Created SZ. TI won't store to it.

[jcarerra]

Vista. TI version 10.0 (build 4,942). I created the Secure Zone. I go to Backup and try to send the image to SZ (which does show in the lefthand Backup Archive Location panel). Acronis pops up a window says: "Acronis Secure Zone is not available. You can create it for storing your archives in a secure place inaccessible for the operating system. Do you want to create Acronis Secure Zone now?" What? It is showing in the left panel. How can it say it isn't available?

Ack! Space is gone and I can't use it. I don't like this at all. Have never had a problem with v8 on XP. Is this a "10 doesn't really work on Vista" issue? How do I get my space back--about 35 GB I think I made it. I don't want to lose 35 GB.

Second, how do you "see" the size, properties etc of the SZ partition?

[GroverH]

Vista Disk Management can be used to view partition info.

Secure zone is created by ATI and any subsequent deletions should also be via TrueImage.

[jcarerra]

Took me awhile to find what you meant by Vista Disk Management, but it does not show the SZ. It has

(C: ) 139, 92 free
(E: ) the DVD drive, 0, 0 free
Recovery (D: ) the Gateway recovery partition, 10, 5 free
numbers rounded

It is a "160 GB" drive.
Actually, this adds up to 149GB...only 11GB missing. The SZ I made was to be way bigger than that. Confused. SZ shows in the Backup Archive Location panel, but only 11GB are missing. Confused.

[jcarerra]

While waiting for answer to this problem, I made the "bootable rescue media." Tried to boot from it. Nope. Machine seemed to be looking at the CD, but it eventually booted into Windows, normal desktop, after very different process to the end screen...except no programs would start...and shutdown would not do a thing. Had to do a hard power down. Yes, BIOS is set to boot from CD/DVD first.

<s>So far, I just love what Acronis Trueimage 10 is doing to me. </s>

So, how do I create a CD that will boot to Acronis and not screw up my computer?

[jmk94903]

Originally Posted by jcarerra

Took me awhile to find what you meant by Vista Disk Management, but it does not show the SZ. It has

(C: ) 139, 92 free
(E: ) the DVD drive, 0, 0 free
Recovery (D: ) the Gateway recovery partition, 10, 5 free
numbers rounded

It is a "160 GB" drive.
Actually, this adds up to 149GB...only 11GB missing. The SZ I made was to be way bigger than that. Confused. SZ shows in the Backup Archive Location panel, but only 11GB are missing. Confused.

Nothing is missing. Manufacturers sell drives based on their size using 1000 x 1000 x 1000 = 1,000,000,000 bytes (10 to the 9th power) as a GB. Windows uses the binary value of 1024 x 1024 x 1024 = 1,073,741,824 (2 to the 30th power).

A 160GB (base 10) drive has only 149GB (base 2) in Windows. Welcome to marketing.

[GroverH]

So, how do I create a CD that will boot to Acronis and not screw up my computer?

As well illustrated by jmk94903 your disk size is normal and the Secure zone does not appear to be in use and your computer does not appear "screwed up". Learn more about the SZ before attempting to use it. Its use is recommended by some and not recommended by others. Check the Useful Forum Links below for more info about the SZ.

When creating the Rescue CD, did you choose both full and safe versions as illustrated by my image below? The full version is the one you want to use when attempting to bootup. Then either choose your CDrom burning drive; or burn as a iso file and then use your own burn software to create the Rescue CD.

Many of us suggest the use of another internal or external drive for storage of backup archives.

[jcarerra]

OK, that's good news in a way...all my disk is there. The bad side is that the Secure Zone creation failed with no indication to me that it failed. Further, when trying to create a backup, the Secure Zone is shown as a selection in the Backup Archive Location panel EVEN THOUGH IT DOESN'T EXIST. (I thought it did because I had run the process.)

Question to all: does Secure Zone normally show in the Backup Archive Location panel when no attempt to make a Secure Zone has been done? Or did my attempt to create one put it there, even though none was created?

If it is listed there when there is no SZ, Acronis needs to fix that. Don't show a place to put a backup if it doesn't exist.

[GroverH]

I do NOT have the Secure Zone installed. This is how SZ appears on my computer. It is almost greyed out but does appear. The error message appears when the SZ is selected. The SZ icon is placed there to make it easy to create--should one desire to do.

[jcarerra]

Yep, that's exactly what I saw AFTER (supposedly) having created the Secure Zone. It just failed and no indication whatever that it did. It went through all of the wizard questions (size,etc.) and seemed to finish. Oh, well.

I think Acronis should take it out of that list if it does not exist.

[GroverH]

It's icon is placed there (my guess) making it convenient for users to create or as a reminder that it is an option.

Did you check your log file? Maybe even your xp events viewer?

What about my question on the CD creation?

[jcarerra]

Oh, on the CD question "When creating the Rescue CD, did you choose both full and safe versions as illustrated by my image below? "...

I did select both. I am absolutely positive the second and third lines were checked, but I don't remember if I checkmarked the very top level as well. I would assume if you check all the subitems, that would auto-check the top line.

[GroverH]

The options displayed on the rescue CD will display what was selected. Whatever is shown is what was chosen by checkmarks.

The options for selection displayed on the Rescue CD should be:
..Full (this is one to be used--most drivers)
..Safe (generally not used --fewest drivers
.....Windows (to bypass the Rescue Cd)

When you bootup using the Rescue CD, are you choosing the Full version?

[jmk94903]

Originally Posted by jcarerra

While waiting for answer to this problem, I made the "bootable rescue media." Tried to boot from it. Nope. Machine seemed to be looking at the CD, but it eventually booted into Windows, normal desktop, after very different process to the end screen...except no programs would start...and shutdown would not do a thing. Had to do a hard power down. Yes, BIOS is set to boot from CD/DVD first.

<s>So far, I just love what Acronis Trueimage 10 is doing to me. </s>

So, how do I create a CD that will boot to Acronis and not screw up my computer?

The TI Recovery CD is a major important part of TI. If you can't boot into Windows, you must have a way to run TI from a CD or DVD. TI provides the Recovery CD but it is also possible to create a BartPE bootable disk.

In your case, if you chose both the Safe and Full versions to be on the Recvery CD, the system should boot to the TI screen where you pick either Safe or Full. If you can't get to that screen, then your system is probably not set to boot from the CD/DVD drive.

Check your BIOS settings to be sure that the CD/DVD drive is listed before the hard drive or watch for an option to choose the boot drive at the very start of bootup.

You can test the Recovery CD on another computer if you have one available.

Changing topics: Personally, I never backup to a SecureZone. I use either a second normal partition on the same drive, a second internal drive or an external USB drive. On occasion, I burn a backup to DVDs, so I want it available. You cannot copy a backup in the SecureZone to any other location which I find too limiting.

Let us know how you are doing.

[jcarerra]

jmk94903, the machine is indeed set to boot from CD...I said that. The disk Acronis made is bad. I tried it on another machine.

Based on your and other comments, I am giving up on Secure Zone--but I surely do need to have the rescue disk. I'll try again to make it.

[jcarerra]

Well, I re-did the disk creation, made sure to select the TOP line in the window for components to install, and also selected the disk drive line in the next window rather than the line for "iso." Before, I picked the iso line because I thought iso's were bootable images, and pointed it to the CD drive for place to put it. That may have been what made it not work on the first disk--though I don't know why.

But it does bring up the question of what is that second line for?

Oh, I booted from the CD, and it went to the Acronis screen. I did not want to do a restore, so I clicked the Exit icon in the lower left corner, which did not exit, but instantly turned on a LOUD, steady tone. I had to do a hard power down at that point.

[jmk94903]

Originally Posted by jcarerra

jmk94903, the machine is indeed set to boot from CD...I said that. The disk Acronis made is bad. I tried it on another machine.

Based on your and other comments, I am giving up on Secure Zone--but I surely do need to have the rescue disk. I'll try again to make it.

That's good to know that it's a bad CD.

If you have trouble the second time you try to create the Recovery CD, you could temporarily install TI on another computer and create the Recovery CD there. All Recovery CDs for a given build of TI are identical, so it doesn't matter which machine creates the CD.

Let us know how things proceed.

[Acronis Support]

Hello jcarerra,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Before, I picked the iso line because I thought iso's were bootable images, and pointed it to the CD drive for place to put it.

Please notice that iso image is a file that, when burned to CD/DVD media properly, willl result in working CD/DVD. Please see PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST sticky thread for instructions on how to burn iso images.
You can also create Acronis Bootable Rescue Media directly by choosing a removable media drive instead of "iso image" option. Please see Chapter 10. "Creating bootable media" of the respective User's Guide for detailed instructions.
As jmk94903 noted, Acronis Bootable Rescue Media is independent of the hardware of the computer it was made on.

As for the issue with Acronis Secure Zone creation, it would seem that something prevented Acronis drivers from operating properly to create it. Please download the latest version of Acronis drivers, unpack the archive and install unpacked MSI package.

If that doesn't solve the problem, please try creating Acronis Secure Zone using Acronis Bootable Rescue Media.

If the issue persists, please collect some information to let us investigate it thoroughly:

Please create Acronis Report, Linux system information (sysinfo.txt) and Windows system information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

- Replace C:\WINDOWS\system32\snapapi.dll with the one from the downloaded SnapAPI archive;
- Reproduce the issue and collect the log file without closing any application windows (including the error message windows if there are any). The log file will be created at C:\ . The name of the log file will be snapapi [date-time].log

Then submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with a solution.

As GroverH noted, Acronis Secure Zone item indeed does appear in the list even if it doesn't exist yet. It's implemented for the comfort of creating it if needed without having to browse additional menus.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

[GroverH]

jcarerra,

But it does bring up the question of what is that second line for? (see note 1 below)
.....Oh, I booted from the CD, and it went to the Acronis screen. I did not want to do a restore, (see note 2 below)
.....so I clicked the Exit icon in the lower left corner, which did not exit, but instantly turned on a LOUD, steady tone. I had to do a hard power down at that point.(see note 3 below)

Note-1: If you are referring to the Safe Mode option, this offers a reduced driver function should the full version not work with some equipment. The normal creation of this Rescue CD is for the user
..a. From Main menu, Click/select "Create Bootable Rescue Media".
..b. From Rescue Media Content Selection screen, click/select "True Image Home" listed on top line. Click Next This will autocheck the Full and Safe Modes.
..c. From Bootable Media Selection screen, click/select the CD/DVD device being used to create/burn the bootable CD. Click Next
..d. From Acronis Media Builder information display screen,
.... insert a Blank CD-R into the DVD/CDR device selected. DO NOT CLOSE TRAY. Click Proceed
..e. ATI will close the media tray and create the Bootable CD. Progress message and successful completion window should be displayed.
..f. Should you have difficulty in creating the Bootable Rescue CD, an alternate step C would be to select the iso file option. This option would then ask you to assign a file name and folder location for the iso file. Then you could use your own burner software to burn/create the TI Rescue CD.

Note-2: The TrueImage Rescue CD has almost all the "Bells & Whistles" of the Windows version. Being able to restore from the CD is just one of its many possible uses. Suggest you bootup using the TrueImage Rescue CD and click on the "full" version option. The normal TrueImage Home Main Menu Will appear and you will hardly be able to see any difference between the CD men and the TI menu displayed in Windows.

One of the nice features of TI is the ability to simulate a function. This simulation can be a backup or restore or other. The final simulation screen offers you a choice of "proceed" or "cancel. Choosing cancel will return you to the main TI menu. Pressing "proceed" will commit you to the function and the test function will become real and processing will begin. Do not press "Proceed" when simulating or practicing. Simulation also gives you the opportunity to make sure all your drives are displayed.

Note-3: The option in lower left corner is Turn off computer and it works for me. Clicking this option will remove power and power down the computer. Yes, you will need to hit reset or the power on button to start up the boot process. The only sound I heard when clicking the "Turn off computer" option was a loud "thunk" when power/audio removed from speakers.

----------------------
A review of my guides below may be helpful.

[jcarerra]

Thank you. The last two posts have a wealth of information. Through a direct email exchange with support, they have pointed me to a recommended replacement of snapapi.dll, which I will install and see if it makes a difference. It is dated earlier than the one on my machine, which worries me a little.

Also, they offered an iso image of the rescue disk "with modifications" (not sure what that means--why would it need to be modified?)... so I will be trying these things.

[jcarerra]

Oh, this just keeps on being fun.

I ran the SnapAPISetup.msi, which installed a different snapapi.dll (230,944 bytes, 11-3-06 10:49AM) in System32 folder. Don't know what else it did.

Now, opening TI produces


Switched back to my original one (206,368 bytes, 2-14-07)--I had renamed it to keep it--and the message does not appear. Acronis sent a file that produces additional problems rather than fixing things.

[jcarerra]

Support emailed me a link to an iso image file. I downloaded it, burned it to CD, and that one seems to work fine....finally! Thank goodness, but whew!, it shouldn't be this hard to get a product to work.

[jcarerra]

I used the v10 Rescue CD tonight to do a full disk backup. Well over two hours!! 53.2GB, into a 33.3GB tib file. My previous ver 8 running inside XP did not take so long...WAAAAY faster.

This Rescue disk, from the iso image support pointed me to, did not have the exit icon at lower left, but that is no problem...just used the Operations menu Exit command.