Installation issue.
Here's my experience with Acronis True Image 2014 so far.
I initially bought it to make an image of a somewhat problematic drive.
First try
I use the "image disk" feature to make an image of a disk and attempt to copy it to another disk. It claims to be successful after some process it did outside windows (for which it made me reboot). I log back into Windows and see absolutely nothing has happened! This was done on the trial version.
Second try
I decide that perhaps I need to use their "migrate partition to new disk" feature which is only available in the purchased edition. So in spite of the software's initial failure I decide to purchase it because I have heard good things about it for years.
After purchase, I use the "migrate partition" feature. Initially it didn't work and asked me to run chkdsk which I did on C: (the problematic "source" disk). I delete the partition entirely on the new "destination" disk so Acronis can create the partition as and how it wants and nothing interferes with anything. At this point I retry and it seems to work. It reboots the machine claiming to make a copy of the partition and copying it to the new drive. Something does happen this time because I see 2 separate windows installations available for me to go into after reboot. However, not only does the new drive's installation not work (Blue screen) Acronis somehow managed to break the old installation as well!! At this point I give up and manually install windows on the new disk and migrate my files manually.
Third try
A couple days go by and everything is going smoothly so I decide Acronis deserves another chance and perhaps all its woes were caused by the old faulty drive. I attempt to install it in this new installation of windows. That was an hour ago. It is still sitting on "Installing".
Did you install True Image on the drive that you suspect is failing? It would have been prudent not to install, but instead to make a backup of that drive using the ATI bootable Rescue Media. You could have waited to install True Image until you had a new, good system drive restored from the backup image.
The reboot is normal when you clone from the Windows application. We recommend that any cloning be performed from the ATI bootable Rescue Media.
But, we further recommend that Clone should be used only by advanced users who know what they are doing. It is riskier and can result in a loss of data and a failed system. Create a full disk mode backup and restore it, using the bootable Rescue Media, to the new disk, as it's far safer.
> But, we further recommend that Clone should be used only by advanced users who know what they are doing. It is riskier and can result in a loss of data and a failed system
I am an "advanced user". The clone disk feature simply broke the existing windows installation which is unforgivable because it was only copying/cloning it and of course did not "clone" right on to the new disk despite NO ERRORS.
I am now setting Acronis to begin making a daily image backup of my current installation but to be sure I will not be relying on that as my primary or even secondary backup.
I am an advanced user of True Image, and even I would not clone. It offers no advantage over backup and restore, and is much riskier. I would always choose backup and restore rather than clone.
There is only one program on my computers that I can be absolutely certain will recover my system regardless of whatever may have afflicted it and that is Acronis. I have been using different versions for donkey's years, have done dozens of restores and have never had a situation I could not recover from. My golden rules are
- only ever do Single Version Full backups, never Incremental or Differential
- only restore backups when booted to the rescue media
The program is not perfect but if you stick to those simple guidelines it will never fail you. You are doing yourself a disservice dismissing it so summarily.
> I am an advanced user of True Image, and even I would not clone. It offers no advantage over backup and restore, and is much riskier. I would always choose backup and restore rather than clone.
Like I said I tried that on the first go and in spite of the software successfully claiming to have done a restore, nothing happened. I then believed that a restore should offer better results and thus moved on to that.
> My golden rules are
- only ever do Single Version Full backups, never Incremental or Differential
- only restore backups when booted to the rescue media
The program is not perfect but if you stick to those simple guidelines it will never fail you. You are doing yourself a disservice dismissing it so summarily
You sound like the type of person who's advice I would usually listen to and you aren't the first person in that category recommending this product. I guess I am disappointed that a product so highly recommended by so many is in actuality so fragile that it requires the golden rules posted above. I will begin following those too. I am guessing it is the best out of a line of crappy products in this arena so people recommend it so highly but it certainly isn't anywhere near perfect
You sound like the type of person who's advice I would usually listen to and you aren't the first person in that category recommending this product. I guess I am disappointed that a product so highly recommended by so many is in actuality so fragile that it requires the golden rules posted above. I will begin following those too. I am guessing it is the best out of a line of crappy products in this arena so people recommend it so highly but it certainly isn't anywhere near perfect
When Acronis was first launched they had a truly great method of backing up drives and partitions, or selected files even from within Windows. All that was required were updates to keep it compliant with new service packs and versions of Windows. But that didn't fit the business model at all, which required new marketable features for a new version every year. So we get non-stop backup, online backup, secure zone, and umpteen other non-essential features added, many of which have done little but tarnish the reputation of an otherwise great product.
So use the bits you need - you won't find better - and just ignore the rest.
My two pennyworth anyway.
Not perfect, OK.
Always do the restores from the recovery CD, as was Earthling said.
[quote=was Earthling]
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When Acronis was first launched they had a truly great method of backing up drives and partitions, or selected files even from within Windows. All that was required were updates to keep it compliant with new service packs and versions of Windows. But that didn't fit the business model at all, which required new marketable features for a new version every year. So we get non-stop backup, online backup, secure zone, and umpteen other non-essential features added, many of which have done little but tarnish the reputation of an otherwise great product.So use the bits you need - you won't find better - and just ignore the rest.
My two pennyworth anyway.
I guess I agree with all that but boy there should be strong disclaimers about that restore only from CD bit. People less careful than I could conceivably end up ruining their entire windows installations with nowhere else to go by following what it says in the documentation. Ordinarily, such a fatal flaw would be found in alpha or beta products which was my original point but considering there is nothing better out there, I guess we can call this "the gold standard" :D
there should be strong disclaimers about that restore only from CD bit. People less careful than I could conceivably end up ruining their entire windows installations with nowhere else to go by following what it says in the documentation.
The manual and many tutorials here document the approved way to clone. The manual also says to create a full backup prior to cloning, just in case. Sadly, many users ignore both the recommended procedure and the advice to backup first.
The fact that a system can be wiped out is not some bug in ATI's clone function. It's the nature of cloning. Any disk cloning tool can accidentally wipe out your system if you're not careful.
I disagree as long as Acronis does not allow to read (or directly displays) the serial numbers of the hard drives in the disk cloning process. If you clone on identical disks then you always have to believe/rely/trust the software that disk 1 is the one that you think it is. I find it quite stupid NOT to give a simple info like the drive's serial number to be 100% sure about what is going on. As long as it stays like that Acronis is at fault.
Hello Everyone!
Techland, I've forwarded your suggestion to our developers and it will be surely considered. However, you may find something useful clicking on "Disk properties" button in Clone Disk Wizard.
kk5000, if you still have any technical questions or difficulties, please don't hesitate to contact Acronis Support.
Thank you.
I find it quite stupid NOT to give a simple info like the drive's serial number to be 100% sure about what is going on.
It would be simpler for you to assign each disk a label. Most users would find it far easier to recognize an obvious drive label/name than a long serial number.
Acronis TIH can be hit or miss, depending on the year. Some years are great, others not so. I've been using Acronis since 2004 and have sought and received a refund at least twice. My last version was 2011 and I've just (last night) bought 2014. I am ready to take the gamble. If there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's this:
Before you install a new version of Acronis, **ALWAYS IMAGE THE DRIVE WITH YOUR CURRENT IMAGING VERSION (OR CURRENT IMAGING SOFTWARE)!**. Theres a goiod chance you might need it!
This is because history has shown that there's a good chance that "this is a bad year". Whenever I'm considering buying the latest version, I always hit the forums to see what problems people are having. Acronis TI is a great product, but inconsistency and "new (and often useless) features" drag it down.
As far as ONLY restoring from a boot CD...well, I wish I'd been told that 10 years ago, as I guess I've been doing it wrong all of these years. No problems so far (this includes the system drive). Actually, I use the CD when necessary, but I've honestly never had an issue restoring from windows. I mean, it DOES reboot into the Linux environment when it needs to, right?
As for cloning, I really don't ever need to do that. I set my systems up with several drives and partitions (my production machine has 10 partitions). Imaging the separate partitions rather than the whole drive gives me the ability to restore any given partition (except system) on any drive in any machine I choose. Great flexibility. If I want a partition for partition copy of a drive, I simply restore the partitions for that drive to the new drive (I often resize the partitions during the process anyway).
Pick your years and use the 30 day money back guarantee if needed.
And to Acronis: Please give attention to some of these bugs posted here time and again.
I'll be wiping off 2011 and installing 2014 when I get the chance. If all goes well, I'll set about turning off the pointless features (non-stop backup?? Not on my systems).
That said, I depend heavily on ATIH and it's saved my bacon many times. It's why I continue to use it. And I generally come here to whine about issues just before I install a new version :).
Before you install a new version of Acronis, **ALWAYS IMAGE THE DRIVE WITH YOUR CURRENT IMAGING VERSION (OR CURRENT IMAGING SOFTWARE)!**.
You should do the same before installing any software package.
I set my systems up with several drives and partitions (my production machine has 10 partitions). Imaging the separate partitions rather than the whole drive gives me the ability to restore any given partition (except system) on any drive in any machine I choose.
You could do the same thing from a full disk mode backup. But, you can't do a full disk mode restore from a partition backup. Full disk mode backup is the safest and simplest.
I depend heavily on ATIH and it's saved my bacon many times.
Yep, me too.
I set my systems up with several drives and partitions (my production machine has 10 partitions). Imaging the separate partitions rather than the whole drive gives me the ability to restore any given partition (except system) on any drive in any machine I choose.
You could do the same thing from a full disk mode backup. But, you can't do a full disk mode restore from a partition backup. Full disk mode backup is the safest and simplest.
Technically simpler, since a Full Disk Mode Restore requires fewer steps, but if the sum of the parts still equal the whole (and, of course, they do), identical results can be achieved by restoring the individual partitions.
Given that I have disks that contain a mix of partitions that don't require regular backup along side partitions that do, the partition backup becomes more useful (and practical) than the full disk mode backup. This especially applies since I make 3 rotating images of my data and system partitions, while my music, storage and other partitions require only the occasional imaging.