main harddisk not supported

Hi,

Just started to work with TI8, i need to focus the following problem: My harddisk which includes all mayor programs as well as my Windows 2000 (SP3), can not be handled. TI is reporting as follows (translated): "This disk includes not supported structures". Well, disk administration shows this disk a a dynamic one with 38GB NTFS. Change to a "basic" one is not possible. I wanted to save exactly this disk and now i'm a little bit frustrated. Do i really need to reconfigure the whole disk including all data before being able to restore it? Maybe somebody can help. Many Thanks
Steve

 

Not really any help, but as far as I'm aware, there is no support for dynamic disks in Trueimage 8.

 

I think this is true. I am unaware of any software the support imaging a dynamic disk. Must be a basic disk, but to convert, you must backup your data, change drive back to basic and then restore data which is probably what you really wanted a backup to be able to allow you to do in case of a drive failure. But, this should really have nothing to really do with your actual hard drive, but the conversion from a basic to Dynamic disk format.

 

Hello commainz,

Thank you for using Acronis True Image (http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/products/trueimage/).

We regret to inform you that dynamic disks are supported only by Acronis True Image 8.0 Server and Acronis True Image 8.0 Enterprise Server. These products allow you to back up dynamic disks but can only restore the images as basic. However this is not a great problem for you can convert the disk to dynamic after restoration process.

More information concerning server versions of Acronis True Image 8.0 is available at
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATIESWin/
http://www.acronis.com/enterprise/products/ATISWin/

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Many thanks for your help!

Well, what i've learnt is that i've bought the wrong product for my actual problem. I need to backup my data to be able to convert my dynamic drive into a basic drive before TI can be used. I need to check how to do this. If i'll loose some data then the whole procedure of installing all my software starts once more. I was not aware that my formatting caused a dynamic disk under Windows 2000. No hint on True Image's product discription informing about this specific issue. Now i'll start working on this issue.

Best Regards
Steve

 

Hello commainz,

You are able to create an image of dynamic disk but you cannot restore the image as dynamic disk.

As I got you have purchased Acronis True Image 8.0 (not Server) but if you want to purchase the server version you may contact sales@acronis.com, describe the situation, and ask how you can add the necessary sum of money to purchase the server version. Of course you will need to uninstall the previous version of Acronis True Image.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Many thanks for your prompt reply. But it does not make sense to pay approx. 300-400 Bucks just to be able to make a copy or image of my harddisk.
Thanks to Symantecs Norton Ghost 2003 i was able to do that. In this regard, they have the better concept. I'll return to TI when my next boot disk will be installed - in this case not any more a dynamic.

Steve

 

Hello commainz,

Usually home users do not have dynamic disks. That is why Acronis True Image 8.0 developed mainly for home users does not support dynamic disks.

Dynamic disks are supported in our enterprise solutions: Acronis True Image 8.0 Server and Acronis True Image 8.0 Enterprise Server.

Thank you.
--
Ilya Toytman

 

Hi, commainz

No need for to spend all that money.

You can convert to a Basic Disk but make sure you only change the 42 to 07, this works I have tested it.

HOWTO: Convert a dynamic disk back to a basic disk without data loss
Posted By: o2

**Disclaimer: This ONLY works if you have NOT used ANY of the "new" features of dynamic disks such as extending a partition or software RAID. This is an expert-level procedure, so if you don't know what you are doing, you shouldn't be attempting this.**

1) Install dskprobe.exe on the system. (This is one of the utilities in the Windows 2000 support tools on the install CD, and can be installed by simply copying the .exe file to the hard drive.)
2) Run dskprobe.exe on the system.
3) Select the Drives menu and "Physical Drive. . ."
4) Double click on the drive that you want to convert back to a basic disk. Click the "Set Active" button next to that drive.
5) From the Sectors menu, select "Read"
6) Accept the defaults (begin sector 0, read 1 sector) and click "Read"
7) In the editor, go to the "01C0" line and the third bit should be a "42". Change that to a "07". **Note, a few machines have had this on the "01D0" line instead. I don't know what that means, so I wouldn't try it unless it is on a pure test box. *****
8 ) From the Sectors menu, select "Write". Confirm all dialog boxes. **Note: This is the step that will hose your box if you have not followed the above instructions correctly.**
9) Exit dskprobe.exe. Reboot
10) Run chkdsk on the affected logical drive(s). If any errors are found, do a chkdsk /f to fix them. Done.

***** svdsinner writes: I did some research, and this relates to having multiple partitions on the drive. I assume partition 1 would be at "01C0", Partition 2 would be at "01D0", Partition 3 would be "01E0", and Partition 4 would be "01F0". I would assume that you would be required to change every partion on the drive back for this to work. However, I have not tested this. Do so at your own risk. [do not try this bit I did and messed up put got back with DDS9]

Special thanks go to svdsinner!

PS: also works with WindowsXP.


Take Care,
TheQuest