Sorry - but I'm still having no joy with DVDs

I'm sorry to be back with similar issues - but I've never had so many problems before.

My goal is to have a DVD backup as well as an external drive back up - just in case the external drive fails...it has been known!

TI9 backed up fine to an external drive (or as far as I can tell - by 'fine' I mean that there were no error messages during the back up process and the image checker says the file is ok

TI 9 to DVD DIRECTLY was useless - you had to press cancel, rather than retry when the query messages came up and if the file was larger than 1 DVD the second DVD bombed on changeover - and thanks to the good advice - this was doing all the right things with drag-to-disc - just no joy on the changeover.

TI9 indirectly - ie burn files (no bigger than 2GB) to the external hard drive and then separately to DVD (using a REGULAR burn software - I wasn't then creating the DVDs using Drag to Disc) - the process seemed to go fine - but TI 9 wouldn't verify the images - it always asks for the LAST DVD...that seems to be where the overall map is...but if that DVD was say 'volume 2', it would then ask for volume 3...and crash.

So I got TI8 from Acronis...again the burn to external drive looks fine. But the burn to DVD fails - the first disc gets ejected...and though the second one then burns ok - there is an insoluable error on the first disc - I've done it twice!

So now I'm trying the indirect method with TI8...MANY DVDs later...can anyone offer any advice..other than using GHost...which was the program I used to use until I found it messed about with the partitions/boot/MBR file!

Thanks for your patience.

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

Here's a safe approach. Make a TI backup to the hard drive but split the backup at 1492MB. Three of the 1492 pieces will fit on one DVD. Use your DVD burner to burn all the pieces to as many DVDs as reqired.

You can Check the DVD image and confirm that it is valid.

 

Peter, you are almost there. I gather the current problem is an inability to verify the image on DVD. You may never sort this out. A workaround is to copy the image from DVD back to your external HD and verify it there, then delete this copied image. If it verifies you can assume the DVD image was OK. But that doesn't imply that you will be able to restore the image from DVD. That's another story.

I try and avoid DVD's for images. But it is sensible to have two backup sites.

What problems did you have with Ghost? It was a little unclear.

 

Just to add to what the others suggest, just use the DVDs to store the images. When it is time to restore, copy them back to the external HD and do your restore from the external HD. Even a successful verification is not going to mean a successful restore. Get yourself a second hard drive and actually carry out a restore. That's the only way to be 100% sure. For peace of mind the second hard drive is relatively inexpensive.

 

Hi Peter

I use the indirect method mentioned here. For verification I use FastSum to generate a MD5 checksum on the files to be included in each DVD volume. I usually split the file list into subfolders 1, 2, 3, etc. and perform the checksum. When I burn the DVD I include the checksum.MD5 file for the set. Then when the DVD is completed I run fastsum against the MD5 file on the DVD. If the result is no changes on the .tib files you should be good to go.

Others use Easy MD5 Creator to accomplish the same result.

Hope this helps.

Regards
George

 

Hei Peter

I was (in one way) happy to see you also are experiencing the problem I have with TI9 'backup to dvd' failing when the first volume fills up, instead of asking for volume 2.. I was beginning to wonder whether my drive, or all my dvd+rw media was duff!

Has Acronis logged this bug, and are they doing anything about it, do you know?

I also tried to 'backup to dvd' from the rescueCD, but that fails too.. haven't had time to look further into it yet - in fact I would prefer Acronis did that.

Before anyone says "use a second disk instead", I already do, but I believe in having a second level of backup on dvd+rw. Thats what I paid for, I thought?

I have used True Image since version 6 and am extremely disappointed with the quality of TI9. Its time to sort out the bugs before adding new features IMHO.

One thing someone might be able to answer - can I make a second Acronis Zone on another disk, and use it with a TI8 rescueCD, while having a second Zone on another disk for use by TI9 on XP?

Mvh

Edit: I tried again with fixed size split at 4.34GB (dvd) and the same 'Disk is full' error occurs, but this time I simply put in a second dvd anyway and it continued to completion OK. I haven't tried to restore from it but it appeared to be OK, asking for the 2nd volume when I went through the motions of a restore..

 

Just a short note to say I have solved the question of two 'Zones' by taking 80GB of spare disk space into use on my first disk, to which I backup my second disk in fixed format chunks, which can be restored from there directly &/or written to dvd+rw or dvd-ram as a tertiary backup level

regards

 

Try this, it works flawlessly for me.

If you have room in your case (a spare 5.25" bay), get one of http://www.directron.com/llmobilerack.html mobile racks suited to your liking/requirements. I have 5 in my enlight 8950 case and use them for numerous reasons. When my baby was 3 years old, I even let her trash a separate bootable os on 1 drive (ide channel 1 master). In effect it gave her a computer of her own. Then I would just shut down, swap her os drive for mine, and it would be my computer again. They certainly are cheap enough.

The important part concerning TI8 is that you in effect have a mobile hdrive on the pci bus controller, so that there are no incompatability problems with usb or firewire nonsense and you also use full pci bus speeds. You surely should have concluded that Ti? is not bulletproof with external enclosures and controllers. There certainly have been enough complaints in these forums to that effect. So with using the mobile rack, you are using the same bus controller that Ti? boots with, so if it boots it works.

So next, you make a complete hdrive image (or clone if you wish) to the 2nd hdrive (in the mobile rack) with tib file sizes of 650mb (so you can later burn to cd OR dvd for secondary storage). I drag and drop to dvdrw or dvdr using Plextools.
You can also just go ahead and do clones to this second drive and have a spare ready to swap and boot immediately. Keep in mind that if your main drive crashes, you will have to buy one anyway, so you may as well have it there, preferrably at a sale price.

A lot of people here seem very worried about the results of Ti verifying the image. Well, who cares how it verifies. With as many complaints about the verifying process in these posts, do you think it is prudent to rely on that Do a physical restore to a hdrive to test it completely. After all it's your data to keep or loose.
Mobile rack and tray $30.00
Seagate 200gig8mb $59.00
Pretty cheap insurance!!!

Here is an example of how mine is set up
IDE chan1 master os Hdrive in rack, with 1 spare os hdrive in tray for testing
IDE chan1 slave dvd player
IDE chan2 master mobile hdrive rack
IdE chan2 slave dvd burner

2nd pci ide card
IDE chan3 master mobile hdrive rack
IDE chan3 slave mobile hdrive rack
IDE chan4 master mobile hdrive rack
IDE chan4 slave mobile hdrive rack
I also have a usb/firewire external case but only use it to take to other computers for whatever.

Hope this helps you.

 

I agree with the use of removable racks. I have several myself, though not solely for the purpose of keeping TI backups.

 

I've been real happy with the Lian Li removable racks I've purchased from directron and elsewhere. Check the manufacturer's site for which interchangable trays fit in which bays (there are three different lines, IIRC).

 

Same problem. When first dvd is full I get a 4004 error Disk Full. Retry, Cancel, format. It will not eject, even when InCD says eject it. I do have a backup on one of my hard drives, but I would like a second backup on DVD. I have found, even though the instructions say otherwise, that I have to do a full format with InCD to use my previous backup DVDs. They are from version 8 since so far I have been unable to backup to DVD on V9 of TI. I have four large SATA hard drives so I do need a workable backup. This DVD drive is an Iomega SuperDrive. It does all formats. I do have an inexpensive OnLite DVD drive on the way from NewEgg. Maybe that will work.

 

Hello everyone,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

The point is that when the first DVD fills up Acronis True Image 9.0 shows that confusing error message but do not ask for the next disc to be inserted. However, to proceed with the image creation you just need to open the tray, insert formatted DVD and click Retry.

Please be aware that it is a known problem and it has been already investigated and fixed. The corresponding message asking to open the tray and insert the next disc will be implemented in the next build of Acronis True Image 9.0. Please accept our apologies for the current inconvenience.

You can find more information on how to burn your images to DVD in this FAQ article.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Hello Cintra,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please be aware that the current version of Acronis True Image doesn’t write to DVD directly, instead it utilizes third party UDF packet DVD writing software. In other words, it is required for some sort of the UDF packet DVD writing software to run in the background.

However, when your PC is booted from Acronis True Image 9.0 Bootable Rescue CD (so-called "standalone" mode) there are no operating system or any applications running. Thus Acronis True Image 9.0 does not allow you to burn images to DVD when it is running from Bootable Rescue CD.

The ability to burn images to DVD directly will be implemented in future builds\versions of a particular product, but exact time is not decided yet.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

The problem, you did not mention, was that the DVD tray will not open when I have the error. I have tried pressing the button repeatedly and using the INCD command "eject", but nothing. The only command that works is "cancel". Suggestion?

 

One of the problems with udf dvd writing is that is is not that reliable with some systems and or software. Just google for dvd burning problems and you can see for yourself. Additionally, incd is notoriously problematic, as well as nero but to a much lesser extent.

If you want reliable secondary images on dvd try this, although it requires an additional step.
Boot from the Ti cd.
Set your image file size to 650 or 700mb.
Save you images to 2nd hdrive, preferrably on the ide controller.
Boot into windows with admin account.
Uninstall any other burning progs such as nero or incd etc.
Under properties of your dvd burner untick windows recording.
Reboot.
Download and install a free prog called Deepburner.
Download and install a free prog called Dvdinfo.
If you are using fresh dvd/rw open Dvdinfo and format all of your disks. If you are using just dvd/r this is not required, although they are generally more reliable.
Open a window where your ti .tib files are stored.
Run deepburner, pick closed session, and get to the file selection window.
Drag and drop the .tib files from the stored window to the deepburner file selection window. Watching the bar at the screen bottom you should be able to put 6 700mb tib files on 1 dvd.
Start your burn.
Repeat till you have burned all your tib files on additional dvd's.
This should make your dvd's readable on ANY dvd drive.

Reboot your system with the Ti boot disk.
Put the last dvd in your dvd drive.
Aim Ti to it and test a restore if possible.
If there should be any problems with Ti reading the files on the dvd disk then copy the files from the dvd's to a separate location on a 2nd hadrive.
Reboot with the Ti cd and try the restore from the copied files.
Even if Ti cannot restore from the dvd's directly, you will know that it will restore when recopied to a hdrive.
This works for me on numerous hdrives.

If you use this method in conjunction with the mobile racks I mentioned above, then you have almost any situation covered. Your new inexpensive Onlite burner should work well with this method. I generally use a Plextor with Plextools, but Deepburner works just as well. Just be sure you are using quality dvd media.

I would suggest using a version prior to TI9

 

First of all thanks for the simple solution to this software glitch. Hopefully Acronis will deal with real issue. Today I downloaded the latest variety of the TI s/w, which was actually already on my computer. I had the same problem. Disk is full. Can't get the DVD drive to open. Yes, I do have the latest version of Nero on my computer. I can't seem to get DVDs to work at all unless I used INCD to format them. This includes previous backups from TI8. I really don't want to go back to Norton Ghost and I do hope there is a patch forthcoming. I am attaching my log. Thank you

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<log build="2302" product="Acronis*True*Image" uuid="9A66F055-4DDB-4621-BB79-97DC207AB439" version="9.0">
<event code="2" id="1" message="The &quot;Current backup operation&quot; operation started" module="100" time="1132604441" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="2" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1132604443" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="3" message="Analyzing partition C:..." module="1" time="1132604443" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="4" message="Analyzing partition 1-5..." module="1" time="1132604443" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="5" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1132604443" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="6" message="Analyzing partition F:..." module="1" time="1132604444" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="7" message="Analyzing partition G:..." module="1" time="1132604444" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="8" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1132604444" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="9" message="Analyzing partition 3-1..." module="1" time="1132604445" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="10" message="Analyzing partition 3-2..." module="1" time="1132604445" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="11" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1132604445" type="2" />
<event code="503" id="12" message="Analyzing partition I:..." module="1" time="1132604445" type="2" />
<event code="11" id="13" message="Priority changed to High priority" module="100" time="1132604445" type="3" />
<event code="503" id="14" message="Analyzing partition F:..." module="1" time="1132604445" type="2" />
<event code="506" id="15" message="Locking partition F:..." module="1" time="1132604449" type="2" />
<event code="1008" id="16" message="&lt;bold>Create Full Backup Archive&lt;/bold>&lt;endl/>&lt;tabpoint value=30>&lt;indent value=4>From: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>DataDisk (F&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>To: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>CD-RW Drive (D\data.tib&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>Compression: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>Normal&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>File Split: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>4.34 GB&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1132604452" type="2" />
<event code="504" id="17" message="Pending operation 116 started: &quot;Creating partition image&quot;" module="1" time="1132604452" type="2" />
<event code="3" id="18" message="Please insert the first media
Please insert a CD then press &lt;bold>OK&lt;/bold> when ready or &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation.

Please note that you can use either a blank CD or a CD containing backup archives created by Acronis*True*Image. If the CD already contains backup archives you can append one more to this CD only if the CD has enough free space.: oK/Cancel" module="100" time="1132604453" type="2" />
<event code="3" id="19" message="Please insert the first media
Please insert a CD then press &lt;bold>OK&lt;/bold> when ready or &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation.

Please note that you can use either a blank CD or a CD containing backup archives created by Acronis*True*Image. If the CD already contains backup archives you can append one more to this CD only if the CD has enough free space.: oK/Cancel: User replied: oK" module="100" time="1132604456" type="2" />
<event code="4" id="20" message="Disk is full.

A possible reason may be poor media quality.

Please press &lt;bold>Retry&lt;/bold> to continue with Volume*4 or press &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation and stop.: Retry//Cancel" module="4" time="1132610084" type="4" />
<event code="4" id="21" message="Disk is full.

A possible reason may be poor media quality.

Please press &lt;bold>Retry&lt;/bold> to continue with Volume*4 or press &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation and stop.: Retry//Cancel: User replied: Retry" module="4" time="1132610128" type="2" />
<event code="4" id="22" message="Disk is full.

A possible reason may be poor media quality.

Please press &lt;bold>Retry&lt;/bold> to continue with Volume*4 or press &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation and stop.: Retry//Cancel" module="4" time="1132610128" type="4" />
<event code="4" id="23" message="Disk is full.

A possible reason may be poor media quality.

Please press &lt;bold>Retry&lt;/bold> to continue with Volume*4 or press &lt;bold>Cancel&lt;/bold> to cancel the operation and stop.: Retry//Cancel: User replied: Cancel" module="4" time="1132610195" type="2" />
<event code="502" id="24" message="Operation with partition &quot;F:&quot; was terminated.
Details:
&lt;indent>Operation canceled by user (0x70022)
Cancelled. (0x4000F)&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1132610195" type="4" />
<event code="1" id="25" message="Terminated by user" module="100" time="1132610195" type="3" />
</log>

 

Hello ldjessup,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please create an account, then log in and submit a request for technical support containing the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. Please also provide the information confirming your purchase of Acronis software (order number, e-mail, where did you purchase our product, etc.)

We will do our best in order to resolve the problem under consideration as soon as possible.

Thank you.
--
Tatyana Tsyngaeva

 

This problem has been submitted to tech support at Acronis. I will post their response unless they do.

 

Tried the first patch they sent me with no change that I could see.

 

Hello ldjessup,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Could you please let me know your Acronis request # which was sent to you in autoreply to your letter? I will find out how the investigation of your issue is going.

Thank you.
--
Tatyana Tsyngaeva