unvalid backup-archives

Discussion in 'Acronis True Image Product Line' started by trekman, Jan 24, 2009.

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  1. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    Hello ,

    Im trying to do a full-backup from my XP Computer. I did several backups and every time I validate that created archive ATI tells me that the archive isnt valid. Im using an older Computer which has only USB 1.1 ports on it . Im plugging in a 300 GB NTFS formatted HD to put my backups on it . Seems everything to work but the created archives are not valid.
    I managed only 1 time via "one click" backup to create a valid archive.
    Someone has similar problems creating valid archives ? What am I doing wrong ?

    Im using latest ATI Home build 9646. I tried everything from reinstallin to use the ATI Boot disk... same thing .

    o_O o_O o_O
     
  2. jehosophat

    jehosophat Registered Member

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    Are you using the latest Acronis boot cd?

    Build 9646 is now an old build. So get the new build 9709.
     
  3. jehosophat

    jehosophat Registered Member

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  4. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    today I tried validating a new made backup archive . Didnt work. I wasnt surprised really. I just do a "one click" backup ... then choose the usb drive and it goes. But the build archive isnt valid . I m really annoyed by this ... cost me 50 € ....not funny really. I ran checks over my harddrives , no problem there , I killed all tasks after boot before doin the backup. no luck ...man I only want to do a full backup from time to time ... should be possible with this build ...btw where can I get the new build ... I looked in my acount but in "product updates" I dont see the new one.

    :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :oops: :thumbd:
     
  5. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    I downloaded new version right now ... Im not hopeful that it will do , but Ill try this weekend , Ill report what I find out .
     
  6. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    ok ...what I found out was that the english version does not work with my "german" serial number ...damit...so seems I stranded with ATI right here .:thumbd: :thumbd: :thumbd:
     
  7. jehosophat

    jehosophat Registered Member

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    Just a thought:

    Have you tried Serial number exchange? When I had build 9646 the valid serial number no longer worked. I had to go to the Acronis site, login and get a new serial number.

    There are some threads about this in this forum.

    Also a Knowledge Base article.

    http://www.acronis.co.uk/homecomputing/support/kb/articles/1059/
     
  8. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    The archive validation does not compare the contents of the archive with the source HD. It does an internal check of the archive file by reading it into memory and recalculating the checksums (4000/GB). These checksums are compared with the ones stored in the archive when it was created and if they don't all agree perfectly the archive is declared corrupt.

    Anything at all that will cause the data to be incorrectly read or transferred to RAM can cause this problem. If you haven't, run chkdsk on all the drives including the target (USB) drive. Check your RAM by running Memtest86+ available free from www.memtest.org . The current version is 2.11, let it run at least several passes, overnight is preferred.

    If this doesn't turn up anything, try making an archive of C to an internal drive/partition. You can even make one of C on C if there is enough space and then try validating this archive. If this works, then it is likely the USB drive/sub-system is the problem.

    Another thing you can try is to boot up the TI rescue CD and try validating the archive with it. Actually, this is really the one that must work since the rescue environment must be able to run to restore the active partition (typically C). The rescue environment is Linux, not Windows so there can be driver issues but this is perhaps unlikely since your motherboard doesn't sound like a new model.
     
  9. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    I defragged c drive and usb drive . I did chkdk over all drives . no problems there . RAM should be ok , cause I have no problems at all working with the computer , but Ill consider running memtest.
    I did another "one click" backup . Validation shows as usual that the archive isnt valid. :(

    Dont know what is going wrong . My PC is an Athlon 1200 with 768 MB RAM , 20 GB HD Maxtor , NVIDIA Vanta GraCard. Nothing unusual. System runs fine with XP Service Pack3.

    I will try to put another HD in it and backup files on it . Maybe its a USB Problem with the older Controller on my mainboard....dont know ... Ill report.
     
  10. shieber

    shieber Registered Member

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    mem probls might not show up unless you use a pprog that fills up virtually all the memory -- most don't but ATI will. So if the slighlty flaky mem is up in the higher reaches you might not see probs except when using ATI. Mem test is easy enogh to download for free and run over night (run at leasts that long since mem probs are often intermittent).


    As seekforever pointed out, Validation is a misnomer, it doesn't tell you that a file is valid or not; it tells you that while trying to regenerate the checksums, it produced at least one diff checksum that the ones embedded in the file. Actually, if you think about it, a file can be fine and still not validate.


     
  11. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    Just to reinforce what shieber has said, TI will often show up RAM problems when nothing appears to be wrong in normal operation. Depending on the content in the location, it is possible for data to be bad and you wouldn't even know it. Regular PCs do not check that RAM is written correctly and the power-on self test is a basic test whose principal function is to determine the size of the installed memory.

    Your PC should not be overclocked or be setup with aggressive memory timings. While other apps may tolerate this, TI can fail because of it.
     
  12. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    ok ... Ill do the ram test. Ill report what I find out. I tried to restore one of the "unvalid" archives to another PC I have which has the same hardware on it , just to see if the archive works .... the restore failed completly so I asume that the archive is considered corrupt :(
    Strange thing is that I was able to create one valid archive between my tryouts. Maybe it is really a ram thing ...well see bt that ... thanx for help so far ... Ill be back :D
     
  13. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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    Hello trekman,

    Thank you for your interesting in Acronis True Image

    To make sure that the memory module of your machine is not corrupt as this can be the reason of the issue please download one of the archives depending on what media type you are going to use:

    - diskette http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70/memtest86 -1.70.floppy.zip
    - USB Flash drive http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70/memtest86 -1.70.exe.zip
    - CD http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70/memtest86 -1.70.iso.zip

    Unpack the archive and create bootable media with the test. Instructions on how to do it can be found in README.txt in the same archive.

    After that boot your PC from the media and memtest will start automatically. When it is 100% completed, create a digital photo of the screen and send it to us.

    If the issue persists contact Acronis support and submit technical request using this link or contact us via Live Chat describe the issue and attach the following info:

    Could you please download Acronis Report utility available at http://download.acronis.com/support/AcronisReport.exe and run it, create a report and send it to us? Please compress the Acronis Report output file into an archive (e.g. with WinZip) and attach to your message by browsing for the archive. This would provide us with detailed information on the hard disk partition structure.

    Could you please do the following?

    - Open Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Information;
    - Choose the "Save" option in the "File" menu (or "Action" menu under Windows 2000), enter the "File name" and set the field "Save as type" to "System Information File (*.NFO)";
    - Send us the saved file.

    Best regards,
    --
    Dmitry Nikolaev
     
  14. seekforever

    seekforever Registered Member

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    While version 1.7 is likely just fine for older chipsets, the latest version of Memtest86+ is 2.11. A lot of newer and not so very new by computer standards chipset detection has been added.
     
  15. sidthekid

    sidthekid Registered Member

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    Dmitry, when you say "100% complete", do you mean after a single pass? Isn't it essential that Mentest86+ be run for, at least, several hours and many passes to provide a reliable test of RAM?

    I am having similar problems with ATI on one of my computers, and, after running 'plus' overnight tonight, I will post the results and all the other stuff you suggested trekman post. Or, if such an intrusion on my part will complicate this thread, would you suggest that I just start a new one? Your suggestions would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to working with you on this issue.

    Incidentally, I have, previously, had success in making images of the now-errant drive.
     
  16. trekman

    trekman Registered Member

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    hello ,

    sry , took me a while to do the research . What I found out :

    You were 100% right !!! Memory of my computer was corrupt !
    I tested with memtest an it showed up the errors soon.

    Strange that I had no problems before inside XP....

    So what I did was taking the harddrive out , putting it into another old computer of mine , then create a valid archive with ATI . Worked perfectly.
    I bought a new computer without OS and restored my system using ATI boot CD. After doing that I needed to put in my XP Installation Disk to use the repair function of the setup programm , cause hardware had changed massivly. XP Setup "repaired" windows and system started up with all my data , thanks to ATI ! :):)

    I only needed to update the hardware drivers for mainboard and gcard and I did some windows updates. Hole procedre took me bt 4 hours.

    :) :) :)

    So I want to thank you all for helping me to find out what the problem was.
    And thanks to ATI team , saving really important data for me. I do not regret that I bought it . Sry if I wrote otherwise above . I was really thinking I couldnt save my data . If I can do anything to help , just write it in here ...Ill be around ;-)

    thnx again ....
     
  17. robertpri

    robertpri Registered Member

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    Okay, dumb question, but I'm used to seeing an 'revision update' icon in the program. Nothing in the ATI menu. Does one return to the site for the new build?

    Since this one cannot make a backup [just says 'failed' with no explanation] I might as well try the new build
     
  18. Rogman

    Rogman Registered Member

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    9709 rescue media does not work for me on either a separate internal IDE drive or an external USB2 drive.

    I had to revert to 9646 and put up with the occasional invalid backup - which usually succeeded when repeated!

    I do full backups - only using rescue media - about once every fortnight or before/after a major upgrade.

    I do file backups from windows using 9709 for Documents and Settings and a couple of other folders.

    Rog
     
  19. jehosophat

    jehosophat Registered Member

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    Upgrades can be got from talking via Live Chat where you will be given a link or from a registered user account on the Acronis web site.
     
  20. jehosophat

    jehosophat Registered Member

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    I have created a boot rescue cd with build 9709 and just used it to restore a backup from a USB2 drive. So this build does work on my hardware.
     
  21. Rogman

    Rogman Registered Member

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    Hhmmm - I have not tried a restore. However the backup failed to validate every time (more than 10 attempts with variations on write speeds etc). This included auto-validating and a validation pass after a reboot. In this case I do not trust being able to restore.

    I intend to leave things as they are until the next release. No real time to play with it at the moment.

    Rog
     
  22. Tatou

    Tatou Registered Member

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    Rog

    I suggest you try Seekforever's advice in this thread to eliminate memory problems
     
  23. Acronis Support

    Acronis Support Acronis Support Staff

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  24. Rogman

    Rogman Registered Member

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    Thanks for the guidance - and also to Tatou

    I had run Memtest last week for about 30 minutes with no errors found. I tried again last night and after about 50+ minutes 3 errors were found. So I guess that is the problem. :(
    I shall let you know how it goes.
    Rog
     
  25. Tatou

    Tatou Registered Member

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    No probs


    Hope the new memory get it working OK
     
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