Linux deleted
Just installed and run TI 2013. Tried to create image of Linux partition (ext4) using TI2013 booted from USB stick. Image file was not created (no warnings given) and whole partition deleted.
Say what you will. I've been using ATI since version 9.0, so I could relatively safely say that I know how to use the product. I have skipped 2012 version, as the trial version turned out to be so buggy, that I decided to stick with ATI 2011. I bought 2013 version because it offered support to GPT disks. But something really went wrong! My Linux partition wasn't even on GPT disk, but on good old MBR.
To answer your question, no - I haven't chosen Clone option. As hundreds of time before on previous versions of ATI I have chosen Create Image. I have left it running and went to bed. ATI was supposed to turn of computer after being done. I found in the morning computer still on, no display of any kind on the screen. Had to do hard reset. Only later I found empty disk space instead of my Linux ext4 partition. I've searched for an image that was supposed to be created - nothing there!
If you did a backup of that disk, ATI did not delete that partition. Sometimes things go wrong with computers, and users tend to blame whatever tool they were using. But, when creating a backup ATI deletes nothing from the source disk.
But sometimes there are bugs in software with disastrous consequences. I have a very similar problem.
I have a 640 GB HD with 4 Partitions on it. I wanted to clone the system partition (first one) (60GB) onto my new SSD (120 GB). So I started clone wizard, excluded all other 3 partitions and started cloning process. The PC rebooted to Acronis and started copying. I marked "shut down when operation is done" and went to bed.
Next morning, my PC was switched on and booted to the usual system.
On my new SSD all the space was still unallocated and to my horror, my data partition (second on orig. disk) was gone. Where yesterday was partition E_data there's is now 150 GB of unallocated space.
Do you have any ideas what might be the reason and how to fix this?
But sometimes there are bugs in software with disastrous consequences. I have a very similar problem
No. If such a bug existed, we would have heard about it long before now. When creating a backup, ATI deletes nothing from the source disk.
I wanted to clone the system partition (first one) (60GB) onto my new SSD (120 GB). So I started clone wizard, excluded all other 3 partitions and started cloning process. The PC rebooted to Acronis and started copying. I marked "shut down when operation is done" and went to bed.
Next morning, my PC was switched on and booted to the usual system.
On my new SSD all the space was still unallocated and to my horror, my data partition (second on orig. disk) was gone. Where yesterday was partition E_data there's is now 150 GB of unallocated space.
Do you have any ideas what might be the reason and how to fix this?
You should not have used Clone. You cannot clone a single partition, as that is not how clone works.
I suspect that you selected the wrong disk target. Drive letter assignments are different in the Linux-based clone or Rescue Media environment. We advise users to assign unique disk labels to every partition, so they can be identified without relying on drive letters.
My best advice: Do not Clone! Instead, do one extra step and create a full disk Backup to an external drive. If ever you need to return to that image state, you would do a full disk Restore/Recovery.
There is rarely a need to Clone. Really, Backup is safer and more flexible. Many users encounter problems Cloning which they would not have if they had instead used Backup.
1. Don't use Clone. Do a full disk mode Backup, selecting the entire disk, and a Restore. The end result will be the same as Clone, but with many advantages.
2. Check out the many user guides and tutorials in the left margin of this forum, particularly Getting Started and Grover's True Image Guides which are illustrated with step-by-step screenshots.
In particular, 29618: Grover's new backup and restore guides http://forum.acronis.com/forum/29618
A full disk backup, selecting the disk checkbox rather than individual partitions, includes everything. It includes everything that a clone would include.
The difference is that while a clone immediately writes that information a single time to another drive, a backup is saved as a compressed .tib archive. As such, multiple .tib archives may be saved to a single backup drive, allowing for greater redundancy, security and flexibility.
Once a full disk image .tib archive is restored to a drive, the result is the same as if that drive had been the target of a clone done on the date and time that the backup archive was created.
Clone is riskier because we've seen situations where users mistakenly choose the wrong drive to clone from and to, thus wiping out their system drive.
Hi tuttle,
thanks for your fast answer, although it's not very helpful.
The software was included with my new SSD and the aim of this software is obviously to clone the system partition to the SSD.
I'm simply not able to do a full disk backup of my 640GB, because I don't have enough space. Additionally it doesn't take me any closer to my goal.
I also didn't make any mistakes in choosing the right disks. because I had just one disk with partitions on it and another without (Drive letters don't play a role here). So obviously there is a bug.
Finally I managed to undelete the partition using Paragon Hard Disk Manager. I also found there an option to migrate my system drive to a SSD. So maybe Adata should better include this software with their SSDs.
If you must clone, at least follow our recommenced procedures. Details are in many posts and in tutorials in the left margin of this forum. For example:
- You should install the new drive into its intended position as primary drive before cloning.
- Cloning should be performed from the bootable Rescue Media.
- You must never allow Windows to reboot with both drives attached (you made this error).
- etc.