Acronis PE boot (created with Acronis media builder) cannot access Network drives

You can't use x: for the drive letter. WinPE is using x: to run. Use y: instead. Also add the user name and password to the net use command.

net use y: \\machine\share /user:UserName password

Thanks for your reply.

You did not understand my question, it was inadequately formulated or not enough detailed.

I boot my computer with the Acronis generated PE USB (latest version of the product, downloaded today March 5).

I then get a DOS-prompt, and Acronis starts.

if I try to access the network from WITHIN Acronis I cannot access any network shares. I see the folder list, Personal, Local folders, Network folders which are yellow. FTP, SFTP and Storage nodes are greyed out. I think the Network folders should be able to expand, but if I press the Network folders, it thinks for a little while, then nothing more happens.

I try UNC paths, I think I have tried it all, but it just does not work.

(I tried it with the Linux-variant then it worked, but I would like to use Windows PE).

So I try to go back to the Dos-box to verifiy the network connection.

x: was just an example (not a very good one), and the NET USE command functions perfectly. I can R: or T: or whatever. username and password is of course provided, and also works. I then can see and access network shares from the PE Dos prompt. (Dos-commands can still be used :-)).

I have verified that from the Dos-prompt I can access anything, I can copy files and delete files from any drives which I connect to.

There must be some kind of trick.

So I do not understand why can I access the network from the PE Dos-prompt but not from within Acronis Does Acronis have any proprietary drivers, or handle the network access on its own?

I have installed the latest build: 11.5.38350

I played with this all morning. I can't get it to work either. The mapped network drive shows up in A43 with a red X.

I was able to make an improvement by putting my own version of an Backup & Recovery plugin into my own custom PE (MustangPE). Then the mapped network drive showed up properly in A43. However, AB&R was still not able to see the mapped drive. It should show up as a Local Folder, but it does not.

There must be a way to make this work, but I don't know how. Hopefully, someone from the Acronis team will see this thread and provide a solution.

Thanks for your time and effort!

I noticed that under Navigation at the menu line I find a log-option.

Every time I try to access the network it leaves a trace in the log:

Acronis Removable Storage Management Service is not available,
Failed to establish the local connection with the Acronis Removable Storage Management Service. Make sure that the service is installed and its status is started.

I am not able to interpret this error message. I do no know to which extents services are running under PE.

I'm not sure if the ARSM service is the cause of the problem or not. I do know that service, as provided, will not run in WinPE. I discovered that when I was developing my plugin. It gives a side by side error when you try to start it in WinPE. Acronis told me the problem was a missing public key token in the MSVC80 manifest file. When I put the missing token in place, the service would run, but AB&R would not run. It gives a side by side error. We won't be able to fix that.

Here's a list of the services AB&R has installed in WinPE. You can run regedit and see them in the list of services.

1. fltsrv (runs)
2. snapman (runs)
3. mms (runs)
4. agent (runs in 32 bit WinPE --- will not run in 64 bit WinPE --- agent.exe used to start the service is written in 32 bit code only))
5. arsm (will not run due to side by side error)

You can check to see if they run using net start.

The good news is I managed to get the ARSM service running. I did it by putting arsm.exe in its own folder with the modified MSVC80 manifest file and the needed dll's. This allowed all the services to start and AB&R to run. The bad news is I still couldn't assess a network share with AB&R.

I finally got it working!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I used PENetCfg by Pierre Mounir. Follow these steps to get a working version of WinPE:

1. Make sure you have an ADK (either Win8 or Win8.1) installed.

2. Follow the link in my signature and download the ADK version of MustangPEBuilder. Unzip the file and run the exe to install MustangPE.

3. Download the AB&R 11.5 plugin from http://www.mechrest.com/plugins/MustangPEBuilder/Downloads/Files/ABR115… and unzip the file. Move the extracted ABR115 folder to C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\Plugins.

4. Now go to C:\Program Files or Program Files (x86)\Acronis\BootableComponents\WinPE and unzip WinPE32.zip to a temporary folder. Then move the extracted Files folder to C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\Plugins\Files .

5. Open Plugins.ini at C:\MustangPEBulder_2_ADK\Plugins with notepad. Add the ABR115 plugin to the list like this:
plugin3=ABR115\ABR115.exe

6. Run C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\MustangPEBuilder.exe and set the path to the ADK and click the Create WinPE ISO button.

7. Burn the ISO.

8. If you would like a USB flash drive, click the Advanced Options button and select a drive letter for the flash drive before you click the Create WinPE ISO button.

9. Boot WinPE and run PENetCfg first. Look at the bottom and click the Network Identification arrow. Set the workgroup if it is not WORKGROUP. Click the File Sharing tab at the top and click the Start Sharing button and close that window. Click the Network Drives tab at the top and click the blue + sign next to your workgroup name. You should see your networked computers show up. Close that window and click the Apply button on the main window. Close PENetCfg and run AB&R 11.5. You should be able to browse to your computers under the Network folder.

EDITED March 7, 2014:

I've uploaded a new version of the ABR115 plugin. The new version will allow the ARSM service to run in WinPE. I've also modified the path where to place the Acronis WinPE files. The path in step 5 above has been changed to reflect this.

Hello Paul.

Thanks again for your time and effort, it is highly appreciated.

Will this solution make any changes to the USB image, or is it a workaround?

Could you provide some insight upon where this problem originates from? It is rather peculiar that the OS is able to communicate freely on the network, while the Acronis software is not able to see the network at all?

I have one computer (HP) where Windows PE does not recognize the intel Network Driver. I downloaded the correct 32-bits driver from HP, and then loaded it via Acronis driver loader. It loads the driver, the machine gets an address from DHCP and and network is working, but the Acronis client is still not able to communicate with anything.

I opened a case with Acronis support also, and I provided them with your solution.

Kind regards,

Kurt

Kurt H wrote:

Hello Paul.

Thanks again for your time and effort, it is highly appreciated.

Will this solution make any changes to the USB image, or is it a workaround?

Could you provide some insight upon where this problem originates from? It is rather peculiar that the OS is able to communicate freely on the network, while the Acronis software is not able to see the network at all?

I have one computer (HP) where Windows PE does not recognize the intel Network Driver. I downloaded the correct 32-bits driver from HP, and then loaded it via Acronis driver loader. It loads the driver, the machine gets an address from DHCP and and network is working, but the Acronis client is still not able to communicate with anything.

I opened a case with Acronis support also, and I provided them with your solution.

Kind regards,

Kurt

I'm not sure what you mean by will the USB image be changed. I have duplicated what Acronis added to a standard WinPE as closely as I could. PENetCfg is making changes to the standard WinPE running system to make file sharing work. I'm not a network guru so I can't tell you how this is being done. All I know is that Acronis didn't modify the WinPE enough for it to work properly. Running PENetCfg fixes the problem. That's all I can tell you. If you need more info, you can visit Pierre Mounir's website at http://pierre-mounir.freehostia.com/ .

As for your HP, MustangPE will also let you add drivers by editing AddDrivers.ini and providing a path to the driver.

I've uploaded a new version of the ABR115 plugin. See the EDIT note at the bottom of post #7 above.

I still cannot make this thing work.

I follow your instructions, trying Windows ADK 8.1 this time.

I generate the Windows Pe boot disk with your tools.

I end up with a neat graphic desktop showing me A43 File management, Acronis Backup and PEnetcfg.

I open the Pnetcfg, turn on filesharing. I am not quite sure what to put under Workgroup. I try with WORKGROUP.

I am then perfectly able to map a network drive providing credentials. I then may browse the shares of this machine by the blue +-sign.

I can then access my mapped shares from the Desktop A43 File management, but if I start A43 from WITHIN Acronis Acronis I am back to scratch and there is a red x over the network drives. I also think it should be possible to just write in the name of the computer and share, and then be prompted for username and password. This is if I want to fetch the backup from a network share and then Restore it.

The logic of this escapes me. There may be some small thing, but I just cannot se it.

It follows the same pattern. PENetCfg and Net Use bothe accesses the network, Acronis will not.

Sounds like WORKGROUP is OK. You can confirm by opening Control Panel \ System and looking to see what is listed as workgroup.

I don't know what else to tell you. I can boot into MustangPE and run PENetCfg to set the Workgroup. Then hit the blue + sign on the network tab of PENeCfg and close PENetCfg. I don't even need to start file sharing. After that, I open Acronis Backup and go to a restore, hit the Required Location and hit the browse button. Then hit the arrow next to Network Folders and I see all the running computers on the network. When I browse to a network share, it asks for user name and password. Then I can browse for a tib file.

If I map a network drive, I can see it with A43 started from the desktop. If I open A43 from the Acronis Backup panel, I see the mapped network drive with a red X that says Disconnected Network Drive. Howerer, I can still browse the mapped drive dispite the red X.

I have a better idea. Lets have Acronis add Acronis Backup to MustangPE.

1. Download AB.zip from http://www.mechrest.com/plugins/MustangPEBuilder/Downloads/Files/AB.zip . Unzip the file and copy the AB folder to C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\Plugins. This is just a quick plugin to create the Desktop and Start Menu shortcuts in MistangPE.

2. Run MustangPEBuilder.exe and click the Edit button next to Edit Plugins.ini. Replace ABR115\ABR115.exe with AB\AB.exe and save the changes. Close the Plugins.ini window.

3. Click the Advanced Options button and put a check mark in the box to copy the finished boot.wim to a folder. Use the Browse button to set the folder to C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\ISO. Exit the Advanced Options window.

4. Click the Create WinPE ISO button and let the program finish.

5. Open the Windows Kits Deployment and Imaging Tools Environment command prompt. Enter this line: copype x86 C:\winpe_x86

6. Copy boot.wim from C:\MustangPEBuilder_2_ADK\ISO to C:\winpe_x86\media\sources replacing the existing boot.wim.

7. Run the Acronis Backup Create bootable media option to create the WinPE. Select the radio button to specify an existing winpe. In the next window point to C:\winpe_x86\media. Continue your usual way to create the WinPE media.

8. After you create the WinPE media, delete the C:\winpe_x86 folder.

Give that a try using PENetCfg first and see if you can browse to a network backup location.

Please let me know the results. If that still doesn't work, you may have an issue with drivers for your network adapter in WinPE.

Well, I tried it, and it really did not make any difference.

What really DID MAKE a difference was the following command, issued from the PE-command prompt:

WPEUTIL DISABLEFIREWALL

I finally noticed that I was not able to ping my PE-computer after it was started. So I searched for PE and Firewall...

I returned to my original PE 5.0 and booted from it, issued the WPEUTIL DISABLEFIREWALL and was able to browse the network.

I am now able to browse for backup and restore locations. i browse to the computer and then I am prompted for credentials.

It looks as if I am still unable to provide an UNC-path and then be asked for credentials.

Actions - Backup now - Where to backup - Location - Path - \\HE125214\temp Then I press The green arrow Nothing happens.

Maybe that is by design.

At least now I can access my network shares, and I will try to edit the PE-startup to include the DISABLEFIREWALL-statement.

You really have put down a lot and time and effort on this case. Again, please know it is highly appreciated!

Hello,

I can confirm all the problems as stated above. The Acronis plugin is unusable when loaded with the Windows PE image.

Has any solution been found for this bug that doesn't involve third party solutions?

Appreciate any input, thanks.

noticed that when I open the "browse for location" window and type the path in first, mouse clicking through the network folder hierarchy response is enhanced.