TI 2020 Boot Disc Doesn't Work

Michael, if you are seeing it say 'Starting Windows' then it is no longer trying to boot into the ATI 2020 rescue media but back into Windows.

How does your Windows OS boot from the BIOS normally?
Is this a Legacy/MBR or UEFI/GPT system here?

See KB 59877: Acronis True Image: how to distinguish between UEFI and Legacy BIOS boot modes of Acronis Bootable Media for more information.

I would recommend trying using a small USB stick (2GB to 32GB) for the boot media instead of using an optical disc (CD/DVD) as this has better support in the BIOS for booting and gives much better performance. 

UEFI/GPT, and a USB stick does the same thing.

I have bought a TI license every year because I have always thought TI was an simple, first rate back-up software that just worked, and I believe in supporting that. It seems that it is moving away from the simple, just worked, category into the bloatware category. Things that used to be easy, now aren't. I am seriously thinking about removing TI2020 and going back to TI2019. I really don't want or need the extra hassle.

I need for the back-ups to be done, and a way to boot the computer with a boot disc that works, otherwise the back-ups are useless.

Michael, did you make the ATI 2019 rescue media in the same way as for 2020, i.e. if using the Simple method using files from the Windows Recovery Environment and without adding in any extra device drivers?

Does your recovery environment show correctly if you run REAGENTC /INFO from an Administrator command prompt or Powershell window?

Yes, 2019 was made using the simple method and without adding any other drivers. It still works now, just doesn't show any valid back-ups.

As to your other statement, that is not in the realm of simple, just works software, the computer specs have not changed. If it works with 2019, it should work with 2020. If it doesn't, I can't really trust it, so i don't need it.

Michael, the Simple method relies on the WinRE files being good so just saying that if it works with 2019 it should work with 2020 is only true if WinRE remains exactly as it was when the 2019 media was created.  If you have recently updated to Windows 10 #1909 for example, then your WinRE would also have been replaced in the same update.  Each new Windows update can cause the RE to be updated too.

I am using Win7 Pro (64bit). Trust me, there haven't been any significant changes in it.

Michael, fully understand your position if using Windows 7.

I can only recommend that you raise this issue directly with Acronis Support by opening a support ticket as the only other options here would be to either create the older, Linux based media, or else the Advanced Windows PE media but which requires installing the Windows ADK or AIK with an associated 4-6GB download and install action.  The final option being to revert back to using ATI 2019 as you mentioned earlier.

I do not, and should not need to install any additional software from another source. Haven't had to before, shouldn't need to now. If I revert back, which it seems I will, it also means I no longer will be purchasing any more upgrades. That is the problem when you have good, easy to use software, then add a lot of bloat to it.

Looks like I might have beat you by a year. I have TI 8-11, and 2009-2020. Thanks for the help.

I have a strong suspicion as to what is wrong. I think it is a problem caused by a change to the WinRe build process introduced in TI 2020 Build 22510 that would effect Windows 7 computers. If you have Build 22510 installed, you should try using TI 2020 Build 21400. You can download Build 21400 from your Acronis account. Click the drop down arrow next to Build 22510 and select 21400. Then build the recovery media the same way you did. It's worth a try.

Hi,

I have encountered something similar... In my case it required selecting the "UEFI" version of the boot device in "Boot Options".. Even then it took an extremely long time to get past the Windows screen..

Michael,

I've confirmed this behavior for build 22510 in Windows 7. I installed build 21400 and all is fine.

Yes, I uninstalled TI2020 build 22510 and installed TI2020 build 21400 and the created boot disc on a USB stick does work, although apparently without mouse support. With that being said, is it Acronis moving away from Win7 support or a bug in the new build?

Thanks for reporting back. Wow, I had the same problem with no mouse support! I thought it was just related to my computer being too new to support Windows 7 properly. I tested booting a Windows 7 installation media and also found I had no mouse support. I really don't know if the problem is related to TI or my computer.

Can you boot a Windows 7 installation disk and get mouse support?

I had mouse support when I installed Win7 originally. I also had mouse support on the boot discs with TI2019, TI2018, TI2017, etc. I am using a wireless USB mouse and I have found that mouse support with them is iffy. A wired mouse in the PS2 port always worked. But if a USB flash stick can be seen, it should see the USB mouse.

Well in my case nothing worked to get mouse support with any Windows 7 boot media. Even a wired PS2 mouse didn't work. I don't see the mouse issue as being related to Acronis.

What does work for me is to install the latest Windows 10 ADK in Windows 7. Then use the Acronis media builder Advanced option to build a WinPE disk. That's what I recommend you do as well. This will allow you to go back to using TI 2020 build 22510. It will boot and have mouse support. It will also have the latest set of drivers to support the hardware of your computer without needing to add drivers. Another option would be to create the Linux boot media from the Advanced option and see if all your hard drives are supported.

Personally, I don't think I should have to add anything to get TI2020 to work like it should. I also have some issues with a couple of laptops running TI2020 that aren't doing cleanups correctly (Win7 & Win10). Didn't have the issue with TI2019. So I think the easiest thing to do is scrap TI2020 and stay with TI2019. The only reason I went with TI2020 was to support Acronis. There really wasn't any functionality in it that I needed. Sometimes to keep money rolling in, they have to update something and things just get too bloated. I like simple and always works.

Mustang, went back to TI2019 Build 17750, and the created boot stick and boot disc have mouse support using the Simple method.

Thanks for reporting back. I find that fascinating. I reverted my Windows 7 back to TI 2019 build 17750 and built media using the Simple method. Guess what, no mouse support! That's what I would have expected. We're getting different results because we are using different hardware. I noticed in another thread that you are using a Z270 motherboard with a 6th gen Intel processor. I'm using a Z270 motherboard with a 7th gen Intel processor. We're also using different mice. I have a Logitech wired USB optical mouse. I don't know if it's the mouse or the processor making the difference.

Before you tell me that Intel 7th gen processors don't support Windows 7, I know. It wasn't easy but I got it to work. I managed to get proper drivers installed to get everything in Device Manager working including onboard Intel video with the 64 bit Windows 7. I also managed to get a fully working 32 bit Windows 7 system. But, that required using an nVidia display card. No 32 bit Intel display driver were available. I also had to uninstall every Microsoft update that started with a 4 in the KB number to eliminate the annoying popups telling me the processor wasn't supported. Then I had to stop all future updates. Needless to say, I don't use Windows 7 for anything but software testing.

Since you got mouse support with TI 2019, I can only speculate that maybe Acronis modified the Windows 7 WinRE in TI 2019 to get your mouse to work and they forgot to add the fix to TI 2020. That seems more logical than thinking they did something with TI 2020 that broke mouse support for you.

The Linux version of the boot disc also has mouse support and a much cleaner GUI. Same disc worked on a UEFI and Legacy Bios (two different machines). Might try it.

I got several of the ASUS TUF Z270 MK2 motherboards, and a few of the Intel i5 6600k processors.....just in case. They will all be gone soon.

I made a big discovery on my system. The motherboard has a combo keyboard/mouse PS2 port. I found that putting a PS2 mouse in would not even work in Windows 7. It turned out to be because the BIOS has a setting for the PS2 port. The only choices are Enabled and Auto. I had it set to Enabled. After some experimentation, I learned the Enabled setting made the PS2 port a keyboard port. The Auto setting made the port either keyboard or mouse depending on which was attached.

After I changed the setting to Auto, the Win7 media for both TI 2019 and 2020 had mouse support with a PS2 mouse attached. I also tested with both the PS2 and USB mice attached at the same time. Both mice worked in TI2019 and 2020. The USB mouse continued to work when the PS2 mouse was removed.

What I've figured out is that the mouse pointer is being generated at the kernel level. Once the pointer is generated, both USB and PS2 mice work. The problem with my system is that the mouse pointer is only generated when a PS2 mouse is attached during the boot process for Windows 7 media.

Glad you got it working. While the Tab and Enter keys can be used, a mouse is much easier and faster.

See https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2020-forum/how-repair-ti-2020-build-22510-boot-disk-created-windows-7-using-simple-option to fix the build 22510 recovery media created with the Simple option.

Just making a Linux version is easier.