Can't install: older version... corrupted.

Searching the registry turns up two keys that ref Acronis:

• tisfile: refs Acronis True Image Script
• tibfile: refs Acronis Backup Archive

...plus the usual MUI entries.

Neither of these entries seems to be more than a title. They don't point anywhere.

...Bob

Acronis has a special uninstaller on their website.  It sounds like your antivirus or firewall interferring with the installation.  What version of Windows are you using?

I'm running Windows XP SP3. Here's what I've done since last post:

• Exported and deleted both instances of both keys that I found. Still did not allow install.
• Found and ran Acronis Clean Up Utility here: http://kb.acronis.com/content/1727. Still did not allow install.
• Add or Remove still shows TI, Msizap.exe is next.

I'm getting confused and frustrated.

Have downloaded and run Acronis Clean Up Utility several times to no avail. I even moved it to the SupportTools folder under ProgramFiles so it could find msizap, but it still could not find that and nothing changed. Here's the result:

# Checking Windows version...
# Windows XP 32 bit has been detected.
#
# This tool will help you to uninstall the following
# Acronis products from your system:
#
# * Acronis True Image 10.0 Home
# * Acronis True Image 11 Home
# * Acronis Disk Director Suite 10.0
# * Acronis True Image 2009 Home
#
# Searching for the necessary components...
# msizap.exe component is not found.
#
# Please choose one of the following variants:
# 1. Download Windows Installer CleanUp from the Microsoft web-site.
# 2. Proceed with the uninstallation.

I'm not ready to run msizap on my own because I don't know the product code and the consequences of screwing up are daunting.

I'm going to explore the list of stuff under the manual install.

Has anybody done this before?

tia... Bob

Try copying the exe to the windows\system32 folder! - just a thought

Worthwhile and logical suggestion but...

AcronisCleanUp.exe Still did not find msizap.

Thanks anyway...Bob

Hello Robert,

Thank you for using Acronis Products

I would recommend you to do the following to solve the issue:

1)      Disable temporarily any antivirus software installed;

2)      Delete all files in \Documents and Settings\[Account Name]\Local Settings\Temp\ folder by running Disk Cleanup wizard from the system drive (e.g. C:) Properties (remember to check the Temporary Files checkbox).

3)      Also try to install the program in Windows Safe Mode

Thanks, Dmitry, for the suggestions. Short feedback is that none of them solved the problem. Here's what I did.

First, I deleted the temp files. Note that on my system the Disk Cleanup Wizard does not deal with C:\Documents and Settings\BobBailey\Local Settings\temp. So I held my breath and did it manually. Did not delete today's files and the system would not allow me to delete several others: C:\Documents and Settings\BobBailey\Local Settings\temp\~DF8AF4.tmp, C:\Documents and Settings\BobBailey\Local Settings\temp\Perflib_Perfdata_c14.dat. Tried to install and failed. Here's what I got:
http://ebizmax.com/images/FailedToInstallCorrupt.jpg

Next, I disabled Trend Micro PC-cillin
    -Virus and Spyware Protection
    -Prevent unauthorized changes
    Same Results
Then, In Trend Micro PC-cillin turned off Firewall with Same Results

Finally, I tried to install in Safe Mode and got this:
http://ebizmax.com/images/SafeModeError.jpg
...which says I don't have enough privileges. This is a home system with almost no security mods. I am the admin and have admin priveledges. Or, so I thought.

...Bob

What's next? Maybe, if I'm feeling lucky, I'll delete some registry keys.

I went through the manual uninstall
http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/1090/ATIH2009_WinXP.htm
without actually making any changes. I only found two instances of ANYTHING related to the keys in the list:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Cached]
...
"{C539A15A-3AF9-4C92-B771-50CB78F5C751} {000214E8-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} 0x401"=hex:00,\
  00,00,00,38,00,36,00,02,96,ee,d9,76,00,c7,01

[HKEY_USERS\S-1-5-21-861567501-1606980848-725345543-1003\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Shell Extensions\Cached]
...
"{C539A15A-3AF9-4C92-B771-50CB78F5C751} {000214E8-0000-0000-C000-000000000046} 0x401"=hex:00,\
  00,00,00,38,00,36,00,02,96,ee,d9,76,00,c7,01

bin wrote:

Try copying the exe to the windows\system32 folder! - just a thought

I tried copying the AcronisCleanUp.exe AND msizap.exe to system32. It STILL did not find msizap. Here's what I get:
http://ebizmax.com/images/CantFindMSIZAP.jpg

AntiSpyVirus was off.

Sheesh. Wonder where it's looking???

...Bob

Good question. Surely someone at Acronis will know.

OK. I'm about to give up on this. Here's what I've done, following the steps outlined in Manual Uninstall, http://www.acronis.com/r/support/en/kb/1090/ATIH2009_WinXP.htm

1. Manually searched registry subkeys, most of them dne except as below:
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Acronis\MediaBuilder only exists for DD and OSS Selector
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Acronis\MediaBuilder only exists for 3.splitter...
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\snapman380 there is a snapman but not ...380
    HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\.tib found and deleted

2. Manually searched registry values NONE FOUND

3. Manually searched registry strings
        *  Delete strings tdrpman174, snapman380 from:
                  o HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318} -> UpperFilters Found key but UpperFilters DNE
         * Delete strings tdrpman174, snapman380, timounter from:
                  o HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{71A27CDD-812A-11D0-BEC7-08002BE2092F} -> UpperFilters Found key but UpperFilters DNE

4. Manually searched folders
    \Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\MediaBuilderHome MediaBuilder exists but not  MediaBuilderHome and it's empty
    \Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Acronis\TrueImageHome Only exists for DD
    \Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\Acronis\BackupScripts \Acronis DNE

7. Delete the following folders and registry entries to be sure that all traces of the Acronis product are removed from the system: Cannot do this w/o removing DD
    \Program Files\Acronis Found the following in registry
        Found a number of these in the registry in this form...
        C?\\Program Files\\Acronis\\TrueImageHome\\BartPE\\Files\\bootmenu.exe
          Many seemed to have to do with Bart's Physical Education program...

8. In addition, I Searched on and dnf
    C539A15
    50CB78F5C751
    C4E69DB9
    UpperFilters
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
        probably others, seemed pervasive, stopped after a while
    tdrpman174
    snapman380
    timounter
        Found and deleted
            [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\6883B163D71156C439D13B0EEECB3527]
                "5624191B70D00E849A732FA0670D30D2"="C?\\Program Files\\Acronis\\TrueImageHome\\TimounterMonitor.exe"
            [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\A436378A4A3E5C04598C2EC6F19E5A9C]
                "5624191B70D00E849A732FA0670D30D2"="C?\\Program Files\\Acronis\\TrueImageHome\\timounter.dll"
            [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components\BA3F69C99B53CA145AE788C25EE1B803]
                "5624191B70D00E849A732FA0670D30D2"="C?\\Program Files\\Acronis\\TrueImageHome\\BartPE\\Files\\timounter.dll"
    Program Files\Acronis\TrueImage (see timounter above)

9. Reboot.

10. tried to install again. Seemed to run a bit longer and I got hopeful. Sigh. Same results.
http://ebizmax.com/images/FailedToInstallCorrupt.jpg

Yours truly in corruption... Bob

Any suggestions about the best way to approach Acronis? Live Chat, Phone?

tia... Bob

Hi,

I have had this problem and you anguish sounds very much like mine. I suggest you get on the chat line with Acronis before going any urther. I ran the Acronis cleanup tool several time. I had to after every failed install attempt. The tech will get you to run a log file and forward it to them so they can check everything out.

The msi clean up tool is very inoccuous and never did any damage to me but wasn't very useful either.

In the end I found that I had a very small file running in the background which prevented the install. Of course you have to close your running AV and firewall programs while installing. My first install attempt corrupted my v11 and after that none of my copies on v9,v10 and v11 would install either. For some reason my v8 (my original purchase) installed fin every attempt.

When I closed this tiny 42kb file ATI 2009 installed like a hot knife through butter.

So you have a manual search to do. Start by running Task Manager and start closing file that open on boot.

Keep written records since it very complicated and confusing after a while.

Good luck and regards,

Werner

werner stern wrote:

In the end I found that I had a very small file running in the background which prevented the install. Of course you have to close your running AV and firewall programs while installing. My first install attempt corrupted my v11 and after that none of my copies on v9,v10 and v11 would install either. For some reason my v8 (my original purchase) installed fin every attempt.

When I closed this tiny 42kb file ATI 2009 installed like a hot knife through butter.

Hi Werner,

Thanks for your response. I have two questions:

1. What is the name of the small file that was running? Remember that I tried to install in Safe Mode which would disable a lot of stuff.
2. Did you completely shut down your anti-virus, etc? Or, just disable parts of it?

tia... Bob

Hi,

You have some good questions. I hope we all can give you good answers.

I'm a long term user and anything I say should be verified with the moderators here.

Ok:

First. The little program that I had running was called "Drvicon". It's purpose is simple. It mimics Vista Icons so it makes my icons look good. I;'ve closed it as it was more trouble than it's worth.

Secondly. I closed my firewall (Comodo) and my AV program (Vipre) completely. After the install I reopen them and run a complete scan. The OS I'm running is Windows XP Professional xp3. All updates are installed except Outlook Express 8. I'll wait till I update to Windows 7 to install that program.

I recommend you start unchecking start-up items in "msconfig". You can always put them back later.

The idea I finally understood is that you should open a minimum of programs when booting up. I prefer to run programs when I want them to run not when the computer wants to run them.

If you still have install problems after going through all this you then should chat with the techs. They will check the admin system for the pages that need to be open. Often all else being equal the problem is with a page that is closed that should be open.

Also as you can see I learned a lot in this exercise and the OS is not a stranger to me anymore.

Again go slow and write good records as you go so that you can return to the system you had and want.

One more thing: I know you can't make a backup since your earlier versions are now corrupted and you probably can't reinstall that version (you should try that anyway.) Copy your system32/system directories as well as the "Documents and settings directory" to a spare hard drive.

You should invest in one if you don't have one installed. Without my USB hard drives my work on this problem would have been much harder.

Again don't get too frustrated and go slow.

Good luck

Regards,

Werner

Results from msconfig diagnostic startup attempt.

Werner et al,

Thanks for the answers. Here's what's new:

• drvicon is not on my system, either as a process or as a file.
• I'm on XP not Vista, that may not have been clear.

Tried a msconfig diagnostic boot. Ended up with 15 processes almost all MS

• First got an error that it could not find the install service
• Started that service and got the same error. Bottom of post for dialog box.
• I'm pretty well convinced that the problem is not a running program.

Barring a blinding flash of light from someone, I'll try a LiveChat tomorrow.

btw, I am backed up six ways from Sunday with WinZip and Partition copies. I'm an IT guy from way back and obsessed with backups. Thanks for the reminder tho...

...Bob

Hi,

I had similar problems in uninstalling what was on there. The only remedy then is a manual removal of all the files still there. Then run the Acronis clean up file. Then run a registry cleaner. This should get most of it.

You really have to remove everything. I am also running xp.

The chat is a good idea. They will suggest some of this.

There are programs running that may not show in msconfig but will show up in Task Manager. Start up manager will not show you everything. Don't forget to reboot a lot. Anything that won't stop running you can try to remove from the startup list in Safe start.

You also need to run  start --> cmd --> ipconfig /flushdns.

This flushes the cache the space after ipconfig is necessary.

I don't recommend you going into the registry and manually cleaning out references to Acronis.

Keep at it you are getting closer evertime you work at it.

I apologize if I'm stating the obvious based on your experience.

In the end the program is worth it.

Regards,

Werner

Werner,

Thanks for the suggestions and encouragement. I had already done most of the things that you suggest including the manual removal of all files related to TI. I had also manually removed stuff from the registry. Acronis' cleaner will not run properly.

Two things I had not done were flush the cache and run a registry cleaner. Did that last night and got the same old results.

I've been wondering if it would help to uninstall DD as well. There are directories and entries related to this. The possible downside is that I might not be unable to install it again.

...Bob

I solved the exact same issue, see my post (search "Install 2009").

a quicky that may help: create an extra admin user, install from there for all users, and remove the user again. seems to work now and then..

basically, I restored an old image, and uninstalled the previous version, run the cleaning program, run ccleaner, run MS MSI cleanup, make sure EVERYTHING is removed and then install 2009.

I you run it the other way around and let acronis do the install, it will never work again..

sccs

We Have Install (Pronunciation: \`in - stol\)

EAZ, thanks for pointing me to your thread.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3378
Although I did not follow your path to a fix it did lead me to RevoUninstall
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3378#comment-2906
which finally allowed me to finish the TI install.

RevoUninstall found 157 registry orphans from the TI corrupt install. It is amazing to me that such sloppy coding exists: TI install, Win AddOrRemove, TI uninstall, ad nauseum... It is also quite interesting that the best tools almost always come from small shops, are (almost) free, and have great support; contrast with the behemoths.

After deleting those orphans, restarting my computer (btw, I never do just a reboot anymore, I almost always power off. Doesn't take much more time and is much cleaner.), and disabling antivirus, I got a clean install of TrueImage 2009. Hurray. Finally, only a short week and many hours later. With no help, to speak of, from Acronis. Bitter? Me? Never.

RevoUninstall has earned a promotion on my desktop over the Windows AddOrRemove (spit!)
http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html
Bin, I am curious why you did not point me here sooner? I'm also curious to know why I've never heard of this product before? Seems to me like the solution to LOTS of problems.

I did learn a lot in this process but my education could have been easily neglected or pursued in other, less stressful, ways. This was very frustrating.

Anyway, THANKS to all who helped... Bob

Well I did point you to it lol. I wasn't sure if it was pertinent in this scenario is why I didn't mention it but you got there in the end.

It is excellent software yes and like you say, there is a lot of great free software out there, Spybot being another - I use lots of free stuff.

bin wrote:

Well I did point you to it lol.

In mainframe assembler we called it "indirect addressing."

in 8086 it is the same but I refrain from writing my posts in C or assembler.

I'll send future replies via tickertape, oops I lost my teletype machine, now where did I put it?

To save you all looking through the long discussion here is all you have to do. Download this fabulous uninstaller program and remove Acronis. http://www.revouninstaller.com/revo_uninstaller_free_download.html
Forget about the Acronis cleaner Utility as it does not do a good enough job. I had the exact same problem and revouninstaller fixed it and enabled me to install Acronis again. Acronis themselves don't seem to know how to fix this problem and they certainly don't care if you have this problem as I found their suggestions to be less than useless.

Has anyone actually found a solution to this problem? I have spent days on it and have gotten exactly nowhere. I have run the Acronocrap uninstaller and cleanup tool more than once, I have attempted to use every uninstaller in the book but the don't work because they don't see this phantom installation that is supposedly corrupt. I finally went through the manual uninstall line by line and found nothing but a couple of benign things to remove.

I have been buying this program for several years and have had one problem with it after another. Fortunately most of the problems I ran into were corrected sooner or later. In the past I was able to get occasional help from Acronis support but now they have become too sophisticated to deal with common everyday people who don't have deep pockets.

This particular problem is too widespread to go unfixed but apparently Acronis doesn't think so. I guess it is good bye to another developer for me. I will not continue to buy unsupported products.

If anyone can help on the problem I would like to hear how it can be fixed.

Cecil Britton

Hello all,

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response and for the difficulties you have experienced.

I'll be glad to fix the installation issue for you.

However, I need some additional information from you to check what exactly components of the old software prevents you from installing the newer version.

Please create an MS installer log file as described below and attach it to your reply:

1. Launch the product installation file

2. Once the Acronis product installation screen appears, right-click on the name of the component that fails to install. You should see two options there: Install and Extract. Select Extract

3. Select the path for extracting the component and click Save

4. Go to the Run prompt (Start -> Run);

5. Issue the following command:

6. Reproduce the problem and pick up the log file created during the installation.

We are looking forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you.

Thanks for the assistance. I have done what you asked to allow you to assess my problem installing TI2010. I have attached the msi log file you requested and additionally I created a System Information file for the computer.

I also downloaded the very latest revision of TI and attempted to install it, when it failed I created the .msi file.

Cecil Britton

I am having the same problem as Cecil Britton. I've uninstalled, cleaned and re-downloaded as well as logged in as administrator. no dice. help.
My copy of TI 2010 is registered (just purchased today) and the system is WinXP Pro SP3.
I have both a laptop with WinXP Pro SP3 and a Win7 Ultimate x64 that I have successfully installed TI2010 on.
BTW I'm a retired windows desktop support guy, not a beginner.

Ugh... great. This thread is mighty dusty and today 12-14-2010 I tried installing the TI Home 2011 update over my TI Home 2010 install. Got the same Error message as above, i.e. "The older version of this product cannot be removed because it seems to be corrupted".

Did the Acronis moderator ever come up with a true solution?

Gerry-
Retired Network Janitor
(seems to be a lot of us here... )

It has been so long since I managed to fix this problem that I have forgotten most of the details of the process. I do know that I downloaded a cleanup tool from Acronis Support to supposedly remove all artifacts from the installation. It did not work for me so I ran a deep cleaning of the registry using JV16 Power Tools and found lots of leftover garbage that never got removed during the first process. That finally did the trick for me.

JV16 is a tool from Macecraft that I have used for many years for cleaning up garbage in the registry. I know that many people are afraid to use such tools and rightly so because of the inherent danger. I have seen many similar tools that I would not touch myself but this one has been around forever and takes a cautious approach to the work it does.

Best wishes.

Cecil,

Thanks for the feedback and commentary. I have always been real suspicious of 'registry cleaning tools'... having retired from a LONG time in the IT business just recently, I don't know that I have ever used one enough to develop a trust. I just stayed away from them.

I will take a look for the Acronis cleanup utility, will have to dig here a little to find it most likely. I'm actually hoping someone from Acronis will see this thread and reply, but alas, I don't hold out a lot of hope for someone just stumbling on this. Will probably have to open a ticket or something. I will take a look at that JV16 tool and see how it feels. As with most stubborn apps their trails are wide spread, and judging from some of the above posts, buried fairly well and not plainly named.

Cautious is best, always. I am on the edge of replacing my current 3 year old desktop running XP with a newer one with Win7 Pro. I can wait that long I'm sure, and will probably make an attempt to install 2011 over 2010 once this box is really no longer my prime machine here at home.

Thanks again Cecil, and I will post back whatever I come up with. And patiently wait for some other possible comment here.

Gerry-

Gerald,

One other little goodie that you might look into is a small, non intrusive registry backup tool called ERUNT (can't remember full name). This tool creates a "total" as opposed to the partial backup done by Windows. When run it creates a backup file in a folder in the root volume. So if you hit a registry snag all you need to do is boot to a Unix/DOS window, go to the file and run its companion program called ERDNT and select the backup copy to use to restore and presto you are back to any date you choose. This little jewel can be scheduled to run in XP on any schedule you might choose so you are always automatically backed up and safe as far as the registry is concerned. Unfortunately, the scheduling function doesn't work in Windows 7 because of the UAC restrictions (even if you turn UAC off) so to use it in Win 7 you must manually run the thing using the old run-as routine.

You can find the program using a simple Google search and it is free. JV16 Power Tools is a paid suite but I believe you can get a fully operational 30 day trial. By the way, JV16 will backup all its changes for you too if you simply tell it to do so when asked.

As I recall RevoInstaller fixed my problem.

...Bob

Ditto last post. Go get Revo Uninstaller first. http://www.revouninstaller.com Trial version did the trick for me. I fought the issue in Home 2010 for days, gave up and purchased Home 2011. Same issue, prior version corrupt, install failed. Windows wouldn't uninstall prior vers, said uninstall info was corrupt. After deleting all files I could find, I even blottoed all references to "Acronis" in the registry. Sill wouldn't install 2010 or even the new 2011. Guess what, Revouninstaller trial ver, using the advanced setting, still found 597 instances of the prior uninstalls (at one time or another, I had 2009 & 2010)!!! Rebooted, and voila, good 2011 install. I assume 2010 would also now install, but by then I owned 2011. I was so impressed, I went back and bought the full version just to express my appreciation. I plan to use it for all future program installs, at least until I upgrade from XP sp3 to Win 7.

(XP, SR3, been in the business for 50+ years) My troubles started when I tried to create a rescue CD. I got the message that I had to re-install the software. Things went downhill from there. I couldn't re-install, nor uninstall. I had all the troubles discussed above, tried TI cleanup, revo (a great product,) manual editing of the registry (UGH!) I even tried downloading a trial version of DD13 because the uninstaller for my paid version was corrupted and I figured this way I'd get a new uninstaller. I wasted a good two days chasing down how to do this, and doing it over and over. In my opinion, software that is next to impossible to uninstall shouldn't be installed, and should be classed with viruses. I am too tired to continue today--tomorrow I'll try re-installing 10, or 11 or 12. Just so I can build a rescue disk. And I'll be looking for another product to do partitioning, etc. DD and TI are great products, as long as you don't have to uninstall them.

Hello Duncan,

Let's tackle this is two steps. First, I'm sorry you're frustrated.  I went through a similar experience last week.... which ended in my buying a new BIOS chip for one of my motherboards. CrashFree... right.

Recovery media can be downloaded from your Acronis User Acct.  If you are having difficulty creating media within the application, you may use this method.  

Given the number of unsuccessful attempts to uninstall/reinstall, it might be wise to revert your system to a previous point in time, or restore from back up and start over.  This should give us a "known good" starting point.  The forum MVP's wil be happy to help/guide you through the process if you like. 

Thanks Shadow, but reverting is not an option given the number of changes I make every week. I'd have to go back a year or so. Given the number of frustrated customers who can't install a new upgrade, I'd think it important for Acronis to fix this. Given this has been going on for years, well, .... I'm presently looking for a different disk manager. Cost is not the problem.

There must be a secret entry in the registry to prevent people from using the free trial version repeatedly by re-installing it. But there there is customer loyalty. And if you pay for a new version and can't install it. Well, a word to the wis:, if you can't uninstall it, don't install it.

Duncan,
In addition to downloading .iso's for bootable images, you can also download the installers for versions of Acronis you own and have registered. Using these, in conjunction with the the clean up utility should allow you move forward.

At this point, you may want to focus on making a current back up of your system. If your only back up is a year old, I would recommend doing this, as you will lose far more than you ability to install or remove software if your system fails.

Given the number of years you have been using computers, I assumed you would have the ability to recover to a "known good" point in time. System restore doesn't delete user data. If you are concerned about this, you can download a bootable .iso and make a back up of your system before continuing.

The installers when run do provide an .msi failure log when an installation is unable to complete. It is often possible to identify the source of a installation problem using these. Like all software, there is not always a "clean" upgrade path. Changes and improvements in software architecture don't always allow this. Example, you can't upgrade windows XP to 7, but you can upgrade Vista to 7. Additionally, some items if left behind can hinder the installation of new applications. Acronis versions 10, 11 and 12 all use similar, yet different architechture. Multiple incomplete uninstalls and reinstall attempts appears to have let you in a unstable situation. Let us know if we can be of further assistance.

shadowsports wrote:

Duncan,
In addition to downloading .iso's for bootable images, you can also download the installers for versions of Acronis you own and have registered. Using these, in conjunction with the the clean up utility should allow you move forward.

I have all the original installers--I always keep them. But even with the cleanup utility (Disk Directory Cleanup, but the software name is TrueImage Cleanup??) I have not had any luck.

At this point, you may want to focus on making a current back up of your system. If your only back up is a year old, I would recommend doing this, as you will lose far more than you ability to install or remove software if your system fails.

I have backups via cloning to dedicated internal clone disks. True Image still works, thank you very much.  It's a great product. (So was DD.:-(

Given the number of years you have been using computers, I assumed you would have the ability to recover to a "known good" point in time. System restore doesn't delete user data. If you are concerned about this, you can download a bootable .iso and make a back up of your system before continuing.

I back up continuously and daily, both on-site and offsite, in addition to the cloning mentioned above.  (I have been using Windows for a long time, and am used to crashes.  Much less accustomed to Unix problems.)  I also have bootable recovery CDs from Norton, BackUpMyPC, and True Image. The problem is that I don't know when the problem with DD started. I have done many installs/uninstalls/updates of other software/drivers/Windows.  If I revert to some point, even if I knew when, I'd have to go back in my maintenance logs and see how to re-do everything from that point on.

The installers when run do provide an .msi failure log when an installation is unable to complete. It is often possible to identify the source of a installation problem using these. Like all software, there is not always a "clean" upgrade path. Changes and improvements in software architecture don't always allow this. Example, you can't upgrade windows XP to 7, but you can upgrade Vista to 7. Additionally, some items if left behind can hinder the installation of new applications. Acronis versions 10, 11 and 12 all use similar, yet different architechture. Multiple incomplete uninstalls and reinstall attempts appears to have let you in a unstable situation. Let us know if we can be of further assistance.

All I can determine from the logs is that the uninstaller is corrupted, so can't remove previous version and can't re-install current version.  (And I am still suspicious of why the link for Disk Director Home Cleanup goes to a program called TrueImage Cleanup.)

Thanks again for your help.  I will use CP>Admin tools>...>Disk Management until I can figure out a better alternative.  I do like Acronis products, but wish they would fix this long-standing problem.  I just don't have the time to keep beating my head against this wall when I have so many other walls against which to beat my head.

Duncan,

You last post contained quite a bit of helpful information. Did your inability to create recovery media happen with DD or ATIH and before or after uninstall and reinstall? I have also experienced this message, but it happened after installing a newer version of ATIH with an older existing install of DD. Reinstalling DD worked for me in that case.

If both products are installed, can you tell us what versions of each you are using? Or were using when things worked.  Did the media creation problem occur with an existing installation or did it occur after a new install or product upgrade?      

I know you referred to DD13 in your first post, but assumed you meant tried ATIH2013 trial, since there is no DD13...  just version 11 currently. 

The boot media creator for DD 10/11 and ATIH 2012/13 is different.  I know they "integrate" but I've experienced problems myself in the past when mixing older and newer versions of same vendor products together has caused compatibility issues.  I'm referring to older builds of DD used with newer versions of ATIH.  Sometimes its not possible for them to co-exist when the architecture between the two has changed dramatically between versions.  Doesn't matter now, I've definitely been there. 

If you have multiple Acronis products installed, older/newer versions, etc. I am still of the belief that your issue is due to incompatible file versions, orphaned registry entries and/or corruption.   

There are two versions of the clean up utility.  One for DD and one for ATIH.  I do know that the ATIH clean tool can and will damage other installed Acronis products that may exist in your environment.  It's a vendor specific removal tool and by design will remove common files, registry entries, etc that both applications use.

Duncan,

Please look at the following KB article.  It would probably help if you could post the MS install log...  for further diagnosis. It might tell us why or what to look for as a reason the installer fails to complete.

shadowsports wrote:

Duncan,

You last post contained quite a bit of helpful information. Did your inability to create recovery media happen with DD or ATIH and before or after uninstall and reinstall? I have also experienced this message, but it happened after installing a newer version of ATIH with an older existing install of DD. Reinstalling DD worked for me in that case.

It happened using a working version of DD.  Said the media builder needed to be re-installed.  the first version I had was installed in 2008.  My notes indicate I had a previous version since I need a key for that. In 2011 I installed version 11 over version 10.  Version 11 didn't work (not sure why) and so I tried to uninstall 11 and re-install 10.  Much time wasted.  Tried re-installing 11 and this time it worked.  Been running DD11 since, until the problem recently.  

If both products are installed, can you tell us what versions of each you are using? Or were using when things worked.  Did the media creation problem occur with an existing installation or did it occur after a new install or product upgrade?    

DD11 is no longer installed. I believe I am now running TI12 (ATIH2012_7133) but it is not obvious how to be sure.   Help/about?

I know you referred to DD13 in your first post, but assumed you meant tried ATIH2013 trial, since there is no DD13...  just version 11 currently.

Yes, I tried to use trial version of DD13 to get another, hopefully uncorrupted, uninstaller.  No joy on that either.

The boot media creator for DD 10/11 and ATIH 2012/13 is different.  I know they "integrate" but I've experienced problems myself in the past when mixing older and newer versions of same vendor products together has caused compatibility issues.  I'm referring to older builds of DD used with newer versions of ATIH.  Sometimes its not possible for them to co-exist when the architecture between the two has changed dramatically between versions.  Doesn't matter now, I've definitely been there. 

If you have multiple Acronis products installed, older/newer versions, etc. I am still of the belief that your issue is due to incompatible file versions, orphaned registry entries and/or corruption.   

There are two versions of the clean up utility.  One for DD and one for ATIH.  I do know that the ATIH clean tool can and will damage other installed Acronis products that may exist in your environment.  It's a vendor specific removal tool and by design will remove common files, registry entries, etc that both applications use.

I still think it is odd that the DD cleanup tool links to a program called TruImage Cleanup.  

Duncan,

Please look at the following KB article.  It would probably help if you could post the MS install log...  for further diagnosis. It might tell us why or what to look for as a reason the installer fails to complete.

[1] http://kb.acronis.com/content/14876
[2] http://kb.acronis.com/content/34876
[3] http://kb.acronis.com/content/24500

I read all three kb articles, and recall following the first one.  At some point I have to cut my losses.  I don't mind paying a few hundred for a different product.  Better for me than wasting more time on this.  I think Acronis needs to get it's act together.  Their products need to be internally compatible. If I find time and desperation to try another re-install, I will save the log.

Thanks again for your help.