true image corrupt again!

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by lodore, Jan 28, 2007.

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  1. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    hello,
    it used to be that images where corropt when verifing the images if i used high compresstion. but now even the images with normal compression are corropt as well.
    so it seems it either hit the bad ram or ATI is rubbish and makes corropt images.

    why let it spend over 2 hours of not using the computer to then find when it checks it its corropt.
    i need a reliable imaging solution and it seems ATI cant provide that.

    so because i only have a 100gb external harddrive atm i have one bad image and thats it.
    thats no good.
    i had to delete the old image to put a new one on.
    sorry about the rant but i just want backup software that works.
    i know that some backup software can provide that.
    i hope acronis can eiether help me or give me my money back so i can get a better product.
    I have attached an image to see if anyone can help.
    thanks in advance
    lodore
     

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  2. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    TI does work - based upon the problems you have been reporting for the last few weeks my money is on bad RAM or your system is really unstable.
     
  3. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    my system isnt really unstable thou.
    sometimes my pc can work perfectly and it was before and during the image.
    its odd that sometimes when i log off and log on to the same account or a different account it can be realllllllly reallly slooowwwww...........
    but then i reboot and its fine.
    i had to reboot to get to normal speed before i done the backup.
    so you think i should get my dad to buy some new ram then do a new image?
    and have no image intill then?
    i know someone said before that corropt images in ati can be a sign of bad ram.
    lodore
     
  4. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    The validate image function reads the entire archive and calculates a checksum which must agree with the checksum stored in the archive when it was created.

    Anything whether it is a HD or RAM or bad cable, bad motherboard or even too agressive system settings can cause the data to be misread or improperly stored in RAM such that the calculation will fail and generate the "corrupt archive" message. Remember you are writing and reading files that contain many gigabytes of data and it only takes one wrong bit to cause the archive to be declared corrupt. In practice, this means your PC has to be working perfectly and it is possible to have dropped bits in normal operation that will not cause any noticeable problems - it just depends on what is stored at those locations.

    If your system is not overclocked or has aggressive memory settings, I would run a memory diagnostic like memtest86+, version 1.7 available at www.memtest.org . Overnight is a good idea since the RAM may be have a soft rather than hard failure. If your settings are aggressive then back them off to the defaults and don't overclock anything.

    If you have more than one stick of RAM and the machine will run on only 1 stick you can try running 1 stick at a time since the odds are any failure are on 1 stick but you could have multiple failures.

    I don't think you have a problem with your external drive but you can run chkdsk /r on it.
     
  5. Long View

    Long View Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    Only once in 6 years have I had a problem directly caused by Acronis ( an early build of 9). I use 5 different desk machines - some newer (SATA2 core duo) and some older P4 2.4 (Rambus) and 2 laptops. Some are working with TI 8, TI9, TI 9.1 and TI 10. I'm not sure but TI 6 and TI 7 would probably work with one or two of the older set ups. I just don't get corrupt images and have stopped verifying years ago ---- so unless you originally had a hardware/software incompatability which has only now decided to show itself I would be concerned about the RAM or possibly the USB cable.

    If you can get your Dad to buy 2 gig of reasonable RAM you can hardly go wrong - even if you have to ultimately buy a new USB cable yourself

    Wish I still had a Dad rather than being the Dad who has to do the buying :D
     
  6. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    Hello lodore,

    In this <previous thread> of yours you seemed to agree that your RAM was suspect. If not already done, download a copy of <Memtest86+ v1.70> and run it for a few hours (preferably overnight). There should be zero errors reported during the test. If there are then you know what needs to be done. :D

    Regards
     
  7. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    well your right it does seem that its a ram error but ive got two sticks of ram and they are both the same so i wouldnt know which one had the fault.
    i dont really want to leave a ram stick outside the pc lieing around with all the dust in this house.
    i might just pay some money towards the new ram and get my dad to order it soon.
    im gonna try and do the image again over night and check it in the morning if it shows corropt then i will probaly get new ram. as i said it only used to show corropt when i used high compression but now it shows it on nomal compression as well so it seems the ram problem is getting worse.
    also recently i had to stop using windowblinds because it kept crashing explorer and other stuff. but before that i used it for over a year and it worked fine.
    so if i get new ram maybe i can use windowblinds again.

    reguarding memtest86 the other day i burned the iso image to a cd and try to boot from it and it didnt and went right to windows.
    i used nero's iso burning feature.
    lodore
     
  8. Carver

    Carver Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    I did a full backup last night, and it validated ok, my moneys on your ram being the culprit.
     
  9. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    glad someone can relate to it being the ram.
    i just need to convince my dad we need new ram.
    i might get crutical Ballistix Tracer 1GB.
    since it doesnt support dual channel memory one 1gb stick should be fine.
    i think the heat spreads should help act as covers to stop dust getting on the ram and damaging it.
    plus they look cool=D
    also it should stop kaspersky crashing and showing a memory address in the event log when it crashed.
    lucky ive set it to do scans and im a safe surfer anyway behind a nat device.
    lets hope i can convince my dad to get new ram and have a better pc once ive installed the ram

    lodore
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2007
  10. Bruce Mahnke

    Bruce Mahnke Registered Member

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    The suggestion to run Memtest86+ v1.70 overnight is a good one. I recently had a problem that was identified after 20 passes. Doing this might save you the cost of replacing the modules which might be OK. Note that there other hardware related issues that can be causing your problem. In my case even tho the memory test eventually showed errors, the real issue turned out to be a defective PCI card from Promise Technology that controlled the internal PATA hard drives. With only the C: drive connected everything worked correctly. Adding a D:drive still was OK. Disconnecting D: and adding E: was OK. With all three drives connected the problem appeared. My point is that there can be other hardware or software related issues that are causing your problem. Troubleshooting the system can be a long process.
     
  11. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    Interesting. You certainly are correct that it can be other issues; anything that causes the data to be bad will cause the checksum to fail. In my case it was a marginal SATA cable.
     
  12. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    You try and find which one had the fault by just having one in the machine at a time and running the memory diagnostic or doing a bunch of TI validates. If after a while the stick doesn't fail put in the second one and see what happens. Even if the first fails, put the second stick in and see if it works perfectly.

    Why are you hung up on a bit of dust? Sure a layer of dust can build up on components after months and it does cause them to run a bit hotter but the amount of dust you are going to get on the stick is nothing at all. If you are concerned slip the free stick into an old anti-static bag or carefully wrap it in aluminum foil which has been layed on the PC chassis so it is at the same potential. Use an anti-static strap to ground yourself to the chassis before removing or inserting the stick but if you don't have one do what most people do, be sure you touch the PC's metal chassis before removing or inserting the stick so you are at the same potential.
     
  13. Bruce Mahnke

    Bruce Mahnke Registered Member

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    You have received a lot of valuable information in this posting. Seekforever is very knowledgeable and has provided some excellent input. I agree that dust on the memory chips, although not the best situation, is not causing your problem. This will perhaps reduce the normal heat transfer from the chips but is unlikely to cause the problem you are experiencing.
     
  14. Menorcaman

    Menorcaman Retired Moderator

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    Re: true image corropt again!

    Well hopefully you downloaded Memtest86+ v1.7 from www.memtest.org rather than the old, original, Memtest86 from www.memtest86.com :)

    As for burning the Memtest86+ ISO to CD, can you confirm that you didn't use Nero's CD-ROM (ISO) compilation feature but selected Recorder > Burn Image from Nero v6/v7's menu bar instead (for Nero v5 it's File > Burn Image)? In addition, can we assume that you had set your computer's boot sequence so that it boots from CD-ROM before any of the hard drives?

    Prior to using Memtest86+, I would remove the RAM, clean the contacts along the base of the RAM module (both sides) with a soft eraser (or a rubber as it's known in the UK :D), and then reinstall both sticks. Also, I would ensure that your motherboard isn't overclocked and that the memory clock speed is set correctly for the type of memory being used. Depending on your motherboard and type of memory this could be either 100Mhz, 133Mhz, 166Mhz or 200Mhz, so check your motherboard's manual.

    As seekforever said, run Memtest86+ and if you get any errors, remove one of the RAM modules and repeat the test in order to isolate which stick is faulty. However, I would not rely on image verification in lieu of the memory test unless you create a new image each time. After all, there is no way of knowing whether the existing images were corrupted by bad memory during their creation.

    Regards
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2007
  15. lodore

    lodore Registered Member

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    i downloaded it from the oringal old website lol.
    i will download the iso from the other website when i get home.
    i know it boots from the cd drive first because i have used linux live cd's in the same drive.
    i am tryed it on my old pc first to make sure it works so it doesnt screw up my newer pc.
    i only have one maxtor sata hard drive plugged in to the asus mobo.
    the other harddrive is a maxtor one touch III extternal
    lodore
     
    Last edited: Jan 29, 2007
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