2015 Rescue Media does not see my USB3 external hard drives
i posted this to another question on clone issues. i will post it again
The issue is when you boot to/with the Acronis recovery disk (USB or CD) their recovery software does not have the proper drivers to see many disk types connected on USB and/or in the main system
i tried many variants to simply clone from my SATA drive to a SSD drive.
no way it woudl work.
not internally, not externally, not standing on my head and whistling dixelly!
extremely frustrating and they will give you many 'workarounds' and other stuff but the bottom line is the clone/recovery does not work for win 8.1
i finally gave up and went to another vendor for a product and cloned to an SSD immediately without any of the fun and games.
AND it was to a USB3 port i attached my SATA disk and inserted my SSD disk in the computer (the other vendor included WindowsPE system for the reboot? whateaver that is all about, Time for Acronis to figure out how to make a boot disk which support ALL disks on ALL ports!
sory to vent so much but this thread alons demonstrates THEY HAVE NOT SOLVED THE CLONE PROBLEM. I only upgraded to Acronis 2015 because they SAID they fixed it. THEY HAVE NOT!!
They are sorely in need of an update to fix their boot disk creation process
OR
allow a clone from one USB drive to another USB drive (tried that too but it requires you reboot to the useless rescue disk.
makes me worry about what if i have a serious disk issue, would i be able to recover my backups or are they all going to have some 'issue'?
Phil,
Thank you for your excellent post. I found this link from Seagate that explains the issue http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/218619en . They are using their DiskWizard software to make two or more partitions appear as one virtual partition in a MBR drive. If you wanted to return your drive to its original condition, you could use DiskWizard to accomplish it.
Seagate DiskWizard driver support is lacking in the current Acronis Linux recovery media. Other OEMs could be using similar drivers that may or may not be supported by the Acronis recovery media. That would explain why some larger than 2.2 TB USB 3.0 drives are visible to the current Acronis recovery media and some are not visible.
Phil,
Let us know the results when you get your USB 3.0 3TB disk formatted to GPT.
My 3TB disk is a USB 3.0 Seagate Backup Plus for Mac. I bought it because it was a steal at a third the price of the Windows version. It was originally formatted HFS and I used diskpart to clean the disk and convert it to GPT. It has one large NTFS data partition and a 1GB fat32 partition that I use to boot the WinPE recovery environment. This disk isn't seen from the 2015 builds 6055 and 6525 Linux based rescue media even when plugged into a USB 2.0 port.
Mustang,
Thanks for your link to Seagate's DiskWizard software http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/218619en. It's good to know that it's available if needed. Since I have not used the Seagate DiskWizard or other Seagate software, I can't comment further on Seagate's software. And, I have not checked to see if Acronis software can repartition and format the drive.
Joey,
My current approach is to partition/format 3TB and larger external drives as GUID (also called GPT) and then NTFS since that is the most compatible with current Windows OS. I also use GUID/HFS+ on Macintosh systems and found that reformatting these Seagate 3TB and larger drives as NTFS using the Windows 8 “Disk Management” tool works great for Windows, but doesn't create a simple partion arrangement; and, unfortunately, the drive wasn't recognized by Acronis True Image Home 2015.
So, to reformat Apple GUID/HFS+ drives as GPT/NTFS for Windows I use the free Easeus® Partition Master Free 10.2 at http://www.partition-tool.com/personal.htm (be careful to uncheck all the extra toolbars, software, etc. when installing). I'm sure that there are other partition/formatting programs available, I just haven't tried them. Reformatting the Seagate drives this way, GPT/NTFS, creates a drive that works in Windows (just not XP) and is recognized by Acronis True Image Home 2015.
I saw one Seagate article that says that the new Seagate Expansion drives are switching to GPT http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/006125en?language=en_US. Hopefully these drives will be recognized out-of-the-box by Acronis True Image Home 2015.
Phil,
Thanks for the clarification. I don't have one of these drives to play with. I'm assuming you selected default sizes when formatting with both methods. Would you report some more information? First, format the drive with Windows Disk Management and look at it with Partition Master 10.2. What is the bytes per sector value? What is the bytes per cluster value? Second, format the drive with Partition Master 10.2. What is the bytes per sector value? What is the bytes per cluster value? Maybe this will tell us why Acronis sees the drive formatted by Partition Master 10.2, but doesn't see the same drive formatted by Windows Disk Management.
Interestingly, Acronis Customer Support chose not to respond to my request for a refund under their 30 day refund policy. After a couple of days, and since it was about to expire, I invoked my right to revoke the purchase under EU law, and got my refund that way. It rather puts a question mark over the refund policy.
Previously, Acronis Customer Support have been extremely good for me, but this time it was very very different. How quickly can a brand's reputation disappear!
Good luck to the rest of you.
You guys still punching on with this... sorry to hear :(
I also found that Acronis True Image Home 2015 (builds 6055 and 6525), whether booted from the DVD or CD, would not recognize an external USB 3 Seagate 3TB, 4TB or 5TB as formatted by Seagate (both Backup Plus and/or Expansion). My testing was done on Dell XPS 8500 computers with and without secure boot. Occasionally I did get the Acronis software to recognize the drive if I plugged the drive in after booting into the program, but then the program would typically crash. Acronis True Image Home 2014 did work with these Seagate drives, so something is different, as I will explain.
I found that a temporary work-around is to connect the drive using a USB 2 hub or a Seagate USB 2 interchangeable adapter (older vertical model, not currently available); this works but is slow. Interestingly, 1 TB or 2 TB Seagate USB 3 external drives did work with Acronis True Image Home 2015.
The solution I prefer is to reformat 3TB and larger external drives as GUID (also called GPT) rather than MBR. Seagate formats the drives as MBR at the factory, apparently to maintain compatibility with Windows XP which does not normally support GUID. Microsoft explains this in support document “Windows support for hard disks that are larger than 2 TB” https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/2581408 . The Acronis documentation also discusses GUID drives.
I have used the Windows 8 “Disk Management” tool to reformat an unmodified MBR external Seagate drive as GUID. First, any files should be backed up since reformatting removes the files. Then delete the NTFS volume; a 3 TB drive will now show something like two unallocated regions of 2048 GB and 746.5 GB. The drive can now be converted to GPT and a new volume or partition created using the full 3 TB. If the standard Windows “Disk Management” tool is not able to reformat the drive, third party partitioning and formatting software may be required. Please note that standard partitioning and formatting software cannot (as best I can determine) recreate Seagate’s original MBR formatting with the appearance of a single 3 TB volume - if, for example, you later want to format the drive for Windows XP - because the MBR spec only supports up to 2 TB. Seagate 2TB and smaller external drives (that I have checked) use standard MBR formatting.
I believe that the Seagate interface software in the 3 TB drive (and larger) tells Windows that it is an MBR drive and that the internal partitions of 2048 GB and 746.5 GB are made to behave as a single volume; this enables the drive to be used with Windows XP. Unfortunately, MBR drives are not normally larger than 2TB. My guess is that the USB 3 external drive software Acronis used in Acronis True Image Home 2015 doesn’t recognize MBR formatted drives larger than 2 TB (which is according to spec) whereas the Acronis True Image Home 2014 software did, and both programs work when using a USB 2 drive (a USB 2 hub makes the a USB 3 drive appear as USB 2).
So, until Acronis modifies Acronis True Image Home 2015, I will reformat my 3TB and larger external backup drives as GUID, and if necessary, use Acronis True Image Home 2014 for cases such as Windows XP or for MBR drives that already have Acronis backups on them. If you’re unsure on how to check your drive or how to reformat it as GUID, please see the many tutorials on the web, starting with the mentioned Microsoft document.
Hi Phil, your comments are very comprehensive and useful. However, I have a couple of points which appear to contradict your findings. Firstly, my 5TB Seagate Expansion Desktop USB3.0 drive is already formatted as a GUID Partition Table (GPT) drive, but is not recognised by TI 2015. There is a single NTFS partition, which Windows 7 reports as 4657.40GB. And secondly, plugging this drive into a USB2.0 hub doesn't allow it to be recognised by TI 2015.
Maybe these two points are different for yourself and some others, but this drive is not recognised by TI 2015 on my three PC's whether I use USB2.0 or USB3.0 connectivity.
If I get a chance over the next few days, I'll try repartitioning my 5TB drive using Seagate's DiskWizard and also using Easeus Partition Master to see if either of these make the drive visible to TI 2015 recovery boot media. I'll report back when I have some answers. Currently, it's partitioned/formatted as a single GPT/NTFS and isn't recognised.
Why can't I discover all USB drives? Is there any problem with USB 3.0? I use Acronis True Image 2015, boot the machine from the bootable media (USB).
I have succeeded to make a backup with an older USB disc, but not with a new one (DELL PDB1000A, USB 3.0, 1TB)? Why?
Regards
Kaare Kallaak
NOVOTEK
so here we are .. 6 months down the line and still NO fix!
I can't imagine why it's so difficult for them to fix the problem. It would be helpful if they listed exactly what drives aren't accessible to the program and any other issues relevant to the problem so anyone who may read the forum can decide whether or not to buy the 2015 version. I don't have this problem with my WD external drive- but in hindsight, I should have stuck with the older versions since hardly anybody cares for the new user interface.
Joe
I've repartitioned my Seagate 5TB USB3.0 drive several times and tested with the following results:
MBR 5TB Logical NTFS partition - drive not recognised
MBR 1.5TB Primary NTFS partition - drive not recognised
GPT 1.5TB Primary NTFS partition - drive not recognised
and the standard GPT 5TB Primary NTFS partition - drive not recognised
Same problem. I can only use Acronis 2013 rescue CD for restore.
Me too, with a 3T Seagate drive and Gigabyte 980A-D3P motherboard. I couldn't get the drive to be recognized on regular USB either (a flash drive in the same port was recognized, didn't try anything else); i solved my immediate problem by copying the files to a drive with an eSata interface on another computer; backup from that worked fine. I've just tried to make a WinPE boot disk, but that one 'failed to connect to localhost' and restarted, and that's too complex a process to require people to maneuver through, anyway.
This really needs to be fixed, and fast; if/when (more when than if, I expect), HDClone acquires an incremental image update facility, it will be a very strong competitor.
Btw I too am one of those who basically likes the simpler, cleaner interface of the 2015 version, in spite of the kinks that need to be ironed out (renaming backup locations, for example).
I'm beginning to think that Seagate implemented a very poor design with these USB 3.0 drives. Acronis is not the only program that I'm having issues with accessing this drive, and True Image has worked well with every other USB 3.0 drive I have thrown at it.
I also can't connect to this drive with VMware Workstation with USB 3.0 ports. It will connect with USB 2.0, but the transfer speeds were way below USB 2.0 specs. When connecting one of my other USB 3.0 drives file transfers with VMware operate at 3.0 speeds.
I'm beginning to think that Seagate implemented a very poor design with these USB 3.0 drives. Acronis is not the only program that I'm having issues with accessing this drive, and True Image has worked well with every other USB 3.0 drive I have thrown at it.I also can't connect to this drive with VMware Workstation with USB 3.0 ports. It will connect with USB 2.0, but the transfer speeds were way below USB 2.0 specs. When connecting one of my other USB 3.0 drives file transfers with VMware operate at 3.0 speeds.
I'm beginning to think that Seagate implemented a very poor design with these USB 3.0 drives. Acronis is not the only program that I'm having issues with accessing this drive, and True Image has worked well with every other USB 3.0 drive I have thrown at it.I also can't connect to this drive with VMware Workstation with USB 3.0 ports. It will connect with USB 2.0, but the transfer speeds were way below USB 2.0 specs. When connecting one of my other USB 3.0 drives file transfers with VMware operate at 3.0 speeds.
Interesting! So, maybe Acronis doesn't deserve all the blame. I'm glad to hear that most/all other USB drives work with Acronis. I seem to have no trouble with my WD "My Book" external drive- but from reading the problems here, I worry about it- so I also back up to my 2nd internal drive, which is big enough to handle several full backups. And, I might even bother to make Win 8.1 "windows backup"- just in case. Yikes, and I'm even thinking of buying my first laptop and sync all my files with that. It must be nice to work in an office with IT professionals and let them worry about such stuff.
Joe
PS: I can't seem to avoid having a "quote" make 2 quotes- what gives with that? And, why does the button below say "Save" when it should say "Send" or "Publish".
A few last observations on USB 3 drives and booting from the Acronis True Image Home 2015 CD/DVD (see posts #201 and 205).
- USB drives sometimes don't mount at boot, at least with my hardware. I have found this can occur even with Windows 7 or 8 and USB drives that are already plugged in. With Windows I use Safely Remove Hardware icon (even if it might not be necessary) to be sure it's OK to unplug the USB drive and then reconnect it. This usually mounts the drive, including the Seagate USB 3 MBR drives that are being discussed.
- With Acronis True Image Home 2015 and external USB 3 GUID drives I have found that the drives are not always recognized; it sometimes requires plugging them into the computer after booting from the Acronis True Image Home 2015 CD/DVD. The 3 TB and larger Seagate USB 3 MBR drives are not reliably mounted, if at all.
- Normally the Windows 8 “Disk Management” tool works for reformatting the MBR drives as GUID. I recommend using GUID and NTFS partitioning/format unless MBR is required for backward compatibility, say for Windows XP. Other formatting programs should only be needed if “Disk Management” is unable to repartition/format the drive.
- If you need additional help, Anna Trifonova of Acronis offered one solution in post #106 http://forum.acronis.com/forum/76154?page=2#comment-265423.
I have been following this thread regularly and find it interesting to see how the focus of it has evolved. I think the last three posts here are right on target. Joey does a lot of testing so his comments are most valuable. Joseph states a very strong best practice in backup which is, do not place all your eggs in one basket. Phil comments on his observations with USB connected HDD's are spot on! These devices do not always connect properly to Windows, large capacity drives do benefit from a GUID/GPT format, and his most interesting comment is:
"With Acronis True Image Home 2015 and external USB 3 GUID drives I have found that the drives are not always recognized; it sometimes requires plugging them into the computer after booting from the Acronis True Image Home 2015 CD/DVD. The 3 TB and larger Seagate USB 3 MBR drives are not reliably mounted, if at all. "
In my post #22 of this thread I pointed this out and the reasons behind it. This is not to say that there are not issues with the TI 2015 Recovery Media USB 3.0 drivers, I believe there is definitely an issue there. The fact remains that all fault is not solely the Recovery Media.
Users need to recognize that the USB 3.0 standard is still an infant. Refinements in implementation and driver support will continue to evolve and eventually these issues we see now will disappear. Until that time arrives users will have to use any number of workarounds for their particular hardware at times to get things working.
There has been much talk about the fact that Acronis has been way to slow to respond to this issue. The negativity of the decision to address the issue once Windows 10 arrives and is tested presumably with the next release of True Image was the most prominent. This negativity, largely brought about by user frustration over the issue although understandable is unfortunate. I read a few days ago about the next step in USB technology USB 3.1 has now arrived on the scene. This next step promises transfer rates of up to 10gbps and is a giant leap forward in that regard. MSI is one of the first manufacturers to get on board releasing 10 of it's 27 Z97 and X99 boards with the new 3.1 standard implemented. Of course this will require new drivers, better cabling, superior connectors both onboard and off, and bring with it a new set of issues with connectivity to manufacturers I am certain. Considering this maybe Acronis is right in delaying a fix. Maybe it is to early in the game to do so. They issue a fix for the USB 3.0 problem as is currently implemented and along comes Windows 10 and USB 3.1 with another set of new issues to tackle.
I would also say that the most recent comments about a poor implementation of the USB 3.0 standard in Seagate drives is sound. An update in those drives firmware is probably in order but has not been pushed out quite possibly for the same reasons that Acronis has not issued a fix for the Recovery Media. I will say that Linux was quite slow to adopt and support USB 3.0. If the developers of Linux are slow again it could be that Acronis might drop the use of Linux based Recovery Media and move solely to a WinPE based tool. Just speculation of course!
The future will undoubtedly prove interesting!
Hi Enchsntech,
Thank you for your comprehensive thoughts on this subject; they are most interesting to read, and I'm sure they are relevant to this problem.
I have two Seagate external hard drives (2TB and 3TB), and these have always been recognised, on every occasion, by TI 2013, and 2014; I have never found it necessary to use workarounds, including plugging the drives, into the computer after booting from the Acronis True Image Home 2015 CD/DVD.
Clearly, Acronis have made an unreliable change to this software - It worked before, without fail, but doesn't work now!
I would have thought, that if Acronis had got it right, with these two earlier versions, they should have done so with their latest release. It is not as if Seagate is a rare brand of external hard drive!
As the originator of this topic, and someone with limited technical ability, I believe that Acronis should never have released this version, without full beta testing.
What I think is most unforgiving, is that Acronis have hidden this problem, from the general public, giving them no warning that it is unreliable, with certain brands of external drives.
I just got an email from Acronis- an advertisement for ATI 2015, which says, "Now through April 30, enhance the protection of your computer at an extremely low price. Upgrade your outdated backup software to award-winning Acronis True Image 2015...."
it didn't mention who gave the program an award!
It should have added, "except for those of you with certain Seagate external drives". Not giving that warning is a bad business practice.
Joe
I don't see any warnings on the Seagate website that their drives may not be compatible with all software.
My USB 3.0 Seagate drive behaves exactly the same when connected to a VMware guest operating system as it does with the True Image Linux based rescue media. In my opinion Seagate is more responsible than Acronis because no one has posted issues with any other branded USB 3.0 disks.
I value my data so building the WinPE is not a chore. It is just one more tool that Acronis is providing, and I prefer to have every option available when disaster strikes. Until reading these posts in the forum, I had not performed any operations with the Linux based rescue media because the WinPE has always been superior and more reliable. The other backup program I use has discontinued the bootable Linux based version of their product because the Linux drivers are often too unreliable. I think Acronis should follow suite and devote those resources to improving other aspects of their product.
Hi Brian. I have quickly reviewed your last posts and cannot tell if you have actually had a successful restore of any of your backups. I ask because I discovered, the hard way, that there is a difference between being able to view my backups, and actually being able to recover them.
I hope what has happened to me is not happening to anyone else.
Reminders of my situation.
Purchased ATI 2015 for the first time, so I cannot revert back to any previous versions.
Dell laptop, Win 7 Pro OS, all USB ports are 3.0
Several Seagate external drives, none recognized by native ATI 2015 rescue media
1 disk image backup
1 full file/folder backup and 9 sequential incrementals
Tried the Custom ISO provided by ATI support and still had intermittent connection issues, and it even reported that a couple of my backups as being corrupt. Extremely frustrating because of the constant rebooting to get this to work for me.
ATI support hounded me to create ATI 2015 Win PE bootable media, which I did.
Everything seems fine, until I try to restore ANY of my files/image. EACH and EVERY backup that has been created, and validated in real-time after creation, is reported as CORRUPT when I boot using the Win PE disc and try to select them to recover. See the attached photo.
ATI support does not have a clue how to help me, as the Win PE boot media does not have the ability to create a system report. Absolutely ridiculous!!
ATI support then hounds me to copy the backups to another drive and try to recover some files.
Unfortunately, I only have Seagate external drives that are USB 3.0, and I refuse to try this on my small USB 2.0 drives, because I shouldn't have to, and they are too small for all of my backups...
Anyway,
I copy my backups to another, smaller 1TB external drive, and get the same results. All of my backups are reported as corrupted using the Win PE boot media. I can see them and select them, but the screen locks up for about 2 minutes and I then get the "corrupted" message as shown in the photo. This happens no matter which backup file I select to start the recovery process.
**** Important note - All of my backup files can be validated when ATI 2015 is running after Windows boots normally. I can mount my image backup, they all validate and I have copied many, many files from several different incremental backups in the Windows environment.
THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH MY BACKUPS.
I borrowed a friend's WD USB 3.0 4TB external drive, and can confidently state that, after several hours of testing, I have NO issues with using ATI 2015 with the standard (non Win PE) rescue media. I do not need the Win PE boot disc any more. Well, there is one exception to my "NO issues". I haven't tried re-imaging my laptop hard drive, as I do not have a spare and cannot risk being stuck with a failed image restore at this time.
In summary (sorry to be so long-winded), I have abandoned all of my Seagate external drives and the Win PE boot media. I have purchased a WD USB 3.0 4TB external drive and everything is working as expected with ATI 2015 rescue media. All of my backups are accessible, and I have recovered several gigs of data from my backups using the rescue media.
I realize that my hardware setup and situation isn't the same as everyone else's, but I would recommend for everyone that is stuck with using ATI 2015, regardless if you boot using the Win PE media, to make sure you can successfully restore from your backups. Until I actually tried to restore some files, I thought the Win PE boot media solved all of my problems. Well, it DIDN'T!!
Everyone take care.
Hi John,
Oh dear, the situation, you describe sounds disastrous!
In answer to your question, although I have created backups of my operating system, using 2015, live, from in Windows, I have not performed a recovery, using 2015!
I don't like performing unnecessary recoveries, of my operating system, as this upsets my Acronis program for backing up my personal files and folders. --------------- I have recovered some of my personal files and folders, using 2015, live from within Windows, without experiencing any problems.
Fortunately, I have backed up my operating system, with 2014. This versions work, without any problems.
I think it is about time that Acronis offered everyone who purchased a licence for 2015, a free copy of 2014, and take the 2015 off the market, until they have resolved all of these issues
I have recently purchased True Image 2015. I have a Seagate Backup Plus USB3 drive. When booted under the Recovery Disc the computer cannot see the drive. I have tried plugging the drive into a USB2 socket and it still doesn't see it. I am new to Acronis so do not have the option to go back to True Image 2014 without spending more money, which I am disinclined to do.
I am not impressed by this product. This is a serious defect which does not seem to be getting the prompt attention that a reputable company would give it. I was also astonished that the so-called "Backup whole PC" option neglects to back up any directory marked as hidden but there is no warning of any kind. This is meant to be a product suitable for home users, right? Then a Whole PC backup should do what it says. The exceptions configuration (which I checked beforehand) only refers to various temporary working files and directories. But hell, the Apps directory is where MS puts Outlook email files by default and Acronis refuses to back it up, by default! That one was easy to fix but it does give you a sinking feeling about what else could go wrong.
Should I trust this product?
Stephen, apparently you can't trust the program with most/many Seagate USB drives. As for the Outlook files, I did a restore of my entire boot drive and it contained all my Outlook files which I had not moved from wherever they are (using Win 8.1 and Office 2013 version of Outlook)- so maybe this isn't really a problem, though I don't know for sure- at least not for me. I wouldn't think that the Apps directory would be considered a temporary working file/directory, but can't say for sure.
Joe
I have now built a Windows PE recovery CD and that seems to work. I am able to access my Seagate drive and I was able to do a test restore of some files to my PC. Unfortunately I do not have the additional hardware to do a test restore of my entire PC and I am certainly not going to risk destroying a working installation just to do that.
Stephen
Just want to give you some assurance. Earlier in this thread I built a WIN/PE disk for my win 8.1 system and did the same test as you did. Later in this thread I purchased a Replacement hard drive for my laptop and did a test restoring a ATI2015 backup set using a ATI2014 restore disk on USB 3.0.
It worked and I was able to boot my PC with the newly restored disk. After seeing your post, I decided to try a restore using my WIN/PE disk. It works. I removed the original disk and replaced it with my empty disk, did the restore and it booted just fine. So in your situation it should work with no issues (at least I have not found any).
Good luck
Storageman
I have now built a Windows PE recovery CD and that seems to work. I am able to access my Seagate drive and I was able to do a test restore of some files to my PC. Unfortunately I do not have the additional hardware to do a test restore of my entire PC and I am certainly not going to risk destroying a working installation just to do that.
Have just replaced my old PC running Vista and ATI2010 with a new one running Windows 8.1. I was just going to buy ATI2015 when I happened upon this thread . I use a Seagate Desktop External Drive 1TB which ATI2010 has always recognised, as has ATI2013 which I have on a laptop running Windows 7. As ATI2015 looks somewhat suspect at the moment, am I right in thinking ATI2014 with update 6688 will run OK on Windows 8.1? If so I'll go with that.
Have just replaced my old PC running Vista and ATI2010 with a new one running Windows 8.1. I was just going to buy ATI2015 when I happened upon this thread . I use a Seagate Desktop External Drive 1TB which ATI2010 has always recognised, as has ATI2013 which I have on a laptop running Windows 7. As ATI2015 looks somewhat suspect at the moment, am I right in thinking ATI2014 with update 6688 will run OK on Windows 8.1? If so I'll go with that.
David,
Yes, I have recovered my operating system successfully, several times, using 2014, from my Seagate external USB 3 drives; it is only a problem, with 2015!
Note that I backed up, and restored my operating system, using the 2014 recovery media.
Thanks Storageman!
I am reporting issues with ATI2015.
I, like several others who have posted similar problems on your forum, am having the same issue with not being able to recover a backup placed on external hard drives. I have tried 2 hard drives. I can back up my laptop (USB 3.0) to a Seagate 2 TB SATA hard drive inside a SIIG USB 3.0 enclosure and also to a Seagate 500 GB SATA hard drive inside a SABRENT USB 3.0 enclosure. Both drives now hold valid backups because both have been validated.
Both drives fail to be recognized by the boot recovery software.
The recovery software does recognize removable USB thumb drives that are plugged into the same USB 3.0 ports. I even placed a text file on the thumb with a ‘.tib’ extension and the recovery software saw the file. Thumb flash drives are represented as ‘removable drive’ and external hard drives are listed as ‘local disk’. Local CD drives are represented as ‘CD Drive’ and external CD drives are represented the same way.
I then tried to back up some files and folders to the removable USB thumb drives and here is what happened. I was allowed to select the USB thumb drive as a destination drive. The program then came back to the screen where you then select ‘Backup now’. The destination drive was listed as a CD/DVD device and requested media. This is strange. It appears that some flags are being set by these external devices and may not be read correctly by your software.
I have been a customer since your very beginning as a company. This is the first time I have noticed that your product does not work. All previous revisions have worked flawlessly and I have needed to use your software more than a two dozen times to restore my computers.
My frustration is mounting with this release and my confidence is waning.
Please place me on your list for free updates to fix this faulty software.
I confirm that this issue has nothing to do with USB-3 or any particular brand of external drive. I encountered the same problem being discussed here and after reading that it was possible to use the recovery media for ATI 2014 for restoring a backup done with ATI 2015, I tried it and yes, it did work. In fact, I just booted that laptop successfully after such restore.
This also shows that the problem resides exclusively and squarely with ATI 2015!
Shame on Acronis for not having found the time to identify, locate and correct the problem, after all the time elapsed since it was first identified. Expressions such as "some time in the future" or "when Windows 10 is released" or "we will do it" are not real promises, much less are they commitments or assurances. Crass excuses, it's all they are.
As a final thought, I just ask myself how was it possible for Acronis to release 2015 version 6055 and to come later with "update" version 6525 and keep issues such as this one (and a few more) unresolved? Beats me...
There was an old saying in my hometown for this Acronis brand of bad excuses: it's threading on water!
LinYu, I have done a full restore of my boot drive using ATI2015. It successfully saw my external USB 30 WD drive- but, the user interface leaves a lot to be desired- because after using the boot media, and I could see the backup files- I clicked on the file - but then I saw no button or option to proceed with the restore- only after hours of tearing my hair out- and hours of a chat session with an Acronis tech- who only tried other solutions which didn't work, did I realize that right clicking on the file triggered the restore process. Apparently the problem of "not seeing the drives" does exist with certain drives.
now, I back up to both my external drive and a second internal drive
I recently got an email from Acronis which said they now have a 2016 version- but I don't recall if it's a Beta version or a V1.0 for 2016- I'll have to check.
Even though the program works for me- I dislike the user interface for other reasons than the one I mentioned above- then need to get back to the earlier user interface with more features.
Joe
I agree with your qualification of the user interface in TI 2015. From the very beginning, people have called it a "Beta" UI, at best... The true reason behind the apparent slide of Acronis to a seemingly decline in the overall quality of its products may not be alien to the bottom line... I have 12 different products in my Acronis account and the one single reason I keep using them is because I never had a problem (knock on wood...) when I needed to restore a backup. This to me is the true "litmus test" of a product -- delivering what it is intended to deliver...
As for the reason why so many people have been unable to restore from a TI 2015 backup using a USB 3 interface, I really do not think that it is related to the drive where the backup is stored. Whatever the reason, it must have something to do with the TI 2015 itself. Why? Because, as many people mentioned (including myself) the same backup in the same drive can be perfectly restored if we use, for example, Ti 2014 recovery media. So, how can that same drive be blamed for the failure?
I'm sure Acronis knows exactly where the problem sits but refrains from running the costs of a revision of the product which, again, would not be good for the bottom line... TI 2016 will (hopefully) bring the solution as well as fresh bucks... :)
LinYu, I agree that it's not the drives- nothing wrong them, it's ATI2015 not being able to access them.
When I get a chance, I'll have to review that email I got from Acronis some weeks ago about a new version. Maybe they've finally addressed the drive problem and the UI.
Joe
I have 2 Seagate GoFlex 2tb, and 1 Seagate Expansion 5tb.
Being a happy user of ATI 2010, 2013 WD edition, I made the plunge into 2015 3-pc edition. TI2010 could NOT see my USB3 drives, but, 2013 could. So, i assumed that 2015 would be able too! Surprise!
TI 2015 can see the 2tb's, but not the 5tb. TI 2013 see's them all.
This is ridiculous! Acronis knows about this, and had known for quite a while.
Much to my disappointment, it appears that Acronis has de-evolved TI2015.
Finding out that TI2015 cannot see USB 3 at the F11 boot and the default Lynux recovery disk is beyond belief. We are watching the devolution of a product. Are they kidding!!! All the features they removed. AND USB3!!!
I installed the Windows AIK, and burned a WinPE rescue disk, with the thought that since it's WinPE, it should contain the necessary drivers. Not so! The WinPE rescue disk does not see any of the usb3 external hard drives! USB2 does. Yes, I could simply 'degrade' to usb 2 speeds for my backups and restores. Why not just use 5,000 floppys!
This is not an issue with the Seagate external drives. There is another vendor, AOMEI, that I have been using that used a WinPE rescue disk that can see all these drives! That software is actually amazing. It's free unlimited for peronal use. It also included the AIK somehow. The reason I went with Acronis TI 2015, is that it has folder/file exclusion, whereas the other, at this time, does not. Being that that is the only difference, and the other software works so very well, I will change over exclusively to the other product and scrap Acronis loosing $42. I may revisit, if, and when, Acronis resolves this USB3 issue on there rescue discs.
Shame on Acronis. Shame on me for trusting them and not using their trial version first.
This would be like my next Chrysler truck only working in 2nd gear backwards... uphill... in the rain.... with a crosswind. That is unless you install a 3rd part MustangFix! lol Good work mustang. But, I refuse to install a 3rd party 'fix' for a product I paid for, when Acronis should look at the 'fix' as a solution to their incompetence!
A friend of mine, who has commented on this tread frequently, and has complained repeatedly to Acronis has worn them down.
They eventually sent him a link to an ISO image, which allowed him to create a bootable media, which worked - Version 6567!
Yes, he has created an image, with this media, and successfully restored his operating system, from a Seagate USB 3 external drive.
Yes a USB 3 dive which previously was not viewable by 2015 bootable media 6525.
For some obscure reason, Acronis are not releasing version 6567 to the general public; presumably, because they will get better returns, if users upgrade to 2016, which will no doubt be compatible with Windows 10 - 2016, BTW will incorporate Try and Decide!
It really is very sad, that having found a solution to the problem, that Acronis doesn't come clean, and make it freely available.
Especially, as their web site describes 2015 as the means of "Reliable image backup and recovery of your entire system" - But it doesn't, unless you have the 6567 media
Absolutely ... Acronis has saved my butt in the past, but the recent behavior of 2015 and their apparent reluctance to fix even the most egregious problems with it has eroded my confidence in a lot.
I submitted a ticket to Acronis tech support and they sent me a link to download Acronis True Image 2015 Build 6574. I'm in the process of downloading it and testing it now to see if it fixes the USB 3 issue.
By all means, Jeff, please report back on your testing results.
I recently experienced substantial and severe problems when trying an "updated" version of TI 2015. Many apps in my system reported problems, particularly Norton Internet Security. I had promised myself, back in late 2014, that I would never again use TI 2015, due to the problems I encountered then with the original version of TI2015.
More recently, however, after being warned that TI 2012 (which I had been using in one of my machines) was not compatible with Windows 10, and since there had been revisions to the 2015, I decided to give it a second try. That's when all those problems came about. I would say that my experience was now much worse than back in 2014. But since you're dealing with the newest revision 6574, I am very curious of knowing how well you'll do.
Good luck!
LinYu
Thanks for the tip off about TI 2012 and Win 10 - I am using TI2011 & 2010 on my machines. That looks like a good reason to stick with a fully functioning Win 7 setup on both machines, given the problems with TI 2015.
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You bet!...
I have been using TI2010, Ti 2012 and TI2013 in my three machines for years with no problems worth mentioning. Besides the for now infamous 2015, I also have licenses for 2011 and 2014. I have nothing major to point against these other two versions, the reason for currently being using those other three is a mere coincidence. I'm not sure myself if I want to upgrade to Win 10, coming July 29th, or if I will stick with my beloved Windows 7... At least for the time being or until Microsoft decides to pull the plug on 7, which it will... What I most likely will do is to download it when available just to have it for free and then wait for whatever comes up in the near future...
In either case, like the old saying goes: If it ain't broke, don't fix it! :)
That strategy for Win10 looks good. I will probably wait till almost the end of the free period before I make a decision.
2015 Rescue Media does not see my USB3 external hard drives which are 3 tb or less. Asked for a refund as I have 2014, 2013, etc. Waiting to see what Acronis does.
Very disappointed in the company after a decade of use.
Howard Massler
> A friend of mine, who has commented on this tread frequently, and has complained repeatedly to Acronis has worn them down.
> They eventually sent him a link to an ISO image, which allowed him to create a bootable media, which worked - Version 6567!
> Yes, he has created an image, with this media, and successfully restored his operating system, from a Seagate USB 3 external drive.
> Yes a USB 3 dive which previously was not viewable by 2015 bootable media 6525.
>For some obscure reason, Acronis are not releasing version 6567 to the general public; presumably, because they will get better returns, if users upgrade to >2016, which will no doubt be compatible with Windows 10 - 2016, BTW will incorporate Try and Decide!
>It really is very sad, that having found a solution to the problem, that Acronis doesn't come clean, and make it freely available.
>Especially, as their web site describes 2015 as the means of "Reliable image backup and recovery of your entire system" - But it doesn't, unless you have the 6567 media
This is sad news. I most likely will not upgrade to Windows 10. For the very reason that Media Center is gone!
Acronis has lost me as a customer. Switching to another recovery software that I've found to be very reliable.
Building a reliable boot media to recover from USB 3 devices is only PART of the issue.
Unless the same build can be incorporated into the 'F11' recovery option, makes no sense.
Also, in previous versions, the installation cd was bootable!
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There has been no further reference from anyone to the newest build 6574 mentioned here before by Jeff.
What build of TI2015 are you guys using?