Can't find folder on backup images

I've got 33 images or so on an external hard disk and can't find the folders I'm looking for. Is there some way of locating two specific folders among all those images? I'm using the "Explore Image" function but can't find my My Documents folder and another one that I keep on my desktop. I don't even know which image to explore.

I'm kind of freaking out because I really need those folders and the files in them.

Thanks,

Tom Maddox`

 

Hello Tom,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please see the following example how you can try to find all the documents on your desktop:

I[the letter of a virtual drive]:\Documents and Settings\Irina Shirokova[the name of your account]\Desktop

If you have any questions please contact us.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

Thanks for the answer, but ...

I'm logging on as Owner, and when I try to go into that folder, I get the message: "L:\Documents and Setttings\Owner is not accessible. Access is denied."

It doesn't seem to matter which of the images I open.

So I'm still stuck.

Tom

 

Hello dthomasmaddox,

I get your letter and will send the reply.

Thank you.
--
Irina Shirokova

 

Here is the reply I got from support concerning the problem of not being able to access the Documents and Settings\Owner folder on my backed up images:

>If you created an image archive with Acronis True Image (any edition) and try >to explore it on another computer or in another operating system, you may get >Acess denied message upon trying to access a folder or a file.

>Please be aware that even if the user account you are currently logged on >under and that you created the image archive under have the same name, >they still have different IDs, therefore you may not have rights to access >certain folders.

>A possible workaround might be becoming NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on >Windows >2000/XP/2003: >http://security.fnal.gov/cookbook/LocalSystem.html

I tried the link above, followed its directions, still no luck.

The original computer is unavailable and may never be available. If I cannot restore my backed-up documents, I've got a real problem. I also wonder, what good is a back-up that only works on the original computer?

Does anyone know of any way to attack this problem?

Thanks,

Tom

 

I assume you have tried logging in as a member of the administrators group, selecting the parent folder and changing the ownership (including subdirectories) to that administrator ?

 

Thanks for the reply.

Yeah, I'm logged in as the Administrator, but I can't find any way of changing the permissions on the Owner folder on the image. Can't share it, can't really do anything to it.

I'm using Windows XP/SP2, and I think there's some complication in the way XP handles folder security that won't allow such a straightforward process.

Tom

 

You shouldn't have any troubles with this type of thing if you are set up properly within your workgroup. Are you sure that you went through the complete setting up of your LAN? Do you have a router? If so, and if you havn't already done this, you'll need to install other protocols that you would normally not need to....example: I could never get mine to work without installing IPX/SPX protocol. I can use TI V8 build 937 to do anything pretty much with all my images on the machine they were created on, on the other machine via the LAN...I can pull files out, directories out, you name it. I'm also running XP SP2 and havn't had a problem. I would go back and make sure your LAN is set up properly from scratch. But that's me. I hope this helps.

Lonnie

 

I posted a reply before this, but it hasn't shown up. It it does, pardon my duplicate posts.

Lonnie, thanks for the advice, but my situation is so much simpler. I had a laptop that got backed up to an external hard drive with incremental images every night. One morning I spilled a cup of coffee into the keyboard (it involved a collision with a shih-tzu, but that's another story). It's in the shop and may or may not ever work again. Meanwhile, I've tried to restore selected folders from my image backups to a different desktop computer, and that's what I can't do. No routers, no workgroup, &c. Just an inability to open the Document and Settings\Owner folder.

So, though much simpler, extraordinarily frustrating.

Tom

 

I see what you mean now about the my documents directory. I decided to do a test for myself using the situation that you mentioned (my documents folder kept on the desktop), and it screws up on me as well. Another wierd thing is when I did it, I made it a "ShortCut" and when I double clicked it, it showed me the contents of the my documents directory of the computer that I was looking at the file from.. my desktop I used to look at the image on my tablet. Isn't that wierd? Also when I look at the properties of the shortcut, in the main area of the window it showed the proper directory structure, but going to the shortcut area of the window, it showd the directory structure of my desktop. Oh man it had me going for a couple of minutes...what I THOUGHT I was seeing, at first before I figured it out, was files that I knew shouldn't be in the image.... but i actuality on my desktop. So...I have no idea what you could do to aleviate your problem....unless there was a way for you to just restore the entire image onto another drive just long enough to get your files. Then if I were you, I would leave the My Documents folder where it's originally at.....the reason I say that is if you leave it where it belongs, you'll have access to it. I tested that out as well. I hope you get your problem fixed man, and I'm sorry I couldn't be of anymore help.

Lonnie

 

Lonnie,

Thanks. It's an incredibly simple, primitive, and baffling problem.

It would figure that the one area where Windows XP is secure is in keeping users from accessing their own data.

But it's also a cautionary tale because this kind of thing could happen to anyone, for different reasons (stolen laptop, fried motherboard, whatever), and then the ugly surprise: the backup they thought they had at hand can't be accessed.

I *really* want an answer from Acronis Support on this one because if they don't have one, then the program has a flaw (in conjunction with XP) that under some circumstances is fatal. Not to mention that I want my documents back.

Tom

 

Hi Tom,

I think the problem is that you need to take ownership of the Documents and Settings folder or at least the folder with your logon name. It's easy if you know how, but it's not at all obvious. Here's the link to the Microsoft KB article that explains how to do it in step-by-step fashion for both Windows XP Home and XP Pro.

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=308421

Let us know if this solves your problem.

 

John,

Thanks very much. I believe this should do it when i can get it to work.

However, I've discovered another problem with the new computer, which is that when I try to boot into safe mode using F8, I get an error message, "MBR Error 1," which concerns the Master Boot Record and requires its own fix before I can use the procedure you linked me to for taking ownership of files.

You wouldn't happen to have another trick up your sleeve for that one, would you?

Tom

 

I'm not familiar with that error, but if you boot from a Win98SE boot floppy and at the A:\ prompt type in
FDISK /MBR
and hit the enter key, you will replace the MBR with a new version.

However, I think I'd want to check with the Tech Support for the manufacturer of the system first. They may have a special MBR installed for some special features.

 

John,

Thanks again. I'll check with Compaq and see what they have to say. I'm afraid to go screwing around with the MBR -- seems like a good way to have to reinstall everything again, and given that recovering folders was where all this started, that's not a great idea.

Tom

 

Hello Tom,

Please be aware that your issue is not related to Acronis software, but to some peculiarities of Microsoft Windows.

The only possible workaround we can suggest is becoming NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM on Windows 2000/XP/2003.

If that does not help then you can also try to contact Microsoft Support Team in order to solve this problem. However, I'm not sure if they will help you.

Please also note that you can temporarily restore your image or only the system partition from your image to any hard drive, connect this drive to any healthy PC and then just copy the contents of the My Documents folder.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Concerning my problem with opening the Documents and Settings\Owner folder on my disk images -- it turns out that in XP, the only way to do so is boot to safe mode and open the Properties|Security tab and take ownership of the folder -- Acronis Support answers:

"Please be aware that your issue is not related to Acronis software, but to some peculiarities of Microsoft Windows.'

To which I say, *you must be kidding*. Acronis TrueImage is supposed to run *on Windows* and nothing else, and Windows' "peculiarities" must be accounted for in programming any software that runs in Windows -- that would seem to be a primary responsibility of the company.

At the very least, I think that because this problem is disabling and can occur to anyone at any time, it should be addressed quickly and decisively by Support, maybe even in the FAQ. Unfortunately, Also, it took a week for me to dig this answer out of Support -- a week during which I had no access to the information in those images, which means that they weren't much good to me at all. to a DVD.

I'm beginning to believe that programs like TrueImage and Ghost simply aren't practical for ordinary consumers. For IT departments that have to do frequent image installs and reinstalls, maybe, but as back-up for consumers, they have too many quirks and instabilities to give the kind of assurance that we need.

Tom Maddox