11 Copyright © Acronis, Inc., 2000-2012
Backup validation
The backup validation feature allows you to confirm that your data can be recovered. As mentioned
above, the program adds checksum values to the data blocks being backed up. During backup
validation, Acronis True Image Home 2012 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 and there is a high probability that the backup can be successfully used for data recovery.
Consolidation
Consolidation allows you to delete backups which you no longer need from a backup chain.
A chain to be consolidated can consist of a full backup and one or more incremental backups.
If necessary, you can delete the base full backup from the chain. The program will create a new full
backup in place of the oldest remaining backup. Consolidation keeps whichever backups you choose
and deletes any backups that are not selected.
Because consolidation may require significant time and system resources (including disk space), we
recommend using it sparingly. In many cases, starting a new backup chain and then deleting the old
one will be a better choice.
Acronis Nonstop Backup uses a different consolidation mechanism. The program consolidates the
metadata it uses for managing the backed up data. Because the metadata information volume is
significantly less than the backed up data volume, consolidation requires much less time and system
resources.
Disaster recovery
Recovering from a disaster usually requires a rescue media and a backup of the system partition.
Acronis True Image Home 2012 provides for recovery from a disaster caused by system data
corruption, viruses, malware, or other causes.
If the operating system fails to boot, Acronis True Image Home 2012 will recover the system
partition. The boxed product comes with a rescue CD. Other legal owners of the program can create
a rescue media by using the Media Builder tool.
Scheduling
For your backups to be really helpful, they must be as "up-to-date" as possible. This means that you
should run backups on a regular basis, say once a day. Although creating an Acronis True Image
Home 2012 backup is quite easy, on occasion, you may forget to do a backup.
With the scheduler, you do not have to remember. You can schedule automatic backups ahead of
time. Your data will be backed up as long as there is sufficient storage space.
Understanding these terms and concepts will be helpful when using the program's features.
1.1.4 New in Acronis True Image Home 2012
Data synchronization - With this feature you can keep data identical in two or more
synchronized folders, which may be located on different computers, a removable storage device,
NAS, etc. You can share photos and videos with your relatives and friends, use the same set of
documents to work as a team with your colleagues, or synchronize your files and folders
