Even after proper drivers, Acronis Universal Restore fails

Hello,

Am using Acronis True Image Home Premium 2014 and trying to restore a system partition i.e. C drive of Toshiba Satellite C660 laptop running Win 7 Ultimate to my new Dell Vostro 2520 laptop using the Universal Restore feature.

I read about the requirements of the same and have the Chipset & HDD drivers in inf,sys format ready. The whole process of restoring goes ahead smoothly without any missing driver error. However when the Dell laptop restarts, BSOD
It does not boot even in safe mode. After pausing the blue screen I noticed 0x0000007B error which means missing/incompatible HDD driver!! but I've downloaded the same from dell website so I am sure I've the required drivers.

Even changing the ATA/AHCI mode in the BIOS does not help. When I had backed up Toshiba that was in IDE/ATA mode and the new Dell laptop HDD is in AHCI mode coz the drivers on dell website are AHCI drivers.

I don't know where I am going wrong. Can anyone please help me out with the same??

Thank You

 

Try to boot the Dell computer in IDE/ATA mode after installing IDE drivers with TBOSDT. See page 27 in the userguide. Because you have Win7 I think you will need the OSDTool (page 31) which is in the paid version.

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/tbosdt.htm#download

 

Thanks for the reply. Just curious, why do I need a third party software when Acronis itself is enough?? Cant the AHCI drivers overwrite the IDE drivers and boot in AHCI mode?

 

I searched for a possible solution on this link

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/922976 but it dint help unfortunately

Any idea??

 

I do not have a solution for you.

Playing around with drivers (especially their settings) is a manual task and not something easily automated. There are simply too many variables and one-time-gotchas for any one program (AUR) to get right all the time.

Drivers and hardware simply interact with each other too much for one program to be aware of.

 

Unfortunately, Acronis software doesn't have the best reputation.

Put the Dell BIOS in IDE/ATA mode. Boot the OSDTool...

Remove installed drivers
(don't change the HAL)
Remove all installed drivers
Go to Driver Install
Install default IDE and AHCI drivers
Go back to menu
Exit

The computer will restart twice and should boot into Windows and install device driver software. After another restart you can install custom drivers.

 

Hi Brian,

I came across this link http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/howto-drvins-tbosdt-dos.htm which basically says that TBOSDT is helpful in installing storage drivers for a target system with dissimilar HDD controller. But thats what Acronis Universal Restore also does. The reason I am favouring Acronis is because I've been using it now since atleast 3 years so I've got used to it. Its just this Universal Restore thing which is not working according to my expectations.

Since it didn't work from Toshiba C660 to Dell Vostro, I tried a new Universal Restore from Dell Vostro 2520 to Toshiba C850(both ATA). This time UR asked device drivers *ABCD0000 for Windows 7!! I've never ever heard of a device driver named *ABCD0000. Not a single result of google helped for that matter. I had provided all the chipset, usb and storage drivers but that didn't help.

Many people I've spoken to are pessimistic about restoring to dissimilar hardware and have never sounded too enthusiastic about it although I think its a terrific time saver hence its worth the trouble to experiment.

 

I think this name of "universal restore" leads one to believe it can transplant operating systems and complete configurations from one kit of hardware to another.

I can't see this working except in a few specific (and planned for) situations. Like I just said, there's too much subtle detail involving drivers and their interaction with registry settings and configuration files.

Far to much for one program (universal restore) to be aware of. And the way applications tie into the O/S is a whole other aspect not addressed.

 

It's "lead guys" like that that make these pet projects. And these pet projects are oftentimes failures outside of the pristine controlled conditions of a lab. Or in the case of software, a development centre, or.. Lab!

I really really despise that sort of attitude, it is prevalent in marketing and is responsible for so many headaches and disappointments. Marketing seems to say one thing and it is up to you, the hapless user, to make things work - often with extraordinary gymnastics involved.

That little "demonstration" or "requirement" of just having to boot into Windows is ridiculous. And the fact he emphasized it confirms it. The marketing implies a complete restore, do this & this, and you're on your way. BS!

In the real world about all one can do is lift documents and some user-data. Or do backups and restores to the same original hardware configuration. Once drivers and settings are involved, forget it! The general exception to the rule is exchanging a hard disk, model for model, or sometimes a bigger one if the controller and partition structure is the same.

Applications, shortcuts, O/S, settings, registry, et al.. New hardware = fresh install. A one "Universal Restore" cannot be aware of every little detail. It is wholly impractical. They know it!

I'm also speaking from the perspective of a non-technical user. Us techies and geeks can manhandle and force anything to work, given enough time, whether it was made to or not.

 

Drivers don't mean as much as you think, especially as far as disk handlers are concerned. With other devices, they can be "discovered" and the appropriately working driver is activated for use with that device.

In the case of disk subsystems, that does not happen except when the Windows system is built from scratch. The biggest problem area has always been ACHI/SATA and IDE/SATA subsystems. Once Windows is built, it cannot detect a different subsystem and will only use the driver assigned in its build. This is why one system built using an ACHI/SATA subsystem driver will not work when you switch the BiOS subsystem to the other... it will BSOD on you.

The way that has to be dealt with is you have to tell Windows (via the REGISTRY) what subsystem drivers to load when it comes up. If you tell it to load both the above subsystem types, then when it boots, both will be in RAM for use. For a completely successful disk subsystem "dissimilar hardware" process to occur, this directive has to be issued to Windows before the backup is made that will be used for the dissimilar hardware restore. Otherwise systems will BSOD when they come up with the wrong subsystem driver for use with the new, current hardware... remember, the disk subsystem is not "discoverable," it is only assignable.

 

Yes. I would agree with all that. I just believe "too much understanding" is required on the part of the user.

Most users would tend to think you can migrate from one system to another hassle-free. That's where my beef'n'bitchn comes in.

 

Spot on, Keatah! Even the registry changes that are required to tell Windows to load all necessary drivers are not necessarily trivial. I would never expect an ordinary user to be able to discover this information much less put it to use... without very careful consideration.

In my experience... if it's new hardware, it's a new build.

 

Keatah,

I agree. It is specialized. But very useful in the right situation.

Regarding dissimilar hardware. I've restored desktop images to laptops and vice versa. It works. These were tests. But a practical example...

Last year I built a new computer and installed Win8. My 7 year old computer was running WinXP with lots of apps installed and my email going back years. I had WinXP drivers for the new computer so I cloned WinXP to the new computer (multi-booting) and got it working. The old computer has been stripped for parts. It's handy to go into WinXP at times to use something that hasn't been installed in Win8. Especially looking at email from a few years ago.

 

It is for this very reason that I am ready to take the pains. I know its a big hassle right now and lots of hours of irritation trying to boot Windows on a dissimilar hardware but if it does work, it can save loads of hours of monotony.

Coming back to the topic, can I restore Windows using Acronis on dissimilar hardware and only use TBOSDT for installing drivers of the target system ?
It seems to me that UR is not copying the drivers properly coz I've provided all the required drivers in the required format (inf, cat, sys).

 

AS Peter2150 pointed out, these apps allow the OS to boot by installing storage controller drivers. So yes, restore the Acronis image and use TBOSDT Pro to install the storage controller drivers.

It only takes me a few minutes.

 

Following is the email conversation I had with Terabyte support:

TS: To test OSDTOOL you'd have to purchase at least
one copy then if it's what you want, purchase the additional licenses
needed.

ME: I am sorry just to clarify I need to pay $14.92 for one copy of TeraByte OS Deployment Tool Suite. With that I can install drivers on unlimited computers is that correct? What is the additional licenses for??

TS: No, you'd need one license per system. you can purchase one copy to test. It's mainly for removing old drivers and installing the storage driver so windows boots

ME: So how much do I need to pay to be able to install drivers on unlimited
systems??

TS: There is no unlimited license - but there are large discount for larger orders - see http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/purchase-tbosdt.htm. If you need more than 100,000 we could over a little more discount

I am totally confused. Is that 14.92 USD for just installing drivers on one system?? Can someone using TBOSDT kindly clarify?

 

TBOSDT does much, much more than just install drivers. Such as...

access partitions that are hidden from the OS and even access partitions that aren't in the current partition table to perform the following....view, copy, create and delete files and folders
edit text files
install boot code
create and expand virtual drives
copy and restore sectors
run certain DOS apps
GPT disktype
run tbosdt scripts, eg change Windows drive letters, Save/Restore registry, convert a physical machine to a virtual machine, allow Windows to boot from a USB HD,
remove installed drivers, change HAL,
add, delete and edit registry keys and work with hive files
install Windows drivers to a non booted OS (eg Storage controller drivers)
partitioning procedures such as create, delete, resize, format, slide, set active, edit disk signature (BIBM version)
Edit the registry of a non booting OS
save and restore the registry
Remove the SRP
Install storage controller drivers to a non booting OS
Remove all drivers from a non booting OS
change the HAL in a non booting OS
change drive letters in a non booting OS
change partition label
copy files to a non booting OS
explore and edit files and folders in a non booting OS
expand virtual machines
copy and restore the MBR
Set a partition active
Set the CHS values for a partition entry
Set the NT disk signature
copy a partition to a file and boot from it
copy a partition and create a virtual machine
boot WinXP from a USB HD


The license is slightly relaxed for home users.

 

Hello,

Thanks Brian for your untiring efforts I've finally purchased TBOSDT Pro. Do you think this is the perfect place to get started?

http://www.terabyteunlimited.com/howto/howto-drvins-tbosdt-dos.htm

Other links are welcome as well. I am a complete noob as far as PE and plugins are concerned.

I would like to thank everyone who've participated in this thread with their valuable inputs. There's always a thing or two to learn from others experiences and observations...

Cheers

Edit: Ok I just noticed a pdf tutorial file on TBOSDT of 78 pages

 

exus69,

That How To tutorial is old. It is much easier now. Menu driven.
Read pages 31 to 39 in the pdf. Make a USB flash drive and play with it. Run makedisk.exe from the dos_tbos folder. I'll get back to you later today.

You won't be using TBOSDT from IFL as described in the pdf.

 

My mistake. I meant maketbos.exe, not makedisk,exe.

When you made your UFD did you tick all the boxes on the Select the optional components window? You should.

Does your UFD boot to this prompt....

>

 

Yes thats correct its maketbos.exe and yes I ticked all the options and it boots as well. So here is what I do step by step:
1) At the prompt I type "tbosdt.exe osdtool.tbs"
2) Select Physical Drive
3) Select the Windows installation drive
4) Confirm the selected Windows Installation
5) Operation. Am going through the options here.

Will keep you posted.

As far as the drivers are concerned do you recommend removing all the drivers from the restored Windows and then installing the basic HDD, Chipset, USB drivers or straightaway installing them without removing the previous ones?

Just a note am using TBOSDT right now ONLY to install drivers on dissimilar hardware and not for any other purpose. I'll check its other features in future.

 

Nice work. This is my suggestion for the first attempt. We might have to try several methods.

Have the BIOS in IDE/ATA mode.
Boot the UFD.
Remove installed drivers
Keep storage drivers and remove all other installed drivers
Go to Driver Install
Install default IDE and AHCI drivers
Go back to menu
Exit

Restart the computer with Ctrl Alt Del

See if Windows boots. There will be a restart and a second boot. It can sometimes take a few minutes to gain mouse/keyboard control to login. Then Driver Software Installation occurs. Wait until it has finished.

Let me know the result. Positive or negative.

 

I followed the exact same procedure and it did not work. I faced the same STOP 0x0000007B BSOD. Btw before restoring the Dell Vostro 2520 on Toshiba C850 I had taken a backup of all the installed drivers of the Toshiba laptop using Double Driver.

One more point to clarify is that Win 7 was installed on Toshiba in AHCI mode.

I dont understand why chipset drivers are critical for the OS to boot on dissimilar hardware coz when we freshly install Win7 on any system we generally run the chipset setup.exe after Windows is installed. What say?