Vista Backup and Goodbye Acronis True Image 10

Submitted by Anthony Bouch on 28 January, 2007

OK – so the post below gushed over True Image. That was until I spent a weekend kicking the tires on Vista RTM (more soon….)
Firstly, on Vista 64Bit – True Image was broken; corrupt images and failed restores. Not sure about 32Bit Vista yet – however having discovered the new Vista Image format and full backup and recovery options – I’ve switched (I also postponed the Vista 64Bit install until Cisco kindly update their VPN client). I’ve run several complete Vista image backups – nuked the drives and restored flawlessly each time. Before my Vista box goes into production I need to be super confident that I have good recovery options.
The new Backup and Restore Center in Windows Visa is excellent; boot from the Vista install CD, enter your language and time information, and then choose repair Vista on the next screen. If there’s nothing to repair (i.e. an empty drive) you will still be allowed to move onto the next screen where you can choose your repair options – including a full recovery. No need to install the OS first. The Vista image will recreate all drive partition information and restore the machine to the state it was in during your last backup. Can be used in the same way Ghost and True Image are to upgrade or replace a drive.
Lots of good things in Vista – and this is certainly one of them.