Acronis 8,DVD,UDF Format.

[poirot]

Still running Acronis 8: served me very well during the past 3 years.
However, all was fine until i could use just one DVD for imaging;now it asks for two DVDs even with MAX compression.(Sonic DLA,UDF Formatted disks,HP notebook,XPHome)
Yesterday i tried to make an image,but something went wrong with the second diskette,so i canceled the Image Creation,but i wanted to re-use the TDK +RW DVDs as they were new, something i never did before as i had previously used blank,new ones or Acronis TI had overwritten them making complete new images with the same name.
The only option my Sonic device gives me with these DVDs is Format,not Delete ,but what i dont understand is if this format is a new UDF format or not, as i read somewhere DVD disquettes could be UDF formatted just once.
Could the fact i formatted again,instead of letting Acronis overwrite the files,be the cause for the ensuing BSOD at the end of the second DVD?
How many times can you safely format before chances turn against you?

[cortez]

I use TI10 and Nero on a Samsung Writemaster and have used Memorex DVD+RW media and have reformatted the same disc 6 times (always doing a full reformat each time). On another disc two reformats and no corruption or problems with TI10.

Two of the six writing attempts were corrupted, not very good odds. The question is where does the problem originate from (or is it a confluence of factors?).

The literature on DVD formatting is enormous and seems to indicate an erratic mix of users claiming a spectrum of "no problems" to "complete failures". I have since only used new media as they are cheap when bought on sale and the cost-to-time-wasted ratio favors the 'time saved' factor in imaging DVD+RW for me.

[poirot]

Thanks for replying Cortez:at least i clarified they CAN be formatted n times so that this is not a problem.
I should really buy an USB ext. HD ,but i am not sure it will work with my HP 8080 notebook,as the very first time i bought Acronis i tried an Image Restore under Windows with mouse and keyboard plugged in via USB and the Restore couldnt take place:i had to correspond with Acronis a couple of weeks before we found out it was the USB ,so i had to unplug everything excepting the AC plug and do it via Boot disk. Twenty or so happy creations and restores followed,but i fear the fact my notebook is idiosyncratic to working in Acronis with even one USB plugged in.
So i am forced to use DVDs for Imaging this computer.

[MudCrab]

poirot,

You might consider purchasing (or borrowing) a USB 2 PC card (an example)and try it that. If the chipset on the PC card is supported correctly TI may work with it even though it won't with the notebook's built in ports.

I have that PC card and it works with TI 10 build 4,942 on my old laptop (had only USB 1). I got mine at newegg. I just wanted something cheap since I don't use it a lot. There are quite a few different brands (and prices) out there, the main thing is to get one with a chipset supported by Linux.

[jmk94903]

Originally Posted by poirot

Thanks for replying Cortez:at least i clarified they CAN be formatted n times so that this is not a problem.
I should really buy an USB ext. HD ,but i am not sure it will work with my HP 8080 notebook,as the very first time i bought Acronis i tried an Image Restore under Windows with mouse and keyboard plugged in via USB and the Restore couldnt take place:i had to correspond with Acronis a couple of weeks before we found out it was the USB ,so i had to unplug everything excepting the AC plug and do it via Boot disk. Twenty or so happy creations and restores followed,but i fear the fact my notebook is idiosyncratic to working in Acronis with even one USB plugged in.
So i am forced to use DVDs for Imaging this computer.

MudCrab has a good idea with the PC card for USB. Adaptec cards that I've bought use the NEC chipset which has full Linux support.

You could also try a newer version of TI which might give you full support of your notebook.

[poirot]

MudCrab and jmk94903, thanks for your suggestions,but i hate having to resort to a third, perhaps not cheap, device in order to force my USB 2.0 to work with Linux-Acronis...
HP 8080 never had during the past 30 months of its existence any other USB related problem: i am using a Trust USB 2.0 hub most of the times with no problem at all..... your suggestions anyway prompted me into thinking that perhaps i can make the experiment of buying an Acronis-friendly External HD and try immediately to Restore the first Image...if it doesnt work i'll stick with DVDs and will use the HD for my next pc ,which will hopefully come in a few months time. If it works,it means i have made a mistake the first time i used Acronis 8....
I am not terribly tempted into upgrading to version 10(although perhaps i will have to in the end)....the fact is i dont need many of the new features as i dont need a continouus back up of data and applying the KISS method makes Acronis reliable.

[jmk94903]

Originally Posted by poirot

MudCrab and jmk94903, thanks for your suggestions,but i hate having to resort to a third, perhaps not cheap, device in order to force my USB 2.0 to work with Linux-Acronis...

That's a fair point. The Adaptec USB PC card sells for about $50 unless you find a sale.

HP 8080 never had during the past 30 months of its existence any other USB related problem: i am using a Trust USB 2.0 hub most of the times with no problem at all.....

When you use the USB hard drive, don't connect it through the hub. It might work in Windows to make an image, but when booting from the Recovery CD, hubs can cause problems.

...your suggestions anyway prompted me into thinking that perhaps i can make the experiment of buying an Acronis-friendly External HD and try immediately to Restore the first Image...

That's an excellent plan. Backups to USB drives are much, much faster than to DVD disks. Ditto for restores. You may find you are making more backups because it's so fast.

I understand your reluctance to upgrade to TI 10, but since you can successfully backup and restore, you could uninstall TI 8 and install the free TI 10 Trial version. If it works with your hardware, that's a darn good reason to buy it instead of a new PC card. If it doesn't support your hardware any better than TI 8, you can restore the backup image an continue with TI 8.

[poirot]

jmk94903,i'll follow your plan with the variant i make the Acronis 8-Ext.HD first, if successfull i still will try Acronis 10 just to have a look later.
I'll mention your name to Acronis if i then buy it!
Regards,