2015 Rescue Media does not see my USB3 external hard drives
For the life of me, I cannot find the post that mentioned System Information and cluster size. Sys Info showed all my USB drives to have 512b, but I took that with a grain of salt. I loaded up my 3rd party Partition Manager and had look.. 3 of the 4 drives were set at 4K!
So I fixed that, lowered all 3 down to 512b, rebooted, performed a backup via ATI 2015 (single, I don't trust differential or incremental... too many variables to consider), reboot into Acronis Recovery... YEAH, I can see my backups now...
It might be worth trying, double checking to see if the drives are actually 512b or not...
TOPIC ACRONIS TRIE IMAGE 6015-6525 Linux Rescue Disk does to recoginize USB3 Ports
(note 2014-6688 is fine)
Just thought I'd throw in some new issues I came across...in general this is or could be related to the ATI-6525 Linux rescue disk NOT (always) finding some or all partition backups that were previously made using Win-based ATI-2015-6525. Generally for me, the issue has been that on several PC's I'm running win based ATI-2010-7169 (no yuks, until 2015 this was the last win based interface that wasn't a databased cluster-Fxck!
Ok the winbased ati2015-6525 is well updated and for me well usable. In win mode, ATI15 sees all ext usb3 drives. Now come the next stage (I know most of you know this)...booting the Linux based ATI-15-6525 rescue is at best a sometimes it recognized, sometimes not situation. Like all have said, booting the AT2014-6688 linux rescue cd is a 100% usuable, finds all USB3 drives I have (which have either Intel Z77, Asmedia or TexInst. chipsets.
Seems good, but ATI 2014 is ready to choke on ATI win based B.Ups---no forward compatabilty! Building Win P3 (v3) WAIK and ATI instructions turned into a mighty mess as the manual provided WAIK command line syntax is unclear and in some situations the WAIK based PE build will fail with a cyriptic error, likely to be a syntax error (many places whether SPC characters belong as separates is no clear...and too many permutations to waste more time. I've got 33 registered Acronis products, but the 2014 Linux media works great...so far all tested USB3 ports run well...ati ...err NOT SO MUCH. So this is not a job for persons like us who wich to help Acronis solve the problem, nor do I want to hear them say "well, we know the problem but won't fix it til Win 10 comes out...Hey, you advertized ATI2015 to be workable, and it's not...excuse me...just FIX the FUxxxking thing..,.now not 8 months from now...or give me my costs for the 4x 2015 copies. ACRONIS "Do you know the difference between a paying customer and a toilet?...Answer I think is NO. SAD. My last shot, on my time, with no support, was to make a ATI2015-6525 WinPE 8.x cd. Why, well Win 8x has NATIVE USB support.
Did it work...yes....but, Linux rescue disks vs WinPE diska, when applied to VALIDATE functions pass only in the mode used for the backup...if the BU was made in stand-alone mode.
Well, here after much testing is , I think a work around for external usb drives you "want" to use in place of the frustrating and non-workable Linux based rescue disk from Acronis. At this point I should mention that (being well-tested) acronis ati 2014' atleast ver 6688 appears 100 percent function with my several system...see described later.
It actually appears from time to time that 2015 v6525 manages to boot and see some USB ports, drives, and Tibet images...however , thus looks very shaking and I've noticed thst thus only occurred to me when I just prior tried the 6525 win PE or even 2014-6688 rescue disks....it maybe that the prior successful "run" properly initialized the usb3 ports/chips not the normally non-functioning 6525 linux.
Of course, I may be wrong, but this surely has an odd smell to it.
As I last wrote, creating winPe with spl drivers for the USB ports, for me was not often successful ...could be me, but between the Acronis manual, the various MS notes etc, and very odd syntax of some command lines and a really clunky WAIK tool...well it wasn't fun and I've killed off 3-4 days without solid success .
What I can say had been workable for sure is use the ms ADK 8.1 kit ( the v8.0 variant seems nearly as good. What does good mean? Since win 8x, Usb 3 has native support in windows. This means load ADK8. Install ati 2915-6525, install the ati add-on tools and simply use the Acronis built in tool menu to produce a Winpe v8x. ISO Rescue disk...it just works...no monkey business trying to add-in drivers.
This was tested using an asus p97 with amd 950 chipset controlled usb 3 and as media...also Asus p8z77 intel chipset with its usb3 run off the intel z77 chipset, Asus p5e mobo with intel cpu and an addin SIiG addin pcie usb3 card using Texas Instruments USB port chipsets.
All combos were even able to validate, restore TIB disk backups made with WIN based ati 2010-7160 and ati 2010 linux rescue CDs.
All validated as well. Notably rescue disk linux or win-PE 3 based 3014-6673 mostly did not recognize the Connected USB3 ports/drives!
So, mull it over! And let's put dime pressure of acronis...I suppose dropped sales and plenty of noise will help. After looking over the new Paragon 2015 backup/restore, I've got one coming...it looks like they have an auto scrip with wizards for injecting multiple drivers...without the need to use complex waik nonsense...hate to give up on ati as I've been using it since ver 7, but with near zero offshore support which seems uninterested toward helping customers with HUGE SW BUGS...I'm 99% done.
Comments?
Have you given the cluster size fix a shot yet?
Hello Everyone,
I'm glad to let you know that our development found the cause of the issue and offered a custom .iso of the bootable media based on Acronis Backup which incorporates the fix.
Please send me a private message if you a willing to check the solution, I'll provide you with a personal link.
Thank you.
I'm glad I read this thread because it forced me to test access to my backups. My ATI 2015 had no trouble seeing my external 4 gig USB 3 Western Digital drive using a restore disk. My OS is Win 8.1.
It saw the drive and saw the backup files. I haven't tested it to actually do a restore- but if it can see the file, I'm sure the restore will work.
Joe
I'm glad I read this thread because it forced me to test access to my backups. My ATI 2015 had no trouble seeing my external 4 gig USB 3 Western Digital drive using a restore disk. My OS is Win 8.1.It saw the drive and saw the backup files. I haven't tested it to actually do a restore- but if it can see the file, I'm sure the restore will work.
Joe
I'm glad I read this thread because it forced me to test access to my backups. My ATI 2015 had no trouble seeing my external 4 gig USB 3 Western Digital drive using a restore disk. My OS is Win 8.1.It saw the drive and saw the backup files. I haven't tested it to actually do a restore- but if it can see the file, I'm sure the restore will work.
Joe
oh, forgot to mention I'm using version 6525
Hi Joseph,
The reason I have been pushing Acronis so hard to firstly identify the problem with some USB3.0 drives and the Acronis Recovery Media and secondly to fix the problem is because there must be many people who assume that they will be able to restore their system in the event of a hard drive disaster. It's safe to assume that large numbers of people will not test to ensure that their recovery media can see their backup drive and unfortunately for some of those people, they will find out the hard way that their paid-for solution will not work.
Acronis took a long time to realise the scale of the problem and I had to point them to this forum for them to see the large number of people with this problem. But once they saw the number of complaints on here, they moved quickly to identify the cause, which has been confirmed as missing drivers from the Linux compile that is used for the boot media. They then told me that a fix would be released when Windows 10 was released, which is quite frankly a real kick in the ba**s for everyone who has paid for a software product which doesn't work as advertised. A reminder to them that the problem is larger than they realise and that there are many people who are very upset with their lack of response finally escalated the problem to a higher level and I'm now confident that a new release is imminent. Lets hope so, before too many people lose their entire disk contents, or before too many more people jump ship and move to another backup solution.
I might be off base here, but older drives and smaller capacity drive (e.g. non advanced format drives) usually should be realigned to be non-sluggish and avoid issues...even Acronis, WDC etc have written much about this. I may be wrong, but usually the 4k size is intentionally done....plus, I don't see how this could be the real source of the thread problems...looks mighty clear that Acronis made Linux changes and never tested the RTM version very well.
Frankly, being able to replicate the issue of v2015 is rather obvious for a company who buesiness is backing up and restoring data....2015 has been out a few months now, but I'll admit that in the first days I saw this issue and figured what the heck, 2015, already been pared down just doesn't work. Later, I saw it wasn't just me...many-most using the std Linux Rescue disk woulkd have run across this horrible bug just when they needed it most-to restore a backup.
I see from the thread that many folks are mighty pissxd off about this, plus the wait until Win 10 BS response...this IS not rocket science...Acronis owes it's customers , regardless of version numbers and extended support upgrade equal to the day a person registered the 2015 product until a working product is released...or a refund.
What about a real corp. response to the registered customer based????
it's a guess, but I think the native USB3 support in win 8x is the reason
U guys try and use USB 3.0 ON Acronis 2015 media CD/DVD. It would not detect Anyway cause u need the 3.0 driver installed of your PC hardware. just when u do a fresh install of Windows your system isn't going to detect it. Anyway just use USB 2.0 there's really not that much deference anyway. Once u get your Windows up and back just download the Driver to USB 3.0. I don't think the speed is going to take place anyway untill your Windows is all done and up with that Driver.
If Acronis TI 2015 can see the drive in Windows, it should see the drive in WinPE. It will be using the same Acronis drivers (fltsrv.sys and snapman.sys) in WinPE as are used in Windows. If WinPE itself can't see the drive it is because of missing Windows drivers (such as USB 3.0 for your controller) that can be added to the WinPE build.You have nothing to lose by trying WinPE. If you wait for Acronis to fix the Linux Recovery Media, you could have a long wait.
I think u Are Correct And on something here. :D
I might be off base here, but older drives and smaller capacity drive (e.g. non advanced format drives) usually should be realigned to be non-sluggish and avoid issues...even Acronis, WDC etc have written much about this. I may be wrong, but usually the 4k size is intentionally done....plus, I don't see how this could be the real source of the thread problems...looks mighty clear that Acronis made Linux changes and never tested the RTM version very well.
I agree, the problem isn't just because of the 4k allocation unit size. I have an internal 500G SATA drive with 4k allocation unit size and this drive is seen by ATI 2015 Recovery Media, yet my 5TB USB3.0 drive, which also has 4k allocation units isn't seen. The problem is entirely with the Linux distro that Acronis compiled and clearly left some vital part out. Exactly the same Linux version is used in the ATI 213 Recovery Media, and that version sees my USB3.0 drive.
Frankly, being able to replicate the issue of v2015 is rather obvious for a company who buesiness is backing up and restoring data....2015 has been out a few months now, but I'll admit that in the first days I saw this issue and figured what the heck, 2015, already been pared down just doesn't work. Later, I saw it wasn't just me...many-most using the std Linux Rescue disk woulkd have run across this horrible bug just when they needed it most-to restore a backup.
I see from the thread that many folks are mighty pissxd off about this, plus the wait until Win 10 BS response...this IS not rocket science...Acronis owes it's customers , regardless of version numbers and extended support upgrade equal to the day a person registered the 2015 product until a working product is released...or a refund.
What about a real corp. response to the registered customer based????
You've identified the real problem here - many users will be trusting the Acronis backup solution to work when they need it, but they will find out that their Recovery Media can't see their backup drive. By which time, it will be too late for them.
I also agree that I'm rather pi**ed of when I paid for an update from ATI 2013 to ATI 2015 and found several features missing. The Try and Decide feature in TI 2013 was a great feature that I used often when I tried some new software (usually freeware or trialware) and wanted to revert back to the pre-installation state as uninstalling such software often leaves your hard drive and registry littered with crap. Acronis say that they have ditched Try and Decide as it's quicker to backup your hard drive and restore it if you don't like any trial software. This is absolute bulls**t. It takes a couple of hours to backup and restore my 2TB system drive, whereas Try and Decide took only a few minutes to prepare the system and only a reboot to restore it to the previous state.
When you upgrade to the latest software (and pay for the upgrade), you expect to get the same feature list at an absolute minimum. You certainly don't expect to get less features. If Acronis highlight the missing features on their website, I'm sure there would be less uptake on the upgrades and a lot less annoyed customers.
it's a guess, but I think the native USB3 support in win 8x is the reason
I doubt if this is the reason. As I've found out while testing solutions for Acronis, the TI 2013 Recovery Media works fine with my USB3.0 hard drive, but the TI 2015 media doesn't. The problem is entirely down to the Linux distro that Acronis compiled and omitted some assemblies from it.
U guys try and use USB 3.0 ON Acronis 2015 media CD/DVD. It would not detect Anyway cause u need the 3.0 driver installed of your PC hardware. just when u do a fresh install of Windows your system isn't going to detect it. Anyway just use USB 2.0 there's really not that much deference anyway. Once u get your Windows up and back just download the Driver to USB 3.0. I don't think the speed is going to take place anyway untill your Windows is all done and up with that Driver.
If Acronis TI 2015 can see the drive in Windows, it should see the drive in WinPE. It will be using the same Acronis drivers (fltsrv.sys and snapman.sys) in WinPE as are used in Windows. If WinPE itself can't see the drive it is because of missing Windows drivers (such as USB 3.0 for your controller) that can be added to the WinPE build.You have nothing to lose by trying WinPE. If you wait for Acronis to fix the Linux Recovery Media, you could have a long wait.
I think u Are Correct And on something here. :D
Hi T.J.,
The problem isn't caused by any missing drivers on your PC. The Recovery Media, which is a Linux boot disc doesn't rely on any software or drivers which are installed on your system drive, it's entirely independent from your system drive, which it needs to be. The current Linux Recovery Media has been compiled by Acronis and they have omitted some assembly from it. Exactly the same Linux kernel is used in the TI 2013 Recovery Media, but this works fine.
Also, using USB2.0 sockets doesn't work either. If your USB3.0 hard drive isn't detected by the Recovery Media when it's plugged into a USB3.0 socket, then it won't be detected when it's plugged into a USB2.0 socket either.
Mustang is correct, the WinPE Recover Media works fine, but creating the disc is a right pain in the backside. You need to download and install Acronis Media Addon and Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit before building the ISO image. After doing all of this, your system drive is now bloated with software that you shouldn't need installed. The real problem though is the very large customer base who assume that the default Recovery Media will work when they need it to. It's no good telling them to build a WinPE disc after they have lost their system drive and subsequently find out that they can't restore their backup from their USB drive. For those of us who have tested and identified that their backup drive isn't seen by the default Recovery Media, yes we can (and should) build a WinPE Recovery disc. But Acronis shouldn't leave everyone else who haven't tested their backup drive in such a vulnerable situation.
How long do you guys wait for ATI 2015 to detect external drives? EG: for my 2TB Western Digital, the light flashes for 10 minutes then BANG, see everything... For a 5TB, 25 minutes? Do you see light flashing...
How long do you guys wait for ATI 2015 to detect external drives? EG: for my 2TB Western Digital, the light flashes for 10 minutes then BANG, see everything... For a 5TB, 25 minutes? Do you see light flashing...
I've left my USB drive plugged in for several hours and it still wasn't detected. Even if leaving the drive plugged in for an extended time works, it shouldn't be necessary to wait that long. ATI 2013 Recovery Media works correctly every time. ATI 2015 Recovery Media doesn't work with some USB3.0 drives.
[quote=Mustang is correct, the WinPE Recover Media works fine, but creating the disc is a right pain in the backside. You need to download and install Acronis Media Addon and Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit before building the ISO image. After doing all of this, your system drive is now bloated with software that you shouldn't need installed. The real problem though is the very large customer base who assume that the default Recovery Media will work when they need it to. It's no good telling them to build a WinPE disc after they have lost their system drive and subsequently find out that they can't restore their backup from their USB drive. For those of us who have tested and identified that their backup drive isn't seen by the default Recovery Media, yes we can (and should) build a WinPE Recovery disc. But Acronis shouldn't leave everyone else who haven't tested their backup drive in such a vulnerable situation.
And How do i do this i Will test and let u know. give me a step by step guide. Thank u
It's sooooo simple to circumvent this "un-seeable drive" problem, I don't understand all the ruckus going on.
Quite simply, just use the Acronis 2014 boot disk v5560 and you'll have no problems whatsoever!
No need to build this, that and compile anything.... Unless you like going through all those hoops and hurdles.
I posted - not in so much detail how to circumvent this and seemingly nobody's read the post!
So for the step-by-step instructions, just read and follow.
Download the boot media iso from:
hxxp://www.mediafire.com/download/0e25dbaolrmsxor/Acronis_2014_v5560_Bootable_…
(substitute the hxxp with http)
or you can even search the internet for a SAFE place you can get it from :)
Burn the downloaded ISO.
Make sure you have DEACTIVATED your Acronis Startup Recovery from within the ATI program, and then boot the ISO you just made.
Using the ISO disk, re-ACTIVATE the Startup Recovery option and you're done. When you do the F-11 boot, it will see all your previously unrecognized drives and when you boot with the CD, it will see them also.
If for whatever reason (recovery, disk repair, or whatever) you lose the ability to do the F-11 boot, just repeat the process, You'll be all good again. Simple, no fuss, no muss, no waiting for Acronis to fidle and fart bemoaning the Win10
release date.... You will soon forget you had any issues with the program.
There are a few different ways this disk will boot, depending on your bios settings.
Just make sure when it's booting you see the large letters in the top left booting acronis.....
and not the small characters asking (1) if you want to boot acronis or (c) to continue booting windows etc.
The small letters somehow have a result that not all drives are visible (I don't know/don't care why) :)
Good Luck!
It's sooooo simple to circumvent this "un-seeable drive" problem, I don't understand all the ruckus going on.
Quite simply, just use the Acronis 2014 boot disk v5560 and you'll have no problems whatsoever!
No need to build this, that and compile anything.... Unless you like going through all those hoops and hurdles.
I posted - not in so much detail how to circumvent this and seemingly nobody's read the post!So for the step-by-step instructions, just read and follow.
Download the boot media iso from:
hxxp://www.mediafire.com/download/0e25dbaolrmsxor/Acronis_2014_v5560_Bootable_…
(substitute the hxxp with http)
or you can even search the internet for a SAFE place you can get it from :)
Burn the downloaded ISO.
Make sure you have DEACTIVATED your Acronis Startup Recovery from within the ATI program, and then boot the ISO you just made.
Using the ISO disk, re-ACTIVATE the Startup Recovery option and you're done. When you do the F-11 boot, it will see all your previously unrecognized drives and when you boot with the CD, it will see them also.If for whatever reason (recovery, disk repair, or whatever) you lose the ability to do the F-11 boot, just repeat the process, You'll be all good again. Simple, no fuss, no muss, no waiting for Acronis to fidle and fart bemoaning the Win10
release date.... You will soon forget you had any issues with the program.There are a few different ways this disk will boot, depending on your bios settings.
Just make sure when it's booting you see the large letters in the top left booting acronis.....
and not the small characters asking (1) if you want to boot acronis or (c) to continue booting windows etc.
The small letters somehow have a result that not all drives are visible (I don't know/don't care why) :)Good Luck!
It's sooooo simple to circumvent this "un-seeable drive" problem, I don't understand all the ruckus going on.
Quite simply, just use the Acronis 2014 boot disk v5560 and you'll have no problems whatsoever!
No need to build this, that and compile anything.... Unless you like going through all those hoops and hurdles.
I posted - not in so much detail how to circumvent this and seemingly nobody's read the post!
So for the step-by-step instructions, just read and follow.
Download the boot media iso from:
hxxp://www.mediafire.com/download/0e25dbaolrmsxor/Acronis_2014_v5560_Bootable_…
(substitute the hxxp with http)
or you can even search the internet for a SAFE place you can get it from :)
Burn the downloaded ISO.
Make sure you have DEACTIVATED your Acronis Startup Recovery from within the ATI program, and then boot the ISO you just made.
Using the ISO disk, re-ACTIVATE the Startup Recovery option and you're done. When you do the F-11 boot, it will see all your previously unrecognized drives and when you boot with the CD, it will see them also.
This so did not make any sense to me????? Make sure you have DEACTIVATED your Acronis Startup Recovery from within the ATI program, and then boot the ISO you just made.
Using the ISO disk, re-ACTIVATE the Startup Recovery option and you're done.
Acronis 2015 doesn't have ATI program does it
T.J. - I think Bob White is referring to the F11 boot option which you can activate from Windows True Image. This installs a copy of the Recovery Media onto a hidden partition on your system drive However, the F11 boot menu won't work if your system drive has died. So you'll still need to restore from a backup drive. While his method will work, it won't help the many people who have backed up using Windows True Image and who think they can restore from the Recovery Media disc. Personally, I don't want extra partitions with the Recovery Media embedded as it won't work if your hard drive gets screwed. The Acronis True Image Recovery Media needs to work. Acronis need to fix this as soon as possible.
If you want to build a WinPE bootable rescue disc, you have two options:
1 - From Acronis True Image, click on "Tools", then "Rescue Media Builder", then "WinPE-Based Media with Acronis Plug-In". There will be links to download Acronis Media Add-On and Windows AIK or Windows ADK (I'd suggest using ADK which is the latest version). You will need to install both downloads before building the WinPE ISO image.
2 - Alternatively, build a WinPE ISO image using Mustang's instructions here.... https://forum.acronis.com/forum/71918
Both require installing software which you wouldn't normally need, but if your default Recovery Media cannot see your USB hard drive, then until Acronis release a bug-fix, this is the best solution available.
I would also NOT recommend downloading software from unknown sources as Bob White is suggesting. Only download from known and trusted websites. Unless of course, you want to install lots of SpyWare or viruses, in which case, you will probably need a working Recovery Disc to restore to a previous backup point after you have realised your mistake.
How long do you guys wait for ATI 2015 to detect external drives? EG: for my 2TB Western Digital, the light flashes for 10 minutes then BANG, see everything... For a 5TB, 25 minutes? Do you see light flashing...
I've left my USB drive plugged in for several hours and it still wasn't detected. Even if leaving the drive plugged in for an extended time works, it shouldn't be necessary to wait that long. ATI 2013 Recovery Media works correctly every time. ATI 2015 Recovery Media doesn't work with some USB3.0 drives.
Holy crap man... sorry, I had no idea it was that brutal. I will sthu now :)
T.J. - I think Bob White is referring to the F11 boot option which you can activate from Windows True Image. This installs a copy of the Recovery Media onto a hidden partition on your system drive However, the F11 boot menu won't work if your system drive has died. So you'll still need to restore from a backup drive. While his method will work, it won't help the many people who have backed up using Windows True Image and who think they can restore from the Recovery Media disc. Personally, I don't want extra partitions with the Recovery Media embedded as it won't work if your hard drive gets screwed. The Acronis True Image Recovery Media needs to work. Acronis need to fix this as soon as possible.If you want to build a WinPE bootable rescue disc, you have two options:
1 - From Acronis True Image, click on "Tools", then "Rescue Media Builder", then "WinPE-Based Media with Acronis Plug-In". There will be links to download Acronis Media Add-On and Windows AIK or Windows ADK (I'd suggest using ADK which is the latest version). You will need to install both downloads before building the WinPE ISO image.
2 - Alternatively, build a WinPE ISO image using Mustang's instructions here.... https://forum.acronis.com/forum/71918Both require installing software which you wouldn't normally need, but if your default Recovery Media cannot see your USB hard drive, then until Acronis release a bug-fix, this is the best solution available.
This guide is too Universal Restore isn't it different then a Rescue media!! Can use one or the other or something i thought the rescue media was to find your backup. please help me to understand the two thank u. Also is there a more simpler way then that guide of Mustangs As hes giving secure way that he does it. Also i thought Universal Restore was for drivers for your hardware separate from the rescue media. I'm very confused now. Please help me thank u
OK, now I have more to say about this problem. After having a MS update blow up my system so I couldn't boot up- I tried restoring from my external WD "My Book" 4T drive. Since I was paranoid about whether this would work- I wasn't as patient as I should have been. After booting up from the recovery disk, TI could see the drive- then to find the files, I clicked on "browse"- then I could see all the .tib files- so I clicked on the most recent incremental file, then TI went back to the previous screen, showing the file I had chosen- but, I couldn't see any screen button saying something like, "start restore". I tried several times and always the same result- so, being paranoid after reading much of this thread, I assumed it couldn't do the restore. It turns out that to trigger the restore, all that is needed is to right click on the chosen .tib file. I suppose that should be obvious, but it wasn't. I don't consider that a responsible user interface. Am I wrong, or shouldn't there be a button to click on to trigger the restore?
I discovered the correct way to trigger the restore only after hours of a "chat" with an Acronis support engineer. I told him that the recovery disk could see the drive but I couldn't get it to start the recovery. Perhaps he should have asked if I bothered to right click on the file- and he should have asked what type of external drive I have, because the problem is mostly, I think, with Seagate drives. So, first he asked me to download an .iso file, burn it to disk, then boot from that- it wouldn't boot after I went through the usual process on this new Dell (F12 on boot)- doing that, the Dell just didn't see that CD at all. While we were downloading and burning the .iso disk on my other Dell, I tried again to recover on my failed system- and this time, I apparently did right click on the .tib file- not because there's any hint to do so, but because I was desperately trying everything and it started up the recovery! I had gone from being severely traumatized to feeling like I was saved from a hanging. After my new Dell recovered, the support engineer suggested I create a WinPE disk- but since I didn't have a clue, he did it for me by taking over my new Dell. He called the recovery a miracle recovery-which is what I thought it was, until after re-reading this thread, I realized that in fact, the problem is mostly Seagate drives- and that, the Acronis poor user interface failed to indicate that I could trigger the recovery by right clicking on the file- like, come on Acronis programmers, that's not at all obvious- but then again, I admit to having little patience and being a bit too emotional during difficult situations, like a failed hard drive.
Just to make sure I got this straight- I created a file with bogus files- backed that up, then deleted them, then booted with the standard recovery disk and succeeded in restoring those files.
Joe
By the way, in my new post #127, I was going to reply to and quote from my earlier post #108, but whenever I try the quote feature here, I end up with multiple quotes of the same text. I'm active in countless online forums and never saw multiple quotes like that.
Joe
I am glad that I saw this thread (and took the time to read all 128 posts). I have installed ATI 2015 on 3 of my clients computers, and it never occurred to me that the rescue media might not detect USB drives. The only issue I have ever had with the rescue media before ATI 2015 was an ASUS Zenbook using ATI 2013. The media did not detect the wireless network adapter, so I was unable to restore from the NAS it was backing up to. I simply plugged a USB drive into the NAS, copied the backup files to it and restored from the USB drive using the ATI 2013 rescue media.
Now, on my 4th ATI 2015 client install I immediately created the rescue media (build 6525) and booted from it to see if it would detect my USB drive. It does NOT.
1TB Seagate Expansion Portable on a Dell Inspiron 1545 (this laptop was built in 2009 and does not have any USB3 ports)
I will now build the WinPE media using ATI ... not a good show for Acronis though, I have attached a screenshot of the rescue media window that specifically says the WinPE media is for advanced users only. Tough luck for the "most users"
From reading the thread, I wonder if the common point of failure (besides Seagate) is drives that are powered by the USB hub. Someone earlier mentioned success with drives that were externally powered.
It's been a long night ...
So, I tried to create the WinPE media using ATI and was unable. This computer is running Vista Home Premium 64bit SP2.
An interesting side note, Vista is not listed as a supported operating system for ATI 2015 (although XP SP3 is) ... how is that even possible? Windows XP is not longer supported by Microsoft, while Vista support official ends April 11, 2017. On a related note (to this tangent) 2015 specifically says that it does not support Windows XP 64bit, meanwhile ATI 2014 says it supports Vista SP2 and XP 64bit SP2 ... what is going on?
/end rant
So, ATI 2015 rescue media building has a download link for Windows AIK or ADK, which takes you to a Windows 8 download page. Just for giggles, I downloaded and installed ADK, but ATI doesn't recognize it as installed (probably because it only installed the ACT module given that this computer is running Vista)
Next step, chat support with Acronis, and the agent supplied me with a link to download an ISO for Acronis Backup Advanced (Version 11.5 Update 5) build 11.5.39029
I burned the new rescue disc from the ISO and booted to it. It did recognize my drive, and I saw the same results as earlier posters with the empty folders. Browsed to the folder where my backup archives are and then clicked the refresh button. The files magically appeared, so it looks like I'm good to go for now.
All told, this is pretty much a total mess. Acronis needs to get this fixed and I mean yesterday, not when (if) Windows 10 gets released. Providing the band-aid workaround solution of a ISO download of ABA 11.5 to customers via chat support is NOT enough. Anyone who is past their 30 days is basically on the hook to pay $20 for that, and in the case of people who are just finding out now that there rescue media doesn't work when they attempt to recover from a failed drive will need access to another computer to even get and build the band-aid.
Acronis has certainly created a steaming pile of fail with this version of the program. The 2016 version needs to have all of the functionality of 2014 put back into it, and any users that purchased 2015 (ever) have to receive a free upgrade to 2016. The chaos of 2013 not supporting Windows 8.1 wasn't nearly as awful as this ... at least then people knew their backup solution wasn't working.
OK, now I have more to say about this problem. After having a MS update blow up my system so I couldn't boot up- I tried restoring from my external WD "My Book" 4T drive. Since I was paranoid about whether this would work- I wasn't as patient as I should have been. After booting up from the recovery disk, TI could see the drive- then to find the files, I clicked on "browse"- then I could see all the .tib files- so I clicked on the most recent incremental file, then TI went back to the previous screen, showing the file I had chosen- but, I couldn't see any screen button saying something like, "start restore". I tried several times and always the same result- so, being paranoid after reading much of this thread, I assumed it couldn't do the restore. It turns out that to trigger the restore, all that is needed is to right click on the chosen .tib file. I suppose that should be obvious, but it wasn't. I don't consider that a responsible user interface. Am I wrong, or shouldn't there be a button to click on to trigger the restore?I discovered the correct way to trigger the restore only after hours of a "chat" with an Acronis support engineer. I told him that the recovery disk could see the drive but I couldn't get it to start the recovery. Perhaps he should have asked if I bothered to right click on the file- and he should have asked what type of external drive I have, because the problem is mostly, I think, with Seagate drives. So, first he asked me to download an .iso file, burn it to disk, then boot from that- it wouldn't boot after I went through the usual process on this new Dell (F12 on boot)- doing that, the Dell just didn't see that CD at all. While we were downloading and burning the .iso disk on my other Dell, I tried again to recover on my failed system- and this time, I apparently did right click on the .tib file- not because there's any hint to do so, but because I was desperately trying everything and it started up the recovery! I had gone from being severely traumatized to feeling like I was saved from a hanging. After my new Dell recovered, the support engineer suggested I create a WinPE disk- but since I didn't have a clue, he did it for me by taking over my new Dell. He called the recovery a miracle recovery-which is what I thought it was, until after re-reading this thread, I realized that in fact, the problem is mostly Seagate drives- and that, the Acronis poor user interface failed to indicate that I could trigger the recovery by right clicking on the file- like, come on Acronis programmers, that's not at all obvious- but then again, I admit to having little patience and being a bit too emotional during difficult situations, like a failed hard drive.
Just to make sure I got this straight- I created a file with bogus files- backed that up, then deleted them, then booted with the standard recovery disk and succeeded in restoring those files.
Joe
Hi Joe, it's good to know that the 2015 Recovery Media works for you, although from your post, it doesn't look it's not very intuitive. So I decided to see for myself. Now I know that TI2015 Recovery Media can't even see my Seagate USB3.0 drive, but I do have an old Seagate USB2.0 drive, which I know is seen by the Recovery Media from when I conducted various tests to highlight the problem to Acronis and to this thread. So I backed up one large folder from my system drive to my USB2.0 drive. I then booted to the TI2015 Recovery Media, selected to Restore Files and Folders, navigated to the drive and subfolder and selected the backup file. At this point, I saw what you reported - once you select the file, there are no further options available - no buttons to click on to start the restore process. But after right-clicking on the file, there are various options available, one of which is to restore. However, when I click on any of the options, nothing happens. Absolutely nothing. I cannot restore the backup, edit comments, validate the backup file etc. So, while it works for you (after realising that you need to right-click on the backup file), it refuses to work for me. I rebooted several times, but not once could I actually start the restore process.
Acronis are rapidly pi**ing me off. Looks like another support request coming up....
I am glad that I saw this thread (and took the time to read all 128 posts). I have installed ATI 2015 on 3 of my clients computers, and it never occurred to me that the rescue media might not detect USB drives. The only issue I have ever had with the rescue media before ATI 2015 was an ASUS Zenbook using ATI 2013. The media did not detect the wireless network adapter, so I was unable to restore from the NAS it was backing up to. I simply plugged a USB drive into the NAS, copied the backup files to it and restored from the USB drive using the ATI 2013 rescue media.
Now, on my 4th ATI 2015 client install I immediately created the rescue media (build 6525) and booted from it to see if it would detect my USB drive. It does NOT.
1TB Seagate Expansion Portable on a Dell Inspiron 1545 (this laptop was built in 2009 and does not have any USB3 ports)I will now build the WinPE media using ATI ... not a good show for Acronis though, I have attached a screenshot of the rescue media window that specifically says the WinPE media is for advanced users only. Tough luck for the "most users"
From reading the thread, I wonder if the common point of failure (besides Seagate) is drives that are powered by the USB hub. Someone earlier mentioned success with drives that were externally powered.
Hi Daniel,
It was indeed lucky that you read this thread and did your own testing to check that you would be able to recover from a system drive failure.
The problem is not limited to Seagate USB powered drives. I have a Seagate 5TB USB3.0 drive which is powered from a mains power supply. This drive is not recognised by the 2015 Recovery Media. An older Seagate 500GB USB2.0 mains powered and a Seagate 120GB USB2.0 USB powered drive both work. Also note that the 2013 Recovery Media DOES see my new Seagate USB3.0 drive. The problem has been introduced by Acronis in the 2015 Recovery Media.
It looks like Acronis have removed several widely used features in the 2015 version and introduced some unwanted bugs to replace those features. Not a good business concept. Neither is their apparent contempt to those honest customers who have upgraded to the 2015 version from a previously working version only to find that they won't be able to restore from a backup if needed.
It would be nice if Acronis would come up with a definitive listing of what works and what doesn't work with ATI 2015. From what I can gather, it's mostly or entirely Seagate drives, especially USB 3 drives. They also need to explain why when doing a restore- after you choose the file you want to restore- the user interface doesn't have any options- other than right clicking on that file (but no hint to do so, which caused me to ruin a day struggling with trying to do a restore), as I noted in a recent post. I would hope in the next version, they fix that.
Also, in the next version, bring back Try & Decide, bring back the option to leave a shortcut on the desktop, and bring back easy access to the logs from within the program.
I think most users much prefer the user interface of the earlier versions of the program. Presumably Acronis thinks their customers like the newer interface that looks like Win 8 apps. Perhaps they could do both! I recently bought a video editing program, Cyberlink PowerDirector 13. When you start the program, it asks if you want to work with the simplified program or the full program- so it has 2 interfaces.
Oh, another thing I don't like about the 2015 version- when I look at my collection of backups from within the backup tab- I can't see the full name- and many have similar names- if I could see the full name, it would be much better since I put each in its own folder. And, how on Earth can we actually decide the name of the file? Doesn't appear to be any way- other than as I have done, create a new folder for each backup.
BTW, the support engineer who worked with me recently - I asked if they read the forums, and he said they definitely do- so this is a good place to keep up the pressure.
From reading this entire thread- I saw a great idea- since I still have the recovery disk from ATI 2013, I presume, just for extra protection, I could boot from that and make a full backup- then if I failed to do a recovery using ATI 2015- I could use the older version- which of course means I'll need to make backups up regularly with the 2013 version too- or at least once in awhile.
And, another idea that I got from reading this thread- since I also have a 2nd internal drive, I'm now making backups to that too- since I would think that ATI 2015 recovery disk shouldn't have trouble seeing that- and since adding drives is cheap, I think everyone should consider that- even if this program worked perfectly. Some people here have mentioned that serious computer users use multiple methods to backup their systems and files.
Joe
Graham
before you ramp up that new Support request ... how long did you wait after clicking on an option? I recall thinking things were broken, but then decided to give it a long time and wouldn't you know that about 7 or 8 minutes after I clicked there was finally activity. No idea what was happening during that time (no indication that anything WAS happening), but I subsequently tried it from a USB boot (using a retarded fast SanDisk Exteme 16GB stick) and the wait time was SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. Seems to me everything should be running from RAM by that point but who the heck knows anymore.
Might be worth testing again with a good 15 or 20 minute wait for response.
Joe
I have always preferred internal drives myself (although that is less of an issue now with USB3 transfer rates), but if the external drive can do double duty of being able to take files with you and holding your backups that's a powerful incentive. Also, with laptops you are obviously not going to have a choice. I suppose in that case, NAS is good, but that will cost a lot more and there are some pretty impressive threads running with regards to backing up and restoring over network (also doesn't have the portability carrot).
Graham
before you ramp up that new Support request ... how long did you wait after clicking on an option? I recall thinking things were broken, but then decided to give it a long time and wouldn't you know that about 7 or 8 minutes after I clicked there was finally activity. No idea what was happening during that time (no indication that anything WAS happening), but I subsequently tried it from a USB boot (using a retarded fast SanDisk Exteme 16GB stick) and the wait time was SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. Seems to me everything should be running from RAM by that point but who the heck knows anymore.
Might be worth testing again with a good 15 or 20 minute wait for response.Joe
I have always preferred internal drives myself (although that is less of an issue now with USB3 transfer rates), but if the external drive can do double duty of being able to take files with you and holding your backups that's a powerful incentive. Also, with laptops you are obviously not going to have a choice. I suppose in that case, NAS is good, but that will cost a lot more and there are some pretty impressive threads running with regards to backing up and restoring over network (also doesn't have the portability carrot).
Graham
before you ramp up that new Support request ... how long did you wait after clicking on an option? I recall thinking things were broken, but then decided to give it a long time and wouldn't you know that about 7 or 8 minutes after I clicked there was finally activity. No idea what was happening during that time (no indication that anything WAS happening), but I subsequently tried it from a USB boot (using a retarded fast SanDisk Exteme 16GB stick) and the wait time was SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. Seems to me everything should be running from RAM by that point but who the heck knows anymore.
Might be worth testing again with a good 15 or 20 minute wait for response.Joe
I have always preferred internal drives myself (although that is less of an issue now with USB3 transfer rates), but if the external drive can do double duty of being able to take files with you and holding your backups that's a powerful incentive. Also, with laptops you are obviously not going to have a choice. I suppose in that case, NAS is good, but that will cost a lot more and there are some pretty impressive threads running with regards to backing up and restoring over network (also doesn't have the portability carrot).
Daniel, I noticed with this new Dell- which I maxed out with all components- fast CPU- tons of RAM, a SSD boot drive, and a new USB 3 external drive- the backups are very fast- much faster than on my 8 year old Dell running Vista. Strangely, though, the incrementals take almost as much time (I should document this).
I recently had a gigantic problem trying to install a Win 8.1 service pack- which got me into all this trouble. I may try that again, but this time I'll have a new full backup on my external drive, my internal drive and I'll do a backup from my old ATI 2013 recover disk, to the internal drive (I presume this will work?).
I have a fairly fast cable connection but that's hardly fast enough to back up 90 gigs to the cloud- that would be nice, in case my house burns down. When I go on vacations I take my external drive with me. It must be nice to work in an office where the It pros do all this for you.
Joe
Graham
before you ramp up that new Support request ... how long did you wait after clicking on an option? I recall thinking things were broken, but then decided to give it a long time and wouldn't you know that about 7 or 8 minutes after I clicked there was finally activity. No idea what was happening during that time (no indication that anything WAS happening), but I subsequently tried it from a USB boot (using a retarded fast SanDisk Exteme 16GB stick) and the wait time was SIGNIFICANTLY reduced. Seems to me everything should be running from RAM by that point but who the heck knows anymore.
Might be worth testing again with a good 15 or 20 minute wait for response.Joe
I have always preferred internal drives myself (although that is less of an issue now with USB3 transfer rates), but if the external drive can do double duty of being able to take files with you and holding your backups that's a powerful incentive. Also, with laptops you are obviously not going to have a choice. I suppose in that case, NAS is good, but that will cost a lot more and there are some pretty impressive threads running with regards to backing up and restoring over network (also doesn't have the portability carrot).
Hi Daniel,
Thanks for your input, but personally, I don't care if the restore works after waiting 20 minutes from clicking on the restore option. It shouldn't take more than a few seconds. If it does take more than a few seconds to start, then there should be some indication of this and not let users be left stranded, thinking that it doesn't work. This version of software is complete crap. Acronis should hold their hands up and admit that there are several things wrong with it, all of which work on the previous versions. It is not acceptable to have to wait 20 minutes for the restore routine to be loaded into RAM from boot CD (if that's what the problem is).
Daniel, you say that incremental backups take almost as long as full backups. If you have selected the option to check the integrity of the backups, then I believe that after an incremental backup, the software checks the integrity of your incremental backup and the previous full backup files. This indeed adds a lot of extra time as the full backup integrity check will take considerably longer than the incremental integrity check. Maybe this is what you're experiencing.
Daniel, you say that incremental backups take almost as long as full backups. If you have selected the option to check the integrity of the backups, then I believe that after an incremental backup, the software checks the integrity of your incremental backup and the previous full backup files. This indeed adds a lot of extra time as the full backup integrity check will take considerably longer than the incremental integrity check. Maybe this is what you're experiencing.
Daniel, you say that incremental backups take almost as long as full backups. If you have selected the option to check the integrity of the backups, then I believe that after an incremental backup, the software checks the integrity of your incremental backup and the previous full backup files. This indeed adds a lot of extra time as the full backup integrity check will take considerably longer than the incremental integrity check. Maybe this is what you're experiencing.
Graham, is it possible for the integrity check- to just check the integrity of the incremental, and not go back and check the full "chain"? It would make sense if the original full backup and following incrementals or differentials had already been "integrity checked". I don't really mind that much as I get up and do something else- and I want to be sure of the integrity of chain- maybe there's a good reason to redo the integrity of the early parts of the chain but I doubt it. I dunno, it would be nice if Acronis tech support would discuss this with us.
Joe
It makes complete sense to check the last full backup and the last incremental backup when backing up with an incremental backup. If the last full backup was integrity checked just after it was created, there's no guarantee that the backup file hasn't been corrupted in some way since then. In order to fully restore everything from an incremental backup, you need to restore the last full backup and the last incremental backup, but if the last full backup file had got corrupted, then you won't be able to restore the backup set. That's why I think the integrity check takes longer than expected - the integrity check isn't done only on the current incremental backup, but by necessity, it should also check the last full backup, which would be needed in order to restore correctly.
Am I missing something, concerning this conversation about checking the full backup, and the last incremental backup!
My understanding, is that Acronis checks "All" backups in a chain.
That is, the Full backup, and "All" incremental backups! If any of the incremental backups is corrupt, then you cannot recover successfully!
This is why it is safer to use Differential Backup; you can then recover from the Full backup, and the last Differential!
Brian, I believe if you have a problem trying to recover from an incremental and it was corrupt, you can try the previous ones- most likely one will work- which of course is not ideal as you don't want to lose anything. I suspect that these files seldom get corrupted- unless you have a dying hard drive.
I tried making differentials but I notice they grow pretty fast if you make more than a few- especially if the hard drive gets defragged.
I've noticed with my SSD boot drive, tons of RAM, a super fast CPU, and a very fast USB 3 external drive (Western Digital)- a full backup takes hardly any longer than doing incrementals or differentials- so I may just do full backups, every few days- but, not just to the external drive, but also to my 2nd internal drive which is big enough to handle backups in addition to my video/photo stuff.
Joe
Hi Joseph,
Thank you for your comment, which I find interesting, especially, as you advise that you find differentials grow pretty fast!
I have not experienced this problem, even though I back up my personal files twice a day, using different "differential" plans, one in the morning, and one in the evening, each to a different external USB 3 Seagate hard drive.
My differential backup plans both run for 30 days, after which a full backup is created!
A full backup (400 GB) takes about 6 hours, but near the end of the 30 day period, the differentials (typically 30 GB) take just over an hour; this includes the validation of the full, and all of the previous differentials.
I suspect that the reason, you find little difference, between the methods of backup, is not the backup process, but the validation process - Acronis always validates "all" backups in the chain, and the time duration, of this validation, is largely determined by the full backup, not the differential, or incremental!
Like you, much of my data is from large photographic images (70 MByte each, in TIFF).
If I was to perform a full backup, as you suggest, every few days, I don't think I would use Acronis; I would just copy and paste!
Brian
A follow-up to my support case ... Acronis sent me the automated message indicating that they were looking for me to tell them the case is resolved. Here is a portion of my response to them.
The fact that Acronis support provided me with a workaround to a known issue is not a resolution of the known issue, it is a workaround. Resolution would mean that I can reasonably believe that my next installation of True Image 2015 will not require contacting support in order to restore a backup that has been made to USB3 removable media.
As you are well aware, this issue has been around since 2015 was released, and has NOT been fixed. Providing an ISO for a DIFFERENT Acronis product and only doing so when a customer raises a support case regarding the known issue is NOT a resolution. Saying that the problem will be addressed with the next release of Acronis (ie. version 2016) is NOT a resolution. Recompiling a Linux kernel that works and then sending that out as an automatic update to the program so that anyone using the built in rescue media creator will end up with a boot disc that works IS a resolution. If Acronis disagrees with me on this position, then Acronis needs to re-evaluate it's definition of resolution, especially if it wants to maintain it's customer base.
I respectfully await an update to the 2015 program that will result in functional Rescue Media being created from the tool that is built-in.
Version 6703 seems to have fixed the issues of not being able to see external USB drives. I was able to create a new rescue media CD and save to our external USB drives (mostly Seagate's). I have not tried to restore one of those newer backups yet. But at least the problem of drives not showing seems to have been solved. Can anyone else confirm?
Mday, it is the 31 March, today, not 1 April, April fools day. I have just checked my Acronis account, updates, and the latest version, is still 6525!
Yup, I looked as well on the auto site,.....same old crappy 2015 6525.....since we all know v2014-6xxx works one would think ati would after a month recompile and issue a correction.
No announcement, bug notes nothing from acronis...just silence. Not even a notice that we made a mistake and it will be fixed within nnn days max....Our won't forget this manner of business ....
Not much more to say...i 'm done
I am not sure if I can post the link or not, but I was sent info from support to download the latest version from their FTP site, so that's how I got the updated version. If allowed I will post the instructions they provided me...
Well, that would certainly be a big step...hopefully forward. I did get a spl ftp link a few days sgo, but it was for a linux recovery disk for Advanced backup, which seemed ti work, but was surely not a a true image family linux recovery product. I suppose it was simply a recovery build from a different product to be used as a test...it would be good to get an improved version which should be tested in a Kareem ths not small group.
I also came across another problem! Backups to external hdds from win-based 6525 several backups verified perfectly. Occasionally the verify prices stopped the mouse was disabled and the external hdd led continuously blinked as if data was moving...but the ati progress meter simply stopped. This s same action sometimes happened in the verification process even when run from a win-PE rescue disk. This problem could be duplicated with several usb3 drives, cables and housings this behavior was only possible on pc's with P8Z77 chipsets!
I've used ati since version 8 and never seen such unstable behavior . Again, using 2014-6688 rescue disks appears to alleviate the problem.
Version 6703 seems to have fixed the issues of not being able to see external USB drives. I was able to create a new rescue media CD and save to our external USB drives (mostly Seagate's). I have not tried to restore one of those newer backups yet. But at least the problem of drives not showing seems to have been solved. Can anyone else confirm?
Version 6703 seems to have fixed the issues of not being able to see external USB drives. I was able to create a new rescue media CD and save to our external USB drives (mostly Seagate's). I have not tried to restore one of those newer backups yet. But at least the problem of drives not showing seems to have been solved. Can anyone else confirm?
Mday, I suggest trying the following simple, safe way to test for a recovery. Create a folder on your desktop, copy into it any files- say a few graphic files. Do a files only type backup of just that directory to your external drive. Then, delete that directory from your desktop- then try restoring that single directory. If that works, I can only presume a full restoration of an entire disk or partitions should work too.
Joe
Unless you are suggesting that MDay do these things from Rescue Media, the suggestion is completely irrelevant to this thread. Besides, I am fairly certain MDay is a troll given that I currently have a support case open on this issue and have received no such update from Acronis to test ...
I can only hope I am wrong :P