Acronis True Image 6.0 review by MaximumPC

Just about the easiest way to improve your image

Thanks to programs like Symantec's Norton Ghost and PowerQuest's Drive Image, the process of backing up the entire contents of a hard drive's partition into a single file is now an easy point-and-click affair. So if these programs work fine, is there really a need for another one that does essentially the same thing? After taking Acronis' True Image for a walk around the block, we'd say there is.

What distinguishes True Image from its competitors is that the entire imaging process can be performed from within Windows without needing to reboot a single time. You can even restore a partition without rebooting, as long as it's not the one that holds your OS. In fact, restoring the partition that contains your OS is the only job that requires an end-run around Windows.

True Image not only makes the imaging and restore processes easy, but it's also exceedingly comprehensible. The program's wizard-like interface tells you the purpose of each step (such as choosing the compression level). When you click an option, the bottom portion of the screen describes what that particular option will do in clear, jargon-free language.

But what really puts ants in our pants is True Image support for external drives, a feature we've been groveling for ever since we started using these utilities. We backed up our WinXP partitions to both USB 2.0 and FireWire drives-True Image had no problem accessing and restoring images from these externals. Of course, you can also back up an image to consecutive CD-R/Ws and even recordable DVDs! And you can mount your images as virtual drives in WinXP, which allows you to extract just the files you need, when you need them.

Our sole reservation is the lack of any telephone technical support-it's e-mail or nothing. This is bad news for any backup program. If something goes wrong, how long do you want to wait for an answer? Other than that unfortunate policy, we think True Image is a big step ahead of its competitors. True Image has the simplicity and comfort of baby shampoo, and yet it ought to be in the toolbox of every PC power user.

MAXIMUMPC Verdict: 9