How to get ATI to see usb stick drive as available target drive for clone?

I tried to Clone my hard drive, onto my USB 2.0 stick drive.
When I try, ATI doesn't show the USB drive as an available drive.

Is this something that's possible to do?

I'm wanting to have my entire OS settings and programs, in an easy to carry drive.


If not, can you please help me by telling me if this would work:
-put a back-up image of my hard drive (OS, programs, data) onto the usb stick drive.
-put a new hard drive into a new computer (a different drive than the original drive the image came from)
-install ATI onto the hard drive
-'restore' the back-up image from the USB drive, onto the hard drive

would that result in an identical copy of my original hard drive?


Thank you very much,
Jon

ATI is working well so far

 

Some stick (flash) drives aren't seen as HDs but as removeable media. I don't think cloning will work with those.

If you make a backup image of your system drive, and then replace the system drive, you could resotre the image to the new drive. Rather than install ATI onthe new drive to do the restore, I'd try to do it with an ATI Boot/Rescue CD -- which you you make before replacing your hard drive.

I don't think you can run ATI from the same drive that you are using as a destination drive for an image restore -- while the program is trying to operate you woul dbe wiping out and replacing the partition with the new image.

 

As far as I can remember, removable drives (which is how USB sticks are usually categorised by ATI) may only be restored from, or backup up to. I.e. you cannot
- restore an image on a hard drive to a usb stick, or,
- backup a usb stick to a hard drive.

F.

 

"If not, can you please help me by telling me if this would work:
-put a back-up image of my hard drive (OS, programs, data) onto the usb stick drive.
-put a new hard drive into a new computer (a different drive than the original drive the image came from)
-install ATI onto the hard drive
-'restore' the back-up image from the USB drive, onto the hard drive

would that result in an identical copy of my original hard drive?"

Yes, this would work, except don't instal ATI on the new drive. Use the bootable rescue CD to Restore the image. This assumes that your usb stick drive will be seen.

 

Or create a bootable USB stick and put the image on as well.

F.

 

thanks for the help everyone

Since my usb stick currently isn't seen by ATI, I might assume that it wouldn't be seen in the future either.

Is there anything I can try to make my stick be seen as a drive? I enabled in my bios for USB storage to be seen as Hard Drives, and no luck. Reformatting had no change either.

How would the process work... of making the USB stick bootable and putting the image onto it?
Is the idea to make the USB stick bootable, and put ATI and the backup image of the hard drive onto it. And then use it to restore the image to a new hard drive. ?

thanks

 

Cloning between a usb stick and another drive is not supported AFAIK. So I would not expect it to show up as an option under the clone wizard. However if you attempted to (say) backup (not clone) I would expect the usb stick to be listed as a 'removable drive'. Note it might not have the same drive letter as you expect.

Likewise if you try to restore, removable drives should be available as source media, and if you start to go through the motions to create a rescue disk your usb drive should be listed as a target option.

Assuming the usb stick is formatted properly, if you cannot see your usb stick under any of these three wizards then I suggest you raise a support request with Acronis. But, I would not expect to be able to see usb sticks under the 'clone' wizard.

Finally on a slightly different thread (regarding bootability from USB sticks), as Menorcaman points out in https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=119966&highlight=FAT32+Flash if you do want to attempt to create a bootable rescue USB you need to format as FAT. Also note that the ability to boot is dependent on compatability between your BIOS and the USB stick you are using is not 100% guaranteed to work.

F.

 

thanks for the further help

I see that my usb stick can be used for a rescue bootable media.

I've read the pdf user manual, and so far..
I've clicked "Create Bootable Rescue Media"
and ATI checked and installed files on the usb stick,
and said to reboot to it.

(oddly, the process skipped choosing which acronis components I wanted to use (acronis safe version, or acronis full version)

I changed the bios settings to boot from the usb, and restarted,
but the computer gave an error of 'no OS found'

Do I need to install an OS onto the usb stick also?


(I'm confused about the process I need to follow, and the acronis user manual directions are not working for me)

 

You may need to try setting alternate USB boot devices in the BIOS. If you have a USB external disk, try removing it at boot time. Also see Menorcaman's suggestion here https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=659006&postcount=22

F.

 

hmm,
well to boot with the usb stick, it needs an OS, right ?

Or are the ATI bootable media files supposed to allow the usb stick to boot ?

I feel like I'm missing a neccessary step... but I did try to follow ATI user manual instructions...

 

Yes, if you use the Rescue Media Wizard it will create a bootable image. If you target a USB stick, and it is formatted FAT, and your BIOS is set to boot from your USB stick/ZIP/HDD.... and, crucially, your BIOS and the USB stick are compatable to boot it should all work.

F.

 

thank you

I'll keep trying to get the usb stick to be bootable...

 

I just realized that my Corsair Voyager 8GB usb stick will only let me format it in FAT32.

that seems to be the cause of it not being bootable?

is there some way I can make it FAT?

thanks.......

 

Hi jonjan,

Depending on the OS there is a 2GB/4GB limit on FAT. Even though modern OS's will allow upto 4GB, ATI will not let you create a rescue disk on a FAT partition of more than 2GB. I suggest you partition your usb stick and try again.

F

 

foghorne,

THank YOu

I found that my other, 4GB USB stick, can be formatted at FAT.

I successfully created the bootable files to it, and it boots fine.

I'm now creating a backup image of my Hard Drive, and placing it on the same USB stick.


So now, should I be able to...
-Add a new blank Hard Drive to a New Computer
-boot from the USB stick into ATI
-restore the image that I saved to the USB stick ?

and that should create an identical working image of my previous Hard Drive... completely fully 100% identical in operation and settings?

(almost seems too good to be true )

Jon

 

Hi,

Would anyone venture to help me with my last question?

 

I don't see why it wouldn't work as long as the system boots from the usb stick into the True Image menu. Why don't you go through the motions of doing a Recovery? As long as you get to the TI menu and you can select the Backup Image (that is also on the usb stick) to do the Recovery it should work. Can you get a spare drive to test it?

 

Hi, jonjan

You say restore to a New Computer, but sorry to say.

It will not boot on a Different [New] Computer, it is not 100% identical because there would be a change of HAL [Hardware Abstraction Layer].

The least it would need is a repair install to make it Bootable.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

Hi TheQuest,

That changes perspective. and I am still learning what this means...

If I have an ATI image from my hard drive (OS, settings, and programs)
, and my hard drive dies
can I use the image to restore the OS/settings/programs.. all using the same motherboard?

and how about if my motherboards dies, and I replace it with the same make/model of mobo and make/model of hard drives?

THANK you
Jon

 

Hi, jonjan

Yes.

Yes.

Replacing Hard Disk Drives or Optical Drives do not cause a HAL problem, neither would a change of Graphics Card.

The major cause is if the MB's Chipset is different.

Take Care,
TheQuest

 

thank you so much for your time TheQuest

"Within the larger framework of reality, everything you create through your thoughts and emotions is part of an intimate dance toward your spiritual growth, and your interpretation and response to a situation determines the outcome value you experience"

 

Hi, jonjan

Your are very welcome.

Take Care,
TheQuest