Major Loophole in True Image using XP

[worldcitizen]

Folks there is a MAJOR fault and loophole in True Image which can render it completely useless even if you have an image boot disk and the image is verified.

Many users of XP have come across problems with certain system configurations which causes disk corruption, namely 'delayed write fails'. If you are one of them you know what I am speaking of. You boot into Windows and are greeted by umpteen messages that it cannot load citing 'delayed write failure' as the reason. You can't do a system restore or even enter into safe mode. Then you think 'aha' I have an image and will restore it but this is where True Image fails dismally and terribly. I had this happen to me last week and although I think the world of True Image it let me down terribly. Why??? (It restored the image but WITH the bad sectors and I couldn't boot)

When True Image restores an image it does a quick wipe of the disk and thus if your disk has bad sectors True Image will not work. You have to fix the bad sectors first by doing a complete full chkdsk which True Image does not provide for or/and a complete full format of the drive BEFORE restoring the image which again True Image does not provide.

I wrote to Acronis about this but maybe they are busy and I never received a reply but in such an important tool where the user is faced with hours or even days to get their system back online one would think it is only common sense to provide options to do a full format and/or full chkdsk to repair bad sectors.

As it turned out I had to reformat my hard drive and re-install XP when just a simple tool would have had me up and running in a few minutes. Not everyone has tools ready when Windows won't boot and True Image should have provided these tools as True Image depends completely on a working and clean disk to be able to do it's job. Acronis should do their homework on this one because True Image MUST have an uncorrupted disk to restore an image and yet it doesn't provide any tools to repair the disk in case there are bad sectors.

Until Acronis sit up and take note of this major flaw then I wish all of you good luck if you ever have disk corruption and are at the mercy of True Image without any tools to correct the problem.

True Image is the best imaging program I have ever used and I always use it but they should add some disk tools 'just in case'.

Dave

[BlueMoon]

Do you really expect TI coping with bad sectors?? You just need a new HDD...

Might look over here (http://www.acronis.com/products/diskeditor/features.html) as well.

Blue

[worldcitizen]

Of course I do. It is a recovery/emergency tool. All Acronis have to do is add the Windows full chkdsk and full format tools to their interface they're accessible in case a problem like this occurs. It's not as if they have to write a new program.

Not all disk faults mean you need a new hard drive. If the DATA on the disk is corrupt and not the physical hard drive itself ,then all that needs to be done is for the data to be erased thoroughly, but a quick erase (which TI does) does not do that and corrupt data was still obviously on the drive because I still got 'delayed write failure' after restoring the image. Only after doing a full chkdsk did everything return to normal.

Quick erase does not check, repair or completely erase the drive which makes imaging software useless if you have data corruption.

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/2459/?o=80

There are literally thousands of people having this problem with XP and most times their imaging software is useless because they can't do a simple full chkdsk or/and format. All these people don't have faulty drives. It's a fault in Windows.

Dave

[TheQuest]

Hi, worldcitizen

Part of a priviest post.

-{ Quote: "There are many progams to wipe HDD, ADC give you the choice of wipeing selected individually Partitions.

You do not say what make of HDD you have, most HDD manufactures have a free download on their site sites to a tool [Program] that will wipe [Low level format [overwritten with zero]] your HDD but they wipe all the drive.

So if I am wonting to wipe just a single Partition I use the Acronis DriveCleaner[ser] BootDisk, and it Speed IN wiping is Unsurpassed.

It the way I choose to install back an Image on a nice clean [No dros left]HDD or Partition." }-

They do make a Program is called:- Acronis DriveCleanser.
Acrnois DriveCleanser (http://www.acronis.com/products/drivecleanser)

Take Care,
TheQuest 8)

Edit:- Acronis Do advise to Run CHKDSK before making a Image

[worldcitizen]

Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at that program but the problem occured after a reboot and I could not get into Windows or safe mode and I didn't have any cd's with any disk tools. It was only after I couldn't reboot that I loaded the True Image boot disk to try and restore the image. If I do it from Windows I always do a chkdsk but this time I was just rebooting and not trying to redtore an image. When I couldn't reboot then I tried TI but lack of any disk utilities left me in the lurch because the image couldn't restore Windows.

I use a Seagate HDD but if I just wipe it with 000's with Seagate tools then how do I format the disk because XP needs to have a formatted disk with NTFS to install itself?? I suppose TI's quick format would format the drive in NTFS for the image to load correctly.

Thanks

Dave

[_0__0_]

I partially agree with worldcitizen:

I am not sure whether it is the responsibility of True Image to handle bad sectors. But it is indeed a nuisance that you cannot purchase a good all-in-one security/rescue/recovery/backup/repair/admin/doeverything CD (including TrueImage).

Edonkey users have no problems since they can use GTCD 3 or SuperERD. Why isn't it possible to legally acquire such an ultimate super CD?

[TheQuest]

Hi, _0_0_

-{ Quote: "I partially agree with worldcitizen:

I am not sure whether it is the responsibility of True Image to handle bad sectors. But it is indeed a nuisance that you cannot purchase a good all-in-one security/rescue/recovery/backup/repair/admin/doeverything CD (including TrueImage).

Edonkey users have no problems since they can use GTCD 3 or SuperERD. Why isn't it possible to legally acquire such an ultimate super CD?" }-


Not really Ti job to stop Data corruption

That Should be the job of windows.

Which it can do.

Why it does not check for it automatically is a question of time.

For a full check to verify files, find and fix bad sectors and data scan.

The bigger the disks longer the time because more sectors.

And who what to sit and wait at every Boot or Reboot for the check.

Take Care,
TheQuest 8)

[TheQuest]

Hi, worldcitizen

-{ Quote: "Thanks for the info. I'll have a look at that program but the problem occured after a reboot and I could not get into Windows or safe mode and I didn't have any cd's with any disk tools. It was only after I couldn't reboot that I loaded the True Image boot disk to try and restore the image. If I do it from Windows I always do a chkdsk but this time I was just rebooting and not trying to redtore an image. When I couldn't reboot then I tried TI but lack of any disk utilities left me in the lurch because the image couldn't restore Windows.

I use a Seagate HDD but if I just wipe it with 000's with Seagate tools then how do I format the disk because XP needs to have a formatted disk with NTFS to install itself?? I suppose TI's quick format would format the drive in NTFS for the image to load correctly.

Thanks

Dave" }-

Pity you did not post before you wiped your HDD.

You say you did not have any CD disk tools.

But you do in WindowsXP CD BootDisk.

It is a very Powerfull Disk Repair and Editing tool.

Not just for the Installation of the OS.

Yes Ti will put the Image on the unformatted [low Level formmated disk [000]]

Take Care,
TheQuest 8)

[Acronis Support]

I must again thank The Quest for the nice tips :)

Your help is appreciated :)

--
Best regards,
Anton Gromov

Acronis, Inc.
395 Oyster Point Blvd. Suite 213
South San Francisco
CA 94080 USA
http://www.acronis.com/

Acronis... Compute with confidence

[worldcitizen]

Thanks?? I bought True Image and now Quest is advising me to buy ANOTHER program to do what True Image can't but SHOULD??? I still maintain that TI should have included with it a Full Format option as well as a full chkdsk option so that the 1,000's of people all over the world who get into trouble with Microsoft's 'delayed write failure'

http://www.hardwareanalysis.com/content/topic/2459/?o=80

(if you look at this forum this is a HUGE problem affecting 1,000's and most users cannot restore image files even by True Image)

and can't access Windows or System restore or Safe mode, WILL have the ability to fix their hard drives from TI. Having already supported Acronis and purchased True Image as well as Privacy Expert as well as Partition Expert and almost all their programs is it too much to expect a little in return?????

I've got to be one of the most avid Acronis fans but how about supporting ME and enhancing TI a little to include these 2 very important options so in case of corrupt data we can restore an image. True Image will NOT restore an image on a drive that has corrupted data. The ONLY way to fix the corrupt data is to do a FULL format or/and a FULL chkdsk which True Image CANNOT do?

So what good is True Image if it can't help out 1,000' s of people who have corrupted data and can't boot or get into safe mode? What good is true Image at disaster prevention when it will only do a QUICK format and only to find that again the system is corrupt because it didn't 'CLEAN' the disk?

So if I've bought 5 programs from Acronis then buying a 6th is the answer???. That may help Acronis but I'm not a money tree. Why not make True Image even more unique by giving it tools no other image software has???

The job of True Image is to restore a working image. If it can't do that it is useless. If the data on a drive is corrupt then true Image will not overwrite it or clean it but just install the image onto it leaving the corrupt directories there and that means when it has completed restoring you won't be able to boot again. True image will NOT restore a working image if a user has 'delayed write failure' because it cannot CLEAN the disk it is restoring the image onto.

Again I expect a disaster prevention prgram to have proper disk tools otherwise it cannot do the job it advertises - to restore images.

I love ALL Acronis programs and will always support them but for God's sake clean up this loophole in True Image because otherwise under some circumstances True Image becomes completely useless and that's not good for business or for end users.

Dave

[TheQuest]

Hi, worldcitizen

-{ Quote: "now Quest is advising me to buy ANOTHER program" }-
Dave I did [do] not advise you to buy anything, I said they [Acronis] make a program that will wipe Partition by Partition, Instead of the full HDD.

If you know of another Program to do this and have used it please tell us.

-{ Quote: "1,000's of people all over the world who get into trouble with Microsoft's 'delayed write failure'" }-
As I said #7 above.

I have only said what Ti advise run CHKDSK before making an Image.

What you said was:-
-{ Quote: "I didn't have any cd's with any disk tools." }-
I said:-
-{ Quote: "Pity you did not post before you wiped your HDD.

You say you did not have any CD disk tools.

But you do in WindowsXP CD BootDisk.

It is a very Powerful Disk Repair and Editing tool.

Not just for the Installation of the OS." }-
So if I may offer some advise to you Dave, please learn how to use your OS
CD BootDisk.

It simply old DOS.

Please don't accuse me of pushing products I only point too something if I
think it can help, and I have used it.

I am only trying to help people with a Problem[s].

With Regards,
Take Care,
TheQuest 8)