Skip to main content

Backup & Validation Trust Issue & Questions:

Thread needs solution

Dear Acronis Forum,

Backup & Validation Trust Issue & Questions:

I would appreciate an explanation of the differences between TI2014 & TI2015. Specifically, I am focused on the Validate feature. It appears to me that TI2014 actually steps through the Backup and is a complete validation of the Backup. It appears to me that TI2015 only confirms the existence of the subject backup and does not step through the backup or confirm its recoverability.
Is the above correct?

Please confirm that the Boot Media version of TI2015 (AcronisTrueImage2015_en-US Build 6252.iso) does validate the subject backup like TI2014, and is, short of a restore, the best method of confirming that a backup is fully recoverable. Also would you explain how to burn this version to a bootable USB flash drive?

Would converting a TI2015 or TI2014 backup to a windows backup confirm the validity and recoverability of a backup?

0 Users found this helpful

I don't know for sure but I doubt that the principles of validation have changed.

While validation increases your level of confidence a backup can be recovered, it does it in a limited and specific way. It verifies that the integrity of the backup is still the same as it was during after completion of the backup. It does not verify the faithfulness of the backup data against the original data, and it doesn't ensure that all the data necessary for the backup to be functional has been included in the backup. The way it works is that when ATI creates a backup image, it inserts checksum at regular points during the backup. When the validation works, it first verifies that all files of the backup chain are there available for validation, then it recalculates the checksums for all these files and compares each result with the corresponding data that was inserted in the file.

'I don't know for sure but ....'
Thanks to Pat L. for the generalized response.

I have found that TI2015 will report a backup as valid when in fact the TI2015 boot media version reports the backup as corrupted. This lead me to the inevitable conclusion that TI2015's validation feature can not be trusted. One specific case was a backup being reported as Valid by TI2015 when in fact it was missing an incremental backup rendering it unusable/corrupted.

I would appreciate a response to the remaining issues:

Please confirm that the Boot Media version of TI2015 (AcronisTrueImage2015_en-US Build 6252.iso) does validate the subject backup like TI2014, and is, short of a restore, the best method of confirming that a backup is fully recoverable. Also would you explain how to burn this version to a bootable USB flash drive?

Would converting a TI2015 or TI2014 backup to a windows backup confirm the validity and recoverability of a backup?

Jerry wrote:
One specific case was a backup being reported as Valid by TI2015 when in fact it was missing an incremental backup rendering it unusable/corrupted.

I couldn't reproduce quite this behavior but found a serious UI issue.
I deleted the full backup of a chain, and launch the validation of the remaining incremental with 2015, running in Windows. The total length of the progress bar indicated that ATI was planning to validate both the incremental and the missing full. I deduct that ATI is using its internal database to determine the scope of the validation process. The validation went through without a hitch for the first 13GB which corresponds to the size of the incremental. Then, the validation process failed with a pop up window saying the full was missing (see attached).
The problem however is that, after I dismissed that pop up, ATI displayed a happy green check mark on the backup. In your case, maybe the software canceled out the pop up window after a certain time automatically??

Please confirm that the Boot Media version of TI2015 (AcronisTrueImage2015_en-US Build 6252.iso) does validate the subject backup like TI2014, and is, short of a restore, the best method of confirming that a backup is fully recoverable.

Given the 2015 behavior I observed, I would say the validation process can be the source of serious confusion.

Also would you explain how to burn this version to a bootable USB flash drive?

You can download the ISO from the Acronis.com account and use tools like Yumi or Grub4dos to make a USB drive bootable into the ISO. Yumi is particularly easy to use.

Would converting a TI2015 or TI2014 backup to a windows backup confirm the validity and recoverability of a backup?

I don't know. Mounting a TIB file is a pretty good way to verify the integrity of a backup chain, which lacks in the new validation process (I hope this is a bug, not a design choice).

Attachment Size
241357-117595.jpg 70.49 KB

Thanks to Pat L. for his excellent reply to my multiple question post.

I agree with Pat that "Given the 2015 behavior I observed, I would say the validation process can be the source of serious confusion."

I guess The next question is, What is Acronis going to do about this issue and how will I be kept abreast of what they are doing to correct the problem?