Write error

Unable to do a backup from my C: drive to an external hard drive because a disk write error occurs on the external drive. The error causes the backup to fail/stop. I was just wondering if there are any options and/or settings in Acronis® True Image Home® version 11.0 (build 8,027) that would bypass the write error and complete the backup?

Not sure why the error is occurring since I've run both a diagnostic program from the external drive manufacturer as well as a Windows CHKDSK. Neither found any errors of the external drive.

FROM LOG FILE:
Operation with partition "M:" was terminated.
Details:
Write error (0x70004)
Tag = 0x9D2DE1F088CBC4D4
Error writing the file. (0x40003)
function = "WriteFileNoCache"
Tag = 0x7CEB2CDC9FB12189
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error (0xFFF0)
code = 8007045D)
Tag = 0xBD28FDBD64EDB8AF

 

Welcome to the forum.

This error happens when running TI in Windows or when booted to the TI CD?

Have you tried lowering the HDD writing speed (in the Options under Backup performance)?

You might also consider updating to the latest build of TI 11 (8,101).

 

MudCrab thank you for the welcome.

>>This error happens when running TI in Windows or when booted to the TI CD?<<
It happens when running TI in Windows but not when running from a Bootable Rescue Media CD

>>Have you tried lowering the HDD writing speed (in the Options under Backup performance)?<<
Tried it and it did not fix the problem.

>>You might also consider updating to the latest build of TI 11 (8,101).<<
Done.

-----------------------------------------

1. Downloaded and installed latest update (build*8,101).
2. Ran TI Windows backup and it failed with same write error. Concluded that updating Acronis to latest version is not the solution to the problem.
3. Saved Log Entry file to archive. The following is the log from step 2.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<log build="169" product="Acronis*True*Image*Home" task="3E1846A1-D02D-49C0-A94E-34ECF63F2AF6" uuid="AB542AA4-D1A1-41BA-8AAF-B5782170F572" version="1.0">
<event code="2" id="1" level="2" message="The &quot;Current backup operation&quot; operation started" module="100" time="1229452048" />
<event code="503" id="2" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1229452048" />
<event code="503" id="3" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 1-1..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="503" id="4" level="2" message="Analyzing partition D:..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="503" id="5" level="2" message="Analyzing partition C:..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="503" id="6" level="2" message="Analyzing partition M:..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="503" id="7" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="503" id="8" level="2" message="Analyzing partition G:..." module="1" time="1229452049" />
<event code="11" id="9" level="3" message="Priority changed to Low priority" module="100" time="1229452050" />
<event code="503" id="10" level="2" message="Analyzing partition C:..." module="1" time="1229452050" />
<event code="503" id="11" level="2" message="Analyzing partition M:..." module="1" time="1229452050" />
<event code="1008" id="12" level="2" message="&lt;bold>Create Incremental Backup Archive&lt;/bold>&lt;endl/>&lt;tabpoint value=30>&lt;indent value=4>From: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>OS (C, My Data (M&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>To file: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>&quot;G:\Acronis Backups\c521_image_backup_2008_07_013.tib&quot;&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>Compression: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>Normal&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1229452069" />
<event code="504" id="13" level="2" message="Pending operation 131 started: &quot;Creating partition image&quot;" module="1" time="1229452072" />
<event code="506" id="14" level="2" message="Locking partition C:..." module="1" time="1229452072" />
<event code="4" id="15" level="4" message="Failed to write data to the archive file.
A possible reason might be poor media quality. : None" module="7" time="1229452262" />
<event code="4" id="16" level="2" message="Failed to write data to the archive file.
A possible reason might be poor media quality. : None: User replied: oK" module="7" time="1229452372" />
<event code="502" id="17" level="4" message="Operation with partition &quot;M:&quot; was terminated.
Details:
&lt;indent>Write error (0x70004)
Tag = 0x9D2DE1F088CBC4D4
Error writing the file. (0x40003)
function = &quot;WriteFileNoCache&quot;
Tag = 0x7CEB2CDC9FB12189
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error (0xFFF0)
code = 8007045D)
Tag = 0xBD28FDBD64EDB8AF&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1229452372" />
<event code="5" id="18" level="4" message="Operation has completed with errors." module="100" time="1229452373" />
</log>

4. Lowered the HDD writing speed as follows: Tools --> Options... --> Default backup options --> Backup performance --> HDD writing speed --> Writing speed stated as a percent of the highest possible speed --> moved the sliding pointer to Minimum --> clicked OK.
5. Ran TI Windows backup and it failed with same write error. The only difference between this backup and step 2 was that it ran 13 minutes instead of 4 minutes. Concluded that lowering the HDD writing speed is not the solution to the problem.
6. Saved Log Entry file to archive. The following is the log from step 5.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<log build="169" product="Acronis*True*Image*Home" task="879E5D33-F3D4-4BD6-A64B-22AF249C9D89" uuid="895F806D-ABFC-4BB6-9B9A-C1DE45F91F37" version="1.0">
<event code="2" id="1" level="2" message="The &quot;Current backup operation&quot; operation started" module="100" time="1229454003" />
<event code="503" id="2" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1229454010" />
<event code="503" id="3" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 1-1..." module="1" time="1229454010" />
<event code="503" id="4" level="2" message="Analyzing partition D:..." module="1" time="1229454010" />
<event code="503" id="5" level="2" message="Analyzing partition C:..." module="1" time="1229454010" />
<event code="503" id="6" level="2" message="Analyzing partition M:..." module="1" time="1229454010" />
<event code="503" id="7" level="2" message="Analyzing partition 0-0..." module="1" time="1229454011" />
<event code="503" id="8" level="2" message="Analyzing partition G:..." module="1" time="1229454011" />
<event code="11" id="9" level="3" message="Priority changed to Low priority" module="100" time="1229454011" />
<event code="503" id="10" level="2" message="Analyzing partition C:..." module="1" time="1229454011" />
<event code="503" id="11" level="2" message="Analyzing partition M:..." module="1" time="1229454012" />
<event code="1008" id="12" level="2" message="&lt;bold>Create Incremental Backup Archive&lt;/bold>&lt;endl/>&lt;tabpoint value=30>&lt;indent value=4>From: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>OS (C, My Data (M&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>To file: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>&quot;G:\Acronis Backups\c521_image_backup_2008_07_013.tib&quot;&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>Compression: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>Normal&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1229454026" />
<event code="504" id="13" level="2" message="Pending operation 131 started: &quot;Creating partition image&quot;" module="1" time="1229454028" />
<event code="506" id="14" level="2" message="Locking partition C:..." module="1" time="1229454028" />
<event code="4" id="15" level="4" message="Failed to write data to the archive file.
A possible reason might be poor media quality. : None" module="7" time="1229454805" />
<event code="4" id="16" level="2" message="Failed to write data to the archive file.
A possible reason might be poor media quality. : None: User replied: oK" module="7" time="1229454824" />
<event code="502" id="17" level="4" message="Operation with partition &quot;M:&quot; was terminated.
Details:
&lt;indent>Write error (0x70004)
Tag = 0x9D2DE1F088CBC4D4
Error writing the file. (0x40003)
function = &quot;WriteFileNoCache&quot;
Tag = 0x7CEB2CDC9FB12189
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error (0xFFF0)
code = 8007045D)
Tag = 0xBD28FDBD64EDB8AF&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1229454824" />
<event code="5" id="18" level="4" message="Operation has completed with errors." module="100" time="1229454824" />
</log>

7. Created a Bootable Rescue Media CD in order to test TI CD backup.
8. Ran TI CD backup and it was SUCCESSFUL! Concluded that there is a compatability problem between TI 11 and Windows Vista.
9. Saved Log Entry file to archive. The following is the log from step 8.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>
<log build="8101" product="Acronis*True*Image*Home" uuid="441E1B9D-B78C-7A33-E5CE-91955E9197E5" version="11.0">
<event code="506" id="1" level="2" message="Locking partition D:..." module="1" time="1229438579" />
<event code="506" id="2" level="2" message="Locking partition F:..." module="1" time="1229438579" />
<event code="1008" id="3" level="2" message="&lt;bold>Create Incremental Backup Archive&lt;/bold>&lt;endl/>&lt;tabpoint value=30>&lt;indent value=4>From: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>My Data (F, OS (D&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>To file: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>&quot;E:\Acronis Backups\c521_image_backup_2008_07_013.tib&quot;&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>Compression: &lt;indent value=10>&lt;textcolor value=&quot;navyblue&quot;>Normal&lt;/textcolor>&lt;/indent>&lt;indent value=4>&lt;endl/>&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1229438579" />
<event code="504" id="4" level="2" message="Pending operation 131 started: &quot;Creating partition image&quot;" module="1" time="1229438582" />
<event code="504" id="5" level="2" message="Pending operation 131 started: &quot;Creating partition image&quot;" module="1" time="1229442575" />
<event code="504" id="6" level="2" message="Pending operation 128 started: &quot;Saving partition structure&quot;" module="1" time="1229444751" />
<event code="0" id="7" level="2" message="Backup archive creation has been completed successfully." module="100" time="1229444753" />
</log>

 

This has been reported and according to the thread below happens in both XP and Vista.
https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=188421

In Device Manager if you select properties of the external drive is the it setup for caching? In XP I believe that is where you can select caching or no caching.

Caching should help the drive keep up with the data rate.

 

seekforever I read that thread (thanks for the link) and it doesn't exactly say caching is the problem. Nevertheless I checked the properties of the external drive and it says caching is enabled. I assume that setting is correct and that the drive does in fact support caching? The external drive is a Western Digital Essential 500GB USB Model Number: WDC WD5000AAJB-00UHA0. I do find it interesting that the write error says function = "WriteFileNoCache". Perhaps the error is saying that the drive does not support caching but Vista says it does? Anyway, I attempted to determine if that's the problem but unfortunately I was unable to recreate the write error. Ran a TI Windows backup just to be sure it would fail again but it didn't. Apparently something was changed re the backup data when I did the successful TI CD backup. It's difficult to solve a problem that's intermittent. However I will keep your suggestion in mind and if the write error starts happening a again, I will experiment with the caching. Thank you.

 

Hello all,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please accept our apologies for the delay with the response.

rekees, we should exclude USB connection and external drive quality as the cause. In this case, we would recommend you to perform the same backup onto internal drive instead of external, then check if the issue persists.

If it does, please let us investigate an issue and do the following:

-For XP family:

- Download and unpack the Device Tree application

- Run the application;
- Completely unfold the \Driver\Disk and \Driver\FtDisk branches;
- Move the margin to the right in order to see all the items;
- Make a screen shot.

-For Vista family:

- Download and unpack the Device Tree application

- Run the application from "i386" folder (run the 64-bit version of Device tree from "x64" folder if you have Windows Vista 64-bit);
- Completely unfold (click on all plus signs) the \Driver\partmgr and \Driver\volmgr branches;
- Move the margin to the right in order to see all the items;
- Make a screen shot.

Please create Acronis Report and Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Then submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. To expedite the resolution we recommend you to use our Live Chat service after that. We will do our best to investigate the problem and provide you with a solution.

Thank you.
--
Alexander Nikolsky

 

"In this case, we would recommend you to perform the same backup onto internal drive instead of external, then check if the issue persists."

Alexander, I downloaded, unzipped and ran the DeviceTree.exe program from the i386 folder. The program caused Vista to crash.

 

Hello rekees,

Thank you for using Acronis True Image

I sent two file to you via PM, please install them and see if the issue remains.

Thank you.

--

Oleg Lee

 

Oleg, the two files you sent solved the write error problem! Thank you very much for your help.

 

Inquiring minds want to know what these helpful files were.

 

jmk94903 here is the message sent from Oleg. It might be prudent to contact him if you are contemplating applying these to your system.

--------------------------------------------------------------

Hello rekees,

Here are the files I promised:

1) Please do the following to update your scheduler:

- Download the updated version of Acronis Scheduler from http://download.acronis.com/support/...ler_update.zip

- Extract the archive contents and run the install.bat file

- Wait for the process to be completed, reboot your machine.

2) Please download the latest SnapAPI archive file from http://download.acronis.com/sl/ihyhs...apAPISetup.msi

Install the MSI package with disabled logging, reboot the computer and check if that fixes the problem.

Thank you.

--

Oleg Lee
__________________
Acronis, Inc.
23 3rd Avenue
Burlington, MA 01803 USA
Acronis Backup Software

Acronis Customer Service Department

Note that you can quickly find the answers to your questions in Acronis Support Knowledge Base.

 

Hello rekees,

Thank you for your interesting in Acronis True Image

Please note that these two files, Acronis Scheduler and SnapAPI should be used with appropriate version of Acronis True Image program. Installing them with wrong version may lead to malfunction.

Best regards,
--
Dmitry Nikolaev

 

Hi, I'm also having the exact same problem as rekees.

I'm also using Vista, and also have a 500Gb Western Digital MyBook Essential 500Gb (WD 5000AAKB). I'm using Acronis True Image 11, and have tried builds 8053 and 8101. Like rekees, I've also tried using minimum write speed, and also any other option I could think of! I've reformat the external disk, done full chkdsk's, tried various filesystems on the external disk, etc, all to no avail. After about 2/3rd of a full system backup, I get the exact same error as rekees:

Operation with partition '0-0' was terminated.
Details:
Write error (0x70004)
Tag = 0x9D2DE1F088CBC4D4
Error writing the file. (0x40003)
function = 'WriteFileNoCache'
Tag = 0x7CEB2CDC9FB12189
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error (0xFFF0)
code = 8007045D)
Tag = 0xBD28FDBD64EDB8AF

This is the first thread I've found that looks like it might have a solution for my problem. I was gutted to see that rekee's links above don't work as they are missing the middle part of the url! Is it possible to repost these please, or maybe Oleg or Dmitry could?

Thanks! Pete.

 

Hello Pete,

Thank you for using Acronis True Image

Thank you for the complete description of your system. I have sent the necessary files via PM.

Thank you.

--
Oleg Lee

 

Thanks Oleg for your help.

This didn't fix the problem unfortunately, BUT I seem to have stumbled on the solution after running a Vista Complete PC Backup that caused the same 0x8007045D error that True Image gave. Googling for "0x8007045D mybook" returns a number of results - it seems that this is a common issue with Western Digital Mybook drives and Vista.

The solution (as unrelated the the error message as it may seem) is:

1) Go to Computer -> Properties -> Advanced System Settings -> System Protection.

2) Uncheck all drives marked for automatic system restore.

3) Click Apply (warning: this deletes all restore points including shadow copies of files).

4) Re-check drives that you want restore points for.

5) Click Apply.

6) Run True Image backup again. For me, it worked.

Pete.

 

Hello Pete,

Thank you for using Acronis True Image

I am really glad to hear that you have found the solution.

Thank you.

--
Oleg Lee

 

Further to my experiences of the 0x8007045D above, I narrowed the problem down further to particular files that could not be copied via a shadow copy from the Volume Shadow Service. I presume that True Image uses this service internally in order to capture a snapshot of files at a particular point in time.

Unfortunately, despite thinking I'd fixed the problem before, I had further failures with Acronis True Image, and, suspecting VSS, tried running Cobian backup. This software has the advantage that it logs the details of files that it has specific issues with, but keeps running. The Acronis error messages are rather more vague in this area, and had I known that particular files were at fault initially, I would have saved many frustrating hours.

There were two large files, one a 22Gb VirtualBox vdi file, and another a Windows blue-screen memory dump, that were causing problems. They copied fine when not using VSS. I moved the vdi file to another internal drive, and deleted the memory dump, and then, hey presto, Acronis ran with no problems at all.

I hope this is of use to others!

 

The post above was incorrect. The problem was only temporarily solved and has occurred again. Still the only reliable way to do a backup without getting a WRITE ERROR is to use the a bootable rescue CD.

 

Hello rekees and peteb,

Thank you for using Acronis True Image

rekees,

I can suggest you to do a couple of things:

1) First of all, please download and install the latest build (#8101). You can learn more on how to download the latest build here. Remove the previous build by means of Add or remove programs utility, reboot the computer and install build #8101.

2) Switch your external hard drive to "Optimize for performance" mode:

a. Right-click the My Computer icon and then click Manage.
b. Click the Device Manager icon.
c. Click the plus (+) sign next to Disk Drives.
d. Double-click the USB hard drive string.
e. Click the Policies button then click Optimize for performance and mark all checkboxes.

The issue should be solved.

peteb, I am impressed by your investigation.

Thank you.

--
Oleg Lee

 

Hello Oleg Lee

I already have build 8101 so didn't download again.

Set the external USB hard drive to "Optimize for performance" mode per your instructions. Attempted the backup and it ran successfully. It appears this may be the solution to the WRITE ERROR problem under Windows Vista! I will continue to do daily backups and if it starts to fail again will let you know.

Regards,
rekees

 

Well here I am again, one day later, looking like an idiot, and saying the "Optimize for performance" mode did NOT solve the problem. Acronis 11 bombed off again today with the infamous WRITE ERROR. It has now been 5 months since I reported this problem and still no solution!

<event code="4" id="22" level="2" message="Failed to write data to the archive file.
A possible reason might be poor media quality. : None: User replied: oK" module="7" time="1242500746" />
<event code="502" id="23" level="4" message="Operation with partition &quot;0-0&quot; was terminated.
Details:
&lt;indent>Write error (0x70004)
Tag = 0x9D2DE1F088CBC4D4
Error writing the file. (0x40003)
function = &quot;WriteFileNoCache&quot;
Tag = 0x7CEB2CDC9FB12189
The request could not be performed because of an I/O device error (0xFFF0)
code = 8007045D)
Tag = 0xBD28FDBD64EDB8AF&lt;/indent>" module="1" time="1242500746" />
<event code="5" id="24" level="4" message="Operation has completed with errors." module="100" time="1242500746" />
</log>

 

Try taking TI out of the loop.

Get a large file of a couple GB or more (you could use a TI .tib file or .mpg or whatever). Run a checksum program such as free XCSC, from: http://www.irnis.net/soft/xcsc/ on the file.

Record the checksum. You only have to do one of them. MD5 is a good one and you probably really only need to record the last 6 digits or so. A small error makes a big difference to the checksum value.

Copy the test file to your USB drive using the same port that you have been using.

Run the checksum calculator on the copied file. The result must be the same. If it isn't you have a data transfer/write problem.

Now copy the file back to the PC's HD and run the checksum calculator again. It must be the same.

I would do this test more than once and better still use a few different filesizes.

 

seekforever thank you for your suggestion. However, I do not believe there is a hardware malfunction. As I said in my original post

"Not sure why the error is occurring since I've run both a diagnostic program from the external drive manufacturer as well as a Windows CHKDSK. Neither found any errors of the external drive."

At this point, I really don't feel like spending much more time trying to diagnose this problem. My time can be better spent researching alternatives to Acronis.

 

I appreciate your point and I don't know how the diagnostics are checking the drive but image files tend to be very large compared to most other files and some USB chipsets don't like large files.

I admit this is not as much a problem with current machines as it was a few years ago.