Failed to read fom sector 0 on the hard dsk 0?

Using True Image 9 Home, I cannot restore my hard drive. I alwsays get the error message "Failed to read from the sector 0 on the hard disk 0", so I cancel the restore process.

Can someone patiently guide me through what other information I need to provide in order to get someone to help me resolve this problem?

Thank you.

 

What build of TI 9 are you using?

Are you trying to restore from the TI CD using the Full Mode version of TI?

Have you tried the quiet acpi=off noapic option detailed in Section II of the PLEASE READ BEFORE YOU POST thread?

Do you have any other non-critical drives connected (flashdrives, card readers, etc.)?

Does the Safe Mode version see and read your drives/partitions correctly?

 

Using Build 3.677

I didn't use the CD for the restore. I just used the Recovery option TI program on the hard disk, and get that error message after I do the required reboot and the Acronis loader starts its Linux process. (The Acronis backups on on an external drive connected via USB.)

I don't know anything about the "quiet acpi=off noapic option", but I gather from your reply that it is something I should try, yes?

Not sure how to use the "Safe Mode version" to see and read your my drives/partitions.

(Can you tell I'm not very tech savvy about these things?)

All I know is that I use the same back up and recovery process on another computer that stores its back ups on an external drive via USB connection using TI 9, and it works just fine, so I am confused why it's not working on this one.

 

The Linux drivers used by TI probably work better on the other computer.

Try the quiet acpi=off noapic option and see if it helps when running the Full Mode version. You'll need to boot from the TI CD to do this.

The Safe Mode version may or may not be able see the USB drive. It depends on the computer's BIOS.

Another option would be to try the last build of TI 9 (3,854) and see if it has better support for the computer.

 

Just to confirm:

1. Have you ever done a restore of C: on this computer.

2. How old is this system? (Brand, model, etc. might be helpfu)

3. Does it have a SATA hard drive?

It would help if you created the bootable Recovery CD and tried booting from that. Mudcrabs comment would be easier to understand when using the CD.

 

Mudcrab, I'll try doing the quiet acpi=off noapic option (got to read up about it first).

I'm assuming that I'll learn more about the "Safe Mode" option in the process, but what specific BIOS setting is it that I need to pay attention to?

I'll also try the last version update to TI 9 if all else fails.

Thank you for the assistance.

jmk94903, no. I've never been able to do a restore on this computer for the reason I first mentioned.

The computer is a year or so old Gateway GM5260.

No, it's not a SATA hard drive, it's an internal Seagate ST340063A IDE drive for the C drive, and a seagate for the external backup drive.

I did create a bootable CD, so I'll try using that in conjunction with Mudcrab's comments.

Thank you both for you patient assistance, and I hope you will be able to help me sort out the inevitable confusion that will confound me next as I work through this.

 

Just boot to the TI CD. At the main menu where you select to start TI Full or TI Safe or Windows, press F11 and enter the commands in the box. Then start the Full mode version of TI.

The Safe Mode version of TI can be included on your TI CD when you create it using the Media Builder program. It uses the computer's BIOS to access the hardware instead of Linux drivers.

There is no "specific" BIOS setting. Some newer computers will allow USB drives to been seen when booted into the Safe Mode version of TI. Most older computers won't. The drive will either show up or it won't.

 

OK, you are not the first person to discover a problem when you need to do a restore. Ideally, this would be sorted out before you needed to restore, but that's not how life works.

OK, there are lots of reasons why TI 9's Recovery CD might not support hardware that's only a year or so old. SATA drives are just one reason. New hardware often demands a new version of TI to make a good Recovery CD.

If you can't get it to work, there is a trial version of TI 11. You could install that, create a bootable CD and see if it supports your hardware and allows you to restore your backups. TI 11 is backward compatible with TI 10 and TI 9 backup images.

Let us know what works.

 

OK. Tried the bootable rescue disk that was created in TI9. Two problems encountered that still prevent a disk recovery operation from working.

First, when I press F11 in the screen that gives the different boot options (Safe, Full and regular windows), the dialog box appears with the word "quiet" in it, but I cannot change it to read "quiet acpi=off noapic" because both my keyboard and my mouse are wireless USB devices, so I cannot put the cursor into that dialog box and type anything.

But that's probably a moot point given the second problem.

When I leave the F11 dialog box as is and enter the Full Mode version, I get the system folder/file tree that correctly shows the contents of the external drive that contains the archived back up files, but it is assigned the drive letter "C" as if it is the main boot disk, and also the real drive "C" boot disk does not show up at all. Trying to continue the recovery only allows for the selected back up files on the external drive that is erroneously designated the "C" drive to install the files on itself, which of course it will not do.

I wouldn't think that my internal Seagate IEEE hard drive is not that new or exotic that TI9 shouldn't recognize it, but it appears that this is what is happening.

Unless someone has a better idea, I will next try installing that latest build of TI9 to see if the problems is resolved. Failing that I will try downloading the TI11 trial version, make a bootable rescue disk with it and use that disk to try a system recovery.

 

So the keyboard works at this point?

And doesn't after you get the box?

---

Check the computer's BIOS for a "Legacy USB" setting. It may be enabled or disabled. If found, change the setting and see if you gain better use of your keyboard and mouse so you can try the Linux parameters.

 

Well, the keyboard must work because you could press F11 and open the dialog. Did you try using the Tab key to move the cursor? The mouse may be all that isn't working.

If Mudcrab's suggestion about the BIOS don't help, you have a choice of installing a plug in mouse or just using the Tab key to move the cursor.

OK, it's likely that the TI 9 boot CD is too old, but try the acpi=off noapic step first.

Seagate offers a free Disc Wizard which is a limited version of TI 10. Since you have a Seagate drive, it will work and it's free.

Sounds like a plan with the Seagate Disc Wizard as an intermediate possibility.

 

I'm still in the process of trying different things.

First, I recalled that I long ago purchased online the update from TI 9 to TI 10, so today I installed and registered it, then made a bootable rescue disk and a new back up of the "C" drive onto my external drive (and IEEE Seagate connected by FireWire).

Next I tried doing a recovery of the internal "C" boot drive from within the installed TI program. This time it did recognize my internal drive (TI 9 didn't) and It verified the back up data and then ask me to reboot so TI could go through the verification process again and attempt the recovery. I again got the "can't read sector 0 from the external drive". So I ran a chkdsk /f on the external drive, and at the moment I'm in the middle of trying a recovery via the rescue disk using the quiet acpi=off noapic setting in the Full Mode option. (The mouse still did not work during that F11 screen, but the keyboard did so I could enter the correct info, and the mouse worked OK after that for the rest of the process). Again, all the correct drives were recognized this time. The program still needs a couple of hours to get through the second data verification process before it gets to the actual recovery process, whicih is where I've been getting that failure to read sector 0 problem. I'll report back the results when its done.

 

Success! Using TI 10 instead of TI 9, doing a system recovery using the rescue disk instead of doing it from within the installed TI program itself, and using the quiet acpi=off noapic option in the Full Mode resulted in a successful recovery.

 

That's very good news.

I hope you have TI 10 Buiild 4942 which is the last build. It has been very stable and reliable. If not, you can register your product on the Acronis web site and download that version.

New hardware requires new software. It looks like you are good for now, but when you buy a new PC, you'll probably have to upgrade to a newer TI. I hope a reliable version of TI 12 or 13 is ready when you do that.