Cannot Back Up External Drive

I knopw this does not answer your question directly, but if your external disk is not a system disk i.e. only holds data, then there are many packages you can use to backup data.

For backing up data, you don't even need a package, if it only to preserve existing files. It can all be done from Windows.

At the most basic level, copy everything to another external disk (or cloud storage if you have a fast internet) using windows drag and drop.
At the next level, zip the files to save space
If you have Windows 7/8 you can use their backup facilities.

IF you want incremental backup facilites, there are also many packages.

As I am slightly paranoid about losing data, I put really critical data (not financial details e.g. bank accounts etc though) on the cloud and external disks
More routine data, I backup both wth Acronis TI and be simple copying (Disk capacity os so chea[ these days) to external disks (plural).

Unfortunately, Acrois is not 100% reliable, and thet has been exacerbated by the latest very buggy release. Having said that, I have done enough test to show it ws the most reliable at fully backing up a Windows 8 PC including system files. None of the other major packages fared as well). I used to use Norton Ghost on XP and 7 (mbr disks) and never had a failure when restoring backups. Since new GPT disks and EUFI mode came out, I have all sorts of problems. It is easy to blame the software vendors, but I suspect the PC manufacturers are mostly to blame as they implement it in different ways, and this cuases the backup software vendors problems as they cannot test evry PC type.

The point is you should not rely on one source of backup, and develop a personal backup strategy that works for you. Differing the types of backup significantly enhances the chances of recovery of lost data in event of a disaster scenario (cloud storage even insulates you from fire scenarios).

There were a number of replies from 3 MVPs to your original post 18 weeks ago. Note we are not employed by Acronis, you might have to bite the bullet and pay for a support ticket, so that Acronis can analyse your system report and provide an answer. If it turns out to be a bug with True Image your payment will be refunded as per the Acronis support policy.

The problem is, others using WD Passport drives are not reporting the same problem, so it means it must be something specific to your setup that is causing the problem.

Now I know we have asked this before, but I would like to double check on the following things.

Which build are you using?

1. Opening a command prompt with Admin permissions and running chkdsk /r (the /r is most important) on all the drives you use, your internal drive and your two Passport drives, returns no problems. To run the command prompt as Admin, go, Start Button -> Accessories ->(right click Command Prompt and select 'Run as Admin). For your external drive it will just run, for your internal drive it will run the next time you reboot the PC.

2. Are you using the same cable to connect the drives to the rear port of your PC or different cables per drive?

3. Is your Firewall or AV software preventing True Image from working occcasionally, that is, is it treating True Image as a a non approved program for some reason? In fact which firewall software do you use?

4. When you look in Windows Explorer, are there any 'tib' files on the external drive of any kind with that days date?

5. Have you checked on the Western Digital forum to see if anyone has mentioned having general problems with any type of imaging/backup software with certain versions of Passports, especially mentions of drivers and firmware?

6. You definitely don't have the Passport file imaging software installed and running? This of itself will cause problems.

7. Have you made two separate tasks, one for each Passport? You won't be able to interchange the Passports for the same task.

8. What is currently showing in the True Image log?

9. Are there any failures referring to True Image in Windows Event Manager? Right click on My Computer on your desktop, or, if you don't have that icon, click on the Start button and right click on Computer and select Manage, from the form that pops up you will be able to view Windows Event Manager for te listof options on the left side of the form.

10. When you uninstalled 2013, did you run the Acronis Cleaner as well, to ensure that it was totally wiped out, before reinstalling?

11. If you boot from the recovery CD, are you able to make an image without any error messages?

***edited some mistyping errors***

You cause confusion by opening multiple threads on the same issue. It will not help resolve the issue any sooner, in fact it's more likely to hinder resolution.

I use ATI without problem with many Western Digital external HDs, including a My Passport Essential SE.

Please follow Colin's advice. In addition to running chkdsk /r, also run Western Digital's own drive checking utility for Passport drives, as it might catch errors missed by chkdsk.

You might also try backing up that drive using a different PC, and using the original PC to back up a different external HD. Both tests could help rule out or identify where the problem lies.

To summarize: I don't think there is any incompatibility between True Image and Western Digital My Passport drives, since I've used this combination for years on many PCs. I think there is some specific problem on your PC, or on your drive, or with the connection between your PC and your drive.