How long should 6GB of data on 20GB partition take?

Well, I was able to make a full C drive backup image and restore it (it was a test to make sure it really worked) using the trial version of T.I. 9, latest build. System: MS XP Pro; Asus A8N; AMD X2 3800+; 2GB Corsair TWIN ram, dual channel; 2 x 320GB WD Sata HDD's. The 1st HDD is partitioned as follows: C (20GB) D (Backup Disk - 40GB) E (Data - 100GB) F (Data - 135GB). The original backup image of C was done on D, then from D was restored back to C.

The thing is, it took over 40 minutes to complete the restore, with no verification option checked. There's only about 6GB of data on the 20GB partition. And with PowerQuest's Drive Image, on a similar size allocation on my older machine (W2K OS), a full restore would only take 5 minutes tops. Since this is the first time I'm using this product, I didn't know quite what to expect. If this is "normal", ok. But it sure seemed to take an inordinate amount of time for as fast a setup as I have.

 

It should take less than 5 min to create the image under Windows but it will take more time to restore it. However, "more" may be in the range of twice as long not what you experienced.

When an image of the Active partition, C, is restored TI boots into a Linux environment which is the same as that on the Rescue CD. My guess is that this environment is not working well with your motherboard chipset.

I had a similar problem with Drive Image and an Asus A7A266. It crawled through a backup or restore (both DOS based then); the problem was the Ali chipset. I put in a Promise card and it went about 5X faster. A lot of chipsets seem to be "made for Windows".

Anyway, FWIW, that's my thought on your problem.

 

Thanks. (Note: I just read an earlier post on this site that raised a similar question about T.I. 8. The time factor might have something to do with the fact that I used a high compression ratio. I'm going to make another full image, but this time with normal compression, then try a full restore and see if it goes quicker.)

 

skbaltimore... I find it takes roughly 1 min/GB of data @ normal compression to create an image without verification on an internal drive and slightly less time to restore same. This has been the case for both TI 8 and TI 9.

 

Well, that makes it even stranger. The b/u image with normal compression took less than 4 minutes to make. But, unfortunately, still about 35 minutes to restore. Very weird. It seems like maybe there is some sort of confilct with the Asus/VIA mobo. It wouldn't be the first time. But Nvidia isn't immune to conflicts either, apparently. Maybe somebody from Acronis can respond.

 

There is a significant performane hit with ANY appwhen yo copoy stuff from one partition to another partition on the same physical drive.

 

1. It was the same setup when I used Drive Image (and when it worked on my old system vs. new system, which it's not working. But still, the HDD's are similar size, and it went from one partition to another partition on the same disk) 2. I experimented using a second HDD, restoring from Disk1 to Disk0, and didn't get significantly better time (28 minutes for full restore). The time was better, but not still 5-6 times slower then D.I. Seems to me as if there's some sort of conflict somewhere.

Update: I will say this -- I just finished another full system drive b/u and there's a little more on it now than before, and it cranked out the image in just under 2 minutes. Absolutely no complaints on the front end whatsoever. It's just the back-end needs some tuning or something. But it's not all bad, that's for sure.

 

Hello skbaltimore,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are very sorry for the delay with the response.

First of all, please make sure that you use the latest build (3633) of the free trial version of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home. You can find the full version name and build number by going to Help -> About... menu in the main program window.

If the build number is different from 3633 then please re-download the free trial version of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home from our web site. It should be of the latest build.

Please uninstall any previously installed build by following Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add or Remove Programs -> Acronis True Image, prior to installing build 3633.

Please create new Bootable Rescue CD after installing the update, boot your computer from this CD, restore the image once more and see if the problem still persists.

If the problem still persists with Bootable Rescue CD created using the latest build (3633) of the free trial version of Acronis True Image 9.0 Home then please try booting with "acpi=off noapic" parameter as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

If that does not help either then please provide us with the following information:

- Create Acronis Report and Linux system information (sysinfo.txt) as it is described in Acronis Help Post;

Note that sometimes the sysinfo.txt file is not readable from under Windows. In this case please try entering the file name using capital letters (SYSINFO.TXT) or follow the instructions provided in this previous post of mine.

If you do not have a floppy drive then please take a look at this previous post of mine explaining how to save the sysinfo.txt file to USB flash drive.

- What is the exact size of the image archive you tried to restore?

- How much time does it take exactly to create\restore this particular image?

- Try placing this image to any other location (e.g. any other internal, external or network drive, CD, DVD, etc.) and see if the problem still persists. Inform us about the results.

Then please submit a request for technical support using Ask a question before you purchase Acronis software link. Provide the files and information collected in your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with the most suitable solution as soon as possible.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Hello Alexy Popov,

Thank you for responding to my questions regarding Acronis Disk Backup Software.

I ran the Acronis Home/Trial CD boot disc and entered the "quiet acpi=off noapic" command, and whoa Nellie -- it totally locked up and ended up hosing the C drive -- turning it into 25GB of unallocated space. Fortunately, I was able to successfully restore the image (that I'd previously created in Windows just prior to the restore effort) to that unallocated space, this time choosing not to run the additional command. So no harm/no foul in the end. At least it showed that using the command didn't help in my situation.

I have been using the newest version of ATI Home/trial since the outset, so that can't be the issue either. What I did notice was that by restoring to the unallocated space (the drive/artist formerly known as "C"/Prince ) the restore took about 20 minutes, whereas when restoring under "normal" conditions it has been taking around 28 minutes +/-. I'll go ahead and collect all the info you detailed above and send it, but I wanted to respond here with the results so far.

 

A major update: For the first couple of days that I had this new computer I was only using the 2 320GB WD Sata HDDs that were hooked up to the two Sata connectors on the Asus A8N mobo. Then I added 2 WD IDE drives to the secondary IDE connector (my BenQ DVD writer is the only device on the primary IDE connector). I placed verified copies of each full image that was made and stored on the Sata drive(s) onto various partitions of the new IDE drives. I also saved images directly to the IDE drives. I re-verified each image and they were all OK. However, when I tried to restore from the .tib image files that were on the IDE drives, they never completed the restore. Each time, they would start, then the time would get longer and longer until it was more than 12 hours to complete, despite the fact that they weren't even halfway done. Obviously, there are some major problems with this program that really need to be worked out. A backup utility needs to be solid; this program is not.

 

Hello skbaltimore,

Please note that it is normal situation, because prior to the restore Acronis True Image format the destanation partition.

Please download the latest version of Acronis drivers, install it with disabled logging and see if the issue still persists.

If the issue still persists then enable logging by running the Acronis drivers installation package once again, reproduce the problem and collect the c:\snapapi.log file. Collected log file and information requested by Alexey in the post above to your request for technical support along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with the solution.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

With all due respect, thanks but not thanks. <snip>

sk

edited to remove excessive editorialization - Detox

 

Since the OP has chosen not to continue with support, I'll go ahead and shut down this thread since it has nowhere else to go.