Frequently Asked Questions - Backup

Technically speaking, a snapshot is a map of the hard drive sectors and the map's indexing system. Practically speaking, a snapshot is a "picture" of the systemand data at a specific time.

Can I take a snapshot every time I turn on the PC?

Yes, you can create a "snapshot @ restart" schedule to take new snapshots during reboot.

Where are snapshots stored?

Each snapshot is a "map of the occupied sectors on the hard drive", so there is no actual data backup in certain folders or files. The "maps" are stored on the hard drive within RESTORELIVE data structure area. It does not exist as files for security purpose, it only exists as sectors on the hard drive

How much disk space do I need to take a snapshot?

It depends on how much data has been changed since last snapshot. Theoretically,RESTORELIVE only takes 0.07% total hard disk space to create all those snapshots. That is the least amount of disk space required to protect the entire system comparing to any software ever been produced; however,each snapshot might contain different amount of user data; therefore each snapshot size might differ

How can I delete files and free disk space from snapshots?

To free disk space from snapshots, you must meet one condition: the files are not in any snapshots. The rule of thumb is that if a file is no where to be found, it shouldn’t take any disk space. But if it’s found in a snapshot, it will take disk space.

For example

1. You install RestoreLive, setup creates a baseline snapshot, and you have 5GB free space.

2. You install Microsoft Office 2003, it takes about 800MB. You have 4.2GB free space.

3. You take a snapshot "Office-snapshot"; the size of this snapshot is 800MB. You have about 4.2GB free space.

4. You uninstall Office 2003, it removes all the office files. (The free space is still 4.2GB, because the office files are in “office-snapshot”.If you restore to the “office-snapshot”, Office 2003 will be there; therefore, it’s on the hard drive).

5. You take a snapshot "no-office"; the space taken by this snapshot is almost nothing, because no data has been added since last snapshot. You have about 4.2GB free space.

6. You delete snapshot "office-snapshot". At this point, we only have Baseline snapshot which does not have Office 2003 and "no-office" snapshot which does not have Office 2003. So the 800MB space used by Office 2003 should be freed.

7. Run snapshot defragmenter. The free space should be about 5GB.

Do I loose the files in the current system if I restore the system to another snapshot?

RESTORELIVE patent pending technology allows you preserve or transfer files and data in the current system to another snapshot during a restore process, and therefore prevent data lost during the process. You can select to create a snapshot of the current system before restore the system to a selected snapshot.