True Image 9 VERY serious problem

The final straw is that the Acronis website would not accept this message, so I’m forced to go public. ACRONIS: PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reply promptly – I’m holding my computer setup in it’s present sorry state for the greater good, to not lose ‘forensic’ evidence of the problem!

URGENT! SERIOUS PROBLEMS WITH ACRONIS TRUE IMAGE 9
~snipped~ dog ... Do not post your serial number publically

I have encountered 2 very serious problems with ATI 9 for which I believe I MAY now have a tedious work-around, but my solution will almost certainly destroy evidence from log files, system files, etc which I wish to report to you for the greater good and to get your response – I may yet need your help if my workaround doesn’t work – before I do it (I will hold back till Tuesday morning for your response. In the first instance I presume you will be asking for any log or system files from my computer that could shed light on the issues). Meanwhile, my computer is in a totally unacceptable but not quite unusable state – I can get this email to you via webmail, at least, but do little else!

I run Windows Me, which as a two-year old install was beginning to run into a few minor problems (Appendix A). I decided to use a little-known trick to reinstall the OS as cleanly as on a reformatted disk AND YET retain both my data AND ALL MY PROGRAMS, SETTINGS, CUSTOMISATIONS ETC. which works a treat – I have used it twice previously (see Reinstall Windows Me; A New Way To Go! www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=23868 ).

Prior to this, I purchased ATI 9 in XSeptember online as an update to ATI 8, and used it last Thursday to attempt to produce a disk image to a Maxtor 120GB USB removable hard disk, on which I had created an 80GB protected zone.

Half way through the process the computer shut down spontaneously (I was out of the room at the time and didn’t see warning messages, if any). On rebooting the “It is now safe to turn off your computer” appeared for a split second towards the end of the boot process, and the computer shut down. A reboot offered safe mode, which I did not take, and the normal mode reboot failed again. But it would reboot into safe mode. I wanted to uninstall Acronis, but en error message told me that I couldn’t as I had only an old version of Windows Unistaller software. I could not get online in safe mode to update.

EDIT (1) : I LEFT THIS OUT!!!

I should have added
(1) build no 2,247
(2) that at this point I rebooted into safe mode (my only option) and tried to reinstall Windows Me over itself without reformatting. In my experience this solves some, but not usually all, problems, but it rarely introduces new ones. At the halfway stage, when it has installed the OS and reboots prior to looking for peripherals, it shut down on rebooting. I rebooted into safe mode, and let the install resume, but was immediately presented with a warning that it could not continue in safe mode.

END OF EDIT (1)


I rang the helpdesk from which I had purchased an extended warranty, and received disgraceful service (which I shan’t be taking lying down): they would not hear me out with my informed reasoning for not wanting OR NEEDING to do a reformat, and insisted there was no alternative but a Format C and reinstall everything. I spoke to five different people briefly, who each put the phone down on me.

I then rang my 91-year-old Father and asked him to type into Google: pc “shuts down” “windows me” boot … or some such and got http://www.computing.net/windowsme/wwwboard/forum/45200.html
“windows me shuts down during boot” gave similar advice as the second answer in the search: http://66.249.93.104/search?q=cache...l ""Windows ME shuts down during boot" &hl=en
… which recommended that I use msconfig to disable problem programs. I disabled Acronis TI, TrueImageMonitor, and Retrospect (which had come with my Maxtor drive and I was no longer using anyway) in case it was in conflict with ATI. I can now boot up into normal mode but with new problems (Appendix B).

I did a virus and spyware check and it was clean (I knew it would be. I’m rigorous about security).

EDIT (2) : I LEFT THIS OUT!!!

I should have added:-
Now I could reboot into normal mode and the reinstall of Windows Me over itself resumed. This completed uneventfully.

I then checked that my CD-rom writer was working still. Yes. WHAT I HAVE IN MIND, PLEASE, IS TO SEND ACRONIS ANY LOG OR SYATEM FILES THEY WANT IF THEY LET ME KNOW TODAY. I’LL BURN THEM ONTO CD-ROM AND PUT THEM INT THE SNAIL MAIL , AND THEN DO THE NEAT CONSERVATIVE REINSTALL TRICK WHICH MAY NEVERTHELESS LOSE THIS KEY INFO. I CANNOT AFFORD TO BE WITHOUT MY COMPUTER ANY LONGER!

END OF EDIT (2)


I want to try the neat ‘conservative clean reinstall’ www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=23868 to which I referred above. My computer is very full of a load of imaging and astronomy software, and is highly customised (folder structure, desktop etc.) and I really DON’T want to have to reformat. The fact that I’ve solved the bootup problem suggests that I should be able to perform the conservative reinstall ok now, but will hold back till Tuesday morning for your response. In the first instance I presume you will be asking for any log or system files from my computer that could shed light on the issues. I cannot send emails (thanks partly to Yahoo’s too clever by half security system, which frequently produces security box images that don’t open or display) but can communicate via your website. I can therefore only send you files that can be opened and interpreted as text files, unless indeed the website does accept my attachments (so much has gone wrong recently I’d be surprised if anything works).

The second issue is: DID you overlook the uninstall requirements for the older versions of Windows?

I look forward to a brief email from you in my inbox by first thing (UK time) Tuesday morning!

John Kemp

APPENDIX A. Computer beginning to slow down; error messages (0028 type) on shutdown. After these errors, rebooting usually requested a scandisk. On booting up, the McAfee Security Center icon was black and a warning appeared that components were missing – o.k. on reboot. I strongly suspect, based on my previous experience, that the WindowsBBS fix discussed in the body of this letter will fix these, and I’m living with them till I’ve tried it.

APPENDIX B. I cannot use Outlook Express; Windows Update is unreliable but works partly; the McAfee Security Center icon still often goes black but a second, working, instance can be opened manually and stays working; and I cannot reset my screen to 265 colours and1024x 768 resolution). I can’t open the little box in the Yahoo webmail that you have to read and type in the contents of to authenticate so I CANNOT send emails. SERIOUSLY (for my prospects with Acronis) I opened ATI 9 – still disabled at startup by msconfig – because I thought I would need info to register. It started to analyse my system – though I didn’t actively ask it to do so – and it again crashed my system, though it was back to its present unsatisfactory working state on a reboot.

P.S. YOU MAY GET A SECOND COPY OF THIS FROM MY EMAIL PROVIDER – I ASKED THEIR HELPDESK TO EMAIL IT TO YOU BEFORE I REASLISED I COULD WORK – or so I thought!!! - THROUGH THE WEBSITE!

 

Hello John,

I am very sorry for the delayed response and your inconveniences.

Could you please let me know your your Acronis request # which was sent to you in autoreply to your letter to Acronis Support Team? I will try to find it and trace your correspondence with Support Team.

Thank you.
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Irina Shirokova