backup or recovery priority may speed up the process

by taking resources from the other currently running processes. The effect will depend on total CPU

usage and other factors.

You can set up the operation priority:

 Low (enabled by default) - the backup or recovery process will run slower, but the performance

of other programs will be increased.

 Normal - the backup or recovery process will have the equal priority with other processes.

 High - the backup or recovery process will run faster, but the performance of other programs will

be reduced. Be aware that selecting this option may result in 100% CPU usage by Acronis True

Image for Western Digital.

Snapshot for backup

This option is for advanced users only. Do not change the default setting if you are not sure which option to

choose.

During a disk or partition backup process, which often takes a long time, some of the backed-up files

may be in use, locked, or being modified in one way or another. For example, you may work on a

document and save it from time to time. If Acronis True Image for Western Digital backed up files

one by one, your open file would likely be changed since the backup start, and then saved in the

backup to a different point in time. Therefore, the data in the backup would be inconsistent. To

eliminate it, Acronis True Image for Western Digital creates a so-called snapshot that fixes the data to

back up to a particular point in time. This is done before the backup starts and guarantees that the

data is in consistent state.

Select a backup snapshot type from the list:

 No snapshot

A snapshot will not be created. The files will be backed up one by one as an ordinary copy

operation.

 VSS

Warning! This is the only recommended option for backing up your system. Your computer may not start

after recovery from a backup created with a different snapshot type.

This option is default for disk-level and the Entire PC backups, and guarantees data consistency in

the backup.

 Acronis snapshot

A snapshot will be created with the Acronis driver used in previous versions of Acronis True

Image for Western Digital.

 VSS without writers

This option is default for file-level backups.

VSS writers are special VSS components for notifying applications that a snapshot is going to be

created, so that the applications prepare their data for the snapshot. The writers are needed for

applications that perform large number of file operations and require data consistency, for

example databases. Because such applications are not installed on home computers, there is no

need to use writers. In addition, this reduces the time required for file-level backups.

4.3.11 Laptop power settings

Location: Settings > Battery power saving

This setting is only available on computers with batteries (laptops, computers with UPS).

Long-term backups may consume the battery power quite fast. When you work on your laptop and

there is no power supply around you or when your computer has switched to UPS after a blackout,

it's reasonable to save the battery charge.

To save the battery charge:

 On the sidebar, click Settings > Battery power saving, select the Do not back up when battery

power is less than check box, and then use the slider to set the exact battery level for the charge

saving to start.

When this setting is turned on, if you unplug your laptop power adapter or use a UPS for your

computer after a blackout, and the remaining battery charge is equal or below the level in the slider,

all current backups are paused and scheduled backups will not start. Once you plug the power

adapter back in or the power supply is restored, the paused backups will be resumed. The scheduled

backups that have been missed because of this setting will be started as well.

This setting does not block backup functionality completely. You can always start a backup manually.

Local mobile backups do not depend on this setting. Your mobile data is backed up to local storage

on your computer as usual.

5 Recovering data

In this section

Recovering disks and partitions ........................................................................................ 52

Recovering files and folders .............................................................................................. 65

Searching backup content ................................................................................................. 66

Recovery options............................................................................................................... 67

5.1 Recovering disks and partitions

5.1.1 Recovering your system after a crash

When your computer fails to boot, it is advisable to at first try to find the cause using the suggestions

given in Trying to determine the crash cause (p. 52). If the crash is caused by corruption of the

operating system, use a backup to recover your system. Make the preparations described in

Preparing for recovery (p. 52) and then proceed with recovering your system.

5.1.1.1 Trying to determine the crash cause

A system crash can be due to two basic factors:

 Hardware failure

In this scenario, it is better to let your service center handle the repairs. However, you may want

to perform some routine tests. Check the cables, connectors, power of external devices, etc.

Then, restart the computer. If there is a hardware problem, the Power-On Self Test (POST) will

inform you about the failure.

If the POST does not reveal a hardware failure, enter BIOS and check whether it recognizes your

system hard disk drive. To enter BIOS, press the required key combination (Del, F1, Ctrl+Alt+Esc,

Ctrl+Esc, or some other, depending on your BIOS) during the POST sequence. Usually the

message with the required key combination is displayed during the startup test. Pressing this

combination takes you to the setup menu. Go to the hard disk autodetection utility which usually

comes under "Standard CMOS Setup" or "Advanced CMOS setup". If the utility does not detect

the system drive, it has failed and you need to replace the drive.

 Operating system corruption (Windows cannot start up)

If the POST correctly detects your system hard disk drive, then the cause of the crash is probably

a virus, malware or corruption of a system file required for booting. In this case, recover the

system using a backup of your system disk or system partition. Refer to Recovering your system

(p. 53) for details.

5.1.1.2 Preparing for recovery

We recommend that you perform the following actions before recovery:

 Scan the computer for viruses if you suspect that the crash occurred due to a virus or malware

attack.

 Under bootable media, try a test recovery to a spare hard drive, if you have one.

 Validate the image under bootable media. A backup that can be read during validation in

Windows, may not always be readable in a Linux environment.

Under bootable media, there are two ways to validate a backup:

 To validate a backup manually, on the Recovery tab, right-click a backup and select Validate

Archive.

 To validate a backup automatically before recovery, on the Options step of the Recovery

Wizard, select the Validate backup archive before recovery check box.

 Assign unique names (labels) to all partitions on your hard drives. This will make finding the disk

containing your backups easier.

When you use the Acronis bootable media, it creates disk drive letters that might differ from the

way Windows identifies drives. For example, the D: disk identified in the bootable media might

correspond to the E: disk in Windows.

5.1.1.3 Recovering your system to the same disk

Before you start, we recommend that you complete the procedures described in Preparing for

recovery (p. 52).

To recover your system:

1. Attach the external drive if it contains the backup to be used for recovery and make sure that the

drive is powered on.

2. Arrange the boot order in BIOS so as to make your rescue media device (CD, DVD or USB drive)

the first boot device. See Arranging boot order in BIOS or UEFI BIOS (p. 64).

If you use an UEFI computer, please pay attention to the boot mode of the bootable media in

UEFI BIOS. It is recommended that the boot mode matches the type of the system in the backup.

If the backup contains a BIOS system, then boot the bootable media in BIOS mode; if the system

is UEFI, then ensure that UEFI mode is set.

3. Boot from the rescue media and select Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

4. On the Home screen, select My disks below Recover.

5. Select the system disk or partition backup to be used for recovery.

When the backup is not displayed, click Browse and specify path to the backup manually.

If the backup is located on a USB drive, and the drive is not recognized correctly, check the USB port version.

If it is a USB 3.0 or USB 3.1, try connecting the drive to a USB 2.0 port.

6. Select Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step.

7. Select the system partition (usually C) on the What to recover screen. If the system partition has

a different letter, select the partition using the Flags column. It must have the Pri, Act flags. If

you have the System Reserved partition, select it, too.

8. At the "Settings of partition C" (or the letter of the system partition, if it is different) step check

the default settings and click Next if they are correct. Otherwise, change the settings as required

before clicking Next. Changing the settings will be needed when recovering to the new hard disk

of a different capacity.

9. Carefully read the summary of operations at the Finish step. If you have not resized the partition,

the sizes in the Deleting partition and Recovering partition items must match. Having checked

the summary click Proceed.

10. When the operation finishes, exit the standalone version of Acronis True Image for Western

Digital, remove the rescue media and boot from the recovered system partition. After making

sure that you have recovered Windows to the state you need, restore the original boot order.

5.1.1.4 Recovering your system to a new disk under bootable media

Before you start, we recommend that you complete the preparations described in Preparing for

recovery (p. 52). You do not need to format the new disk, as this will be done in the process of

recovery.

Note: It is recommended that your old and new hard drives work in the same controller mode (for example, IDE

or AHCI). Otherwise, your computer might not start from the new hard drive.

To recover your system to a new disk:

1. Install the new hard drive to the same position in the computer and use the same cable and

connector that was used for the original drive. If this is not possible, install the new drive to

where it will be used.

2. Attach the external drive if it contains the backup to be used for recovery and make sure that the

drive is powered on.

3. Arrange the boot order in BIOS so as to make your bootable media (CD, DVD or USB stick) the

first boot device. See Arranging boot order in BIOS or UEFI BIOS (p. 64).

If you use an UEFI computer, please pay attention to the boot mode of the bootable media in

UEFI BIOS. It is recommended that the boot mode matches the type of the system in the backup.

If the backup contains a BIOS system, then boot the bootable media in BIOS mode; if the system

is UEFI, then ensure that UEFI mode is set.

4. Boot from the bootable media and select Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

5. On the Home screen, select My disks below Recover.

6. Select the system disk or partition backup to be used for recovery. When the backup is not

displayed, click Browse and specify path to the backup manually.

If the backup is located on a USB drive, and the drive is not recognized correctly, check the USB port version.

If it is a USB 3.0 or USB 3.1, try connecting the drive to a USB 2.0 port.

7. If you have a hidden partition (for example, the System Reserved partition or a partition created

by the PC manufacturer), click Details on the wizard's toolbar. Please remember the location and

size of the hidden partition, because these parameters need to be the same on your new disk.

8. Select Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step.

9. On the What to recover step, select the boxes of the partitions to be recovered.

If you select an entire disk, MBR and Track 0 of the disk will also be recovered.

Selecting partitions leads to appearance of the relevant steps "Settings of partition ...". Note that

these steps start with partitions which do not have an assigned disk letter (as usually is the case

with hidden partitions). The partitions then take an ascending order of partition disk letters. This

order cannot be changed. The order may differ from the physical order of the partitions on the

hard disk.

10. On the Settings of the hidden partition step (usually named Settings of Partition 1-1), specify the

following settings:

 Location. Click New location, select your new disk by either its assigned name or capacity,

and then click Accept.

 Type. Check the partition type and change it, if necessary. Ensure that the System Reserved

partition (if any) is primary and marked as active.

 Size. Click Change default in the Partition size area. By default the partition occupies the

entire new disk. Enter the correct size in the Partition size field (you can see this value on the

What to recover step). Then drag this partition to the same location that you saw in the

Backup Information window, if necessary. Click Accept.

11. On the Settings of Partition C step, specify the settings for the second partition, which in this

case is your system partition.

 Click New location, and then select unallocated space on the destination disk that will

receive the partition.

 Change the partition type, if necessary. The system partition must be primary.

 Specify the partition size, which by default equals the original size. Usually there is no free

space after the partition, so allocate all the unallocated space on the new disk to the second

partition. Click Accept, and then click Next.

12. Carefully read the summary of operations to be performed and then click Proceed.

When the recovery is complete

Before you boot the computer, please disconnect the old drive (if any). If Windows "sees" both the

new and old drive during the boot, this will result in problems booting Windows. If you upgrade the

old drive to a larger capacity new one, disconnect the old drive before the first boot.

Remove the bootable media and boot the computer to Windows. It may report that new hardware

(hard drive) is found and Windows needs to reboot. After making sure that the system operates

normally, restore the original boot order.

5.1.2 Recovering partitions and disks

You can recover your disks from backups located on local storage or network storage.

To recover partitions or disks:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. In the Backup section, select the backup which contains the partitions or disks you want to

recover, then open the Recovery tab, and then click Recover disks.

3. In the Backup version list, select the backup version you want to recover by its backup date and

time.

4. Select the Disks tab to recover disks or Partitions tab to recover specific partitions. Select the

objects that you need to recover.

5. In the recovery destination field below the partition name, select the destination partition.

Unsuitable partitions are marked by a red border. Note that all data on the destination partition

will be lost because it is replaced by the recovered data and file system.

To recover to the original partition, at least 5 % of the partition space must be free. Otherwise, the Recover

now button will be unavailable.

6. [Optional] To set up additional parameters for the disk recovery process, click Recovery options.

7. After you finish with your selections, click Recover now to start recovery.

5.1.2.1 Partition properties

When you recover partitions to a basic disk, you can change properties of these partitions. To open

the Partition Properties window, click Properties next to the selected target partition.

You can change the following partition properties:

 Letter

 Label

 Type

You can make the partition primary, primary active, or logical.

 Size

You can resize the partition by dragging the right-side border with your mouse, on the horizontal

bar on the screen. To assign the partition a specific size, enter the appropriate number into the

Partition size field. You can also select the position of unallocated space—before or after the

partition.

5.1.3 About recovery of dynamic/GPT disks and volumes

Recovery of dynamic volumes

You can recover dynamic volumes to the following locations on the local hard drives:

 Dynamic volume.

Manual resizing of dynamic volumes during recovery to dynamic disks is not supported. If you need to resize

a dynamic volume during recovery, it should be recovered to a basic disk.

 Original location (to the same dynamic volume).

The target volume type does not change.

 Another dynamic disk or volume.

The target volume type does not change. For example, when recovering a dynamic striped

volume over a dynamic spanned volume the target volume remains spanned.

 Unallocated space of the dynamic group.

The recovered volume type will be the same as it was in the backup.

 Basic volume or disk.

The target volume remains basic.

 Bare-metal recovery.

When performing a so called "bare-metal recovery" of dynamic volumes to a new unformatted

disk, the recovered volumes become basic. If you want the recovered volumes to remain

dynamic, the target disks should be prepared as dynamic (partitioned and formatted). This can

be done using third-party tools, for example, Windows Disk Management snap-in.

Recovery of basic volumes and disks

 When recovering a basic volume to an unallocated space of the dynamic group, the recovered

volume becomes dynamic.

 When recovering a basic disk to a dynamic disk of a dynamic group consisting of two disks, the

recovered disk remains basic. The dynamic disk to which the recovery is performed becomes

"missing" and a spanned/striped dynamic volume on the second disk becomes "failed".

Partition style after recovery

The target disk's partition style depends on whether your computer supports UEFI and on whether

your system is BIOS-booted or UEFI-booted. See the following table:

My system is BIOS-booted (Windows or

Acronis Bootable Media)

My system is UEFI-booted (Windows or

Acronis Bootable Media)

My source disk is MBR

and my OS does not

support UEFI

The operation will not affect neither

partition layout nor bootability of

the disk: partition style will remain

MBR, the destination disk will be

bootable in BIOS.

After operation completion, the

partition style will be converted to

GPT style, but the operating system

will fail booting from UEFI, since your

operating system does not support it.

My source disk is MBR

and my OS supports UEFI

The operation will not affect neither

partition layout nor bootability of

the disk: partition style will remain

MBR, the destination disk will be

bootable in BIOS.

The destination partition will be

converted to GPT style that will make

the destination disk bootable in UEFI.

See Example of recovery to UEFI

system (p. 63).

My source disk is GPT

and my OS supports UEFI

After operation completion, the

partition style will remain GPT, the

system will fail booting on BIOS,

because your operating system

cannot support booting from GPT on

BIOS.

After operation completion, the

partition style will remain GPT, the

operating system will be bootable on

UEFI.

Example of recovery procedure

See Example of recovery to a UEFI system (p. 63).

5.1.3.1 Example of recovery to a UEFI system

Here is an example for transferring a system with the following conditions:

 The source disk is MBR and the OS supports UEFI.

 The target system is UEFI-booted.

 Your old and new hard drives work in the same controller mode (for example, IDE or AHCI).

Before you start the procedure, please ensure that you have:

 Acronis bootable media.

Refer to Creating Acronis bootable media (p. 14) for details.

 Backup of your system disk created in disk mode.

To create this backup, switch to disk mode, and then select the hard drive that contains your

system partition. Refer to Backing up disks and partitions (p. 34) for details.

To transfer your system from an MBR disk to a UEFI-booted computer:

1. Boot from the Acronis bootable media in UEFI mode and select Acronis True Image.

2. Run the Recovery wizard and follow the instructions described in Recovering your system (p. 53).

3. On the What to recover step, select the check box next to the disk name to select the entire

system disk.

In the example below, you need to select the Disk 1 check box:

4. On the Finish step, click Proceed.

When the operation finishes, the destination disk is converted to GPT style so that it is bootable in

UEFI.

After the recovery, please ensure that you boot your computer in UEFI mode. You may need to

change the boot mode of your system disk in the user interface of the UEFI boot manager.

5.1.4 Arranging boot order in BIOS or UEFI BIOS

To boot your computer from Acronis bootable media, you need to arrange boot order so the media is

the first booting device. The boot order is changed in BIOS or UEFI BIOS, depending on your

computer firmware interface. The procedure in both cases is very similar.

To boot from Acronis bootable media:

1. If you use a USB flash drive or external drive as a bootable media, plug it into the USB port.

2. Turn your computer on. During the Power-On Self Test (POST), you will see the key combination

that you need to press in order to enter BIOS or UEFI BIOS.

3. Press the key combination (such as, Del, F1, Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Esc). The BIOS or UEFI BIOS setup

utility will open. Note that utilities may differ in appearance, sets of items, names, etc.

Some motherboards have a so-called boot menu opened by pressing a certain key or key combination, for

instance, F12. The boot menu allows selecting the boot device from a list of bootable devices without

changing the BIOS or UEFI BIOS setup.

4. If you use a CD or DVD as a bootable media, insert it in the CD or DVD drive.

5. Make your bootable media (CD, DVD or USB drive) device the first booting device:

1. Navigate to the Boot order setting by using the arrow keys on your keyboard.

2. Place the pointer on the device of your bootable media and make it the first item in the list.

You can usually use the Plus Sign and the Minus Sign keys to change the order.

6. Exit BIOS or UEFI BIOS and save the changes that you made. The computer will boot from Acronis

bootable media.

If the computer fails to boot from the first device, it tries to boot from the second device in the list, and so on.

5.2 Recovering files and folders

You can browse and recover backed-up files and folders in Acronis True Image for Western Digital, in

File Explorer. You can recover files and folders both from file-level and disk-level backups.

Recovering data in Acronis True Image for Western Digital

1. On the sidebar, click Backup.

2. From the backup list, select the backup which contains the files or folders that you want to

recover, and then open the Recovery tab.

3. [Optional] On the toolbar, in the Version drop-down list, select the required date and time of the

backup. By default, the latest backup is recovered.

4. Select the files and folders that you want to recover, and click Next.

5. [Optional] By default, the data is restored in the original location. To change it, click Browse on

the toolbar, and then select the required destination folder.

6. [Optional] Set the options for the recovery process (recovery process priority, file-level security

settings, etc.). To set the options, click Recovery options. The options you set here will be

applied only to the current recovery operation.

7. To start the recovery process, click the Recover now button.

The selected file version is downloaded to the specified destination.

You can stop the recovery by clicking Cancel. Please keep in mind that the aborted recovery may

still cause changes in the destination folder.

Recovering data in File Explorer

1. Double-click the corresponding .tib file, and then browse to the file or folder that you want to

recover.

2. Copy the file or folder to a hard disk.

Note If you selected several files and folders, they will be placed into a zip archive.

5.3 Searching backup content

While recovering data from local backups, you can search for specific files and folders stored in the

selected backup.

To search for files and folders:

1. Start recovering data as described in Recovering partitions and disks (p. 60) or Recovering files

and folders (p. 65).

2. When selecting files and folders to recover, enter the file or folder name into the Search field.

The program shows search results.

You can also use the common Windows wildcard characters: * and ?. For example, to find all files

with extension .exe, enter *.exe. To find all .exe files with names consisting of five symbols and

starting with “my”, enter My???.exe.

3. By default, Acronis True Image for Western Digital searches the folder selected on the previous

step. To include the entire backup in the search, click the down arrow, and then click in entire

backup.

To return to the previous step, delete the search text, and then click the cross icon.

4. After the search is complete, select the files that you want to recover, and then click Next.

Note Pay attention to the Version column. The files and folders that belong to different backup versions

cannot be recovered at the same time.

5.4 Recovery options

You can configure options for the disk/partition and file recovery processes. After you installed the

application, all options are set to the initial values. You can change them for your current recovery

operation only or for all further recovery operations as well. Select the Save the settings as default

check box to apply the modified settings to all further recovery operations by default.

Note, that disk recovery options and file recovery options are fully independent, and you should

configure them separately.

If you want to reset all the modified options to their initial values that were set after the product

installation, click the Reset to initial settings button.

5.4.1 Disk recovery mode

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Disk recovery mode

With this option you can select the disk recovery mode for image backups.

 Recover sector-by-sector - select this check box if you want to recover both used and unused

sectors of disks or partitions. This option will be effective only when you choose to recover a

sector-by-sector backup.

5.4.2 Pre/Post commands for recovery

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Pre/Post commands

You can specify commands (or even batch files) that will be automatically executed before and after

the recovery procedure.

For example, you may want to start/stop certain Windows processes, or check your data for viruses

before recovery.

To specify commands (batch files):

 Select a command to be executed before the recovery process starts in the Pre-command field.

To create a new command or select a new batch file, click the Edit button.

 Select a command to be executed after the recovery process ends in the Post-command field. To

create a new command or select a new batch file, click the Edit button.

Please do not try to execute interactive commands, i.e. commands that require user input (for

example, "pause"). These are not supported.

5.4.2.1 Edit user command for recovery

You can specify user commands to be executed before or after recovery:

 In the Command field type-in a command or select it from the list. Click ... to select a batch file.

 In the Working directory field type-in a path for command execution or select it from the list of

previously entered paths.

 In the Arguments field enter or select command execution arguments from the list.

Disabling the Do not perform operations until the command execution is complete parameter

(enabled by default), will permit the recovery process to run concurrently with your command

execution.

The Abort the operation if the user command fails (enabled by default) parameter will abort the

operation if any errors occur in command execution.

You can test the command you entered by clicking the Test command button.

5.4.3 Validation option

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Validation

 Validate backup before recovery—Enable this option to check the backup integrity before

recovery.

 Check the file system after recovery—Enable this option to check the file system integrity on the

recovered partition.

Only FAT16/32 and NTFS file systems can be checked.

The file system will not be checked if a reboot is required during recovery, for example, when recovering the

system partition to its original place.

5.4.4 Computer restart

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Computer restart

If you want the computer to reboot automatically when it is required for recovery, select the Restart

the computer automatically if needed for the recovery check box. This may be used when a

partition locked by the operating system has to be recovered.

5.4.5 File recovery options

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > File recovery options

You can select the following file recovery options:

 Recover files with their original security settings - if the file security settings were preserved

during backup (see File-level security settings for backup), you can choose whether to recover

them or let the files inherit the security settings of the folder where they will be recovered to.

This option is effective only when recovering files from file/folder backups.

 Set current date and time for recovered files - you can choose whether to recover the file date

and time from the backup or assign the files the current date and time. By default the file date

and time from the backup will be assigned.

5.4.6 Overwrite file options

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Overwrite file options

Choose what to do if the program finds a file in the target folder with the same name as in the

backup.

This option is available only while restoring files and folders (not disks and partitions).

Select the Overwrite existing files check box if you want to overwrite the files on the hard disk with

the files from the backup. If the check box is cleared, the more recent files and folders will be kept on

the disk.

If you do not need to overwrite some files:

 Select the Hidden files and folders check box to turn off overwriting of all hidden files and

folders. This option is available for file-level backups to local destinations and network shares.

 Select the System files and folders check box to turn off overwriting of all system files and

folders. This option is available for file-level backups to local destinations and network shares.

 Select the More recent files and folders check box to turn off overwriting of new files and

folders.

 Click Add specific files and folders to manage the list of custom files and folders that you do not

want to overwrite. This option is available for file-level backups to local destinations and network

shares.

 To turn off overwriting of specific files, click the plus sign to create an exclusion criterion.

 While specifying the criteria, you can use the common Windows wildcard characters. For

example, to preserve all files with extension .exe, you can add *.exe. Adding My???.exe will

preserve all .exe files with names consisting of five symbols and starting with “my”.

To delete a criterion, select it in the list, and then click the minus sign.

5.4.7 Performance of recovery operation

Location: Recovery options > Advanced > Performance

You can configure the following settings:

Operation priority

Changing the priority of a backup or recovery process can make it run faster or slower (depending on

whether you raise or lower the priority), but it can also adversely affect the performance of other

running programs. The priority of any process running in a system, determines the amount of CPU

usage and system resources allocated to that process. Decreasing the operation priority will free

more resources for other CPU tasks. Increasing backup or recovery priority may speed up the process

by taking resources from the other currently running processes. The effect will depend on total CPU

usage and other factors.

You can set up the operation priority:

 Low (enabled by default) - the backup or recovery process will run slower, but the performance

of other programs will be increased.

 Normal - the backup or recovery process will have the equal priority with other processes.

 High - the backup or recovery process will run faster, but the performance of other programs will

be reduced. Be aware that selecting this option may result in 100% CPU usage by Acronis True

Image for Western Digital.

5.4.8 Notifications for recovery operation

Location: Recovery options > Notifications

Sometimes a backup or recovery procedure can last an hour or longer. Acronis True Image for

Western Digital can notify you when it is finished via e-mail. The program can also duplicate

messages issued during the operation or send you the full operation log after operation completion.

By default all notifications are disabled.

Free disk space threshold

You may want to be notified when the free space on the recovery storage becomes less than the

specified threshold value. If after starting a backup Acronis True Image for Western Digital finds out

that the free space in the selected backup location is already less than the specified value, the

program will not begin the actual recovery process and will immediately inform you by displaying an

appropriate message. The message offers you three choices - to ignore it and proceed with the

recovery, to browse for another location for the recovery or to cancel the recovery.

If the free space becomes less than the specified value while the recovery is being run, the program

will display the same message and you will have to make the same decisions.

To set the free disk space threshold:

 Select the Show notification message on insufficient free disk space check box

 In the Size box, type or select a threshold value and select a unit of measure

Acronis True Image for Western Digital can monitor free space on the following storage devices:

 Local hard drives

 USB cards and drives

 Network shares (SMB)

The message will not be displayed if the Do not show messages and dialogs while processing (silent mode)

check box is selected in the Error handling settings.

This option cannot be enabled for CD/DVD drives.

E-mail notification

You can specify an email account that will be used to send you email notifications.

To configure the email notifications:

1. Select the Send e-mail notifications about the operation state check box.

2. Configure email settings:

 Enter the email address in the To field. You can enter several email addresses in a

semicolon-delimited format.

 Enter the outgoing mail server (SMTP) in the Outgoing mail server (SMTP) field.

 Set the port of the outgoing mail server. By default the port is set to 25.

 If required, select the SMTP authentication check box, and then enter the user name and

password in the corresponding fields.

3. To check whether your settings are correct, click the Send test message button.

If the test message sending fails, then perform the following:

1. Click Show extended settings.

2. Configure additional email settings:

 Enter the e-mail sender address in the From field. If you are not sure what address to specify,

then type any address you like in a standard format, for example [email protected].

 Change the message subject in the Subject field, if necessary.

 Select the Log on to incoming mail server check box.

 Enter the incoming mail server (POP3) in the POP3 server field.

 Set the port of the incoming mail server. By default the port is set to 110.

3. Click the Send test message button again.

Additional notification settings:

 To send a notification concerning process completion, select the Send notification upon

operation's successful completion check box.

 To send a notification concerning process failure, select the Send notification upon operation

failure check box.

 To send a notification with operation messages, select the Send notification when user

interaction is required check box.

 To send a notification with full log of operations, select the Add full log to the notification check

box.

6 Active protection

To protect your computer from malicious software in real-time, Acronis True Image for Western

Digital uses the Acronis Active Protection technology.

Active Protection constantly checks your computer for ransomware and cryptomining processes

while you continue working as usual. In addition to your files, Acronis Active Protection protects the

Acronis True Image for Western Digital application files, your backups, and the Master Boot Records

of your hard drives.

Note You can turn the protection on or off in the Acronis True Image for Western Digital UI only. You cannot

stop the process manually through Activity Monitor or any other external tool.

Ransomware encrypts files and demands a ransom for the encryption key. Cryptomining malware

performs mathematical calculations in the background, thus stealing the processing power and

network traffic of your machine.

When the Antiransomware Protection service is on, it monitors in real time the processes running

on your computer. When it detects a third-party process that tries to encrypt your files or mine

cryptocurrency, the service informs you about it and asks if you want to allow the process to

continue or to block the process.

To allow the process to continue the activity, click Trust. If you are not sure if the process is safe and

legal, we recommend that you click Quarantine. After this, the process will be added to Quarantine

and blocked from any activities.

After blocking a process, we recommend that you check if your files have been encrypted or

corrupted in any way. If they are, click Recover modified files. Acronis True Image for Western Digital

will search the following locations for the latest file versions to recover.

 Temporary file copies that were preliminarily created during the process verification

 Local backups

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital finds a good temporary copy, the file is restored from that

copy. If temporary file copies are not suitable for restore, Acronis True Image for Western Digital

searches for backup copies locally and restores your file from the latest available non-corrupt copy.

Note Acronis True Image for Western Digital does not support file recovery from password-protected backups.

To configure Acronis True Image for Western Digital to automatically recover files after blocking a

process, select the Automatically recover files after blocking a process check box in the Active

Protection settings. See Configuring Active Protection (p. 72).

The Protection dashboard

The Protection dashboard contains statistical data on the Active protection, provides control over

the protection status, and access to the protection setting.

To access the Protection dashboard, click Protection on the Acronis True Image for Western Digital

sidebar.

On the Overview tab of the dashboard, you can:

 View statistics about the active protection status.

 View the number of detected issues, quarantined, and excluded items.

 Stop the entire protection for a predefined period of time (30 minutes, 1 hour, 4 hours, until

restart). To do this, click Turn off protection and choose the period.

Note By turning the protection off, you deactivate Active Protection (real-time protection and

Antiransomware protection). Scheduled on-demand scans will not start.

On the Activity tab of the dashboard, you can view a log of the changes that you applied to your

protection status and settings.

Related topics

Configuring Active Protection ........................................................................................... 72

Configuring Protection exclusions .................................................................................... 73

Ransomware quarantine ................................................................................................... 74

Configuring Protection exclusions .................................................................................... 73

6.1 Configuring Active Protection

To access the Active Protection setting, click Protection on the Acronis True Image for Western

Digital side bar, then click Settings, and go to the Active Protection tab.

To configure Antiransomware Protection:

1. Switch on the Antiransomware Protection toggle to enable the antiransomware protection.

When enabled, Antiransomware Protection protects your computer from potentially harmful

applications and processes that run in the background.

2. Select the options that you want to enable.

 Automatically recover files after blocking a process – Though a process was blocked, there is

still a possibility that your files were modified. If this check box is selected, Acronis True

Image for Western Digital recovers the files as follows.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital searches the following locations for the latest file

versions to recover.

 Temporary file copies that were preliminarily created during the process verification

 Local backups

 Cloud backups

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital finds a good temporary copy, the file is restored

from that copy. If temporary file copies are not suitable for restore, Acronis True Image for

Western Digital searches for backup copies locally and in the cloud, compares the creation

dates of the copies found in both locations, and restores your file from the latest available

unmodified copy.

Note Acronis True Image for Western Digital does not support file recovery from password-protected

backups.

 Protect backup files from ransomware – Acronis True Image for Western Digital will protect

its own processes and your backups and archives from ransomware.

 Protect network shares and NAS – Acronis True Image for Western Digital will monitor and

protect the network shares and NAS devices you have access to. You can also specify a

recovery location for files affected by a ransomware attack.

 Protect your computer from illicit cryptomining – Select this check box to defend your

computer from cryptomining malware.

3. Click OK.

6.2 Configuring Protection exclusions

Active protection and Antivirus scans use the definitions from the Protection database to determine

potential threats. If you trust some executable files and folders, you can add them to the Protection

exclusions list, so Acronis True Image for Western Digital will skip them during scanning.

To add a file or folder to the Protection exclusions list:

1. On the Protection dashboard click Protection exclusions.

2. From the Add exclusion menu, select what you want to exclude.

 Add file – to exclude executable or other files from scanning.

 Add folder – to exclude folders from scanning.

3. Browse for the item that you want ot exclude and click Open.

4. Add another item to exclude or click Save to update the list.

To remove files or folders from the Protection exclusions list:

1. On the Protection dashboard click Protection exclusions.

2. In the list of Protection exclusions, select the check boxes for the items that you want to remove

and click Remove.

3. Click Save to update the list.

6.3 Ransomware quarantine

Based on your settings, Active protection and Antivirus scans can move blocked files to quarantine.

Quarantine is a special storage that is used to isolate infected and suspected files from your

computer and data. When you place an application file in quarantine, the risk of potential harmful

actions from the blocked application is minimized.

Quarantine is a special storage that is used to isolate blocked applications from your computer and

data. When you place an application file in quarantine, the risk of potential harmful actions from the

blocked application is minimized.

When Acronis True Image for Western Digital detects a suspicious process and informs you about it,

you decide whether to place the corresponding application in quarantine.

A quarantine is created in the root folder of the partition where the attacked files were stored, for

example C:\Acronis Active Protection Storage\Quarantine\. When you place a file in the quarantine,

you can still operate it as an ordinary file—move it to another location, copy, or delete it. Be aware

that Acronis True Image for Western Digital moves files to quarantine—it does not copy them. When

you delete a file from quarantine, you delete it permanently, and it cannot be restored. If you place

an application file in quarantine by mistake, you can still copy or move the file to its original location

on your computer. The application will continue working normally.

By default, files are kept for 30 days in quarantine and then deleted from your PC. You can review the

files in quarantine and decide whether to keep or delete them before that period expires. You can

also change the default period to keep files in quarantine.

To restore or delete files from quarantine:

1. On the Protection dashboard, click Quarantine.

2. In the Quarantine list, select an item.

 To return the item to its original location, click Restore.

 To delete and item, click Delete from PC.

3. Click Close.

To setup the period for automatic deletion of files from the quarantine:

1. On the Protection dashboard, click Settings, and click the Advanced tab.

2. In the Quarantine section, locate the Delete quarantined items from this PC after spin-box, and

select the number of days to keep items in quarantine.

3. Click OK.

7 Disk cloning and migration

This operation copies the entire contents of one disk drive to another disk drive. This may be

necessary, for example, when you want to clone your operating system, applications, and data to a

new, larger capacity disk. You can do it two ways:

 Use the Clone disk utility (p. 75).

 Back up your old disk drive, and then recover it to the new one (p. 56).

In this section

Disk cloning utility ............................................................................................................. 75

Migrating your system from an HDD to an SSD ................................................................ 79

7.1 Disk cloning utility

The Clone disk utility allows you to clone your hard disk drive by copying the partitions to another

hard disk.

Note The Clone disk utility is available only when a Western Digital brand storage device is attached to your

system.

Please read before you start:

 When you want to clone your system to a higher-capacity hard disk, we recommend that you

install the target (new) drive where you plan to use it and the source drive in another location,

e.g. in an external USB enclosure. This is especially important for laptops.

Note It is recommended that your old and new hard drives work in the same controller mode (for example,

IDE or AHCI). Otherwise, your computer might not start from the new hard drive.

Note If you clone a disk with Windows to an external USB hard drive, you might not be able to boot from it.

We recommend cloning to an internal SSD or HDD instead.

 The Clone disk utility does not support multiboot systems.

 On program screens, damaged partitions are marked with a red circle and a white cross inside in

the upper left corner. Before you start cloning, you should check such disks for errors and correct

the errors by using the appropriate operating system tools.

 We strongly recommend that you create a backup of the entire original disk as a safety

precaution. It could be your data saver if something goes wrong with your original hard disk

during cloning. For information on how to create such a backup, see Backing up partitions and

disks (p. 34). After creating the backup, make sure that you validate it.

7.1.1 Clone Disk wizard

Before you start, we recommend that you read general information about Disk cloning utility (p.

75).If you use an UEFI computer and you decided to start the cloning procedure under bootable

media, please pay attention to the boot mode of the bootable media in UEFI BIOS. It is

recommended that the boot mode matches the type of the system in the backup. If the backup

contains a BIOS system, then boot the bootable media in BIOS mode; if the system is UEFI, then

ensure that UEFI mode is set.

To clone a disk:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Tools, and then click Clone disk.

3. On the Clone Mode step, choose a transfer mode.

 Automatic—Recommended in most cases.

 Manual—Manual mode will provide more data transfer flexibility. Manual mode can be

useful if you need to change the disk partition layout.

If the program finds two disks, one partitioned and another unpartitioned, it will automatically recognize

the partitioned disk as the source disk and the unpartitioned disk as the destination disk. In such case, the

next steps will be bypassed and you will be taken to the Summary screen.

4. On the Source Disk step, select the disk that you want to clone.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital does not support cloning of dynamic disks.

5. On the Destination Disk step, select the destination disk for the cloned data.

If the selected destination disk contains partitions, you will need to confirm deletion of the

partitions. Note that the real data destruction will be performed only when you click Proceed on

the last step of the wizard.

If any disk is unpartitioned, the program will automatically recognize it as the destination and bypass this

step.

6. [This step is only available if the source disk has an OS installed]. On the Disk Usage step, select

how you are going to use the clone.

 To replace a disk on this machine—the system disk data will be copied, and the clone will be

bootable. Use this clone for replacing the system disk with a new one on this PC.

 To use on another machine—the system disk data will be copied, and the clone will be

bootable. Use this clone to transfer all the data to another PC on a bootable disk.

 To use as a data disk—the disk data will be copied. Use this clone as a non-bootable data

drive.

7. [This step is only available in the manual cloning mode]. On the Move method step, choose a

data move method.

 As is—a new partition will be created for every old one with the same size and type, file

system and label. The unused space will become unallocated.

 Proportional—the new disk space will be proportionally distributed between cloned

partitions.

 Manual—you will specify a new size and other parameters yourself.

8. [This step is only available in the manual cloning mode]. On the Change disk layout step, you can

edit settings of the partitions that will be created on the destination disk. Refer to Manual

partitioning (p. 77) for details.

9. [Optional step] On the What to exclude step, you can specify files and folders that you do not

want to clone. Refer to Excluding items from cloning (p. 78) for details.

10. On the Finish step, ensure that the configured settings suit your needs, and then click Proceed.

If the cloning operation is stopped for some reason, you will have to configure and start the

procedure again. You will not lose your data, because Acronis True Image for Western Digital does

not alter the original disk and data stored on it during cloning.

By default, Acronis True Image for Western Digital shuts down the computer after the clone process

finishes. This enables you to change the position of master/subordinate jumpers and remove one of

the hard drives.

7.1.2 Manual partitioning

The manual transfer method enables you to resize partitions on the new disk. By default, the

program resizes them proportionally.

To edit a partition:

1. Select the partition, and then click Edit. This will open the Partition Settings window.

2. Specify the following settings for the partition:

 Size and position

 File system

 Partition type (available only for MBR disks)

 Partition letter and label

Refer to Partition settings (p. 95) for details.

3. Click Accept.

Be careful! Clicking any previous wizard step on the sidebar in this window will reset all size and

location changes that you've selected, so you will have to specify them again.

7.1.3 Excluding items from cloning

If you do not want to clone specific files from a source disk (for example, when your target disk is

smaller than the source one), you can opt to exclude them in the What to exclude step.

We do not recommend excluding hidden and system files when cloning your system partition.

You have two ways to exclude files and folders:

 Exclude by files and folders - this tab allows you to select specific files and folders from the

folder tree.

 Exclude by masks - this tab allows you to exclude a group of files by mask or an individual file by

name or path.

To add an exclusion criterion, click Add, type a file name, a path or a mask, and then click OK.

You can add as many files and masks as you like.

Examples of exclusion criteria:

 You can enter explicit file names:

 file.ext - all such files will be excluded from cloning.

 C:\file.ext - the file.ext file on the C: disk will be excluded.

 You can use wildcard characters (* and ?):

 *.ext - all files with a .ext extension will be excluded.

 ??name.ext - all files with a .ext extension, having six letters in their names (starting with any

two symbols (??) and ending with name), will be excluded.

 You can enter path to a folder:

 C:\my pictures - my pictures folder on the C: disk will be excluded.

You can edit and remove exclusion criteria using the corresponding buttons on the right pane.

7.2 Migrating your system from an HDD to an SSD

First of all, make sure that Acronis True Image for Western Digital detects your new SSD both in

Windows and under the Acronis bootable media. If there is a problem, see What to do if Acronis True

Image for Western Digital does not recognize your SSD (p. 79).

SSD size

As SSDs usually have less capacity than HDDs, the occupied space on your old hard disk may exceed

the size of your SSD. If this is the case, migration is not possible.

To reduce amount of data on your system disk, try the following:

 Move your data files from the old hard disk to another location, such as another hard disk drive,

internal or external.

 Create .zip archives of data files (for example, your documents, pictures, audio files, etc.), and

then delete the original files.

 Clean up the hard disk using the Windows Disk Cleanup utility.

Note that for stable operation, Windows needs to have several GB of free space on the system

partition.

Which migration method to choose

If your system disk consists of a single partition (not counting the hidden System Reserved partition),

you can try to migrate to the SSD using the Clone tool. For more information see Cloning a hard disk

(p. 75).

However, we recommend to use the backup and recovery method in most cases. This method

provides more flexibility and control over migration. See Migrating to an SSD using the backup and

recovery method (p. 80).

7.2.1 What to do if Acronis True Image for Western Digital does

not recognize your SSD

Sometimes Acronis True Image for Western Digital may not recognize an SSD.

In such a case, check whether the SSD is recognized in BIOS.

If the BIOS of your computer does not show the SSD, verify that the power and data cables are

properly connected. You may also try to update the BIOS and SATA drivers. If these suggestions do

not help, contact the Support of your SSD manufacturer.

If the BIOS of your computer does show the SSD, you can try the following procedure:

Depending on your operating system, type cmd in the Search field or in the Run field, and then press

Enter.

At the command line prompt type:

diskpart

list disk The screen will show the disks connected to your computer. Find out the disk number for

your SSD. Use its size as the reference.

select disk N Here N is the disk number of your SSD.

clean This operation removes all information from the SSD and overwrites the MBR with the default

one.

exit

Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital and check whether it detects the SSD. If it detects the

SSD, use the Add new disk tool to create a single partition on the disk occupying the entire disk space.

When creating a partition, check that the free space before partition is 1 MB. For more information,

see Adding a new hard disk (p. 93).

The next step is to check whether your Acronis bootable media recognizes the SSD.

1. Boot from the Acronis bootable media.

2. Select Tools & Utilities -> Add New Disk in the main menu and the Disk selection screen will

show the information about all hard disks in your system. Use this for checking whether the SSD

is detected in the recovery environment.

3. If the screen shows your SSD, just click Cancel.

If the bootable media does not recognize the SSD and the SSD controller mode is AHCI, you can try to

change the mode to IDE (or ATA in some BIOS brands) and see whether this solves the problem.

Attention! Do not start Windows after changing the mode; it may result in serious system problems. You must

return the mode to AHCI before starting Windows.

If after changing the mode the bootable media detects the SSD, you may use the following procedure

for recovery or cloning under bootable media:

1. Shut down the computer.

2. Boot to BIOS, change the mode from AHCI to IDE (or ATA in some BIOS brands).

3. Boot from Acronis bootable media.

4. Recover or clone the disk.

5. Boot to BIOS and change IDE back to AHCI.

6. Start Windows.

What to do if the above suggestions do not help

You can try to create a WinPE-based media. This may provide the necessary drivers. For more

information, see Creating Acronis bootable media (p. 84).

7.2.2 Migrating to SSD using the backup and recovery method

You can use the following procedure for all supported operating systems. First, let's consider a simple

case: your system disk consists of a single partition. Note that for Windows 7 and later, the system

disk may have a hidden System Reserved partition.

We recommend that you migrate your system to an empty SSD that does not contain partitions (the

disk space is unallocated). Note that if your SSD is new and has never been used before, it does not

contain partitions.

To migrate your system to an SSD:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. Create Acronis bootable media, if you do not have it yet. To do this, in the Tools section, click

Create bootable media and follow the instructions on the screen.

3. Back up your entire system drive (in the disk backup mode) to a hard disk other than your system

hard disk and the SSD.

4. Switch off the computer and remove your system hard disk.

5. Mount the SSD into the slot where the hard disk was.

For some SSD brands you may need to insert the SSD into a PCI Express slot.

6. Boot from your Acronis bootable media.

7. Validate the backup to make sure that it can be used for recovery. To do this, click Recovery on

the left pane and select the backup. Right-click, select Validate Archive in the shortcut menu and

then click Proceed.

8. After the validation finishes, right-click the backup and select Recover in the shortcut menu.

9. Choose Recover whole disks and partitions at the Recovery method step and then click Next.

10. Select the system disk at the What to recover step.

11. Click New location and then select the SSD as the new location for your system disk, then click

Accept.

12. At the next step click Proceed to start recovery.

13. After the recovery is complete, exit the standalone version of Acronis True Image for Western

Digital.

14. Try to boot from the SSD and then make sure that Windows and applications work correctly.

If your system hard disk also contains a hidden recovery or diagnostic partition, as is quite often the

case with notebooks, the procedure will differ. You will usually need to resize the partitions manually

during recovery to the SSD. For instructions see Recovering a disk with a hidden partition (p. 56).

8 Tools

Acronis Tools and utilities include protection tools, mounting tools, clone disk utility, security and

privacy utilities, and disk management utilities.

Protection tools

 Rescue Media Builder (p. 83)

Allows you to create a bootable media with Acronis products (or their specified components)

installed on your computer.

Disk cloning

 Clone disk (p. 75)

Use Clone disk wizard if you need to clone your hard disk drive by copying the partitions to

another hard disk.

Security and privacy

 Acronis DriveCleanser (p. 97)

Acronis DriveCleanser utility provides for secure destruction of data on your hard disk.

 System Clean-up (p. 100)

With the System Clean-up utility, you can clean up components (folders, files, registry sections,

etc.), related to general system tasks. These Windows components retain evidence of user PC

activity, so they too should be thoroughly wiped to maintain confidentiality.

 Acronis Active Protection

Acronis Active Protection protects your computer from ransomware. When this service detects a

suspicious third-party process that tries to encrypt your files, you can block the process and

recover the affected files.

Disk management

 Add new disk (p. 93)

Add new disk wizard helps you to add a new hard disk drive to your computer. You will be able to

prepare the new hard disk drive by creating and formatting new partitions on this hard disk.

Image mounting

 Mount image (p. 107)

With this tool, you can explore a previously created image. You will be able to assign temporary

drive letters to the partition images and easily access these images as ordinary, logical drives.

 Unmount image (p. 108)

With this tool, you can unmount the temporary logical drives you have created to explore an

image.

8.1 Creating bootable rescue media

You can run Acronis True Image for Western Digital from a bootable media on a bare-metal system

or a crashed computer that cannot boot. You can even back up disks on a non-Windows computer,

copying all its data into the backup by imaging the disk in the sector-by-sector mode. To do so, you

need bootable media that has a copy of the standalone Acronis True Image for Western Digital

version installed on it.

How you can obtain bootable media:

 Use the installation CD, DVD, or USB flash drive of the boxed product.

 Make a media bootable with Acronis Media Builder (p. 83):

 Blank CD

 Blank DVD

 USB flash drive

Note: The data it may contain will not be modified.

 Create an .iso image file to burn it afterwards onto a CD or DVD.

 Create WinPE-based media with the Acronis plug-in.

8.2 Acronis Media Builder

Acronis Media Builder allows you to make a USB flash drive, external drive, or a blank CD/DVD

bootable. In case Windows cannot start, use the bootable media to run a standalone version of

Acronis True Image for Western Digital and recover your computer.

You can create several types of bootable media:

 Acronis bootable media

This type is recommended for most users.

 WinPE-based media with the Acronis plug-in

Running Acronis True Image for Western Digital in the preinstallation environment may provide

better compatibility with your computer’s hardware because the preinstallation environment

uses Windows drivers.

We recommend that you create this type of media, when Acronis bootable media did not help

you boot your computer.

To use this option, you need one of the following components to be installed:

 Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK).

This component is required for creating WinPE 3.0.

 Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).

This component is required for creating WinPE 4.0, WinPE 5.0, and WinPE 10.0.

 WinRE-based media with the Acronis plug-in

This type of bootable media is similar to WinPE-based media, but it has an important

advantage—you do not need to download WADK or WAIK from the Microsoft website. Windows

Recovery Environment is already included in Windows Vista and later versions of Windows.

Acronis True Image for Western Digital uses these files from your system to create WinRE-based

media. Similar to WinPE-based media, you can add your drivers for better compatibility with your

hardware. However, WinRE-based media can be used only on the computer where it was created

or on a computer with the same operating system.

Notes

 We recommend that you create a new bootable media after each Acronis True Image for

Western Digital update.

 If you use non-optical media, the media must have a FAT16 or FAT32 file system.

 Acronis Media Builder supports only x64 WinPE 3.0, WinPE 4.0, WinPE 5.0, and WinPE 10.0.

 Your computer must have:

 For WinPE 3.0—at least 256 MB RAM

 For WinPE 4.0—at least 512 MB RAM

 For WinPE 5.0—at least 1 GB RAM

 For WinPE 10.0—at least 512 MB RAM

 If Acronis Media Builder does not recognize your USB flash drive, you can try using the procedure

described in the Acronis Knowledge Base article at https://kb.acronis.com/content/1526.

 When booting from the bootable media, you cannot perform backups to disks or partitions with

Ext2/Ext3/Ext4, ReiserFS, and Linux SWAP file systems.

 When booting from the bootable media and using a standalone version of Acronis True Image for

Western Digital, you cannot recover files and folders encrypted with the encryption available in

Windows XP and later operating systems. For more information, see File-level security settings

for backup. However, backups encrypted using the Acronis True Image for Western Digital

encryption feature can be recovered.

8.2.1 Creating Acronis bootable media

To create Acronis bootable media:

1. Plug in a USB flash drive, or an external drive (HDD/SSD), or insert a blank CD or DVD.

2. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

3. In the Tools section, click Rescue Media Builder.

4. Choose a creation method:

 Simple—This is the easiest option. Acronis True Image for Western Digital will choose the

optimal media type for your computer. If you use Windows 7 or a later version, WinRE-based

media will be created.

 Advanced—This option allows you to choose a media type. This means you can create the

bootable media not only for your computer, but for a computer running a different Windows

version. Refer to Acronis Media Builder (p. 83) for details.

If you select a Linux-based media, choose Acronis components to be placed on the media.

Please ensure that the components that you select are compatible with the target computer

architecture. Refer to Removable media settings for details.

If you select a WinRE-based or WinPE-based media, then:

 Select an architecture type of the media—32-bit or 64-bit. Note that 32-bit bootable

media can work only on 32-bit computers, and 64-bit media is compatible with both

32-bit and 64-bit computers.

 Select a toolkit that you want to be used for creating the bootable media. If you choose

WAIK or WADK and you do not have the selected kit installed on your computer, then

you first need to download it from the Microsoft website, and then install the required

components—Deployment Tools and Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows

PE).

If you already have WinPE files on your computer and they are stored in a non-default

folder, then just specify their location and the Acronis plug-in will be added to the

existing WinPE image.

 For better compatibility with your hardware, you can select drivers to be added to the

media.

5. Select a destination for the media:

 CD

 DVD

 External drive

 USB flash drive

If your drive has an unsupported file system, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will

suggest formatting it to FAT file system.

Warning! Formatting permanently erases all data on a disk.

 ISO image file

You will need to specify the .iso file name and the destination folder.

When the .iso file is created, you can burn it onto a CD or DVD. For example, in Windows 7

and later, you can do this by using a built-in burning tool. In File Explorer, double-click the

created ISO image file, and then click Burn.

 WIM image file (available only for WinPE-based media)

Acronis True Image for Western Digital adds the Acronis plug-in to the .wim file from

Windows AIK or Windows ADK. You will need to specify a name for the new .wim file and the

destination folder.

To create a bootable media by using a .wim file, you first need to convert it to an .iso file.

Refer to Creating an .iso file from a .wim file (p. 87) for details.

6. Click Proceed.

8.2.2 Acronis bootable media startup parameters

Here, you can set Acronis bootable media startup parameters in order to configure the media boot

options for better compatibility with different hardware. Several options are available (nousb,

nomouse, noapic, etc.). These parameters are provided for advanced users. If you encounter any

hardware compatibility problems while testing boot from the Acronis bootable media, it may be best

to contact Acronis Technical Support.

To add startup parameters:

 Enter a command into the Parameters field. You can type several commands, separated by

spaces.

 Click Next to continue.

Additional parameters that can be applied prior to booting Linux kernel

Description

The following parameters can be used to load Linux kernel in a special mode:

 acpi=off

Disables ACPI and may help with a particular hardware configuration.

 noapic

Disables APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) and may help with a particular

hardware configuration.

 nousb

Disables loading of USB modules.

 nousb2

Disables USB 2.0 support. USB 1.1 devices still work with this option. This option allows using some

USB drives in USB 1.1 mode, if they do not work in USB 2.0 mode.

 quiet

This parameter is enabled by default and the startup messages are not displayed. Deleting it will

result in the startup messages being displayed as the Linux kernel is loaded and the command shell

being offered prior to running the Acronis program.

 nodma

Disables DMA for all IDE disk drives. Prevents kernel from freezing on some hardware.

 nofw

Disables FireWire (IEEE1394) support.

 nopcmcia

Disables PCMCIA hardware detection.

 nomouse

Disables mouse support.

 [module name]=off

Disables the module (e.g. sata_sis=off).

 pci=bios

Forces to use PCI BIOS, and not to access the hardware device directly. For instance, this parameter

may be used if the machine has a non-standard PCI host bridge.

 pci=nobios

Disallows use of PCI BIOS; only direct hardware access methods are allowed. For instance, this

parameter may be used if you experience crashes upon boot-up, probably caused by the BIOS.

 pci=biosirq

Uses PCI BIOS calls to get the interrupt routing table. These calls are known to be buggy on several

machines and they hang the machine when used, but on other computers it is the only way to get

the interrupt routing table. Try this option, if the kernel is unable to allocate IRQs or discover

secondary PCI buses on your motherboard.

 vga=ask

Gets the list of the video modes available for your video card and allows selecting a video mode most

suitable for the video card and monitor. Try this option, if the automatically selected video mode is

unsuitable for your hardware.

8.2.3 Adding drivers to an existing .wim image

Sometimes a basic WinPE disk with Acronis Plug-in does not have drivers for your specific hardware,

for example, for storage device controllers. The easiest way to add them is to select the Advanced

mode in Rescue Media Builder (p. 84) and specify the drivers to add. You can add the drivers

manually to an existing .wim file before creating an ISO file with Acronis Plug-in.

Attention! You can only add drivers which have the .inf filename extension.

The following procedure is based on an MSDN article that can be found at

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd799244(WS.10).aspx

To create a custom Windows PE image, proceed as follows:

1. If you don't have the .wim file with the Acronis plug-in, start Rescue Media Builder and create it

by choosing WIM file as a destination for the WinPE-based media. Refer to Creating Acronis

bootable media (p. 84) for details.

2. Depending on your version of Windows AIK or Windows ADK, do one of the following:

 In the Start menu, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Windows PE Tools Command

Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

 In the Start menu, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Deployment Tools Command

Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

 In the Start menu, click Windows Kits, click Windows ADK, right-click Deployment and

Imaging Tools Environment, and then select Run as administrator.

3. Run the Copype.cmd script to create a folder with Windows PE files. For example, from a

command prompt, type:

copype amd64 C:\winpe_x64

4. Copy your .wim file, for example, to folder C:\winpe_x64\. By default, this file is named

AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim.

5. Mount the base image to a local directory by using the DISM tool. To do this, type:

Dism /Mount-Wim /WimFile:C:\winpe_x64\AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim /index:1

/MountDir:C:\winpe_x64\mount

6. Add your hardware driver, by using the DISM command with the Add-Driver option. For example,

to add the Mydriver.inf driver located in folder C:\drivers\, type:

Dism /image:C:\winpe_x64\mount /Add-Driver /driver:C:\drivers\mydriver.inf

7. Repeat the previous step for each driver that you need to add.

8. Commit the changes by using the DISM command:

Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:C:\winpe_x64\mount /Commit

9. Create a PE image (.iso file) from the resulting .wim file. Refer to Creating an .iso file from a .wim

file for details.

8.2.4 Creating an .iso file from a .wim file

To create a bootable media by using a .wim file, you need to convert it to an .iso file first.

To create a PE image (.iso file) from the resulting .wim file:

1. Depending on your version of Windows AIK or Windows ADK, do one of the following:

 In the Start menu, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Windows PE Tools Command

Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

 In the Start menu, click Microsoft Windows AIK, right-click Deployment Tools Command

Prompt, and then select Run as administrator.

 In the Start menu, click Windows Kits, click Windows ADK, right-click Deployment and

Imaging Tools Environment, and then select Run as administrator.

2. Run the Copype.cmd script to create a folder with Windows PE files. For example, from a

command prompt, type:

copype amd64 C:\winpe_x64

3. Replace the default boot.wim file in your Windows PE folder with the newly created .wim file (for

example, AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim). If the AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim file is located on

c:\, then:

For WinPE 3.0, type:

copy c:\AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim c:\winpe_x64\ISO\sources\boot.wim

For WinPE 4.0, WinPE 5.0 or WinPE 10.0, type:

copy "c:\AcronisBootablePEMedia.wim" c:\winpe_x64\media\sources\boot.wim

4. Use the Oscdimg tool. To create an .iso file, type:

oscdimg -n –bc:\winpe_x64\etfsboot.com c:\winpe_x64\ISO

c:\winpe_x64\winpe_x64.iso

Alternatively, to make the media bootable on both BIOS and UEFI computers, type:

oscdimg -m -o -u2 -udfver102

-bootdata:2#p0,e,bc:\winpe_x64\fwfiles\etfsboot.com#pEF,e,bc:\winpe_x64\fwfiles

\efisys.bin c:\winpe_x64\media c:\winpe_x64\winpe_x64.iso

5. Burn the .iso file to a CD by using a third-party tool, and you will have a bootable Windows PE

disc with Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

8.3 Making sure that your bootable media can be used

when needed

To maximize the chances of your computer's recovery, you must test that your computer can boot

from the bootable media. In addition, you must check that the bootable media recognizes all of your

computer's devices, such as the hard drives, mouse, keyboard, and network adapter.

If you purchased a boxed version of the product that has a bootable CD and you did not update

Acronis True Image for Western Digital, you can test this CD. Otherwise, please create a new

bootable media. Refer to Creating Acronis bootable media (p. 84) for details.

To test the bootable media

If you use external drives for storing your backups, you must attach the drives before booting from the bootable

CD. Otherwise, the program might not detect them.

1. Configure your computer to enable booting from the bootable media. Then, make your bootable

media device (CD-ROM/DVD-ROM or USB drive) the first boot device. Refer to Arranging boot

order in BIOS (p. 64) for details.

2. If you have a bootable CD, press any key to start booting from the CD, when you see the "Press

any key to boot from CD" prompt. If you do not press a key within five seconds, you will need to

restart the computer.

3. After the boot menu appears, choose Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

If your wireless mouse does not work, try replacing it with a wired one. The same recommendation applies

to the keyboard.

4. When the program starts, we recommend that you try recovering some files from your backup. A

test recovery allows you to make sure that your bootable CD can be used for recovery. In

addition, you can make sure that the program detects all of the hard drives you have in your

system.

If you have a spare hard drive, we strongly recommend that you try a test recovery of your system partition

to this hard drive.

How to test recovery, as well as check the drives and network adapter

1. If you have file backups, start Recovery Wizard by clicking Recovery -> File Recovery on the

toolbar.

If you have only disk and partition backup, Recovery Wizard also starts and the recovery procedure is

similar. In such a case, you need to select Recover chosen files and folders at the Recovery Method step.

2. Select a backup at the Archive location step, and then click Next.

3. When recovering files with the bootable CD, you are able to select only a new location for the

files to be recovered. Therefore, just click Next at the Location selection step.

4. After the Destination window opens, check that all of your drives are shown under My

Computer.

If you store your backups on the network, verify that you can access the network.

If no computers are visible on the network, but the Computers Near Me icon is found under My Computer,

specify the network settings manually. To do this, open the window available at Tools & Utilities



Options



Network adapters.

If the Computers Near Me icon is not available under My Computer, there may be problems either with

your network card or with the card driver provided with Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

5. Select the destination for the files, and then click Next.

6. Select several files for recovery by selecting their check boxes and then click Next.

7. Click Proceed on the Summary window to start recovery.

8. After the recovery finishes, exit the standalone Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Now, you can be reasonably sure that your bootable CD will help you when you need it.

8.3.1 Selecting video mode when booting from the bootable

media

When booting from the bootable media the optimal video mode is selected automatically depending

on the specifications of your video card and monitor. However, sometimes the program can select

the wrong video mode, which is unsuitable for your hardware. In such case you can select a suitable

video mode as follows:

1. Start booting from the bootable media. When the boot menu appears, hover the mouse over

Acronis True Image for Western Digital item and press the F11 key.

2. When the command line appears, type "vga=ask" (without quotes) and click OK.

3. Select Acronis True Image for Western Digital in the boot menu to continue booting from the

bootable media. To see the available video modes, press the Enter key when the appropriate

message appears.

4. Choose a video mode you think best suitable for your monitor and type its number in the

command line. For instance, typing 338 selects video mode 1600x1200x16 (see the below figure).

5. Wait until Acronis True Image for Western Digital starts and make sure that the quality of the

Welcome screen display on your monitor suits you.

To test another video mode, close Acronis True Image for Western Digital and repeat the above

procedure.

After you find the optimal video mode for your hardware, you can create a new bootable media that

will automatically select that video mode.

To do this, start Acronis Media Builder, select the required media components, and type the mode

number with the "0x" prefix (0x338 in our instance) in the command line at the "Bootable media

startup parameters" step, then create the media as usual.

8.4 Adding a new hard disk

If you do not have enough space for your data, you can either replace the old disk with a new

higher-capacity one, or add a new disk only to store data, leaving the system on the old disk.

To add a new hard disk:

1. Shut down your computer, and then install the new disk.

2. Turn on your computer.

3. Click the Start button —> Acronis (product folder) —> Acronis True Image for Western Digital

—> Tools and Utilities —> Add New Disk.

4. Follow the wizard steps.

5. On the Finish step, ensure that the configured disk layout suits your needs, and then click

Proceed.

8.4.1 Selecting a hard disk

Select the disk that you have added to the computer. If you have added several disks, select one of

them and click Next to continue. You can add the other disks later by restarting the Add New Disk

Wizard.

If there are any partitions on the new disk, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will warn you that these

partitions will be deleted.

8.4.2 Selecting initialization method

Acronis True Image for Western Digital supports both MBR and GPT partitioning. GUID Partition

Table (GPT) is a new hard disk partitioning method providing advantages over the old MBR

partitioning method. If your operating system supports GPT disks, you can select the new disk to be

initialized as a GPT disk.

 To add a GPT disk, click Initialize disk in GPT layout.

 To add an MBR disk, click Initialize disk in MBR layout.

After selecting the required initialization method click Next.

8.4.3 Creating new partitions

To use the space on a hard disk, it must be partitioned. Partitioning is the process of dividing the hard

disk's space into logical divisions which are called partitions. Each partition may function as a

separate disk with an assigned drive letter, its own file system, etc.

To create a new partition:

1. On the Partition creation step of the wizard, select the unallocated space, and then click Create

new partition.

2. Specify the following settings for the partition being created:

 Size and position

 File system

 Partition type (available only for MBR disks)

 Partition letter and label

Refer to Partition settings (p. 95) for details.

3. Click Accept.

8.4.3.1 Partition settings

Size

To resize the partition, perform one of the following:

 Point to the partition border. When the pointer becomes a double-headed arrow, drag the

pointer to enlarge or reduce the partition size.

 Type the desired partition size in the Partition Size field.

To relocate the partition, perform one of the following:

 Drag the partition to a new position.

 Type the desired size in either the Free space before or Free space after field.

When you create partitions, the program may reserve some unallocated space for system needs in front of the

created partitions.

File System

You can either leave the partition unformatted, or choose between the following file system types:

 NTFS is a native file system for Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, and later operating

systems. Choose it if you use these operating systems. Note, that Windows 95/98/Me and DOS

cannot access NTFS partitions.

 FAT 32 is an improved 32-bit version of the FAT file system that supports volumes up to 2 TB.

 FAT 16 is a DOS native file system. Most operating systems recognize it. However, if your disk

drive is more than 4 GB, it is not possible to format it in FAT16.

 Ext2 is a Linux native file system. It is fast enough, but it is not a journaling file system.

 Ext3 – officially introduced with Red hat Linux version 7.2, Ext3 is a Linux journaling file system. It

is forwards and backwards compatible with Linux Ext2. It has multiple journaling modes, as well

as broad, cross platform compatibility in both 32-bit and 64-bit architectures.

 Ext4 is a new Linux file system. It has improvements in comparison to ext3. It is fully backward

compatible with ext2 and ext 3. However, ext3 has only partial forward compatibility with ext4.

 ReiserFS is a journaling file system for Linux. Generally it is more reliable and faster than Ext2.

Choose it for your Linux data partition.

 Linux Swap is a swap partition for Linux. Choose it if you want to add more swap space using

Linux.

Partition letter

Select a letter to be assigned to the partition. If you select Auto, the program assigns the first unused

drive letter in alphabetical order.

Partition label

Partition label is a name, assigned to a partition so that you can easily recognize it. For example, a

partition with an operating system could be called System, a data partition — Data, etc. Partition

label is an optional attribute.

Partition type (these settings are available only for MBR disks)

You can define the new partition as primary or logical.

 Primary - choose this parameter if you are planning to boot from this partition. Otherwise, it is

better to create a new partition as a logical drive. You can have only four primary partitions per

drive, or three primary partitions and one extended partition.

Note: If you have several primary partitions, only one will be active at a time, the other primary

partitions will be hidden and won’t be seen by the OS.

 Mark the partition as active - select this check box if you are planning to install an operating

system on this partition.

 Logical - choose this parameter if you don’t intend to install and start an operating system from

the partition. A logical drive is part of a physical disk drive that has been partitioned and

allocated as an independent unit, but functions as a separate drive.

8.5 Security and Privacy Tools

8.5.1 Acronis DriveCleanser

Acronis DriveCleanser allows you to permanently destroy all data on selected hard disks and

partitions. For the destruction, you can use one of the preset algorithms or create your own. Refer to

Algorithm selection (p. 98) for details.

Why do I need it?

When you format your old hard drive before throwing it away, the information is not destroyed

permanently and it can still be retrieved. This is a way that your personal information can end up in

the wrong hands. To prevent this, we recommend that you use Acronis DriveCleanser when you:

 Replace your old hard drive with a new one and do not plan to use the old drive any more.

 Give your old hard drive to your relative or friend.

 Sell your old hard drive.

How to use Acronis DriveCleanser

To permanently destroy data on your disk:

1. Click the Start button —> Acronis (product folder) —> Acronis True Image for Western Digital

—> Tools and Utilities —> DriveCleanser.

The Acronis DriveCleanser wizard opens.

2. On the Source selection step, select the disks and partitions that you want to wipe. Refer to

Source selection (p. 97) for details.

3. On the Algorithm selection step, select an algorithm that you want to use for the data

destruction. Refer to Algorithm selection (p. 98) for details.

4. [optional step] You can create your own algorithm. Refer to Creating custom algorithm for

details.

5. [optional step] On the Post-wiping actions step, choose what to do with the partitions and disk

when the data destruction is complete. Refer to Post-wiping actions (p. 100) for details.

6. On the Finish step, ensure that the configured settings are correct. To start the process, select

the Wipe the selected partitions irreversibly check box, and then click Proceed.

Be aware that, depending on the total size of selected partitions and the selected data destruction algorithm,

the data destruction may take many hours.

8.5.1.1 Source selection

On the Source selection step, select partitions and disks where you want to destroy data:

 To select partitions, click the corresponding rectangles. The red mark ( ) indicates that the

partition is selected.

 To select an entire hard disk, click the disk icon ( ).

Acronis DriveCleanser cannot wipe partitions on dynamic and GPT disks, so they will not be shown.

8.5.1.2 Algorithm selection

On the Algorithm selection step, perform one of the following:

 To use one of the preset algorithms, select the desired algorithm. Refer to Hard Disk Wiping

Methods (p. 106) for details.

 [For advanced users only] To create a custom algorithm, select Custom. Then continue creating

on the Algorithm definition step. Afterwards, you will be able to save the created algorithm to a

file with *.alg extension.

 To use a previously saved custom algorithm, select Load from file and select the file containing

your algorithm.

Creating custom algorithm

Algorithm definition

The Algorithm definition step shows you a template of the future algorithm.

The table has the following legend:

 The first column contains the type of operation (to write a symbol to disk; and to verify written).

 The second column contains the pattern of data to be written to disk.

Each line defines an operation that will be performed during a pass. To create your algorithm, add as

many lines to the table that you think will be enough for secure data destruction.

To add a new pass:

1. Click Add. The Wiping Pass Adjustment window opens.

2. Choose an option:

 Write pattern

Enter a hexadecimal value, for example, a value of this kind: 0x00, 0xAA, or 0xCD, etc. These

values are 1 byte long, but they may be up to 512 bytes long. Except for such values, you may

enter a random hexadecimal value of any length (up to 512 bytes).

If the binary value is represented by the 10001010 (0x8A) sequence, then the complementary binary

value will be represented by the 01110101 (0x75) sequence.

 Write a random number

Specify the length of the random value in bytes.

 Write complementary to previous pass pattern

Acronis True Image for Western Digital adds a complementary value to the one written to

disk during the previous pass.

 Verify

Acronis True Image for Western Digital verifies the values written to disk during the previous

pass.

3. Click OK.

To edit an existing pass:

1. Select the corresponding line, and then click Edit.

The Wiping Pass Adjustment window opens.

Note: When you select several lines, the new settings will be applied to all of the selected passes.

2. Change the settings, and then click OK.

Saving algorithm to a file

To save the created algorithm to a file in order to use this algorithm afterwards:

1. On the Saving custom algorithm step, select Save to a file, and then click Next.

2. In the window that opens, specify the file name and location, and then click OK.

8.5.1.3 Post-wiping actions

In the Post-wiping actions window, you can select actions to be performed on the partitions selected

for data destruction. Acronis DriveCleanser offers you three options:

 No action — just destroy data using the algorithm selected below

 Delete partition — destroy data and delete partition

 Format — destroy data and format partition (default).

8.5.2 System Clean-up

The System Clean-up wizard enables you to securely remove all traces of your PC actions, including

user names, passwords, and other personal information.

It can carry out the following operations:

 Securely destroy data in the Windows Recycle Bin

 Remove temporary files from appropriate Windows folders

 Clean up hard disk free space of any traces of information previously stored on it

 Remove traces of file and computer searches on connected disks and computers in the local area

network

 Clean the recently used documents list

 Clean the Windows Run list

 Clean the opened/saved files history

 Clean the list of network places to which the user has connected using network credentials

 Clean the Windows prefetch directory, where Windows stores information about programs you

have executed and run recently

Windows 7 and later operating systems do not store information on file and computer searches. Furthermore,

information on opened/saved files is stored differently in the registry, so the wizard shows this information in a

different way.

***

Please, be aware that Windows stores passwords until the session ends, so cleaning the list of network user

credentials will not take effect until you end the current Windows session by logging out or by rebooting the

computer.

To start the System Clean-up wizard, click the Start button —> Acronis (product folder) —> Acronis

True Image for Western Digital —> Tools and Utilities —> System Clean-up.

After you start the wizard, it will search for any traces of user actions stored by Windows. When the

search is finished, its results will be available at the top of the wizard window.

You can view the search results and manually select the items you wish to remove.

If you want to change the default system clean-up settings, click the corresponding link in the first

window of the System Clean-up wizard.

Click Clean-up to launch removing the found items.

8.5.2.1 Clean-up settings

In the clean-up settings window you can change the clean-up settings for every system component.

Some of these settings apply to all components.

To change the clean-up settings for a component:

 Expand the System Components item in the tree and select the component clean-up settings

which you need to change. You can enable or disable scanning of the component by the Clean-up

wizard. To do this, select or clear the Enable check box.

If required, you can also expand a component and customize the desired data destruction

method, files to clean, clean-up registry search strings you have used for finding computers in the

local network, etc. To do this, click the triangle near the component, select an option from the

list and specify the settings.

 After you set the desired components' properties, click OK to save your settings. These settings

will be used as default next time you launch the Clean-up wizard.

If you have already changed the clean-up settings before, you can always return to the program

defaults by clicking the Restore Defaults button.

System components:

 Recycle Bin

 Temporary files

 Hard disk free space

 Find Computer list

 Find File list

 Recently Used Documents list

 Windows Run List

 Opened/saved files history

 User Credentials

 Windows Prefetch Directory

8.5.2.2 Default clean-up options

The default clean-up options are available by clicking the Click to change this setting… link on the

Data Destruction Method option page.

To change the default clean-up options:

 Choose on the tree the component clean-up settings which you need to change.

 After you change the options, click OK to save your settings.

If you have already changed the clean-up settings before, you can always return to the program

defaults by clicking the Restore Defaults button.

General

By default, the summary dialog window is displayed after each clean-up procedure ends (the Show

summary check box is selected). If you do not need this window to be displayed, uncheck the box.

Clean-up options

System Clean-up utilizes a number of the most popular data destruction methods. Here, you can

select the common data destruction method which will be used by default for all other components.

The data destruction methods are described in detail in Hard Disk Wiping Methods (p. 106) of this

guide.

8.5.2.3 Specific clean-up options

You can customize the following clean-up options:

 Data destruction method

 Default options

 Files

 Drive free space

 Computers

 Commands

 Network places filter

Data destruction method

System Clean-up utilizes a number of the most popular data destruction methods. Here, you need to

select the desired data destruction method.

 Use common method - if you leave this parameter selected, the program will use the default

method (the initial setting is Fast method).

If you need another destruction method to be set as a default, click on the corresponding link.

 Use custom method for this component - selecting this parameter allows you to choose one of

the preset data destruction methods from the drop-down list.

The data destruction methods are described in detail in Hard Disk Wiping Methods (p. 106) of this

guide.

Files

The Files setting defines the names of files to clean with System Clean-up wizard and can be used

with a search string.

Under the Windows operating system, a search string can represent a full or partial filename. A

search string can contain any alphanumeric symbols, including commas and Windows wildcard

symbols, and can have values similar to the following:

 *.* – to clean all files with any file names and extensions.

 *.doc – to clean all files with a specific extension – Microsoft document files in this case .

 read*.* – to clean all files with any extensions, and names beginning with "read".

 read?.* – to clean all files having five-letter names and any extensions, names beginning with

"read"; the fifth letter is random.

The last search string, for example, will result in the removal of read1.txt, ready.doc files, but

readyness.txt will remain with its longer name (excluding the extension)

You can enter several different search strings separated by semicolons; for example:

*.bak;*.tmp;*.~~~ (without spaces between the search strings)

All files with names corresponding to at least one of the search strings will be cleaned.

Upon entering the Files setting value, you can browse the files matching the search strings. To do this,

click Show Files. You will see a window with the names of the found files. These files will be cleaned.

Drive free space

Here you can manually specify physical and/or logical drives to clean up free space on. By default,

System Clean-up cleans up free space on all available drives.

If you want to change the settings of this parameter, you can use the Remove button to delete from

the list the drives you don't need to clean free space on.

If you wish to add these drives to the list again, use the Add button.

Computers

The Computers setting is used for cleaning up the registry search strings you have used for finding

computers in the local network. These strings keep information on what has interested you in the

network. These items should also be deleted to maintain confidentiality.

The Computers setting is similar to the Files setting. It is a string that can contain any number of full

or partial computer names separated by semicolons. The deletion of computer search strings is

based on a comparison with the Computers setting value according to Windows rules.

If you simply need to delete all local network computer search strings (suitable in most cases), just

leave the default value of this setting. To restore the default settings:

 Select the Find Computer List component

 Make sure the Enable check box is selected

 Select the Computers setting; make sure its text box is clear.

As a result, all computer search strings will be deleted from the registry.

After entering the Computers setting value, you can browse the search strings found by the System

Clean-up Wizard in the registry. To do so, click Show Computers. You will see the window with full

and partial computer names searched for in the network. These items will be deleted.

"Commands" setting

Here you can select the commands to remove during Windows Run List clean-up.

This template can contain any command names or their parts separated by semicolons, e.g.:

*help; cmd; reg*

This will result in removing commands with names corresponding to or containing any of the names

or parts of names you entered.

Network places filter

Here you can enter (separated by semicolons) any hostnames or IP addresses of network places,

servers, FTP servers, network shares, etc. to which you have made connection by supplying network

credentials (a user name and password). While entering hostnames and IP addresses you can use *

and ? wildcards.

Click Show network places to view the list of network places that you visited using the credentials

you want to delete.

8.5.2.4 Preview

When the scanning is finished, its results will be available in the upper part of the wizard window. By

default, all system components are scanned for clean-up. If you want to customize which of the

system components should be scanned and which should not, change the default clean-up settings.

You can view the search results and manually select/unselect the items you wish to clean up/keep. In

order to help you with making the right choice, all the components are provided with brief

descriptions. Just click on the component's name and its description will be displayed in the right side

of the window.

To select/unselect a component

 Expand the System Components item in the System Clean-up tree and make sure that the

component you wish to clean up is selected. If you do not want to clean up a component, simply

clear its check box.

 If required, you can dig deeper by expanding a component and selecting/unselecting its contents.

Having specified the components for clean-up, click the Clean-up button to continue.

Windows 7 and later operating systems do not store information on file and computer searches. Furthermore,

information on opened/saved files is stored in the registry differently, so the wizard shows this information in a

different way.

8.5.2.5 Clean-up progress

The operation status window reports about the state of the current operation.

The progress bar indicates the level of completion of the selected operation.

In some cases, the operation may take a long time to be completed. If this is the case, select the

Shutdown the computer after completion check box. When the operation finishes, Acronis True

Image for Western Digital will turn the computer off.

8.5.3 Hard Disk Wiping methods

What is the problem?

Information removed from a hard disk drive by non-secure means (for example, by simple Windows

delete) can easily be recovered. Utilizing specialized equipment, it is possible to recover even

repeatedly overwritten information.

Leakage mechanism

Data is stored on a hard disk as a binary sequence of 1 and 0 (ones and zeros), represented by

differently magnetized parts of a disk.

Generally speaking, a 1 written to a hard disk is read as 1 by its controller, and 0 is read as 0.

However, if you write 1 over 0, the result is conditionally 0.95 and vice versa – if 1 is written over 1

the result is 1.05. These differences are irrelevant for the controller. However, using special

equipment, one can easily read the «underlying» sequence of 1's and 0's.

Information wiping methods used by Acronis

The detailed theory of guaranteed information wiping is described in an article by Peter Gutmann.

Please see "Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and Solid-State Memory" at

https://www.cs.auckland.ac.nz/~pgut001/pubs/secure_del.html.

No.

Algorithm (writing method)

Passes

Record

United States Department of

Defense 5220.22-M

pass – randomly selected symbols to each byte of

each sector, 2 – complementary to written during the

pass; 3 – random symbols again; 4 – writing

No.

Algorithm (writing method)

Passes

Record

verification.

United States: NAVSO

P-5239-26 (RLL)

pass – 0x01 to all sectors, 2 – 0x27FFFFFF, 3 –

random symbol sequences, 4 – verification.

United States: NAVSO

P-5239-26 (MFM)

pass – 0x01 to all sectors, 2 – 0x7FFFFFFF, 3 –

random symbol sequences, 4 – verification.

German: VSITR

– 6

– alternate sequences of: 0x00 and 0xFF; 7

– 0xAA; i.e. 0x00, 0xFF, 0x00, 0xFF, 0x00, 0xFF, 0xAA.

Russian: GOST P50739-95

Logical zeros (0x00 numbers) to each byte of each

sector for 6

to 4

security level systems.

Randomly selected symbols (numbers) to each byte

of each sector for 3

to 1

security level systems.

Peter Gutmann's method

Peter Gutmann's method is very sophisticated. It's

based on his theory of hard disk information wiping

(see Secure Deletion of Data from Magnetic and

Solid-State Memory).

Bruce Schneier's method

Bruce Schneier offers a seven-pass overwriting

method in his Applied Cryptography book. 1

pass –

0xFF, 2

pass – 0x00, and then five times with a

cryptographically secure pseudo-random sequence.

Fast

Logical zeros (0x00 numbers) to all sectors to wipe.

8.6 Mounting an image

Mounting images as virtual drives lets you access them as though they were physical drives. You can

mount local backups that contain partitions or entire disk drives, and then select which partitions to

mount. After mounting:

 A new disk appears in your system for every mounted partition.

 You can view the image contents in File Explorer and other file managers in read-only mode.

The operations described in this section are supported only for the FAT and NTFS file systems.

You cannot mount a disk backup, if it is stored on an FTP server.

How to mount an image

1. In File Explorer, right-click the image file that you want to mount, and then click Mount image.

The Mount wizard opens.

2. Select the backup for mounting by its creation date/time. Thus, you can explore the data state at

a certain moment.

3. [optional step] On the Drive letter step, select a letter to be assigned to the virtual disk from the

Mount letter drop-down list. If you do not want to mount a partition, select Do not mount in the

list or clear the partition's check box.

4. Click Proceed.

5. After the image is connected, the program will run File Explorer, showing its contents.

8.7 Unmounting an image

We recommend that you unmount the virtual disk after all necessary operations are finished, as

maintaining virtual disks takes considerable system resources.

To unmount an image, perform one of the following:

 In File Explorer, right-click the disk icon and click Unmount.

 Restart or shut down your computer.

8.8 Working with .vhd(x) files

Acronis backups (.tib files) of disks or partitions can be converted to virtual hard disks (.vhd(x) files).

How to use .vhd(x) files

 You can boot your computer from the converted .vhd(x) file to test whether the backup is valid

and can be recovered to a bootable operating system.

 You can keep a converted .vhd(x) file for emergency situations. For example, if your computer

cannot start and you need to run it right away, you can boot from the .vhd(x) file.

 In Windows 7, you can mount a .vhd(x) file as an additional drive. The .vhd(x) file may contain

any partitions – system or non-system.

 You can run a converted .vhd(x) file as a virtual machine.

Limitations and additional information

 A file backup cannot be converted to a .vhd(x) file.

 To boot from a converted .vhd(x) file, it must contain:

 System partition of the same computer. You cannot boot other computers using the

same .vhd(x) file.

 Windows 7 or later operating system.

 Any changes you make to a booted or mounted .vhd(x) file are saved to it. If you boot from

a .vhd(x) file and make changes to the data that was not backed up, these changes will affect

your live system.

 The standalone versions of Acronis True Image for Western Digital that start when booting from

the bootable media do not support conversion operations.

 Acronis True Image for Western Digital cannot convert .tib files that contain dynamic volumes

which were originally located on more than one disk drive (for example, spanned or striped

dynamic volumes).

8.8.1 Converting Acronis backup

Users of the Enterprise and Ultimate editions of Windows 7 and later Windows versions can convert

a .tib image of the system partition into the .vhd(x) format if they want to use the converted .vhd(x)

file for booting the operating system. Or, they may want to get the ability to mount images without

using Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

To convert an Acronis disk image (.tib file) to a Windows backup (.vhd(x) file):

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. Go to the Backup section.

3. In the backup list, click the down arrow icon next to the backup that you want to convert, and

then click Convert to VHD.

If the backup is password-protected, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will ask for it. Note

that the resulting .vhd(x) file will lose password protection.

4. Select the backup version that you want to convert.

Converting an incremental backup requires all the previous incremental backups and the original

full backup. Converting a differential backup requires the original full backup. The result of

conversion is always a full backup.

5. Specify the path to the file to be created.

The file can be directed to any local storage supported by Acronis True Image for Western Digital

(except the Acronis Secure Zone and CD/DVD). In addition, it can be directed to an SMB share.

6. [Optional step] While the backup is being converted, you can select the Start virtual machine

after completion check box. If it is selected, Acronis True Image for Western Digital will restart

your computer and run Hyper-V virtual machine by using the created .vhd(x) file.

When a .tib image selected for conversion contains partitions, for example, from two physical hard

disk drives, the program will create two .vhd(x) files corresponding to those physical drives.

8.9 Importing and exporting backup settings

Acronis True Image for Western Digital allows you to import and export the settings of your backups.

This may be desirable if you need to transfer the settings to a new PC after installing Acronis True

Image for Western Digital on that computer. Saving the settings may also be useful if you later decide

to upgrade to the next Acronis True Image for Western Digital version.

Such transfer will make configuring backups on the new PC much easier. You only need to export the

settings and then import them to the other PC. The settings are exported in the form of script files.

The settings content can be different depending on a backup type. In case of "classic" disk and file

type backups the settings consist of the following items:

 list of items for backup

 backup options

 backup location

 schedule

 backup scheme

 automatic clean-up rules

 backup version naming rules

The settings of nonstop backup are as follows:

 list of items for nonstop protection

 Nonstop Backup data storage location (a list of locations, if there are several)

You cannot import online backup settings from one computer to another.

To export the backup settings:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

2. On the sidebar, click Settings > Backup settings transfer, click Save settings to file, and then

browse for the destination to save the script files with the settings.

To import the backup settings:

1. Start Acronis True Image for Western Digital on another computer.

2. On the sidebar, click Settings > Backup settings transfer, click Import settings from file, and then

show the path to the script files with the settings.

After importing the settings you may need to change some of them to suit the new environment. For

example, it may be necessary to change the list of items for backup, backup destination, etc.

If you want to copy some of your backups to another computer, it is recommended to export the

settings of those backups too. Thus you will not lose some of the copied backup's functionality.

9 Troubleshooting

In this section

Resolving the most frequent issues ................................................................................ 111

Technical Support ........................................................................................................... 112

Acronis System Report .................................................................................................... 112

Acronis Smart Error Reporting ........................................................................................ 113

How to collect crash dumps ............................................................................................ 113

Acronis Customer Experience Program .......................................................................... 114

9.1 Resolving the most frequent issues

Here is the list of the most frequent issues that users encounter in Acronis True Image for Western

Digital. You can read the corresponding solutions in the Acronis Knowledge Base.

Files and folders are not shown when browsing backups in File Explorer

A typical scenario:

1. You want to browse backup contents in File Explorer, either for recovery purposes or to check

what is inside a particular backup.

2. You locate the corresponding .tib file and double-click it.

3. The backup opens, but the files and folders are not displayed.

How to resolve

Error "Plug in external drive"

A typical scenario:

1. You have a backup configured to be saved on a USB drive. You plug in the USB drive to your

computer, and then start the backup.

2. The backup does not start, pauses or fails. The following error appears: "Plug in external drive

<drive_letter>."

How to resolve

Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) after recovery to new hardware and error "Stop 0x0000007B" due to

missing drivers

A typical scenario:

1. You recover your computer to dissimilar hardware and apply Acronis Universal Restore.

2. The process completes successfully, but the recovered computer goes to BSOD and the following

error appears: "Stop 0x0000007B."

How to resolve

See the full list of popular solutions at https://kb.acronis.com/true-image-known-solutions.

See also troubleshooting information about recovery fails at https://kb.acronis.com/content/46340.

9.2 Technical Support

Maintenance and Support Program

If you need assistance with Acronis True Image for Western Digital, please refer to the official

support resources of Western Digital at https://www.westerndigital.com/support

(https://www.westerndigital.com/support).

9.3 Acronis System Report

The Generate system report tool creates a system report that contains all the necessary technical

information and allows you to save the information to a file. When it’s necessary, you can attach the

created file to your problem description and send it to the Western Digital support. This will simplify

and speed up the search for a solution.

To generate a system report, perform one of the following:

 On the sidebar, click Help, and then click Generate system report.

 On the Windows Start menu, click All Programs -> Acronis -> Acronis True Image for Western

Digital -> Tools and Utilities -> Acronis System Report.

 Press CTRL+F7. Note that you can use this key combination even when Acronis True Image for

Western Digital is performing any other operation.

After the report is generated:

 To save the generated system report, click Save and in the opened window specify a location for

the created file.

 To exit to the main program window without saving the report, click Cancel.

You can place the tool on your bootable media as a separate component to generate a system report

when your computer cannot boot. After you boot from the media, you can generate the report

without running Acronis True Image for Western Digital. Simply plug in a USB flash drive and click the

Acronis System Report icon. The generated report will be saved on the USB flash drive.

To place the Acronis System Report tool on a bootable media:

 Select the Acronis System Report check box on the Rescue Media Content Selection page of the

Acronis Media Builder wizard.

 Click Next to continue.

Creating a system report from the command line prompt

1. Run Windows Command Processor (cmd.exe) as an administrator.

2. Change the current directory to the Acronis True Image for Western Digital installation folder. To

do so, enter:

cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\TrueImageHome

3. To create the system report file, enter:

SystemReport

The file SystemReport.zip will be created in the current folder.

If you want to assign a custom name to the report file, type the new name instead of <file

name>:

SystemReport.exe /filename:<file name>

To generate a system report under bootable media:

1. Create Acronis bootable media, if you do not have it. Refer to Acronis Media Builder (p. 83) for

details.

2. Arrange the boot order in BIOS so that your bootable media device (CD, DVDs or USB drive) is the

first boot device. Refer to Arranging boot order in BIOS (p. 64) for details.

3. Boot from the Acronis bootable media and select Acronis True Image for Western Digital.

Instead of clicking Acronis True Image for Western Digital, you can plug in a USB flash drive and click

Acronis System Report. In this case, the program generates a report and automatically saves it to the flash

drive.

4. Click the arrow next to the Help icon ( ), and then select Generate system report.

5. After the report is generated, click Save and in the opened window specify a location for the

created file.

The program will archive the report into a zip file.

9.4 Acronis Smart Error Reporting

When an issue is caused by an error in the program's operation, Acronis True Image for Western

Digital displays an appropriate error message. The error message contains an event code and a short

description of the error.

When you have an Internet connection

To view the Acronis Knowledge Base article suggesting a solution(s) for correcting the error, click the

Knowledge Base button.

This will open a confirmation window that lists the information to be sent via Internet to the Acronis

Knowledge Base. Click OK to permit sending the information.

If in future you would like to send such information without confirmation, select the Always send

without confirmation check box.

When you do not have an Internet connection

1. In the error message window, please click More details and write down the event code. The code

may look like this:

 0x000101F6 - example of an ordinary event code.

 0x00970007+0x00970016+0x00970002 - example of a composite event code. A code of this kind

may appear when an error occurred in a low-level program module and then propagated to

higher-level modules, resulting in errors in those modules as well.

1. When you establish Internet connection or if you can use another computer where Internet

connection is available, enter the vent code at: https://kb.acronis.com/errorcode/.

If the event code is not recognized in the Knowledge Base, the base does not yet contain an article to

resolve the issue. In such cases, please open a trouble ticket with Acronis Customer Central.

9.5 How to collect crash dumps

Because a crash of Acronis True Image for Western Digital or Windows can be caused by different

reasons, each crash case must be investigated separately. Acronis Customer Central would

appreciate if you could provide the following information:

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital crashes, please provide the following

information:

1. A description of the exact sequence of steps performed before you encountered the issue.

2. A crash dump. For information on how to collect such a dump, see the Acronis Support

Knowledge Base (KB) article at https://kb.acronis.com/content/27931.

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital causes a Windows crash:

1. A description of the exact sequence of steps performed before you encountered the issue.

2. A Windows dump file. For information on how to collect such a dump see the Acronis Support KB

article at https://kb.acronis.com/content/17639.

If Acronis True Image for Western Digital hangs:

1. A description of the exact sequence of steps performed before you encountered the issue.

2. A userdump of the process. See the Acronis Support KB article at

https://kb.acronis.com/content/6265.

3. The Procmon log. See the Acronis Support KB article at https://kb.acronis.com/content/2295.

If you cannot access the information, contact Acronis Customer Central for an FTP link for uploading

files.

This information will speed up the process of finding a solution.

9.6 Acronis Customer Experience Program

Acronis Customer Experience Program (CEP) is a new way to allow Acronis customers to contribute

to the features, design and development of Acronis products. This program enables our customers to

provide us with various information, including information about the hardware configuration of your

host computer and/or virtual machines, the features you use most (and least), and the nature of the

problems you face. Based on this information, we will be able to improve the Acronis products and

the features you use most often.

To make a decision:

1. On the sidebar, click Settings.

2. To leave the program, clear the Participate in the Acronis Customer Experience Program check

box.

If you choose to participate, the technical information will be automatically collected every 90 days.

We will not collect any personal data, like your name, address, phone number, or keyboard input.

Participation in the CEP is voluntary, but the end results are intended to provide software

improvements and enhanced functionality to better meet the needs of our customers.

"Acronis", "Acronis Compute with Confidence", "Acronis Recovery Manager", "Acronis Secure Zone",

"Acronis True Image", "Acronis Try&Decide", and the Acronis logo are trademarks of Acronis

International GmbH.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

VMware and VMware Ready are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the

United States and/or other jurisdictions.

Windows and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

All other trademarks and copyrights referred to are the property of their respective owners.

Distribution of substantively modified versions of this document is prohibited without the explicit

permission of the copyright holder.

Distribution of this work or derivative work in any standard (paper) book form for commercial

purposes is prohibited unless prior permission is obtained from the copyright holder.

DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED CONDITIONS,

REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY,

FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT, ARE DISCLAIMED, EXCEPT TO THE

EXTENT THAT SUCH DISCLAIMERS ARE HELD TO BE LEGALLY INVALID.

Third party code may be provided with the Software and/or Service. The license terms for such

third-parties are detailed in the license.txt file located in the root installation directory. You can

always find the latest up-to-date list of the third party code and the associated license terms used

with the Software and/or Service at https://kb.acronis.com/content/7696

Acronis patented technologies

Technologies, used in this product, are covered and protected by one or more U.S. Patent Numbers:

7,047,380; 7,246,211; 7,275,139; 7,281,104; 7,318,135; 7,353,355; 7,366,859; 7,383,327; 7,475,282;

7,603,533; 7,636,824; 7,650,473; 7,721,138; 7,779,221; 7,831,789; 7,836,053; 7,886,120; 7,895,403;

7,934,064; 7,937,612; 7,941,510; 7,949,635; 7,953,948; 7,979,690; 8,005,797; 8,051,044; 8,069,320;

8,073,815; 8,074,035; 8,074,276; 8,145,607; 8,180,984; 8,225,133; 8,261,035; 8,296,264; 8,312,259;

8,347,137; 8,484,427; 8,645,748; 8,732,121; 8,850,060; 8,856,927; 8,996,830; 9,213,697; 9,400,886;

9,424,678; 9,436,558; 9,471,441; 9,501,234; and patent pending applications.