Startup Recovery Manager (F11 feature) on W8.1-64
Trying to get my 8.1 64 bit machine to work like my W7 machines. I have been up and down with all the UEF 'stuff' ... and cannot succeed. I have read the Acronis FAQ and searched the internet with no luck. I am missing something ... apparently.
Could someone give me straight forward steps (no links, please)?
Thank you in advance.
Please provide details of what exactly the problem is with the startup recovery manager. Without knowing exactly what the problem is an answer is impossible.
OK ... on W8.1 machine, ... I open Acronis Truimage 2014. Tools/Utilities Tab, Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. Examines C: drive, and I select ACTIVATE.
There is no F!! boot option. Works fine on two W7 machines. I think it has to do with UEFI.
You could be correct. The F-11 function key may be assigned to say the system builder recovery function and therefore is in conflict with the ATI F-11 function key. It is possible to change the key assignment from F-11 to another F key if this applies to your situation.
Look here:https://forum.acronis.com/forum/32894
EDIT:
Troubleshooting Start up Recovery Manager:
F11 is not reserved. I will do the troubleshooting you provide. Thank you.
Or, just ignore it and instead use the ATI bootable Rescue Media, which I think is a better solution.
I do not see the value of the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. The ATI bootable Rescue Media is available when needed, so I don't see any reason to allow the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager to modify the PC's boot. Acronis Startup Recovery Manager adds complexity and risk without any real value over using the bootable Rescue Media.
Or, just ignore it and instead use the ATI bootable Rescue Media, which I think is a better solution.
I do not see the value of the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. The ATI bootable Rescue Media is available when needed, so I don't see any reason to allow the Acronis Startup Recovery Manager to modify the PC's boot. Acronis Startup Recovery Manager adds complexity and risk without any real value over using the bootable Rescue Media.
There are probably several workarounds ... Startup Recovery Manager works fine on W7 machines .. it's the 8.1 machine. I am looking for support on that. I appreciate your input. Thank you.
tutle is right though. I know we want the software to do what it is supposed to do, but F11 ASRM creates a bunch of potential issues because it modifies the boot records. Although multiple issues got ironed out over the years and version, ATI is facing a new series of issues with UEFI/GPT and secure boot implementations, as the technology evolves, across manufacturers.
I do also recommend you give up on the ASRM and make sure you can use the recovery CD to recover at least a couple of files from your backups.
tutle is right though. I know we want the software to do what it is supposed to do, but F11 ASRM creates a bunch of potential issues because it modifies the boot records. Although multiple issues got ironed out over the years and version, ATI is facing a new series of issues with UEFI/GPT and secure boot implementations, as the technology evolves, across manufacturers.
I do also recommend you give up on the ASRM and make sure you can use the recovery CD to recover at least a couple of files from your backups.
Hmmm, ... stated that way, .. I can see the risk in F11 ASRM ... silly me, .. expecting all released s/w to do what it touts. I will remove (deactivate) it from the two computers it works on, .. and give up on the W8 machine where it does not .... and take Mr. Tutle's and your advice.
This leaves one question .. deactivation restores the original boot record .. right ... not just deactivates the F11 call (probably a really dumb question)?
Thank you all, once again.
Don't take it wrong if I repeat myself, but make sure you actually can boot your computer on the recovery CD and recover a couple of files (even from a disk backup), in particular on your Win8.1 machine. Booting on a USB or CD on these machines is not straightforward... Sometimes it is hard to access the BIOS and change the settings to boot on USB. On 2 identical machines, I had no problem on one, and I couldn't get going on the other one...
I sincerely appreciate your advice. Just to put everything in perspective:
1. I 'activated' the F11 feature on 3 machines. The feature presented on 2 of them .. 2 W7 machines. It never presented on the W8.1 machine
2. I have since uninstalled Acronis True Image on all 3 machines. For some reason, not related to this thread, they would not back up to a network drive without authentication ... demanding a password that does not exist (I have a different support thread on that). The reinstallation appears to have resolved that authentication problem. Reinstalled on the two W7 machines and activated F11 again. Reinstalled on the W81 machine, and never activated again on that machine. I have deactivated on the two W7 machines ... no active F11 feature now on any machine.
2. I have a USB thumb drive .. ready to boot from .. but have not tried it .. on any machine. I take it that you are advising I try it out on all three machines to be certain it will restore a backup. Correct? Assuming yes .. I will do that and post the results.
Thank you, ...some more.
Yes, even if you have disk and partition backups, you can try to restore only one file in the backup.
Also. about ASRM, remember it will not work if your disk dies and you have to replace it (because the application it launches is on the disk). Finally, the application it launches is the same as the one on the USB/recovery CD. If the USB/CD cannot recover your backup for some reason or another, the ASRM launched recover won't work either.
For all these reasons .. mentioned by everyone, I have abandoned the entire F11 concept. I have created an ATI bootable thumb drive. Been 'testing' it and it works ... GREAT on 2 windows 7 machines. Trouble though with W8.1 machine.
If I run ATI from its hard drive .. no problem .... on any machine.. If I boot from thumb drive (have to configure for LEGACY bios to do that on W8.1), any attempt to create or access a b/u to/from the networked drive results in an authentication challenge .,, asking for user/p/w. DOES NOT do this when run from HD.
At that point, I am stumped because each machine has my machine user ID .. BUT I do not use Windows login passwords. That leaves the thumbdrive approach useless on the W8.1 machine.
I have to figure out this authentication problem. Any ideas??
thanks again.
You really need to give a good study of this link. I am aware that it discusses Win 7 and Linux however the underlying content applies to Win 8 as well. Following the advice in this link will help you resolve your authentication issue.
You really need to give a good study of this link. I am aware that it discusses Win 7 and Linux however the underlying content applies to Win 8 as well. Following the advice in this link will help you resolve your authentication issue.
Thank you. Gave a 'great' study ... and unless I missed something, everything was in compliance with the link. I need to try again with the thumb drive ... and see if I now get the authentication challenge just to be certain I did not miss anything. Booting 3 different machines from thumb drive (especially W8.1) and testing for authentication takes a while. Will come back w/ an update later today.
Thank you again.
[quote=WacoJohn]
Thank you. Gave a 'great' study ... and unless I missed something, everything was in compliance with the link. I need to try again with the thumb drive ... and see if I now get the authentication challenge just to be certain I did not miss anything. Booting 3 different machines from thumb drive (especially W8.1) and testing for authentication takes a while. Will come back w/ an update later today.Thank you again.
You might try booting from the ATI Rescue Media on CD-R. I'm not suggesting that as your permanent solution, just as a means of testing the system. This whole UEFI thing is still relatively new, and there's no standardization between vendors so it's challenging. I recently worked on a laptop which I could not get to boot from the Rescue Media on USB flash drive, but it booted fine from CD-R.
You might try booting from the ATI Rescue Media on CD-R. I'm not suggesting that as your permanent solution, just as a means of testing the system. This whole UEFI thing is still relatively new, and there's no standardization between vendors so it's challenging. I recently worked on a laptop which I could not get to boot from the Rescue Media on USB flash drive, but it booted fine from CD-R.
Willing to try that. One of the W7 machines is a netbook .. no CD/DVD drive .. but it works with the thumb drive. Will try the CD approach on the W8.1 machine. Have a lot of distractions today ... will get this done as soon as I can. Thank you.
You're welcome. UEFI has complicated things for those of us who work on PCs, and for developers like Acronis. UEFI is not mature as BIOS is, and is not standardized so what works on one PC may not work on another. It can be a real pain.
I want to thank EVERYONE who helped me with this. At this point, I have managed to restore files .. to all three machines from a 'networked' drive using the thumb drive ... and with no authentication challenges. Thanks to you supporters, I learned a lot ... and am delighted with the results.
Thank you all once more.
Excellent news.