Boot disk backup vs. Windows Backup?????

Hello again max0071,

I will hazard a guess and say that the Linux device drivers on your Acronis rescue CD aren't fully optimized for the laptop's hardware. What TI build was your rescue CD created from (click "Help" > "About")? Assuming you're using TI 9.0 Home, the current build is 3677.

Each new build of TI contains additional and/or better Linux device drivers so, if need be, register your current Acronis software at www.acronis.com then log into your new account and download the latest build. Uninstall your current version/build via Windows Control Panel's "Add or Remove Programs, install the latest build and then create a new Acronis bootable rescue CD. After that, see what your imaging and restore times are.

Regards

 

Hello Menorcaman, regards, I have build 3677, are you suggesting that I should download it again, not all 3677's are created equal

But now I have an additional problem. My laptop will NOT create a tib image on my external for my laptop. There is an image with the nondescript logo when i open my external hd, but when i click on it nadda. When I open my ATI window it does not recognize this non tib image. This is my "new" toshiba laptop, not the old one I had other problems with.

I can create a full backup on my laptop ( c: to c: ) and then I can transfter this image to my external hd, and even validate within windows and from my boot disk on my c: and on the external Hd. But it seems I cannot create or validate a .tib image created from my laptop directly to my external hd.

The really odd part is that one week ago I was able to create and validate an image successfully from my laptop in windows environment. Any help would be appreciated. Thnks

 

The laptop is certainly slow which indicates a poor Linux driver in the rescue CD for it. I get the impression laptops are more of a problem than desktops for speed issues.

Look at number II in this sticky note at beginning of the forum:
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=55317
Be sure you get your spellings correct. This may or may not help your situation but is easy to try.

Other options are to raise a support ticket with Acronis or to create the BartPE bootable CD with the TI plug-in. This uses the Windows drivers and should give much better performance.

Edit: Just saw your last post, is this from within Windows too?

 

Hi max0071,

No, not at all. If the bootable rescue CD was created by build 3677 then that's as good as it's going to get until the next release.

This latest problem is taking us way off the original topic. Suggest you consider starting a new thread in order to elicit more focussed responses.

Regards

 

9 out 10 Laptops come with a 5400rpm HD.

 

yep 5400 rpm and yes from within windows to.........i started a new post on this topic as you suggested menorcaman. thnx

 

I was thinking of issues probably related to drivers/notebook HW. In this case he has an issue of 6min in Windows vs 60 min in the Linux environment which is a factor of 12. The disk speed has nothing to do with it since it is the 5400rpm drive in both cases.

At most the difference for different disk speeds would be 33%, 7200/5400 assuming the same DMA mode.

 

Since I'm not comfortable with the Bartpe, too complicated.

I recall the one time I attempted to restore it came up telling me it would take about a day and a half to reinstall the 16 gigs on my pc hd. I suspect since it's taking me one hour on my laptop (vs 6 minutes in windows, and 25 minutes vs. 8 minutes on my pc) to backup and one hour to verify, in Boot cd mode, that I would be better off, timewise doing the following:

Reinstall windows xp, install ATI and then do a restore from windows. This might take me an hour plus the 8 minutes to restore from my external. This should give me back everything.........comments appreciated.

Thanks

 

To Clarify:

I have about 16 gigs on my pc hd (250 gigs), takes 8 minutes in windows to backup and 8 minutes to validate and 25 minutes to backup and 25 minutes to validate using the ATI boot cd.

I also have a laptop with about 8 gigs of 120 gig hd. It takes about 6 minutes to backup and 6 minutes to validate within windows. Using the boot disk it takes 1 hour to back up and an additional 1 hour to validate.

Hope this is clear.....that is why, I believe it would take sooooo long to restore and as such my scenario about reinstalling windows makes more sense from a time perspective!!!!

 

As far as I can see, time wise, you would be even worsen off!! As I said in Post #17, if you are restoring your system disk/partition then TI needs to do this from within the Linux based rescue environment. Whether this is by rebooting from within Windows mode when prompted or via the bootable rescue CD, they both result in the same thing - you end up using the Linux environment/device drivers.

Regards

 

yep.........your right.....you did mention that b4.......so i guess I got a problem if I need to restore and my solution about reinstalling windows puts me no further ahead, as you mentioned.

The only solution as I see it is to do the Bart thing.......man......sp2...slipstreaming.....iso image.......i'm so overwhelmed!!!!

I know there is a sticky on it but its not clear to me, I guess when I got a week I'll have to take a stab at it.

Thanks for dashing my moment of security menorcaman.....just kidding.....your always a great help.

 

I tested all possible combinations myself and YES they all work properly. I don't like surprises.
If you restore via Windows and the validation is enabled for restoration in your Acronis settings, than the validation will run TWO times (some bug in ATI).

 

Thanks Erik...did you have the same time issues i've outlined here?

 

Menrocaman; According to this booting (restoring) from windows does give you the drivers that are in the windows environment and does not use the Linux kernel drivers as you suggested. Am I reading this correctly or am I once again confused??

 

Hi max 0071,

What Acronis support has said is entirely accurate but it is possible to be misled by the wording.

Any backup done in the Windows environment does indeed use the Windows drivers. However a recovery of a systems disk will use the Acronis/Linux drivers. If the recovery is started in Windows there will be a reboot into Linux. If it is started from the recovery CD it will also be in Linux.

When Menorcaman comes back from his evening repast he will explain far better than I can .

 

You explained it quite well with the key being "a recovery of a systems disk". If the restored archive is for a system partition which is usually the C partition then Windows cannot be running when the restore is done. This is why it is necessary to reboot into the Linux recovery environment. Naturally, if you start by booting the CD then you are already in the Linux recovery environment so there is no need to reboot.

TI can restore non-system partition archives without rebooting but if you are restoring multiple partitions and one is a system partition it will reboot to do them all.

 

Thanks seekforever and xpilot......so menorcaman is right. Any restoration of an image automatically puts you into the Linux environment and the drivers therein. So my problem about the length of time to backup in boot cd vs windows is only solvable, i believe by doing the Bartpe thing!!!!! DAMN..so much to learn about Bartpe!!!

 

That is any restoration of an image where the system partitition is being restored.

Actually, the BartPE thing is certainly intimidating on the surface but once you get going it isn't as bad as it looks.

 

I'm not that well versed on all this so please excuse my questions. But when you say "system partition", I get confused. My needs are these. I have a C: drive with everything on it one drive, no partitions, no networks (other than my wireless router) nothing. All I want to do is image that c: drive and restore it when/if required.

I presume that I want the "system partition" to be restored??

Thanks for your patients and help.

 

Yes, you do want the system partition restored. In simple terms it is the partition where you have Windows installed. Windows can be installed on any partition it doesn't have to be C but C is the default.

 

I only noticed this on MY computer :
Backup with the Rescue CD is much slower than backup with ATI under Windows.
So I always backup with ATI under Windows, but in a quiet environment without internet connection, without security softwares and without internet softwares, like email-software and browsers. FirstDefense-ISR allows me to create such a quiet environment.

Restore with the Rescue CD is about the same with ATI under Windows.
I think you have much better times than me. I'm rather disappointed by the speed of my USB 2.0 external harddisk, but that does NOT affect the quality of ATI. It's just slower than I expected and I can't fix it.

I'm using ATI for at least six months and it never failed and I still take any opportunity, to test the restoration, even for fun.
After all, I have to depend on ATI, when I'm in serious trouble. That's why I ran so many different tests.

 

Thanks for your responses Erik and Seekforever. I've been reading about Bart, so naturally I have a question. I have a "recovery disk" that came with my Toshiba laptop which has xp home preinstalled. I also have the microsoft xp pro "upgrade" with sp2 on it.

The question is, can I create a Bartpe for ATI as described at the Bart site with these two disks?

I presume Erik that you use the ATI boot disk and not the Bartpe boot disk If, as they say, you will get much faster imaging/restore with Bart in the Boot environment than would be the case using ATI boot disk, why haven't you then gone to Bart??

 

The microsoft XP Pro ugrade with SP2 should work just fine.

 

So when Bart starts its setup all I need to feed it is the microsoft xp pro upgrade with sp2 and thats all it needs to load the drivers etc. No slipstreaming required if I understand you. Makes it sooooo much simpler.

Thanks

 

Yes, if SP2 is already there no point in trying to add it again. IIRC, there is a drivers folder the BartPE "assembly" area on your disk so if there are special drivers for your machine available on your laptop/motherboard CD you can copy them. To be honest, it has been a while since I made one. I had to put a Promise Ultra133 driver in mine.