Acronis True Image and Partition Magic

System Info
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Processor : Athlon 64
OS : XP Pro SP2
RAM : 1GB
Internal disks : 2 x Maxtor 160Gb SATA
External disks : 1 x Maxtor 160Gb SATA
CD-ROM_0 : Sony DVD RW
CD-ROM_1 : Sony CD RW
Burn Software : Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD
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I have just purchased TIv9 but have not yet installed the product.

My disks have been setup and partitioned using Partition Magic v8. I have read that True Image and Partition Magic don't reside well together on the same system and that disks that have been partitioned using PM can become a problem when used with TI.

I would be grateful for feedback from anyone that has had problems with PM and TI on the same system or alternatively a reassurance from Acronis Support that these two products are compatible.

Thank you.

 

Hi Tabvla

I have both programs and didn't observe any problem. The only annoying thing, I observed, was the following:
When TI failed to restore a partition (it happened 3 times to me), the MBR slot of this partition was destroyed, too. After restoring the partition table with Partition Magic, all the boot.ini files on my (hidden) primary partitions contained wrong ARC paths (=> Bonjour blue screen). I had to correct them manually. I do not know, which program changed the files.

Just after the failure, the changed ARC paths pointed to the correct partitions. So I guess, TI tried to do some patchwork. ...but it did not consider that the user will restore the destroyed partition table; with the consequence of wrong ARC paths (e.g. multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(3)\WINDOWS instead of multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS).

Have a nice day!
JothiS

 

Tks for the info JothiS.

Could Acronis Support please comment.

I have still not installed the software as I am not confident that TIv9 and PMv8 will reside in the same environement without compatibility issues.

 

You set the stage for conflicts among programs when they each have a feature that starts when you start Windows. i.e. there is an icon for the program sitting in the Tray (next to the Time). Neither True Image nor Partition Magic needs to have ANY of those self starting features running in that manner. I always disable these features.

 

Chutsman, tks for your comment. And of course I agree.

The issue really revolves around what precise changes TI makes to the disk. From what I have learnt from the manual, my understanding is that TI can make some rather fundamental changes to disks. Therefore, before implementing TI I would like some reassurance that PM will still recognise the disk and its structure - and visa versa.

For example. Assume the user creates a disk image of the boot partition, and to keep things simple let us further assume that the environment is Windows XP Pro, the disks are Basic and the system is on disk_0 in the first partition, labeled C:. The image is on disk_1 in the first partition labeled D:.

The user then does normal work. The user takes regular data backups. The user creates/deletes/changes partitions on either or both disks using Partition Magic.

Then disaster - the system won't boot. (Assume a corrupt system file). The user boots from the Rescue CD. How will TI behave? Will it be OK with the changes that the user has made to the disk structure (using Partition Magic) since the image was taken? Will it be able to restore the image from D: to C: ? Will TI be able to restore the data even though the partition information is now different?

TI is like an insurance policy - you need to be absolutely 100% confident that it is going to "pay out" should you ever need it. Finding some little compatibility bug on D-Day (as in Disaster-Day) that prevents you from restoring your system is too late.

Has the Acronis Test Team tested TIv9 on a system where the disk structures are managed using Partition Magic? That is the question.

 

I would also like some clarification on this. For example I found an possible issue yesterday after having installed the Acronis Secure Zone before my C partition. The PartionMagic Partinfo utility complained that there was an error in the partition table with this partition as it overlapped the C partition. I have uninstalled the Secure Zone until I am clear on this.

 

Hello Tabvla,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please note that when Acronis True Image 9.0 Home creates image of your disk/partitions or files/folders backup it does note change the hard drive structure. However, please be aware that when Acronis Startup Recovery Manager is activated, it overwrites the master boot record (MBR). Therefore, if you use Partition Magic boot loader in order to select which Windows installation to boot it may not work properly. However, I can not be completely sure as Partition Magic is not an Acornis product and so we do not provide technical support for this program

Yes, you will be able to restore your system in this case as well. When you restore the image archive of the entire hard drive all the data stored on the target disk will be replaced by the image data. And you will get your system back to the time of image creation, including the partition structute. You can also restore only system partition, if you would like. In this case only data of target partition will be overwriten with the image data.

Please note that you will be able to use both products Acronis True Image 9.0 Home and Partition Magic on your system. We did not receive any compatibility issues with using Acronis True Image 9.0 Home and Partition Magic on the same system.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

Hello b00sfuk,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please note that Acronis Secure Zone special hidden protected partition on the hard disk drive created with Acronis True Image 9.0 Home. Therefore, Partition Magic may not recognize it properly.

If you would like to make sure that Acronis Secure Zone is created correctly please create Acronis Secure Zone once again then create Acronis Report as it is described in Acronis Help Post. After that please create an account, then log in and submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected file along with the the link to this thread. We will investigate the report file and let you know the results.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

Thanks to Aleksandr of Acronis for the detailed responce.

I think that this answers the question.

For the information of the Forum members.....

Using the Partition Magic boot loader is not advisable on SATA SCSI NTFS disks. The reason for this is that you have to create a small FAT partition at the start of the disk into which you then write the boot loader. Under Windows XP Pro this is an unnecessary complication.

 

Where did you get that info? Who is it that is not advising it?
And do you mean SATA or SCSI and NTFS, Or any NTFS?

 

After testing I've discovered I had an inherent problem with my partition table that only manifested itself on installing the secure zone. I've corrected the partitiontable and now there is no issue with TI9. Also Partition Magic (v8.05) seems to recognise the secure zone fine so I can't see any compatibility issues so far.

 

Hello Alexandr,

I already started a new thread with this question of mine, but I haven't received definitive clarification. I'm joining this thread since it's a similar problem and Acronis Support is present here.

I use TI 9, build 3567.
My sistem disk is partitioned to C: (XP, applications and personal files) and D: (expendable files).
I regularly image partition C: only, the MBR is automatically included now.

When I have to replace the system drive after the original drive breaks down, I will restore my last C: partion image and the included MBR (by specifically selecting it) to the brand new blank drive. But the MBR, icluded in the image, will reflect in it's partition table the presence of D:, since it was there on the original drive when the image of C: was created (though D: was not imaged). How will the system react on first boot with the new drive, given that partition D: hasn't actually been restored? Will it work or should I have an entire disk image kept handy for such a first restore to a new drive - just to match the actual partition structure to the partition table in the MBR?

 

Hello bVolk,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delay with the response.

Please be aware that the original partition table will not be restored in this case. Instead, the new partition table will be created on the destination hard drive in accordance with the new partition layout.

However, the restored operating system may not boot or function incorrectly anyway. Please see these previous threads for details: auto logoff problem, Re: Mr.

In order to avoid this sort of problems we recommend that you re-create the same partition layout on the new disk as it was on the original hard drive and restore your system to the partition of the same number it was originally residing on or make the appropriate changes to your boot.ini file.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov