Acronis True Image Home 2011 also allows you to create your own backup scheme. The scheme can be based on creating full, differential or incremental backup versions.
So first of all select one of the backup methods in the appropriate box.
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.
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 if, after deletion, the age of the oldest version exceeds 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] - Select this option to limit 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.