Poor media quality?

Amen to the above.
Anyway, this is my post, originally.
This is the last from Acronis:

>>2) Create an image archive on a hard disk drive splitting the image by volumes of 650-700 Mb (depends on the size of your CD discs) and then burn these volumes to CDs manually

Thank you.

--
Andrew Berezovsky
__________________
Best regards,
Acronis Support Team

Acronis, Inc.<<

I've done this and it works in this bastardized configuration. At least I've got my data backed up, although not as it's supposed to be.
Acronis Support:
Is this the way I'm supposed to continue to use your Program?
And will you set up a new set of instructions for incremental backups?
And will you check on refunding my purchase price since the program doesn't work as advertised?
Thanks,
Pete Crane

6/1
So much for recommending Acronis to my customers.

 

Support,

I just logged my problem through email, but just wanted to add myself to this thread. I don't quite understand the workaround given to cfourkays:
"2) Create an image archive on a hard disk drive splitting the image by volumes of 650-700 Mb (depends on the size of your CD discs) and then burn these volumes to CDs manually"

I have a Plextor PX-708A DVD-R , and either I get the error message, or occasionally the program just hangs when I hit the "Proceed" button.

1. When is the bug fix coming?
2. What does "splitting by volumes" mean? I didn't see that option.

Matt
p.s. I really went through a lot to get to this point. At first, I couldn't even see my DVD-R.

 

What they want you to do is use their program to create the image on your hard drive, assuming you have enough room, and than burn it to the disks.
I don't know what they're talking about with splitting except that you will never get one image on a disk.
So, for continuity, maybe they want you to partition which would give you different Volume names.
I'm just sorry I bought it.
Pete

 

Say you have a 40 GB partition. Even with compression, the image will be like ~20 GB. Now, unless you have dual-layer, blue-ray DVD-burner costing $10,000 that can burn 25 GB DVD's, you need to split that image up in smaller pieces, say 650 MB sub-images, and put each sub-image on an CD (or 4 sub-images on a normal 4.7 GB DVD). And you do that by instructing TI to limit the size of each (sub)image to 650 MB.

 

Hello cfourkays,

Could you please tell me your Acronis request # which was sent to you in autoreply? If you send cdrecord.log to us we will certainly find the solution.

We will add the new instructions for incremental backups in the future.

Please see the following article on our web-site: http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing/sales/retail/refund/.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

MiniMax: Thanks! I had not come across that option for image size when writing to DVD+R. It shows up when writing to the HD. These guys really should be paying you.

cFourKays: To my brother in arms... Good luck! Let me know if you get a solution. I still have 7 days left where I can return this software to newegg, so you might not hear from me anymore. Support is working on a logfile I sent them last night. The clock is ticking. I plan to get on cNet, PCWeek, and downloads.com and warn potential buyers if we don't get a resolution soon.

 

Hello gentlemen and also Acronis Support personnel today.

I absolutely MUST! also weigh in on this issue. I have what should be the easiest of all O/S to do anything on Win98SE.

True Image 826 latest edition DOES NOT WORK! when it comes to copying directly to CD Media (also DVD?)

Norton's Ghost is also a Flop for me when it comes to something like this.

Is the technology or windows makeup too difficult to create an effective program that can perform this feat?

Nero does fine for writing any which way (image/data/audio) it seems to CD Disc but none of these Imaging programs seem to be able to master this yet.

The first program that is capable to overcome this limitation has my full endorsement as well as my business for myself and all my associates. Thanks

 

I just bought this software with build 791 and am having the same problem.

I bought it based on ravings of a computer professional who appears on Wednesday night Steve and Johnnie computer segment on WGN720 50,000 watt radion station.

Needless to say I will be posting him my problem and advising him there are many others with the same problem. I also will be following up on the program.

I am sure he is not presently aware of the problem, but soon will be.

 

You're sure to see this.

Best of Luck!




Thank you for choosing Acronis Backup Software.

If you face a problem with Acronis software, please download and install the latest build of the product. To get access to updates you should create an account first (if you haven't yet) and then register your copy of the product. After registration you will be able to log in on our site and download the latest build of the registered products. If you forget the password for your account please use this form.

You can apply the update to the current installation but the best way to proceed with updating the product is:
- completely uninstall Acronis True Image from your system and reboot the computer;
- carry out a clean installation of the latest build you have downloaded.

 

To all of you who can not burn directly to CD's, please try the following and post the results here. It will not solve your problem, but *I* would like to know the results anyway.

Thanks, MiniMax
__________________
Run the following commands from a command prompt:

C:> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\CDRecord\cdrecord" -scanbus​

Somewhere in the output, there should be line identifying your CD-burner. Mine reads:

scsibus1:

1,0,0 100) '_NEC ' 'DVD_RW ND-3520A ' '1.04' Removable CD-ROM​

Mucho-important here are the the 3 pseudo-device digits 1,0,0 (yours may vary).

Insert one of your CD-RW and execute this command (substituting the device digits with your own):

C:> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\CDRecord\cdrecord" -atip dev=1,0,0​

The last part of the outpur will read something like this:

ATIP info from disk:
. Indicated writing power: 5
. Is not unrestricted
. Is not erasable
. Disk sub type: Medium Type B, low Beta category (B-) (4)
. ATIP start of lead in: -12520 (97:15/05)
. ATIP start of lead out: 359849 (79:59/74)
Disk type: Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 26
Manufacturer: TDK Corporation​

The 79:59 (HH:MM) is the size (recording time) of the CD, and the 359849 is (I think) the number of data sectors on the disc.

 

MiniMax,
Tried to send you a screenshot of the command prompt window (155KB). I compressed it (121KB) but zip files aren't accepted.

Part of the output was "DVD+R/DVD+RW support code is missing". I don't get this as my DVD drive handles these formats OK. For example, I finally succeeded (as reported in this thread) in making a DVD image and using it to restore my C:drive.

This is probably not what you asked for.
Malcolm

 

Sorry,MiniMax, it was the thread below I posted in:-

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=82505

Malcolm

 

Screenshot? Just copy and paste the text...

That is as expected. The program is 'cdrecord', and is (I think) what Acronis uses to burn the CD's. It is not used for DVD-recording. And this thread is (was?) about CD's, right?

(and I can not find the requested info in the thread you linked to?)

 

MiniMax
Sorry for any confusion re CDs and DVDs.
In emails I received from Acronis support was the following

"Could you please download, unpack and install the following file?

http://www.acronis.com/files/support/TrueImage8.0_cdlog_s_en.zip

After this please run the program, reproduce the problem and send us the cdrecord.log file created in the \Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\CDRecord folder."

Since I had been using DVDs all the while I thought the CD terminology embraced DVDs also. Anyway, that's why I applied it to DVDs. Also, I was just trying to honour a request for information you asked for.

Should it be of any value to you, the following is the output from the command window:-

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\Dad> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\CDRecord" atip dev=
1,0,0
'"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\CDRecord"' is not recognized as an inter
nal or external command,
operable program or batch file.

C:\Documents and Settings\Dad> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis|CDRecord\cdrecord"
-atip dev=1,0,0
The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect.

C:\Documents and Settings\Dad> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\CDRecord\cdrecord"
-atip dev=1,0,0
Cdrecord-Clone 2.01 (i686-pc-cygwin) Copyright (C) 1995-2004 Jörg Schilling
scsidev: '1,0,0'
scsibus: 1 target: 0 lun: 0
DEVNODE: EC930000
Using libscg version 'schily-0.8'.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Warning: using
inofficial libscg transport code version (acronis-1.9 '@(#)cdrecord-aspi.patch,
v 1.9 2004/09/10 11:11:43 yuri Exp').
Device type : Removable CD-ROM
Version : 0
Response Format: 2
Capabilities :
Vendor_info : 'HL-DT-ST'
Identifikation : 'DVDRAM GSA-4082B'
Revision : 'A208'
Device seems to be: Generic mmc2 DVD-R/DVD-RW.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Found DVD+ med
ia but DVD+R/DVD+RW support code is missing.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: If you need DV
D+R/DVD+RW support, ask the Author for cdrecord-ProDVD.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Free test vers
ions and free keys for personal use are at ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/cdrecord/Pro
DVD/
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Sorry, no CD/D
VD-Recorder or unsupported CD/DVD-Recorder found on this target.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: This version o
f cdrecord does not include DVD-R/DVD-RW support code.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: If you need DV
D-R/DVD-RW support, ask the Author for cdrecord-ProDVD.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Free test vers
ions and free keys for personal use are at ftp://ftp.berlios.de/pub/cdrecord/Pro
DVD/
Using generic SCSI-3/mmc CD-ROM driver (mmc_cd).
Driver flags : MMC-3 SWABAUDIO BURNFREE
Supported modes: TAO PACKET SAO SAO/R96P SAO/R96R RAW/R16 RAW/R96P RAW/R96R

C:\Documents and Settings\Dad>

Also, the screenshot business I mentioned was because before I was using Firefox browser & didn't know how to configue the copy/paste function to put the text here. I've had to switch to IE to include the command output in this post.

Malcolm

 

Thanks for the information, Malcolm. Like you, I am just an ordinary user of True Image, with no documentation on how True Image really works internally. Instead I have to read between the lines in answers provided by Acronis and combine it with a little bit of guesswork and my personal experience with a lot of software. Being able to see the output from 'cdrecord' running on another system than mine, helps making the guesswork more accurate.

As it has been mentioned over and over again, True Image doesn't know how to handle DVD's. Instead it relies on whatever packet-writing (UDF) software that is already installed. But I assume that CD's are a different matter, since True Image installs this 'cdrecord' program. As hinted to by Ilya (in this very thread), the problem with poor media quality messages is caused by a problem/short-coming in 'cdrecord':

And what do this have to do with 'cdrecord -atip' you ask? Well, here is a definition of ATIP that I found at knowhow.cdfreaks.com:

Every CD-R has important info on the disc itself which is called ATIP (Absolute Time In Pre-groove) or pre-groove for short. Without this data/info the CD-R cannot be used by a writer. The ATIP contains the following info:

* The capacity of the CD-R
* The manufacturer of the CD-R
* The type of the CD-R (eg. Audio only)
* Supported writing speeds
* Absolute lead-in time
* Last possible address where data can be written
* etc...​

What I would like to do, is to see if I/you can get 'cdrecord' to show the error message that Ilya talks about (it didn't receive the size of the media).

Back to your output:

Code:

/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Found DVD+ media but DVD+R/DVD+RW support code is missing.

Ahh - you ran 'cdrecord' with a DVD+ inserted, right? Then we will never know the answer, since DVD's uses a different mechanism than ATIP.

Code:

Using generic SCSI-3/mmc   CD-ROM driver (mmc_cd).
Driver flags   : MMC-3 SWABAUDIO BURNFREE
Supported modes: TAO PACKET SAO SAO/R96P SAO/R96R RAW/R16 RAW/R96P RAW/R96R

Now, had you had an CD-R (or +R, or -RW, or +RW) in the drive instead of an DVD, then we might have seen the error message. But since there is no ATIP info on a CD DVD, we get nothing

 

Hi there MiniMax,

Did you really mean CD or should that have been DVD ?

Although I don't have a problem with CDs or DVDs, or indeed TI as a whole, I find your various technical inputs to this forum most enlightening.

Kind regards
Tom

 

MiniMax,
OK this time, with a blank CD-R in the CD-ROM drive.
BTW, I've had to switch my browser from FireFox to IE again to be able to paste in this reply. Do you know how to "edit the Mozilla config file to allow this action". I can find the file but don't know how to edit it. It contains a daunting amount of data!
Also, a second request while I'm at it - how do I disable smilies once and for all as opposed to checking the box in Additional Options with each reply?
Hope the following helps,
Malcolm


Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.
C:\Documents and Settings\Dad> "%CommonProgramFiles%\Acronis\CDRecord\cdrecord"
-atip dev=1,1,0
Cdrecord-Clone 2.01 (i686-pc-cygwin) Copyright (C) 1995-2004 Jörg Schilling
scsidev: '1,1,0'
scsibus: 1 target: 1 lun: 0
DEVNODE: EC930001
Using libscg version 'schily-0.8'.
/cygdrive/c/Program Files/Common Files/Acronis/CDRecord/cdrecord: Warning: using
inofficial libscg transport code version (acronis-1.9 '@(#)cdrecord-aspi.patch,
v 1.9 2004/09/10 11:11:43 yuri Exp').
Device type : Removable CD-ROM
Version : 0
Response Format: 1
Vendor_info : 'ATAPI '
Identifikation : 'CD-RW 48X24 '
Revision : 'D.IC'
Device seems to be: Generic mmc CD-RW.
Using generic SCSI-3/mmc CD-R/CD-RW driver (mmc_cdr).
Driver flags : MMC-3 SWABAUDIO BURNFREE FORCESPEED
Supported modes: TAO PACKET SAO SAO/R96P SAO/R96R RAW/R16 RAW/R96P RAW/R96R
ATIP info from disk:
Indicated writing power: 4
Is not unrestricted
Is not erasable
Disk sub type: Medium Type A, low Beta category (A-) (2)
ATIP start of lead in: -12508 (97:15/17)
ATIP start of lead out: 359845 (79:59/70)
Disk type: Short strategy type (Phthalocyanine or similar)
Manuf. index: 22
Manufacturer: Ritek Co.

C:\Documents and Settings\Dad>

 

Hi Malcolm,

Unless Wilders Security change their policy, I'm afraid you can't. I contacted the Forum Administrator (LowWaterMark) last year and suggested that the default setting for Smilies might best be set to "disabled" (particularly when there is so much use of the terms "(True Image " and "(<drive letter>" in the forum). Unfortunately this was declined as he felt more people used smilies than didn't. I thought this highly unlikely but felt disinclined to argue my point further.

Perhaps one of the current Wilders Security Moderators would like to comment?

Regards

 

Thanks, Menorcaman!
Before I first posted I configured something about smilies. Now unless I tick that box in Additional Options, the smiley I chose back then appears in my current reply no matter how inappropriate it may look!
That MiniMax sure knows a thing or two, doesn't he!
Cheers,
Malcolm

 

Thanks.

Sorry - I can not answer that since I don't understand the problem. I use Firefox, and CTRL-C / cTRL-V works fine for me?? If you are refering the formatting of the text, juse enclose it in [ code ] / [ /code ] tags.

Seems like 'cdrecord' got the size info just fine of the CD, so now I am as confused as ever

I did mean CD.
You are right. I meant an CD.

Thanks for the kind words Tom & Malcolm.

 

MiniMax,

Let's hope that Acronis are trying as hard as we are!
I sure hope ver 9 or whatever has it all sorted out. And will we longsufferers get a free upgrade?
Some posters are saying they have no troubles even with the direct method that uses ATI itself to create the DVD image. Don't know what they've got!
Cheers,
Malcolm

PS: Strangely, I can now paste into my replies normally while using Firefox - I don't know why I got that message about editing the config file before. My settings are still the same.
Regards.

 

Hi MiniMax,

I'm afraid I'm a little confused by your reply. In your Post #41 you said:

You then went on to say:

As all CDs contain ATIP info and DVDs don't, I thought the final statement should have read:

"But since there is no ATIP info on a DVD, we get nothing."

What have I missed

Regards
Tom

 

You missed me getting a mental black out I don't know what I was thinking, sorry! Off course it should have said that an DVD does not contain the ATIP info. I have gone back and changed the post accordingly.

 

Hi MiniMax,

No worries. At my age mental blackouts are quite common so I know how you feel

Kind regards
Tom