Backup file readable by Windows but not by Acronis
I had created backups from my desktop onto a brandnew external USB 4 TB HDD. Now I wanted to recover a backup from the usb-disk to the desktop HDD. First I tried from Acronis True Image on my desktop. Was terminated after a while stating I could not read part of the file. Then I tried with a rescue DVD, same problem again. Then I tried to copy the backup file from the external USB disk to a disk in my desktop. At least Windows Explorer copied the directory with the bakcup files without hickups.
Any idea how to explain?


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Just one further comment: assuming that you are working with .tibx files here, then it is very important that all of the files created by the backup task are present, and if are being copied, that all the files are copied, including the small 12kb metadata .tibx file if it is present.
This gives me a chance to ask a question I've been thinking of lately. If ATI can tell that there are broken .tibx chains, why doesn't it warn you before going ahead and processing more broken chain backups. I say this because I was never informed that my .tibx chains were broken. The only way I found out is when I tried a recovery. And of course, that was too late.
My current fix is to install ATI 2019, create *.tib backup jobs and then upgrade to ATI 2020 to retain the *.tib format. This has always worked fine for me. I'm just curious.
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Thanks for the input Steve!
I rarely use validation, in my experience it takes an eternity, especially if I do it on backups on a NAS. What I tested, being much quicker, was to do a recovery from the 2019 *.tib files on the SATA-internal swaprack 3.5 inch HDD which I had copied from the external 2.5 inch USB-SATA-HDD with Windows Explorer. And surprise, the recovery went through without complaints about non readable data on the disk.
The external USB-HDD is on a USB 3 port, so undersupply with power should not be a problem. And the drive came with only one cable, no extra power cable applicable.
A miracle?
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pl1 wrote:Just one further comment: assuming that you are working with .tibx files here, then it is very important that all of the files created by the backup task are present, and if are being copied, that all the files are copied, including the small 12kb metadata .tibx file if it is present.
This gives me a chance to ask a question I've been thinking of lately. If ATI can tell that there are broken .tibx chains, why doesn't it warn you before going ahead and processing more broken chain backups. I say this because I was never informed that my .tibx chains were broken. The only way I found out is when I tried a recovery. And of course, that was too late.
I can only direct you to the documentation that Acronis has produced with regard to .tibx files and the new rules that apply to them.
See the following KB documents published by Acronis with regards to .tibx files.
KB 63518: Acronis True Image 2020: do not delete first tibx file
KB 63227: Acronis True Image: Do not delete .TIB or .TIBX files outside of Acronis True Image
KB 63498: Acronis True Image 2020-2021: new tibx backup format FAQ
KB 63425: Acronis True Image: Limitations of tibx backups
KB 63445: Acronis True Image 2020: how to view and manage backup versions in new backup format
KB 63444: Acronis True Image 2020 and 2021: tibx backups in local destinations
My current fix is to install ATI 2019, create *.tib backup jobs and then upgrade to ATI 2020 to retain the *.tib format. This has always worked fine for me. I'm just curious.
You don't actually need to do the above as it is possible to force both ATI 2020 & 2021 to create disk backups as .tib files instead of using .tibx.
See forum topic: How to create a Disk backup as .tib (not .tibx) which will create a new backup task using the older .tib format in the Windows ATI 2020 or 2021 GUI.
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You don't actually need to do the above as it is possible to force both ATI 2020 & 2021 to create disk backups as .tib files instead of using .tibx.
See forum topic: How to create a Disk backup as .tib (not .tibx) which will create a new backup task using the older .tib format in the Windows ATI 2020 or 2021 GUI.
I did see that! Much appreciated. I was just making it easier on myself. It's always good to know it can be done.
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I now had Duplicate Cleaner compare the original USB-HDD backup files not readable by Acronis with the same files after copying them with Windows Explorer to a SATA-HDD in the system from where Acronis recovered without problem. As one can see, the files compare equal with identical Hash data. Could there be a problem with USB-drivers supplied with the Linux on the rescue DVD? The fact that a backup on an external HDD cannot be reliably recovered is a bit worrying.
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Franz, sorry but the only reliable method of trying to determine why the original rescue media restore had a problem with the backup files on your new 4TB external USB HDD would be to see what was posted in the log for that operation, but the log has to be captured before leaving the rescue environment as are all volatile / lost on restart.
There are a number of key differences between recovering from an internal SATA drive versus doing the same from an external USB drive, including different device drivers being used, very different data transfer rates for the drives, different physical components & cables etc, plus different disk controller hardware / software.
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