I've Got a Problem.....

This weekend I did a full backup (image) of my C-drive with TruImage. After the download I discovered that the image was corrupt, but the computer crashed about an hour afterward. The backup is located on a 115 gig hard drive located externally and connected via an USB cable. The two 250 gig hard drives on my system are SATA and connected to the motherboard via a PCI card (Adaptec).

I tried a restore and after nearly 12 hours I learned that the backup was corrupt and nothing was salvageable. I was somewhat irate. OK, I then reformatted the two hard drives because the restore went to the wrong hard drive and wiped out an earlier image (I was irate again).

Last night I tried a file-based restoration and it canceled the drivers for my SATA drives. This time the partial restoration took 18+ hours and I was told again that the file was corrupt and no files were transferred. The backup is 89 gig. There MUST be away to rescue this file. Any suggestions??

Thanks.

 

From what I have read on this forum, it is impossible to recover the files from a corrupted image. For your sake I hope that I have misread the information.

I gather that you reformatted your drive that had your OS on it because TI had wiped it during the restore process. If that is the case then you have compunded your problem especially if you current image is corrupt. When TI wiped your disk, there was still a reasonable possibility to recover the files off that disk. Formatting on top of that has made it probably impossible.

 

Hello John,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

First of all, please be aware that, as mark3 mentioned above, there is no way to partially recover the data from the corrupted backup archive. A corrupted backup archive can sometimes be mounted as a virtual drive by means of the Mount Image tool. In this case, you will most likely be able to copy the files and folders which are not affected by the corruption. However, we cannot guarantee the success. Please see the first part of this previous post for further details.

Another point is to find out whether your backup is actually corrupted or not. I mean that problems of this sort can be caused by the bad USB connection or faulty\poorly supported external USB hard drive. We therefore recommend that you copy the backup archive in question from the external USB hard drive to the internal hard drive and then validate it by means of the Validate Backup Archive tool once more (both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD). If the backup archive validates successfully both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD then it can be restored without a problem. If the backup archive validates as corrupted, I'm afraid nothing can be done to recover the data other than (as I mentioned above) the attempt to mount it as a virtual drive.

We also have to answer the question why your backup archive became corrupted.

First of all, please make sure you use the latest build (3677) of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home which is available for downloading in the Product Updates section of your account at Acronis web site.

You can find the full version name and build number by going to Help -> About... menu in the main program window.

To get access to updates you should create an account then log in and use your serial number to register the software.

Please uninstall the previously installed build by following Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Acronis True Image prior to installing build 3677.

Note that you should create a new Bootable Rescue CD after installing the update.

After installing the update, please create a new backup archive saving it to the external USB hard drive in question. Then validate the resulting backup archive both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD and see the result.

If the newly created backup archive validates successfully both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD then Acronis True Image is working correctly on your system. However, if a successfully validated backup becomes corrupted after being stored for some period of time, the problem is not related to Acronis software, but to a faulty storage device or bad memory module. That's why it is strongly recommended that you validate your backups both within Windows and using Bootable Rescue CD right after their creation is complete. In such a way you can assure that no corruption has occurred during the backup creation process. If the problem is caused by a faulty hardware device, we recommend contacting the nearest service center in order to resolve the issue.

If the backup verifies as corrupted right after it's creation is complete then please do the following:

- Create a backup within Windows saving it to the external USB hard drive in question, validate it both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD and inform us about the result;

- Create a backup using the Bootable Rescue CD saving it to the external USB hard drive in question, validate it both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD and inform us about the result;

- Perform a memory test using the memtest86+ utility and inform us about the result.

- Try saving backups to a different storage device (e.g. internal or networked hard drive), validate them both within Windows and using the Bootable Rescue CD. Let us know the results;

- Try moving\copying large files (e.g. disk\partition images created with Acronis True Image) from the internal hard drive to the external USB disk in question using Windows Explorer or any other file manager and comparing their checksums calculated using eXpress CheckSum Calculator before and after the files are moved\copied.

As for the slow backup restoration speed, please try the following tips in order to solve the problem:

- Make sure you use the latest build of Acronis True Image (see instructions above);

- Try updating the drivers for your external USB hard drive (if any);

- If your external USB hard drive is connected to the computer through a HUB, please try connecting it directly;

- If it is connected directly, please try using a different USB port.

If nothing of the above help, please provide us with the following information:

I. If the speed problem appears within Windows, please create Acronis Report and Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Please keep your external USB hard drive connected while creating Acronis Report and Windows System Information.

II. If the problem appears when your computer is booted from the Bootable Rescue CD (created with the latest build) then please create Linux system information (sysinfo.txt) as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Please keep your external USB hard drive connected while creating Linux system information.

Note that sometimes the sysinfo.txt file is not readable under Windows. In this case please try entering the file name using capital letters (SYSINFO.TXT) or follow the instructions provided in this previous post of mine.

If you do not have a floppy drive then please take a look at this previous post of mine explaining how to save the sysinfo.txt file to a USB flash drive.

In both cases, please also provide us with the following information:

- Let us know the exact vendor and model of your external USB disk;

- What is the exact size of the backed up data?

- How much time does it take exactly to create\restore\validate the resulting backup?

Then please submit a request for technical support. Provide the files and information collected in 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 a solution.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov