Acronis True Image/Ahead InCD

As far as the FAQs regarding InCD are concerned, Ahead is not providing a "free" version of InCD - check the website.

My question concerns using InCD with True Image - how do you use it w/ TI. You can make a UDF disc w/ InCD - but you have to add files to the compilation before you can create the UDF DVD. Since Acronis has tested TI with InCD, perhaps someone can either send me instructions or point me to a post or an explanation on how to accomplish this task?

Also, BTW, I just attempted to restore my C: partition where WinXP resides (getting iexplorer.exe errors all the time) and when using either the TI bootable disc or TI from within WinXP, Acronis does not recognize the DVD with the C:\ partion on it - it just acts like it's reading the drive and does nothing else. Within WinXP, it gives me a unable to access the DVD drive due to an I/O device access error.

Is this a lost cause? BTW, when I created the individual partitions (C:, D:, E, I verified each image successfully. So, what could be wrong?

Thanks in advance

Steve

 

Hello Steve,

For starters have a read of this <previous thread>, along with the embeded links. Let me know if you require more info than this and I will try to point you in the right direction.

Regards

 

Methinks you have a misunderstanding what InCD is and does. You do not "use InCD" with TrueImage. InCD is a "packet writing" utility which is used to format CD/DVD-RW media; i.e., rewritable discs. And InCD allows you to read CD/DVD RW discs which have been previously formatted. True Image backup images must be created on UNformatted discs; unless Acronis has changed this and I'm not privy to it. So, you can use CD/DVD R discs and CD/DVD RW discs that are unformatted (out of the box). But again, InCD has absolutely NOTHING to do with the image creation process. Nor does it have anything to do with any data burning, etc., whatsoever. It is simply a utility that prepares (formats) rewritable media and enables you to read formatted media.

Acronis' "testing" with InCD most likely involved their looking for conflicts between the two programs since InCD "controls", in a sense, the use of rewritable media when it is inserted into a portable drive. For example, if you insert a blank CD/DVD RW disc into your burner, InCD examines the disc to see if it is formatted or not. And if not, the default setting is to display a dialog box asking you if you want to format the disc before using it. When creating a backup image to one of these discs with True Image, you simply click "Close" on the dialog box and continue with your backup operation.

Now, I have to admit that I am not personally familiar with the creating of images to DVD-R/RW media, so what I have written above may be totally wrong. However, it does apply to CD-RW media and with those I have many hours of experience.

I hope this demystifies things for you. http://www.the-highway.com/Smileys/Ponder.gif

 

Hello Colvin,

I can advise that DVD media must be preformated via some form of packet writing software prior to imaging direct from TI. Note also that you can't use DVD-R when direct imaging.

Regards

 

I personally would suggest removing InCD from your vocabulary and to burn your images to DVD after creating an image on your hard drive. This method requires no "pre-formatting" with any packet-writing software and works just fine. I use Nero's "Make UDF DVD" function and just burn my previously created 4GB .tib files to regular, blank DVD+R media (see attached image). Right now, I have 3 .tib files (nearly 12GB) which fit on 3 blank DVD+R's . I've restored from DVD's created this way and have yet to have an issue. Of course, you can specify any size for your .tib files before imaging. TI automatically creates 4GB files for me due to the FAT32 limitation of the drive I use to store images. I'd need 3 DVD's anyway, no matter how I split them for the nearly 12GB of data.

 

Menorcaman,

Thanks for the clarification using DVD-RW media. As I said, I wasn't sure about DVD media, since I have only used CD-RW media. I haven't had the urge or need to invest in this latest techology! hehe

 

why oh why would you want to use packet writing anyway?!

 

Thanks Howie123, that seems to be the most 'logical' solution to this issue. I've attempted to pre-format the DVD+R with InCD but can find no way to do it, in spite of the previous posts and suggested links.

I previously attempted to use Roxio's drag and drop solution but it doesn't work well with WinXP Pro, which is why I went with Nero.

As a suggested future enhancement to TI, perhaps Acronis could do everyone a big favor and either build in a 'pre-formatter' or provide better instructions for accomplishing the same.

 

Sorry Menoracaman, I just purchased and started using TI within the last week and was unaware of the limitations regarding the DVD+R format. This maybe explains the lousy results that I achieved with Ahead InCD and TI.

I originally used Roxio's Drag and Drop solution, but since it often locks up when running under WinXP Pro and went with Ahead InCD and Nero 6 Ultra instead.

After successfully creating an image to my hard drive and then copying it to DVD+R with Ahead InCD, I attempted to restore my image using the DVD+R media and met with some pretty unpredictable and lousy results. For example, I received the "error reading Volume X, possible poor media...." messages near the end of the restore (step 3 of 3) with three minutes remaining. That remaining three minutes turned into approximately 30 as the progress bar slowly crept along, finally crapping out with 48 seconds remaining and throwing more "error reading Volume 2, possible poor media..." error messages

 

Well, now I've read the pdf user's guide regarding the "formatting of DVD+R" media and that it is only supported by Roxio's Drag and Drop....

However, just below that portion of the guide, there is the "there is another way to burn images to DVD media..." (on page 64) and that is the method that Howie 123 described and that method makes NO mention as to a restriction of the DVD media used. So, to that end, my previous post points to a SERIOUS flaw in TI and its reliability. I can successfully burn an image to DVD+R but cannot verify it or restore it using TI - so that makes TI pretty much worthless to me as a backup tool.

This is very disappointing...

 

If getting read errors after using the alternative two-stage method to create DVD images, set your burner's write speed to something less than its maximum (via Nero's Burn tab). Burner/media compatability issues can (and do) arrise, particularly at the higher write speeds used by present day burners.

My Sony DRU-510A is capable of writing to +RW media at X4. Depending on the brand of media used, this sometimes resulted in TI verify errors. Reducing the write speed to X2.4 has always produced error-free results.

Regards

 

Sorry to hear of your issues, scookstlmo79... I'd follow Menorcaman's advice and try burning at a lower speed next time. I've had no problems burning TI image files at 4X using TDK blank DVD+R's with an Optorite DD0203 DVD-RW burner. Full system restores have been error free as well. Good luck!