Making reserve copies of your backups
You can create reserve copies of your backups and save them on the file system, a network drive, or a USB flash drive.
In addition to enhancing the backed up data security with replication, this feature allows you to copy a set of documents, for example, to a USB stick for working on them at home. So now you can perform a normal backup and copy the same files to a USB stick or any local hard drive. You have the choice of making a reserve copy in the form of regular files in their native format, a zip compressed file, or a tib file (optionally with password protection and encryption). A password-protected reserve copy can be encrypted only if you choose to encrypt the main backup and an encryption key of the same length will be used for encrypting the reserve copy.
A reserve copy always contains all the files selected for backup, that is, when creating a reserve copy the program always makes a full backup of the source data. You cannot make a reserve copy in the form of an incremental or differential backup, even in tib format.
Also remember that you will pay for the enhanced convenience and increased security of your data by the time required for performing the operation, because normal backup and reserve copying are performed one after another and not simultaneously.
And now let us consider a case when you may need to make a reserve copy of your backup.
Suppose you have worked hard on an urgent project all day and the deadline is tomorrow morning. You decide to back up the results of the day’s work in Acronis Secure Zone and make a reserve copy of the project on a USB stick to finish the project at home. To make a reserve copy:
- While configuring a backup, click the File backup options link, expand the Backup reserve copy item and then select the Create a reserve copy of my backups box (if it is not selected in the default backup options).
- Choose how to duplicate the project file(s) on the USB stick. If you need to save space, choose duplicating as a zip file. Click on the Set location… link, select the drive letter of the USB stick and create a folder for a reserve copy by clicking on the Make New Folder button.
- Finish configuring your backup as usual.
- Click Back up now and do not forget to take the USB stick home.
Please be aware that built-in support of zip files in Windows does not cover operations with multivolume zip archives, and zip archives exceeding 4GB in size or which contain files of more than 4 GB each. Also remember that CD/DVDs are not supported as locations for reserve copies.