XP/Raid 0

I am testing Acronis True Image Trial Ver. 9 (build 2,323) (TI) to see if it will work with my PC. Basically, I am running a Windows XP (SP1) system, with two Seagate drives in a Raid 0 configuration. The Raid 0 is controlled by an Intel integrated controller. Details as to my PC set-up are listed below.

I have read the manual for TI (fairly sparse) and several hundred posts which under the "Search" function here, discussed Raid 0 back-ups and restores. I have been unable to find a clear answer to what I need to know about the software. If I have missed a source for this info, my appologies in advance.

I have created a back-up on an external USB 2.0 drive, and have "checked" (i.e., verified) the back-up, as well as viewing it under "Plug Image." These appear to be working fine.

I have created a "Bootable rescue media" (BRM) in the form of a CD. I have inserted the BRM in my PC's CD drive at boot-up, and the graphical interface for TI loads with two options, and with a default for loading Windows XP. I have allowed it to default to Windows XP in my several tests.

First Question: When booting using the BRM, should I select the first option to load drivers to make sure the BRM works with my Raid 0 system? If I do so, will it adversely impact my PC in any way?

Second Question: What procedure do I use check to see if (1) the Raid 0 driver is loaded and (2) that my Raid 0 system can be restored from my external USB HD?

Third Question: If I lose one of the internal HDs which make up my 320 MB Raid 0 system, I would most likely replace the two current HDs with a single larger HD (500MB) and not use any Raid configuration. Will I be able to restore or clone my TI backup to that same computer with a new single but larger HD and have a fully bootable PC?

Fourth (Last) Question: If I lose one of the internal HDs which make up my 320 MB Raid 0 system, and I decide to replace it with a like HD and use the Raid 0 configuration, will I be able to restore my TI backup to that same computer and have a fully bootable PC? Does the drive have to be identical, i.e. 160MB? What if I replaced both HDs with larger HDs, i.e. 250 MBs each, will I be able to restore my TI backup to that same computer and have a fully bootable PC?

PC System Info

MPC Millennia 920i Creative Studio
- Operating System: Windows XP Pro (SP1)
- Motherboard: Bonanza - Intel D875PBZ ATX
- Chipset: Intel 875P and ICH5R chipset and dual channel DDR400 SDRAM. System Bus 800/533 Mhz
- ATA Controller: Intel 82801EB Ultra ATA
- RAID Controller: Intel 82801ER SATA RAID
- Processor: Pentium 4 Processor @ 3.2 with hyperthreading on, 512 Cache
- RAM: 1024 MB Dual Channel DDR400 SDRam - 2 Dimms Non-ECC
- Video Card: 256mb DDR 2 nVidia Geforce FX 5950 8x AGP
- HD Storage: 2 x 160GB Seagate Alpine 7200RPM 8MB Cache, Serial ATA-150 in a RAID 0 configuration using Windows XP driver ver. 5.1.2535.0
- Sound Card: Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 2 ZS
- Video Editing Card: Canopus Let's Edit RT+ real time
- Firewire Card: 1394 IEEE PCI
- DVD Writer: Sony DW-U14A 4x DVD-R/RW, +R/RW
- DVD Reader/CD Writer: Lite-On CDRW/DVD 48X24X48X-16X Combo Drive
- Removable Storage: Zip Internal 750MB
- Floppy Drive: NEC 1.44MB 3.5" Internal
- Ethernet (10/100/1000) Network Card: Intel Integrated Gigabit
- Modem: 3Com V.90 PCI (Condor)
- Power Supply: Sparkle 300 Watt ATX 12V
- Iomega 250MB External USB 2.0 drive

 

Not sure. Will have to check with my PC.

RAID config is handled by the controller. Windows and the PC and I assume BRM should just see it as another hard drive. As long as the image will fit on one drive, changing should not be a problem.

 

I didn't get an option to load drivers. It works fine with my VIA SATA raid setup. Just doesn't see my OS drives which are on an ATA raid controller although not in raid. I don't believe Acronis gives you the option to add drivers such as BartPE will. If they could give me the TI8 plugin for BartPE I would use it. But I am only a registered user of TI9.

 

Any one able to takle these questions?

Thanks

 

Hello Kevin,

Thank you for your interest in Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please be aware that Acronis True Image 9.0 Bootable Rescue Media is Linux based and contains it's own assortment of drivers for the wide variety of modern hardware devices. It does not allow you to add some particular drivers during the bootup process.

Please also note that Safe mode doesn't have USB, PC card (formerly called PCMCIA) or SCSI drivers and is useful only in case the Full version doesn’t work.

In order to find out whether your particular RAID controller is supported by the latest build (2323) of Acronis True Image 9.0 you should boot into the Full version of Bootable Rescue CD created using the latest build (2323) of Acronis True Image 9.0 and see how it recognizes your RAID array. If it is recognized as a single hard drive then you should be able to restore your image without a problem. The same applies to any type of the external USB hard drive.

The above procedure should not affect your computer's functionality in any way.

Yes, Acronis True Image 9.0 allows you to restore the image of your current RAID 0 configuration to both new single hard drive and new RAID array. You do not need to use the identical hard drive(s) in order to be able to recover your system to a working (bootable) state. However, you should make sure that you have created an image of the entire hard drive by checking the tick box near the hard drive's name (see respective screen shot in section 4.2 of Acronis True Image 9.0 User's Guide), since only the image of the entire hard drive contains MBR which is "responsible" for your hard drive to be bootable.

If you have any further questions concerning Acronis software, please feel free to submit a request for technical support or post any of them on this forum. We will certainly try to help you in resolving any issues.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

TI 9.0 & Raid 0 - Seems to be working

I wanted to follow-up to state that my tests indicate that TI 9 does seem to work with my system.

Per the instructions above, I booted with a BRM CD, selected the "Full" option for TI 9, which loaded. While my wireless mouse doesn't function correctly, my keyboard was able to work fine.

I then selected the backup routine in TI 9 and it shows my C: drive as one NTFS drive, not two separate drives. I then cancelled the Backup routine and Exited TI 9, which then booted into Windows.

Is this enough testing? I did a full Backup of the entire drive, so I really can't Restore or Clone to test the restore function.

Is there some way that I can test the restore function to make sure it is working?

 

I have had problems with TI 8 and XP/Raid 0.

When I tried to reinstall the backup image of the operating system, I had to exit windows and use the boot TI cd. When my system re-booted, TI did not see the raid 0 configuration, instead of opting for two separate hard drives. At the same time, it destroyed the master partition table for the hard drive. Hence, I was not able to re-install the image, and my system was not longer able to boot from the hard drive. I had to use the emergency boot CD from Partition Magic to reformat the drives, and make the disk bootable again.

I am beginning to question if the raid configuration is the way to go. I have not been able to find backup software that handles this at all.

Sorry this isn't much help. Just wanted you to know that you are not the only one having trouble with this.

 

Kevin, my two Raid 0's are fine also (Intel ICH5R and Promise). I have a wireless mouse and it works with the Recovery CD by Holding F11 on boot until the options screen comes up. Then add usbmouse=off to the line.

 

Raid 0 on ICH5R with TI 9?

Hey MPSAN are you talking about TI 8 or 9? TI 9 works fine with the promise and the ICH5R but does TI 9 work as well on the same setup. I use a wireless PS2 mouse and it's never been an issue with TI 8.

 

Re: Raid 0 on ICH5R with TI 9?

I am using TI9. My mouse is a wireless USB mouse. It worked fine until after TI9, 2277. Other than that all seems OK.

 

Re: Raid 0 on ICH5R with TI 9?

Hello Kevin,

Please be aware that the issue with the incorrect functioning of the USB\wireless mouse is known and being investigated at the moment. Please accept our apologies for the current inconvenience.

Could you please provide us with the following information?

- Create Linux system information (sysinfo.txt) as it is described in Acronis Help Post;

Please keep your mouse connected while creating sysinfo.txt file.

- What are the exact vendor and model of your mouse?

- Describe actions taken before the problem appears step-by-step.

Please submit a request for technical support with the subject indicating that you want to contact Alexey Popov. Attach the collected sysinfo.txt file and information to your request along with the link to this thread. I'll forward this information to our Development Team and it will certainly help them to resolve this issue faster.

Please also note that while the fixed build is not released, you can try booting with "usbmouse=off" parameter as MPSAN has suggested above. It should solve the problem.

What concerns the test you've done, please note that I consider it as quite sufficient to be sure that you will be able to restore your image in case of the system crash. You may also find Menorcaman's instructions helpful.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Just a follow-up to post #7.

If anyone is having trouble with TI 8 and a raid 0/XP set-up, this issue has been addressed in the update for 8.0. You have to register your software and go to updates. Install the update, build #937, for support on Broadcom SATA RAID controller. I have a nvidia raid controller, but the upgrade works on that. I was able to install my saved image onto the c: partition of the raid drive.

I guess the original version did not support SATA drives in raid 0 configuration.