2009 version, MFT bitmap corrupted error, question on remedy...
OS: Vista 64, up to date on all revisions.
I use ATI 2009 strictly to make periodic bootable clones. I have 2 spare western digital drives I rotate between for this process, and have been doing this same process since 2009 with no errors until now. Generally I connect these drives via USB docking station when doing a clone but I also tried attaching the drives directly in the system via SATA cables with the same error result.**
I get an MFT bitmap corrupted error after the initial reboot, after the "analyzing partitions...locking partitions...checking partitions" operation.
I have checked all drives, even used western digital's drive check software and they are all OK, and the main drive I am trying to clone is cetainly fine, as it has operated and shut down many times since, without any issue.
Apparently this is not an uncommon problem, and I want some guidance on attempting to fix it.
I have downloaded (but not yet installed) the SnapAPI build #507 zip file mentioned in post #18 of this thread: http://forum.acronis.com/forum/3121
That is a fairly old post. Is that still the correct SnapAPI to use for the issue I am having or has there been an update?
What files does this change and can I make copies of the originals or otherwise restore the original state if this does not work?
Are these files used exclusively by the Acronis software or are they used by other applications which may not like the newer versions?
Your help in resolving this would be greatly appreciated, as I have spent many hours trying different things to no avail.
thank you.
**PS, if it matters, the system drive I am trying to clone is 500GB with 2 partitions but one is only 10GB and is for recovery (that's how Dell sets them up from the factory). About 180GB of space is in use on this drive. The drives I use to make the bootable clones are 320GB (smaller total size but more than enough room for the 180GB of used space) and this has not been a problem. I assume that is not part of the issue, and I temporarily tried a larger 640GB drive but had the same error outcome.
Yes.
It seems various other people get this error without any actual issues with the drive. I guess that's what this software update is supposed to fix.
I just want to make sure I found the most recent one to install, and want to be able to revert to the previous setup in case it causes other issues.
Try to do a *file* backup of each partition you are trying to clone/backup. ATI might choke on a specific file that might be corrupted and it will tell you. Deleting the file manually could resolve the problem. I ran into that situation in the past and this is how I solved it.
Sometimes, the "corruption" is in a hidden partition. You might need to assign temporarily a drive letter to these partitions to be able to run the file backup on them.
Also, the hidden partitions that MVP Pat L has referred to, can not be checked for errors unless assigned a drive letter temporarily.
I had this issue on a Toshiba laptop. The hidden OEM utility partition from Toshiba was the problem.
(I have also seen this issue with the System Reserved partition on another system.)
Using a bootable Windows install disk, I ran diskpart to unhide the OEM partition, booted into Windows and used Windows Disk Management to assign a drive letter to the OEM partition. Ran chkdsk r: on the newly assigned drive letter. Chkdsk found, and corrected some partition/file structure problems. I used Windows Disk Management to remove the drive letter. Booted back to the Windows install disk, and used diskpart to re-hide the partition.
Re-ran the disk/partition backup and a test restore went fine. Also tested by cloning, and this also worked after the chkdsk repairs.
Also, the correct version of SnapAPI for your copy of 2009 True Image home is version 380. Available here: http://kb.acronis.com/content/1515. (Per the document)
I would check with Acronis to be sure before installing new SnapAPI drivers.
I don't think the SnapAPI driver update will prevent or correct the MBR corrupted issue.
Thanks for the suggestions. In Vista 64 on my system, under Disk Management, I cannot right click on the hidden partition and assign it a drive letter (not sure why). The only choice I get when right clicking the hidden partition "help."
Recall I'm talking about the boot drive on my system, which I have shut down and restarted many times since getting this MFT error that only Acronis sees. If there were critical MFT problems it seems they would either be noted via message when I reboot the system or they would be fixed automatically or one of the scans I have run would have noted them. From what I have read MFT errors are extremely rare under NTFS and when they do come up they are fixed automatically on reboot in all but extreme cases that would generally display the error by other means.
Interesting that you mention the SnapAPI will not impact the MFT (not MBR) error. Why do you suppose Ilya from Acronis (in the link I provided in the first post) recommended installing that?
Also, the file you point to seems to be for something different, related to MBR issues.
Do the Acronis people not respond to these threads? I tried to send a PM to Ilya since it relates to a solution she previously provided but it did not work.
Sorry, I mistakenly typed MBR when I meant MFT.
More than likely, the MFT file error that is tripping up Acronis is on the hidden partition. There may even be no corruption, but just something non-standard as installed by the OEM.
Have you tried the clone operation from the boot CD (Acronis Rescue Media)?
A workaround for me was to backup via Acronis in Windows to an external drive, then boot to the CD to do the restore to the replacement (spare drive).
When attempting to restore the hidden partition, I received the MFT error and it refused to restore. I then attempted it again, with Sector-by-Sector checked, and the restore proceeded properly. After restoring the hidden partition first, I then restored the remaining partitions from my backup to the replacement drive and found that Sector-by-Sector was not necessary for them. I also choose to restore the MBR/boot track and disk signature after the partitions were restored, and had a "clone" of the original drive that worked properly.
Also be sure to prep the target disk before starting the clone operation. This can be done with the Add a New Disk tool in Acronis. This will allow Acronis to write to a new, blank hard disk, and may help to bypass this issue.