Corrupt Backup File – PLEASE HELP

Hello Everyone,

My PC crashed and I was unable to boot into Windows (Vista) even after almost 5 hours of tech support with Microsoft.

I wasn’t very concerned as I incrementally backup to an extern drive daily.

I went to restore the drive using the ATI(11) bootable CD but the process just “hung” and didn’t move for hours. I tried again and the same thing happened. I then tried to validate the backup file and it said it was corrupted and if it was an image I could mount it or something.

Like most people who lose data, I am desperate and hope very much that I can get this resolved without losing my precious files.

Some points and solutions I have tried:

1. I tried to copy the files over to my wife’s HD and restore from our network – but it still said it was corrupt.
2. I ran checkdisk /r but no problems were found.
3. I tried to connect the drive directly to my PC. But it’s an IDE and my main drive (the one I want to restore to) is SATA. I don’t know if I’m doing this wrong, but every time I boot up – ATI only shows the IDE (backup) drive and not my SATA (the one I want to restore to), even though it shows up in the BIOS.
4. I just paid for support from Acronis, may be they will help but I wanted to post because from what I have read, this community is very helpful.

If you can help me, I would greatly appreciate it. I apologize for being novice at this stuff, may be there is a simple solution or I’m just missing something.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Sincerely,
Paul
Chandler, AZ

 

FYI - I'm on the phone with tech support.
Holy cow - it's taking a half hour to just get my name correctly.

 

Did your backup image (including all incrementals) validate okay before the crash?

When you booted to the TI 11 cd, did you try the quiet acpi=off noapic option detailed in Section II of the PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST thread?

This would be for both the External Drive and when you tried to connect the IDE drive directly.

When you had the IDE drive connected directly, did you try the Safe Mode version of TI? Since they are both internal drives, Safe Mode should see them and allow you to restore.

If you don't have the Safe Mode version of TI, you'll need to log into your Acronis Account and download it from your TI 11 entry for your Registered Products. Then install it and create another rescue CD that includes it.

 

First, thank you very much for responding - I'm getting desperate here and I very much appreciate the help.

Second, I booted up this morning using the TI 11 boot disc and hit F11 and got a dialog box - it had in it "quite" and I put in the apic=on no apic into the command line, which worked to a degree. It saw the SATA drive, but it was listed as drive "E" or something, but it was showing now. I'm currently trying to restore but it's just sitting there, no hard drive activitity

I can reboot with the CD and try to validate the backup, but with the TI 11 boot disc, it said it was a corrupt backup file.

My gosh, I'd pay to have someone fly out to Phoenix, AZ to fix this if at all possible at this point - I need help.

Paul

 

You're welcome.

I assume you meant acpi=off noapic.
There is no space between "no" and "apic".

The drive letters being different when booted into the Full Mode (Linux-based) version of TI is normal.

Were you able to try the Safe Mode version of TI 11? If it sees the drives, then hopefully it will restore correctly.

 

you're right, no space in "acpi=off noapic"

when I get the GUI command line, do I just type "safe" where it defaults to "quite"?

Also, when I try to attach my backup (external) drive via an IDE cable, the TI 11 boot CD sees it, but doesn't see my SATA drive (the one I want to restore too).

And is there something I'm doing wrong in the BIOS? Should I turn ACPI to disabled or does it not matter?

Thank you again,
Paul

 

No. The Safe Mode version needs to be downloaded and installed on your computer (see picture in Post #5 and instructions in Post #3). Then another TI Rescue CD needs to be created with Acronis Media Builder that includes it. When you boot that CD you'll be given the choice to boot into the Full Mode version or the Safe Mode version. If your computer is down, then you'll probably have to install TI 11 on another computer and then install the Safe Mode download, create the CD on that computer and then use it to boot yours.

You may also want to try some of the other F11 options and see if any of them help. They are listed in the TI 11 User's Guide. You might try pci=bios or sata_sis=off, for example. You can use multiple commands, so you might try acpi=off noapic pci=bios, for instance. You may find a combination that will let the Full Mode work for you.

 

This is an option you could certainly try. It may help or it may not. If it works, then you can always turn it back on before you boot into Windows.

 

I'll try it - BTW, I sent you a Private Message.