Cannot clone RAID0 disk to RAID1 disk properly. GPT problem (i guess).
Hello, I really hope for your help.
I have a computer based on the intel server board motherboard S3420GP with built-in intel embedded raid controller 2.
There are two virtual disks in the controller:
— The first RAID 0 virtual disk (1 disk) contains the system and all the important data.
— The second virtual RAID 1 (consists of two mirrored disks), the disk is empty.
I need to clone a virtual data disk to a mirrored virtual disk.
Problems:
The first problem is that Acronis swears that there are errors on the source disk and I need to run CHDSK. I completed it completely, it took a very long time, but this error still exists. But I can skip this warning. Do you have any idea why this is happening?
The second problem is that Acronis cannot copy “As is” telling me that partition styles on disks are different. I select "Proportional" and Acronis converts my disk to GPT. After cloning all the data, I see all the data, but Windows Server cannot boot, it says that it can not find bootable media. My source disk is basic (probably MBR). And I need the cloned one to be the same. Sorry, I do not understand the disks and how the MBR about GPT differs, but I really want to be sure that my data will be safe in the mirror and I want to be able to boot from it. Please tell me why this happens and how do I make it so that I can boot from a cloned drive?
If I cannot boot from a cloned disk because it is in GPT style, is it possible to somehow configure Windows to boot from GPT as well? (The answer to this question is needed if there is no other way than GPT)
I really want to thank you for the fact that Acronis True Image sees virtual disks in RAID, and does not parse the array into disks.
Hello,
The first problem is that Acronis swears that there are errors on the source disk and I need to run CHDSK. I completed it completely, it took a very long time, but this error still exists. But I can skip this warning. Do you have any idea why this is happening?
ATI runs deep scans of all partitions on disk including non-lettered ones for errors. Non-lettered partition need to have drive letters temporarily assigned so that chkdsk can be run on them even if you lettered drives end up clean or repaired. Please do so for both source disk and target disk to insure all disks are without errors. If you skip this strep than errors that exist will be cloned to the new destination.
The second problem is that Acronis cannot copy “As is” telling me that partition styles on disks are different. I select "Proportional" and Acronis converts my disk to GPT. After cloning all the data, I see all the data, but Windows Server cannot boot, it says that it can not find bootable media. My source disk is basic (probably MBR). And I need the cloned one to be the same. Sorry, I do not understand the disks and how the MBR about GPT differs, but I really want to be sure that my data will be safe in the mirror and I want to be able to boot from it. Please tell me why this happens and how do I make it so that I can boot from a cloned drive?
Since Aronis tells you that "As is" is unavailable due to differing partition styles and the fact that Acronis converts the target to GPT it is highly probable that your source is GPT partitioned. Please review the link below for an explanation of MBR vs GPT partition styles.
Difference between MBR and GPT
The reason that Windows cannot boot and it says "cannot find bootable media" is that I suspect you are using bootable media such as a CD or USB flash drive and your computer is trying to boot back into that media instead of Windows because the bootable media was the last boot source however, the computer is not finding that source on reboot. This may be because you removed the media or that the boot order in the computer bios setup has changed to a different removable media drive which does not contain a bootable image. Acronis now creates WinPE/RE media by default if you used the Media Builder tool in the Windows application to create your media. If this is how you created the media, then I recommend that you shutdown the computer after the clone completes, removing the bootable media and the source disk(s), then start up the computer. This should enable the machine to recognize the new clone as a boot source and boot to that device.
The only time that GPT style disk would not boot from a disk is if that disk is an NVMe disk.
a
Steve Smith wrote:Konstantin, welcome to these public User Forums.
Dealing primarily with the second issue of your drives being converted from MBR to GPT, this is directly related to the BIOS mode used when performing the Clone operation.
Yes, I have Linux Acronis Bootable Media in UEFI, it looks exactly the same. How then can I write an image in Legacy BIOS mode? Do you have a link to such images?
Thanks for the answer. Now at least it’s clear what is the reason, but it’s not clear how to solve it.
Enchantech wrote:Hello,
The first problem is that Acronis swears that there are errors on the source disk and I need to run CHDSK. I completed it completely, it took a very long time, but this error still exists. But I can skip this warning. Do you have any idea why this is happening?
ATI runs deep scans of all partitions on disk including non-lettered ones for errors. Non-lettered partition need to have drive letters temporarily assigned so that chkdsk can be run on them even if you lettered drives end up clean or repaired. Please do so for both source disk and target disk to insure all disks are without errors. If you skip this strep than errors that exist will be cloned to the new destination.
The second problem is that Acronis cannot copy “As is” telling me that partition styles on disks are different. I select "Proportional" and Acronis converts my disk to GPT. After cloning all the data, I see all the data, but Windows Server cannot boot, it says that it can not find bootable media. My source disk is basic (probably MBR). And I need the cloned one to be the same. Sorry, I do not understand the disks and how the MBR about GPT differs, but I really want to be sure that my data will be safe in the mirror and I want to be able to boot from it. Please tell me why this happens and how do I make it so that I can boot from a cloned drive?
Since Aronis tells you that "As is" is unavailable due to differing partition styles and the fact that Acronis converts the target to GPT it is highly probable that your source is GPT partitioned. Please review the link below for an explanation of MBR vs GPT partition styles.
Difference between MBR and GPT
The reason that Windows cannot boot and it says "cannot find bootable media" is that I suspect you are using bootable media such as a CD or USB flash drive and your computer is trying to boot back into that media instead of Windows because the bootable media was the last boot source however, the computer is not finding that source on reboot. This may be because you removed the media or that the boot order in the computer bios setup has changed to a different removable media drive which does not contain a bootable image. Acronis now creates WinPE/RE media by default if you used the Media Builder tool in the Windows application to create your media. If this is how you created the media, then I recommend that you shutdown the computer after the clone completes, removing the bootable media and the source disk(s), then start up the computer. This should enable the machine to recognize the new clone as a boot source and boot to that device.
The only time that GPT style disk would not boot from a disk is if that disk is an NVMe disk.
a
No, my disk is exactly in MBR.
I use a USB flash drive with Acronis TI 2017, the flash drive loads in UEFI mode.
To clone MBR → MBR, I need to somehow make a USB flash drive in the Legacy BIOS instead of UEFI.
But I dont know how(
Enchantech wrote:Hello,
The first problem is that Acronis swears that there are errors on the source disk and I need to run CHDSK. I completed it completely, it took a very long time, but this error still exists. But I can skip this warning. Do you have any idea why this is happening?
ATI runs deep scans of all partitions on disk including non-lettered ones for errors. Non-lettered partition need to have drive letters temporarily assigned so that chkdsk can be run on them even if you lettered drives end up clean or repaired. Please do so for both source disk and target disk to insure all disks are without errors. If you skip this strep than errors that exist will be cloned to the new destination.
The second problem is that Acronis cannot copy “As is” telling me that partition styles on disks are different. I select "Proportional" and Acronis converts my disk to GPT. After cloning all the data, I see all the data, but Windows Server cannot boot, it says that it can not find bootable media. My source disk is basic (probably MBR). And I need the cloned one to be the same. Sorry, I do not understand the disks and how the MBR about GPT differs, but I really want to be sure that my data will be safe in the mirror and I want to be able to boot from it. Please tell me why this happens and how do I make it so that I can boot from a cloned drive?
Since Aronis tells you that "As is" is unavailable due to differing partition styles and the fact that Acronis converts the target to GPT it is highly probable that your source is GPT partitioned. Please review the link below for an explanation of MBR vs GPT partition styles.
Difference between MBR and GPT
The reason that Windows cannot boot and it says "cannot find bootable media" is that I suspect you are using bootable media such as a CD or USB flash drive and your computer is trying to boot back into that media instead of Windows because the bootable media was the last boot source however, the computer is not finding that source on reboot. This may be because you removed the media or that the boot order in the computer bios setup has changed to a different removable media drive which does not contain a bootable image. Acronis now creates WinPE/RE media by default if you used the Media Builder tool in the Windows application to create your media. If this is how you created the media, then I recommend that you shutdown the computer after the clone completes, removing the bootable media and the source disk(s), then start up the computer. This should enable the machine to recognize the new clone as a boot source and boot to that device.
The only time that GPT style disk would not boot from a disk is if that disk is an NVMe disk.
a
No, my disk is exactly in MBR.
I use a USB flash drive with Acronis TI 2017, the flash drive loads in UEFI mode.
To clone MBR → MBR, I need to somehow make a USB flash drive in the Legacy BIOS instead of UEFI.
But I don't know how(
Update:
My server, which I am trying to restore to Legacy BIOS mode, my computer on which I am recording an Acronis TI image to a USB flash drive in UEFI mode.
Maybe that's why I create a flash drive in UEFI?
Maybe I just need to create a USB flash drive on a computer with Legacy BIOS?
I went into cmd → diskpart, it sees the USB flash drive as a basic disk and cannot convert it to MBR, since it is a removable media.
The media builder tool creates the bootable media with both MBR and UEFI boot capability. If you use the media on a machine that normally boots UEFI than in most cases the media boots in UEFI mode. If the computer normally boots via MBR then that mode is how the media boots.
You will need to manually set the boot order in your computer bios setup to boot the media in MBR mode in the case where you need to use MBR mode on a UEFI boot machine. You can only do that on machines that are capable of booting in both modes. Fortunately most machine have this capability.
You will need to use the Advanced option in your computer bios setup to gain access to the boot setup screen. You would need to check that boot is set to use Legacy/CSM and UEFI both. After that you need to look at boot order. You would need to set boot order to boot the media in MBR mode making that the first in the boot order list. When looking at boot order you should see your bootable media device by name. You should see the device listed twice in the list. The entry in the list that does not have UEFI in the name is the MBR boot mode. Move that to the first position in the list and reboot the machine. It should now boot the media in MBR mode.
Enchantech wrote:The media builder tool creates the bootable media with both MBR and UEFI boot capability. If you use the media on a machine that normally boots UEFI than in most cases the media boots in UEFI mode. If the computer normally boots via MBR then that mode is how the media boots.
You will need to manually set the boot order in your computer bios setup to boot the media in MBR mode in the case where you need to use MBR mode on a UEFI boot machine. You can only do that on machines that are capable of booting in both modes. Fortunately most machine have this capability.
You will need to use the Advanced option in your computer bios setup to gain access to the boot setup screen. You would need to check that boot is set to use Legacy/CSM and UEFI both. After that you need to look at boot order. You would need to set boot order to boot the media in MBR mode making that the first in the boot order list. When looking at boot order you should see your bootable media device by name. You should see the device listed twice in the list. The entry in the list that does not have UEFI in the name is the MBR boot mode. Move that to the first position in the list and reboot the machine. It should now boot the media in MBR mode.
Thank you,
This is part of the solution, indeed the flash drive can boot in both modes and I managed to boot into MBR, thanks to you. I thought that everything is more complicated, but it turned out to be ingenious - simple.
Now I have one more problem and I'm very tired to work till 23pm when other employees go home and stop using the server. And I really hope for your help.
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The problem is that during the cloning process, the computer restarts after about 5 minutes and that’s all.
Here is more information about the behavior of my server and Acronis before and during the cloning process:
— My virtual disk (RAID0) aka source disk was cloned from a very old disk with errors. And accordingly, the source disk also has these errors. But I do not do CHKDSK yet because I am afraid that after the check the system will stop working.
— My virtual disk (RAID1) aka destination disk, also consists of 2 completely new disks. At the start of cloning, Aсronis is informed that he cannot read the sector. I click skip all read errors and after 5 mins the server has rebooted. As I said, I don't know much about hard drives. But I seriously don’t understand how cloning to the same new disks cannot happen from one new disk. I mean that cloning occurs "As is", that is, Acronis does not read files, does not look at the file table, but reads sector by sector, that is, in theory, the file table has nothing to do with it and reading should be done from a completely physically new disk.
— I also have such an error (if this is an error at all) as in the attached screenshot. "Raid set ... was not activated"
— When I run TI, I have options for choosing utilities. But my mouse cursor can only move right and left, control from the numeric keypad is not activated. And sometimes somehow it rises a little bit up and I can choose TI. This error most likely has nothing to do with it, but I describe everything so that you have as much information as possible.
— When I select the manual cloning method, I quickly go to the source disk selection tab, but when I select the target disk and have to get to the destination disk selection tab, Acronis waits a very long time before showing the destination disk for selection. It takes about 15 minutes.
My assumptions:
1) Reboot occurs due to errors. Although, as I said, I do not understand how reading errors may occur if sectors are read but not files.
2) It is possible that the problem is the error "Raid set ... was not activated" (although the Acronis sees the disks as it should, their interface is unknown). If so, can I somehow make an image for Windows 7 and put the RAID driver there if possible? And will this image work for Windows Server 2018r2 if I make a Windows 7 image?
I sincerely hope that you read and analyze all the information, and do not see only one line about the error with reading the sector. Thank you for helping me.
Given what you have stated I would think that your new raid set needs to be configured prior to running the clone operation. This is so that the raid controller driver can handle he writes to the new raid.
The raid controller needs to have control of the new disks in order to use them as a raid set. If you have not configured the raid set using the controller interface then there is no way the controller can write to the drives.
Having said that I have never seen the error "Raid set ... was not activated" however I assume that the error is being generated from the raid controller and I am simply unfamiliar with it.
Setup the raid using the controller interface then run the clone gain. The clone tool really should run in Auto mode to complete the task. When errors are found on a source disk Acronis defaults to operating in sector by sector copy mode bringing all errors and data to the target.