Acronis True Image doesn't work for you 2!

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by zapjb, Dec 2, 2006.

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  1. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Make no mistake. I'm not talking about Acronis MigrateEasy or Acronis Disk Director Suite. These 2 Acronis programs are aces with me.

    I had a problem with Acronis True Image though. The problem was IT DIDN'T WORK!!! And I tried, believe me. I don't have that problem now. I deleted my copy of ATI.

    Just a couple of points here. If ATI works for you fine.
    And when I talk about any of these mentioned programs. I'm refering to the rescue, bootable or CD image of the programs. Not the installed, works within Windows versions. Why have it installed, when I don't have to. And also these programs work much better outside of the Windows enviroment.

    I found a replacement for ATI. Happy, happy, joy, joy!

    Paragon Hard Disk Manager Pro/Recovery CD Image v8.0. It's easy & safe. And most of all. I got it work. I real world tested it.

    The whole program is less than 40MB.


    Just did my 2nd image backup with it. Success again. The GUI makes it almost as easy as Acronis MigrateEasy.

    Just an fyi. Cheers.

    P.S. Hope this topic is OK. And out of respect I didn't post it in the Acronis forum.
     
  2. the Tester

    the Tester Registered Member

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    That's the deal with True Image...
    If it works for you, it's a great program.
    But it doesn't work for everyone.I can attest to that myself.
    Glad to hear that you found a replacement for ATI.
     
  3. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I assume in testing it you've done restores, right.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 2, 2006
  4. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Absolutely! Thats the only test.
     
  5. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    ive heard alot about shadow user protect desktop that i might try as a replacement for ATI.
    i have never needed to do a restore and always worry it wont find my usb maxtor one touch III from the ATI boot cd.
    lodore
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 2, 2006
  6. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    Different strategies. I have 3. A cloned HDD, image(s) DVD & my least favorite install everything again. :D
     
  7. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Shadow Protect is an excellent program. I've never "needed" to do a restore, but I always restore every image I make. Otherwise how do I really know it will work when I do need it.
     
  8. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    ive never tryed restoring them either. i wish acronis would fix the usb problem so i can sleep better at night.
    lodore
     
  9. [suave]

    [suave] Registered Member

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    I've never had a problem with ATI.

    Although I never had to restore an image from an external HD or dvd media or USB/Firewire. Everytime I restore it is always from the image on my internal HD. Everything works fine.

    If my internal HD dies and needs to be replaced, I sure hope ATI will let me restore the image from my external drive :doubt:

    I'm not worried that much because in the worst case scenario I will just install a clean XP OS on the new hard drive, then boot into it and transfer my tib image file to it from the external HD and then restore it with ATI right off the internal drive.

    I hope that would work :cool:

    Plus I like the SecureZone feature since I don't have to worry about finding the recovery cd when I need to restore. Gives me peace of mind knowing everything I need to perform a successful recovery is right there on the PC with the touch of a button. Well, that's if the hard drive doesn't die (in which case, I have other options).

    Only thing I dislike about SecureZone is that I don't know how to manage my backups in there. I can't delete old backups that I don't need anymore, and I can't copy important backups to an external location. I end up doing the backup twice, once to the SecureZone and another to my external drive. It would be perfect if I were able to manage them somehow though...
     
    Last edited: Dec 2, 2006
  10. ErikAlbert

    ErikAlbert Registered Member

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    All softwares have fortunate and unfortunate users. What works on somebody's computer, doesn't mean it will work on your computer.
    I never make my choices, based on recommendations, bad or good comments/experiences or personal preferences.
    I do my OWN tests and when it works and keeps on working, I use it.
    ATI works for me and I never had any of these problems mentioned in the Acronis forums.
     
  11. HandsOff

    HandsOff Registered Member

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    Hi Peter, I'm not an expert, but I get the impression that restorals are not 100% identical to the original. So every time you test a backed up image by restoring to it, its possible that you could be introducing slight changes that might eventually harm something. I suppose the longer the time interval between the image creation, and actual restoral the more likely it would be that a problem would occur. Also another musing...I would expect the number of files and the amout of the drive used will increase due to situations where it is necessary to create more that one version of a file that has, for instance, changed during the backup. Let me know if you think I'm wrong - My curiosity is stronger than my ego anyways!

    - HandsOff
     
  12. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Handsoff

    The restored system damn well better be the same as the system that was imaged, or the program has a bug. What I do is Image the system, check that I can browse the image, and then immediately restore it. That is the only way I know I have an image that will restore. I actually do this almost every day. I've never seen any evidence of a change between the imaged system and the restored system.

    Obviously over time the system will change and be different then the image. One thing I've done is defragged and imaged. THen I've done some stuff that introduces quite a bit of fragmentation. Restoring the image, and checking and I have my defragged drive back.

    I used to verify every image, but I've stopped as it was the most time consuming operation. YOu are probably wondering what I'd do if the image doesn't restore. Simple. I'd restore a previously tested image, and bring my system current with a FDISR archive, which is updated frequently.

    Hope this helps and makes some sense.

    Pete
     
  13. Mrkvonic

    Mrkvonic Linux Systems Expert

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    Hello,
    Successfully restored using both external media and images on a second hard drive. Worked swell. Both Linux and Windows partitions.
    Mrk
     
  14. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    i was thinking that yes you could reinstall windows then restore the image fine.
    speaking of which is there a phone number that i can ring ms in the uk and have a disc sent?
    because i never got given one only a crappy restore CD.
    its a legal version of windows.
    i know there was an old thread but cant locate it.
    lodore
     
  15. ratchet

    ratchet Registered Member

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    OK, so I'm so confused about backup I'm not sure where to begin. Several months ago I had to have my PC reformatted
    by a computer tech here in town. Like an idiot I had my XP Restore set at 1%, even though I had about 70% of my 80G HD free.
    I had used Unlocker numerous times to remove left over files from uninstalled applications. Even though I had uninstalled Open Office,
    I always noticed when I scanned with any anti-malware programs there were OO files still there. They were files that Unlocker could only
    remove on boot. Even though XP warned me I could affect other programs by deleting those files, I did it anyway and lost my ability to
    access the internet (cable type ISP). I think what happened is the one restore point available was set to remove the OO files on boot so
    that restore point didn't help. Not sure what I corrupted but the computer guy couldn't repair it.
    I've been thinking about having the kids get me an external hard drive for backup for xmas then I read this on Newegg's site:
    "One drawback to using external hard drives for backups is that they are still relatively new for home computer use. They come
    with Windows drivers; should Windows fail, you will not be able to access your external drive through DOS. There are DOS drivers
    available but they can be difficult to find and most manufacturers do not provide support for them. This isn't a frequent occurrence, just
    something to keep in mind as you select your external hard drive."
    I'm sure if I would have had just one earlier restore point there would not have been a problem that day. Can I use some of the programs
    you mention to just back up to CDs and would they have been capable of repairing my PC? Is there a tutorial around that explains all of this?
    I also ran across a freeware program that backs up all of your drivers, would that have worked? And last, what about this program? file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Owner/Application%20Data/Mozilla/Firefox/Profiles/1yo83m19.default/ScrapBook/
    data/20061202163256/index.html
    Thank you for your patience!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2006
  16. zapjb

    zapjb Registered Member

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    "Can I use some of the programs you mention to just back up to CDs and would they have been capable of repairing my PC?"
    Yes. But I'd say restore vs repair.
     
  17. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Ratchet

    That newegg warning is a bit in accurate. Unless your computer is very old, chances are excellent a program like Image for DOS will see your external USB drives. Also Bartpe actually runs windows from a CD and it also more than likely will see your drives. What kind of computer do you have, and how old is it.

    Pete
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 3, 2006
  18. ratchet

    ratchet Registered Member

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    It is a 2½ year old Dell, Pentium 4, 2.8Gh, 80G Hard Drive, 1G Ram and XP Home so I would think you are probably correct. Thank You!
     
  19. huntnyc

    huntnyc Registered Member

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    I don't use ATI anymore due to terrible USB support when restoring but with ShadowProtect no problems for me in that area and any other. Great program.

    Gary
     
  20. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    :thumb:
     
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