HELP PLEASE - Recovery USB Ext HDD - Freezing

Dear All

If anyone can help me with this one I'll be eternally grateful.

Ok... in summary. I'm attempting to restore a parition from a full save image on a Dell Inspiron laptop to a new Compaq Presario SR1000 using TI9 (build 2337).

1. A boot CD was created via TI9 on the new machine before the exercise was started. OK
2. I performed a full backup of this box to an usb attached external HDD again using TI9 (just in case in need to go back). OK
3. Booted from the TI9 boot disk. OK
4. Selected the full TI version option. OK

However, this is where the problems start. It appears that TI is struggling to access the external HDD with the images on (not sure whether this is the symptom or the cause) with the net effect being the restore freezes as various stages of the restore process (no consistency but once it freezes only a hard reboot will 'resolve' things).

It did manage to get passed "Proceed" once to the point it deleted the partition but then froze on the Step 2+ and it hasn't gor that far again. So I have effectively an inoperative desktop right now.

The freezes occur (a) when first attempting to list the *.tib images from the ext HDD; after having selected "Disk 1" at the "Select a partition..." prompt and most significantly even when the process gets to the actual restore (post "Proceed") - never shows any evidence of the progress bar and no activity on either the desktop or external drive LED's (left for 5 hours and no progress). It just hangs!!!!

I've tried the USB/EXT HDD on the laptop and it's fine - almost immediate response (in USB and USB2.0 slots) as was the case of the new machine before attempting to restore. Is this anything to do with the manner in which the boot CD was cut (did try the laptop's boot CD in desparation but the same effect).

ANYONE ANY CLUES AS I'M GETTING FAIRLY DESPARATE NOW (

 

You have not said what is on the partition you are trying to transfer. However you could Boot the new machine and open the TI program with the USB drive attached. Now mount the image . If sucessful you will be able to explore the virtual drive and copy what you want to where you want it. This will not work if you are trying to transfer an OS or programs.

 

First of all, get the latest build of TI 9. You are using a fairly old build, and that may be the reason for the problem.

Second, on the Presario, do you have any other USB devices attached to the system? If so disconnect them and try again.

Third, have you checked the external USB drive? Errorcheck the drive to be sure it doesn't have a problem. In Windows XP, right click on the drive letter and select Properties. On the Tools tab select Check for Errors.

Fourth, try pressing F11 during the boot from the TI Recovery CD and adding to the command line so that it reads: quiet acpi=off noapic

Fifth, if all that fails, you could remove the external hard drive from its case and mount it in the Presario as a slave or as a master on the second IDE cable and restore that way.

All that said, when you restore a notebook image to a desktop machine, it's not likely to even boot. The hardware is just too different. You will need a real Windows XP installation CD (not an OEM recovery CD) and do an "upgrade in place" to make the drive hardware compatible with the new system. Google "upgrade in place" if you are not familiar with the procedure.

Let us know how you do.

 

Hello Strigoi,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are very sorry for the delay with the response.

I would like to explain the workarounds suggested by jmk94903 in a bit more detailed manner:

First of all, please download and install the latest build (3633) of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home which is available in the Product Updates section of your account at Acronis web site. To get access to updates you should create an account then log in and use your serial number to register the software.

Please uninstall build 2337 by following Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Acronis True Image, prior to installing build 3633.

Please create new Bootable Rescue CD after installing the update, boot the computer having the issue, try to restore the image once more and see if the problem still persists.

Note that Bootable Rescue CD is not hardware dependent and therefore can be created on any other machine.

If the problem persists with Bootable Rescue CD created using the latest build (3633) of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home then please try booting with "acpi=off noapic" parameter as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

If that does not help either then please try the following tips in order to solve the problem you encounter:

- If your external USB hard drive is connected to the PC through a hub then try connecting it directly;

- Try connecting your external USB hard drive through another USB port;

- Try unplugging all unneeded USB devices.

If nothing of the above helps then please boot the computer having the issue from Bootable Rescue CD created using the latest build (3633) of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home and create Linux system information (sysinfo.txt) as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Note that sometimes the sysinfo.txt file is not readable from under Windows. In this case please try entering the file name using capital letters (SYSINFO.TXT) or follow the instructions provided in this previous post of mine.

If you do not have a floppy drive then please take a look at this previous post of mine explaining how to save the sysinfo.txt file to USB flash drive.

Please also create Acronis Report in the way described below:

- Download and run Acronis Report Utility;

- Select the "Create Bootable Floppy" option;

- Insert a blank floppy disk in the A: drive and proceed with creation of the bootable floppy;

- Boot the computer having the issue from this beforehand created diskette and wait for the report creation process to finish;

- Collect the report file from the floppy.

Please keep your external USB hard drive connected while creating Acronis Report and Linux system information.

Please also provide us with the following information:

- Let us know the exact vendor and model of your external USB hard drive;

- Can this particular image archive be successfully validated using the embedded Validate Backup Archive tool?

Then please submit a request for technical support. Provide the files and information collected in 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 the most suitable solution as soon as possible.

P.S. As a possible workaround, you can also try placing this particular image archive to any other location, e.g. any internal, other external or networked drive, CD, DVD, etc.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov