Unable to create bootable media -- Unable to copy the file
Running the Acronis Rescue Media Builder to create a WinRE or WinPE USB boot drive can sometimes end with the following error:
Running the Acronis System Report and navigating to the log for “ti_media_builder” may show an error message like the following:
2023-12-30T11:04:12:712-05:00 8080 I00180000: Activating media...
2023-12-30T11:04:15:614-05:00 8080 I00180000: Copying files...
2023-12-30T11:15:42:749-05:00 8080 E00180000: Error 0x180027: Unable to copy the file.
| line: 0xaa76ebb96e71557e
| file: c:\b\workspace\common\ati-main-win-ati\597\products\imager\home\builder\logic\impl\utils_winpe.cpp:2220
| function: TrueImage::MediaBuilder::WinpeRemovableMediaBuilder::MakeUsb
| $module: ti_managers_vs_40901
|
| error 0x40004: The disk is full.
| line: 0xd18a9c757ef132fe
| file: c:\b\workspace\common\ati-main-win-ati\597\core\include\file\file.h:41
| function: o_file::Write
| $module: ti_managers_vs_40901
My understanding of the cause of this problem: In addition to the current video driver, Windows stores many previous versions in case you wish to roll back to an earlier video driver version. After a large number of previous driver versions are stored over time, this can create an error because Acronis Rescue Media Builder attempts to add ALL video driver versions that it can detect to the boot image file (X:\sources\ boot.wim) being written to the WinPE USB boot drive. This file grows too large for the 4GB per-file limit for USB drives formatted FAT32. The 4GB per-file limit applies even though the rescue boot drive capacity can be up to 32GB. I’ve watched the boot.wmi file size grow and just as it exceeds 4GB, the operation stops and Rescue Media Builder displays the error “Unable to create bootable media. Unable to copy the file.” Variation in number and size of old video driver versions that can be stored by Windows may help explain why some computers experience this problem while others do not.
This problem has been reported before on the Acronis Forum over the years. A helpful solution has been suggested by several MVPs on the Acronis Forum: During creation of the WinPE rescue USB drive, force the Acronis Rescue Media Builder to include only one (e.g. the most recent) video driver. In my case, a healthy X:\sources\boot.wim file containing a single video driver was 1.55GB, well below the 4GB limit.
The following solution is based on my experience creating a WinPE Rescue USB drive with Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office build 40901, and Windows 10 Pro version 22H2. My GPU is an Nvidia GTX 980Ti. This system is old enough for Windows to have accumulated a large number of previous video driver versions, leading to the file size problem.
(1) Download and install the latest version of Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (Windows ADK) and Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) from Microsoft. The latest version applies to current and earlier versions Windows 11 and 10. Install in default location.
(2) Identify the folder for the most recent version of the video driver using Device Manager > Display adapters > Properties > Driver Details > Driver File Details. Note the driver folder name contains a unique hex identifier and the folder contains many files. For example, the most recent driver folder is nv_dispig.inf_amd64_7e5fd280efaa5445\*.
(3) Using the unique hex identifier, locate the most recent video driver folder in the Windows driver repository C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository. This identifier will be used to select the driver folder for Acronis Rescue Media Builder. Most recent driver folder is highlighted in blue.
Note that FileRepository contains folders for previous versions of the video driver stored by Windows, each with a different date and unique hex identifier.
(4) Launch Rescue Media Builder and select “Advanced” (for Linux and WinPE based rescue media).
(5) Select “WinPE-based media”. Plug in your USB drive and select it as the media destination.
Acronis Rescue Media Builder displays “Looking for drivers …” and then enumerates the full video driver version history:
(6a) Note that Media Builder has accumulated ALL video driver versions found in the driver repository C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository, and note also that the order in which Media Builder lists the drivers matches their order in the Windows File Repository. Therefore, if you have identified the position of the latest driver folder in the Repository, then you can leave only that driver selected in the Media Builder window, deselecting the others. You can then click “Next” and proceed with building the rescue media.
Alternatively, you can manually add the folder for the latest video driver to the Media Builder list as follows:
(6b) Deselect all video driver versions listed by Acronis. Click “Add folder …” and navigate to C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository. Using the unique identifier or most recent date, select the folder for the latest video driver. For example: nv_dispig.inf_amd64_7e5fd280efaa5445\* dated 8/15/2023. Once the driver is listed in Media Builder, hover the mouse pointer over the File name to verify the full path to the most recent driver folder in the FileRepository.
Click “Next” and then “Proceed”. Having limited Media Builder to adding only the latest video driver, you have greatly reduced the size of the .wim file to be written to the rescue USB drive, which hopefully will be successfully created.


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Steve,
Thank you for very much your comments. That article you referenced from ComputerWorld is really well-written and useful. I am going to have to get familiar with DriverStoreExplorer. I couldn't find any Windows built-in tools for removing unneeded drivers, do you know of any?
You know that Windows provides a "Create a Recovery Drive" tool which can boot into the Windows Recovery Environment, with tools and menus for various recovery options, reinstalling Windows, etc. When I create one of these, Windows has no issues with video driver bloat that prevents writing to a FAT32 USB drive. I wonder if it is possible for future versions of Acronis Rescue Media Builder to become more driver aware and not run into problems with driver bloat.
Thanks again.
PMG
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PMG, please consider using the MVP Assistant, which includes its own Rescue Media Builder. It does not automatically add drivers, but does contains tools to see what drivers you have, what drivers are being used and makes it easy to select the desired driver for the rescue media.
And, there are a myriad of other useful things in the MVP Assistant.
The link is in my signature below.
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Hi BrunoC,
Thanks for the note. I've been using ATI since the early days with BartPE. I have been meaning for a long time to try the MVP Assistant, especially since you've been perfecting a nice GUI, and there are many posts discussing its use. And thanks for the PowerPoint tutorial. It's obvious you've done a lot of work to help the Acronis community.
I've always been fascinated with the ability to boot into a utility environment outside of the OS and employ useful tools. So it's time I got started.
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