Was not able to create Acronis Secure Zone

Started out trying to backup up using Nero and got this error message:

08:54:16 AM Nero BackItUp cannot lock the selected partition/hard disk because it is locked by another program. In this case some of your data will not be backed up. Do you wish to continue without locking?
Source file: DriveBackupCompilation.cpp, Line: 1136

Now trying Acronis True Image 9 and get this error message dialog:

"Acronis True Image was not able to create Acronis Secure Zone on the selected drive"

Probably related problem? How can I determine what other program has the hard drive locked and/or work around this problem?

Thanks,

HOG

 

Hello HOGCALLER,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Yes, you probably have some program (e.g. other backup software, antivirus software, partition management software, etc.) installed on your PC which blocks other applications from accessing the hard drive.

First of all, please make sure that you use the latest build (2323) of Acronis True Image 9.0 which is available at: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/support/updates/

To get access to updates you should create an account at:
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/my/
then log in and use your serial number to register your software.

Please uninstall any previously installed build prior to installing build 2323.

Please also check each partition of your hard drive by Windows utility:

- For Windows 9x please use Windows menu Start\Run
then enter the command "scandskw" and test all drives;

- For Windows XP please use Windows menu Start\Run, then enter the command
"chkdsk c: /r" "chkdsk d: /r" for every partition of your hard drive.

Note that you will need to reboot your computer in order to scan the system partition.

If the problem still persists after installing the update and checking the hard drive then please download the latest version of Acronis drivers and install it with disabled logging.

If that does not help then enable logging by running the Acronis drivers installation package once again, reproduce the problem and collect the c:\snapapi.log file.

Please also create Acronis Report and Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Could you please also make a screen shot of the Device Tree application?

- Download and unpack the Device Tree application;

- Run the application;

- Completely unfold the \Driver\Disk and \Driver\FtDisk branches;

- Move the margin to the left in order to see all the items;

- Make a screen shot;

Note that the application may crash the system when you exit, so we recommend you to save all your work and close other programs prior to running it.

Please submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to 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 solution.

Please also note that as a possible workaround you can try creating Acronis Secure Zone when your PC is booted from Bootable Rescue CD created using the latest build (2323) of Acronis True Image 9.0, since there are no operating system nor any other applications running in this case.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

It will take some time to run the chkdsk /r on a 200GB and a 300GB drive so I will do that overnight and will get back to you.

Don't I need to the /f switch also (chkdsk /r /f)?

I have been doing much reading and research and have received enough recommendations to move me to go ahead and purchase your product regardless of these initial problems--which may be self-inflicted.

The first thing I did was burn the boot CD. To test it I left it in place and rebooted. Of course it booted directly to the hard drive (at that time I didn't realize that it was doing exactly what it is supposed to do) and I thought it had not worked so I immediately burned another CD left it in place and rebooted. When it seamlessly and with no input from me ended up on the hard drive again I started reading and discovered it was working perfectly. So I removed the CD and rebooted with immediate problems: no ZoneAlarm, no network, and no other network related programs working correctly. Uninstalled/reinstalled network and related programs including ZoneAlarm and got all to work except XP Security Center refused to recognize ZoneAlarm and A-V (ZoneAlarm Secuirity Suite) until I did a repair reinstall of the OS (WinXP Pro). Everything then seemed back to normal except the modem/speakerphone/answering machine which developed an echo that it did not have before--no biggie (probably driver problems that I will work out later).

It was at this point that I again started working with TI 9 and getting the errors. I have done an uninstall/reinstall of your drivers and it appears that I can now do a backup sans the secure zone. I prefer to use the secure zone if possible so I have not proceeded with the backup as of yet.

I must tell you that I was reluctant to buy another "Russian" software product after the bad taste Kaspersky (I bad mouth them every chance I get!) left in my mouth, but this forum approach to problems and troubleshooting has won me over!

I deliberatly made it seem as though I might take the info and use it to make Nero work instead of your product just to see if I got any help--YOU PASSED WITH FLYING COLORS. When I am done reading in the forum will go and purchase the special priced bundle--THANK YOU.

As soon as I have done all you suggested--I will get back to you.