Acronis Server Cloud Backup - User Guide - Manual (Page 9)

9 Copyright © Acronis International GmbH, 2002-2013
1.1.3 FAQ about backup and recovery

I have a 150GB system partition, but the occupied space on that partition is only 80GB. What
will Small Office Backup include in a backup? - By default, Small Office Backup 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. 39). 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 back up the
old hard disk and then recover the backup to a new one.

I have replaced my failed motherboard with a different one and now Windows does not start. I
have backups of my system disk. Is it possible to use them for restoring my computer back to
life? - Yes, this is possible, but only with use of Acronis Universal Restore. You will need to select
the Use Acronis Universal Restore check box when configuring recovery. For more information,
see Recovering to different hardware (p. 69). You may need to download the chipset and the
hard disk controller drivers from the Web site of your motherboard manufacturer to add them
during recovery.

I want to replace my old desktop PC with a notebook. Will Small Office Backup be able to
transfer Windows, programs and data to the notebook? - Yes, this can be done. First back up
your old PC and then recover the backup to the notebook with use of Acronis Universal Restore.
You will need to select the Use Acronis Universal Restore check box when configuring recovery.
During recovery with Universal Restore you may need to provide drivers for the chipset, hard
disk controllers, etc. of your new computer. For more information, see Recovering to different
hardware (p. 69).

I want to migrate my old system hard disk to an SSD. Can this be done with Small Office
Backup? - Yes, Small Office Backup provides such a function. For procedure details, see Migrating
your system from an HDD to an SSD (p. 123)

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 Small Office Backup would not give you
significant reduction of the backup file size. In this case, it may be better to use a local sync for
the data partition files and a separate backup for the system partition. However, we also
recommend creating at least one whole disk backup if your backup storage has enough space.

Can I back up and recover a dual boot machine? Yes, this is possible in most cases. If your
systems are installed in separate partitions of the same physical hard disk drive, 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. Please note that activating Acronis
Startup Recovery Manager on dual- and multiboot systems with Linux loaders requires special
preparation. For more information, see How to use Acronis Startup Recovery Manager (p. 109).