Recovery CD (including website ISO) reboot system after GUI loads

Doesn't Dell give you the option for creating the Dell Factory Recovery DVDs?

Hey, thanks for your reply!

Sorry I missed your post - I signed up for notification of new posts, but I guess it didn't work or I did something wrong.

Dell does have a factory restore, which could be handy. But I trust Acronis more for that, plus I want to keep the image off the local hard drive.

I thought these forums were monitored by Acronis, but I guess not. I just discovered the formal tech support request forum. I'll posting there as well. Right now, I can't do anything with the $100 product I purchased unfortunately...

I talked to a co-worker who has been using Acronis Backup for a long time, he's never had this specific issue... he said once his recovery CD wouldn't work and it was due to needing the specific hard drive driver. I wonder if that is related.

- Drew

Hello Drew and DwnNDrty,

Drew, please accept our profound apologies for the difficulties you have experienced with Acronis software.

Most probably, current version of a bootable CD (and ISO image) doesn't have necessary drivers for your hardware and this caused the issue. I have sent you the most recent version of the bootable CD (in ISO format) for Acronis Backup&Recovery Workstation with Universal Restore via Private Message. This version contains updated hardware drivers, so it should work for you.

If the issue still persists with a newly created CD, I need additional information to investigate the issue further and to provide you with a solution. Please gather Acronis Linux Report as described in this KB article and attach it to your reply along with Windows System Information. To create Windows Sysinfo please do the following:

• Open Start\Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Information;
• Choose the "Save" option in the "File" menu (or "Action" menu under Windows 2000), enter the "File name" and set the field "Save as type" to "System Information File (*.NFO)".

We are looking forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you.

Hi Ilya,

Thanks for the post! I filed an official tech support request and got a response from Srinivasa Pai via case number #00482858 on the 17th, so I didn't read this message closely unfortunately. He sent me a private email with a link to a new ISO cd, which did not work for me, and I replied to him on that.

His message didn't say anything about the Acronis Linux Report (maybe that would be his next follow-up).

I'll gather an Acronis Linux Report and send it to you.

Thanks!
- Drew

Hi Ilya,

I tried the ISO you sent me and unfortunately it didn't work.

I collected the Windows7 .nfo file and will message that to you.

The Acronis Linux Report article you sent me says to go to Tools->Collect System Information for Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Build 11345, but I did not see that option anywhere. How else can I collect this information for you?

I'm really looking forward to getting this resolved so I can use the product, so thank you for your help!
- Drew

Hello Drew,

I've just checked the bootable ISO, you should be able to gather System Report (se attached screenshot). It is very important for us since Acronis Bootable media is based on Linux and we need that report to find out what went wrong.

I have sent you a new link to the bootable media, please try to create the report using it.

Thank you

Hi Ilya,

Sorry, I tried the bootable media via the link you sent, but the problem is that my machine reboots 2 seconds after the GUI loads, so I don't have time to click on the GUI options as listed in your screenshot (but thanks for the screenshot to make things clearer!)

However, I did notice that when the ISO CD boots there is an option 0, to "collect sysinfo output to a flash drive", so just in case that may help you I did that and will now send the file to you.

Thanks again, please let me know what you'd like me to try next.
- Drew

Hello Drew,

Thank you very much for the provided information and for the cooperation.
Now I have all data and I'm forwarding your case to our Linux Expert for a further investigation. I will update you with its results.

Thank you.

I am very curious how this turns out. I have a batch of Dell Precision M4400's and I am having the exact same issue.

I am very curious how this turns out. I have a batch of Dell Precision M4400's and I am having the exact same issue.

Mark

Hi Ilya,

Thanks a lot for your help and for treating my case seriously!

Do you think it would be worthwhile to give the WinPE boot CD a try?

Just an update -

My problem is still unresolved. Ilya sent me a private message with instructions to try BartPE (http://kb.acronis.com/content/2753) while I wait for a fix for the Acronis bootable media.

After spending 2 1/2 hours with it, I can include that BartPE does not work with Windows 7 64-bit! At least not with my system. I get the feeling perhaps the dev or QA team hasn't tried it with Windows 7 yet either, due to all the hiccups I experienced in the process of following the knowledge base directions. Here are some details in case it is helpful to anyone:

Download BartPE: http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/#download

In Windows 7, Acronis BartPE directions step 1 won't work, because the directory is protected. Follow these steps:
http://forums.techarena.in/operating-systems/1130504.htm

Acronis Step 4), ignore what it says and instead do this:
Copy the contents of \Program Files (x86)\Acronis\BootableComponents\WinPE to the %BartPE folder%\plugins\Acronis

Step 5) You can't use the Windows 7 CD, BartPE fails. Find an XP CD. If you have a Dell OEM CD, the burned ISO may fail on boot with this message: "The file iastor.sys could not be found"

Install the Dell XP fix from here:
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/faq/#26
Copy the .inf file into the plugin folder of the [BartPE]/ plugin directory, like how the Acronis plugin worked.

That's how far I got. Now build BartPE. The resulting ISO CD shows the XP boot screen, but blue screens after the XP loading screen is done.

Next I'll WinPE I suppose. That will have to wait for another day.

Ilya, any update on that fix? Or how I can further gather the extra sysinfo you requested in your email, without using the GUI (which reboots on load)?

Thanks!
- Drew

I am having a similar problem on my new Dell Precision m4400 (Windows 7). I have bought Acronis TI Home 2010 last week, but the CD won't boot. It will show the introductory screen (boot Acronis/boot Windows etc.), then I select Acronis to start. After a while it displays the usual splash screen and then immediately reboots the system. I have downloaded the .ISO and also created a boot-able disk from the Windows application, but the problem remains the same. I have been using many versions of Acronis in the past years and this is the first time I am having such problem.

By the way, on my Precision m65, the CD boots just fine.

OOPS I have found the solution. I have installed Acronis TI 2010 on my m65 (Windows XP) and created the bootable CD there. It fails on my m4400 with the error I described above. Since I am just moving all my stuff to my m4400, I also re-installed Acronis TI on m4400 and created the bootable CD from THERE. Now it works like a charm. I wish the original CD would work on all systems, but nonetheless, I am happy it works now for me :-)

I am having the exact same problem.

Because I'm having trouble with both of the bootable ISO distributions, I will split my problem into two parts:

First:

When I boot with the ISOLINUX ISO, it gets to the GUI, and when I click "connect to the localhost," or whatever it is, it shows the GUI with all the icons, and it hangs for a few seconds, than reboots. It has this problem whenever I try it on a new Dell machine. So far I've tested it on two Dell Netbooks, and it does it, and an Optiplex 780, and it does it.

Second problem:

When I boot using the Bootable Media Builder ISO, it tries to load the ramdisk, and ON EVERY MACHINE I've tested, it says "Unable to load initial ramdisk, press enter to continue." After I press enter, it hangs indefinitely.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Okay, well, I fixed the second problem. I had to uninstall the boot media builder and put it onto another machine, and finally, the ACRLOADER is working.

However, the first problem still exists, when it gets into the gui, using either loader, and you click "connect to localhost." it will display, freeze, and reboot in about 10 seconds.

Update:

I installed the Windows PE loader (the Windows AIK), and it boots up, but for the local workstation, it says "unknown"

When I try and click backup, it hangs. Also, when I click disk management, it just thinks and thinks indefinitely but nothing pulls up.

The weird thing is that I'm able to browse the drive from the command prompt just fine.

Sorry for the bump.

Hello all,

Peter, I'll do my best to help you with the issue.

In your case I need some additional information from your side to investigate the issue.

1. Please gather Acronis Linux Report as described at this KB article (from any of your laptops/PCs) and attach it to your reply to this thread;
2. Please collect Windows System Information and also attach it to your reply.

We are looking forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience.

Thank you,

Hello Peter,

Thank you for your message.

I've replied and requested and additional information. Please send it to me and I'll escalate your case to our Linux expert who will assist you further.

Thank you.

Any news yet? The Acronis software is working great for our older machines, we're really hoping it can work for our newer Dells. Thanks for your time on this.

Update:

Acronis bootloader and GUI works fine with Optiplex 755. For some reason this Optiplex 780 is giving it trouble.

Update!

Finally, I got it working!

I had to delete the two extra partitions that Dell puts on, with the recovery stuff. I don't like to do that, really, but this imaging solution should work fine, anyway. I had to use the Windows 7 install disk to repair the bootmgr after I deleted the boot partition, but, it boots up fine, and I was able to take a proper image.

I really like the software, but I wish I had got some more support. If you can, just let me know you got this info to help those in the future.

Thanks,

Peter Mitchell

Peter, thanks for the reply, I have a batch of Dell computers including Optiplex 780s and 760s as well as Latitude E6400 and E6500s all of which seem to have this problem. I can install the components and take a backup without a problem, but if I try to restore, it crashes when I try to launch the management console. As a note, I've tried it remotely from the console and from the local console. Either way, halt, then reboots. I'm running Acronis Backup & Recovery 10 Advanced Workstation with Universal Restore.

I'll give your method a try. I thought that with a disk imaging tool like this, I shouldn't have to owrry about multiple partitions. I suppose the issue must lie with Dell's encrypted partition and Acronis not being able to access it.

Eddi, could you solve your problem?
I seem to have the same problem with my brandnew Dell Precision M6500. I am not able to restore an image. The Acronis gui fails after about 3 seconds and the machine reboots...
Would be a big help if I knew if you got it working.

Yes, I'm sorry I did not show my resolution in a follow up post. I know the Acronis software has disk utilities built-in to perform tasks such as deleting partitions, resizing them and marking them as active, so why it reboots instead of just loading to allow you to delete the Dell recovery partition is beyond me.

It would appear that the recovery partition that is on all Dell harddrives is encrypted or in any case incompatible with Acronis. Pop in a regular Windows install CD and get yourself to the point where you can delete partitions. Delete them all then restart and boot to the Acronis CD. This has worked everytime for me.

Good luck.

Ilya, The problem has been identified and there is a workaround. Please look at my post and discover what is causing this and then please fix this in your boot CDs.

The workaround did not work for me. I deleted all partitions, but it still reboots after I have selected the recovery source (tib-file).
No I ended up with a system without anything on it and can not restore anything. great.

The workaround did not work for me. I deleted all partitions, but it still reboots after I have selected the recovery source (tib-file).
Now I ended up with a system without anything on it and can not restore anything. great.

Markus, what did you use to view the partitions? Was is a windows disk? If so, which one? Just for the record, I used a server 2008 and I think even a Windows 7 disk. The partition I deleted was called the "RECOVERY" or wal it "DELL_RECOVERY" it was something to that effect. That's the one to delete above any others. If you're trying to delete the partition with a Windows XP CD, I haven't tried this but assumed it would work. I have a bunch of different Dell systems and they all have been able to recover fine ever since I started deleting the Recovery partition.

I only ask about the Windows disc you used to make sure it could see the actual Recovery Partition. If somehow that got missed, but you deleted the C: partition, that would NOT solve the problem. I'm thinking since you're still having the problem that the Recovery partition is still there. Otherwise perhaps the drivers on the Acronis CD you are using ALSO don't support the drive/RAID card you are using and therefore, you should go download and burn the updated restore disc from acronis.com which usually has updated drivers.

Markus,

I just noticed that you said, " it still reboots after I have selected the recovery source (tib-file)". This is an entirely different issue. The issue as being troubleshot and discussed here is after you load the Acronis Boot Cd, you click "Run Management Console" at which point you see the option and mouse pointer for about 3 seconds then the server reboots. In this scenario, you don't get the opportunity to select a .tib file. I would suggest mouting the .tib file on another computer and running the validate option against it. Also, are you trying to use Universal Restore? Do you have the .tib file saved locally or are you accessing it across the network?

Seems this is a different issue entirely than what I was suggesting a fix for.

Indeed, since I deleted the recovery partition, the original problem (reboot after 3 seconds) disappeared.
I was then able to select "Restore" in the first screen, then to choose the tib-file. But right after clicking OK in the file selection dialog, it rebooted after one or two seconds.

I don't know what you mean by "Universal Restore". I boot using an Acronis Boot CD, then I attach an external HDD using USB and select the tib file.

Seems that I have to search for this new issue again.
Thought that I may save some time using the image, but this turns out to be a nightmare...

Indeed, since I deleted the recovery partition, the original problem (reboot after 3 seconds) disappeared.
I was then able to select "Restore" in the first screen, then to choose the tib-file. But right after clicking OK in the file selection dialog, it rebooted after one or two seconds.

I don't know what you mean by "Universal Restore". I boot using an Acronis Boot CD, then I attach an external HDD using USB and select the tib file.

Seems that I have to search for this new issue again.
Thought that I may save some time using the image, but this turns out to be a nightmare...

Hmm, I've been using this method for a while and have not encountered this issue. Acronis to me has been a life saver. I'd add that if you don't know what Universal Restore is, or UR, you should take a look at this...
http://www.acronis.com/backup-recovery/advanced-server/universal-restor…
UR is an add-on option.

If I were using a USB drive plugged up and having the same trouble as you, I might copy the .tib (copy, not move) to a network location and try accessing it that way. If you are successful, then the issue is either with the USB drive itself or even the USB drivers that come loaded on the Acronis Boot CD. Also, I always use a windows like drive letter representation even though the boot CD is Linux. Just a thought.

I now validated the tib-file, it is valid. I also copied it to a different USB-device (using the Acronis tool), but got the same error then.
I then copied it to a different Notebook in my lan (I am working in my homeoffice today) and shared it. Unfortunately I was not able to access it from within acronis. While sharing on a Vista-Notebook, acronis asked me for a username/password, but could not connect.
My other Notebook (win7-home) was not visible at all to the acronis client.
I am now starting to build a WinPE boot disk.

Hello all,

I would like to thank you for sharing your knowledge with our forum community!

Markus,

I would like to help you with this issue. I will send you a PM with the latest version of the bootable CD so that we can get this issue resolved.

Try booting from the CD normally, if it still fails, re-boot the CD and in the parameter window, select the 2nd parameter.

After that, you will reach a # prompt. In it, please type /bin/product which will take you directly to the program interface.

Please tell me what happens and I will try my best to get this working for you.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Thank you.

An update:

The issue of Acronis rebooting shortly after clicking "Manage local machine" when booting off a CD or USB still exists in the April release. I am still able to get past this problem by deleting the recovery partition using 3rd party software (Go PartedMagic)
I can't tell you how much this imaging software has helped in our IT organization. However, this isn't the optimum solution for us. We have several servers that we are installing soon and many of them have this recovery partition, which, didn't matter so much for desktops, but we'd much rather not delete the extra partitions on our servers.

An update on the status of this issue would be great.

Thanks,

Peter Mitchell

Hello Peter,

Thank you for bringing this up. I will do my best to help you.

I am very sorry for the inconvenience. We have recently released a "custom" version of the bootable media which addresses the issue with DELL machines. We are still investigating this problem and at the moment there is no permanent solution.

I will send you a private message in a few minutes with a download link for the custom version.

If you need additional help, please let me know.

Thank you.

Hi Anton,

If you could also please send me a private message with a link to this "custom" version that would be much appreciated. I have still have the same problem with the new DELLs.

Thanks!
-Drew

 Hello Drew!

Thank you for asking! We will surely be glad to send you a solution. 

Please check your Private Message in a minute for instructions with the link. 

I would appreciate if you could kindly keep us posted regarding this question. This will allow us to provide you with further assistance if required. 

Should you need anything else or have any further questions - feel free to contact us at your earliest convenience, we will be happy to help you! 

Thank you!

Hi,

I just want to let you know that I had the same "reboot" problem with a Dell M4500 with 256 gigs SSD. We ordered 5 laptops and 2 of them got the reboot. I found that in the laptop that had the "reboot" problem that the SSD drive was defect

I found the problem when I switched the SSD drive to a laptop that was working fine. I had the Dell Pro support and they sent me a new drive. Btw I tried a Memtest and the Dell Diagnostic tool for HDD and SSD etc and it didn't find that I had a problem on my SSD or my memory.

Maybe just try another hdd that you trust ?

We purchased 5 x XPS 9000 with 2 x 1 TB Raid 0 and I didn't had any trouble with them.

I'm using the latest build that is available when I posted this comment :)

I know that I'm late but maybe it will help other to try a new solution.

Yes I deleted the default partition of Dell System also and I had the same problem.

Okay Acronis Support!!!! Why do you guys INSIST on sending solutions to problems in the forums via Private Message? Can you not share the link in your post? I appreciate that you guys have a new boot cd that addresses the issue temporarily, but can you please post the link for all to share? It's extremely frustrating to come to the site and see theres a solution, but you can't quite get the answer until you WAIT for a private message?!?! Unacceptable.

This isn't a little bity hiccup in the software, it's a big friggin' problem and it shows a MAJOR flaw in your QA process. I would think you would be willing to share a solution by now.

Hi Peter. I was just wondering why you care so much about that partition on servers? Are you looking for that to provide you another layer of redundancy? I've found that this partition doesn't do squat for us on servers because they are so highly customized and scrutinized by what features, roles and services we install on them. I've found it easier to remove that partition so it's not taking up resources, build up a base image of my own with acronis and replace the Dell Recovery partition with an Acronis Secure zone (same concept) on the server so that in the event I need to revert back to my base image, it's my image and my options, not Dell's with all their bloatware.

Just something to consider, hope this helps.

Ed

That sounds to me like the same issue brought about by different circumstances. In a nut shell what happening is that the Acronis boot CD software is not able to read a portion of the drive whether it be an encrypted partition (like the Dell recovery partition) or an incompatible drive (which may be the case for your SSD drives) Have you downloaded the latest build, or tried another build where you inject the SSD drivers into the image?

Hello all,

Thank you very much for all your valuable feedback!

Eddie,

I am very sorry for the inconvenience and I will do my best to assist you.

We cannot unfortunately provide public download links for full working products, that is why we try our best to notify our Customers through public knowledge base articles and forum posts. I am very sorry for all the trouble.

I will send you a download link for this custom version and in case you need additional help, please let me know.

Thank you.

I tried a PXE Boot, Boot CD From Linux and Boot BartPe (WinPe whatever) and I had the same problem. Maybe my SSD drive was okay because when I received my new SSD from Dell I didn't have any partition on them. Maybe if I tried to format the drive (maybe a quick one) the SSD won't have a problem with Acronis.

Anyways I saw that only the revision 1025 of the SSD drive that was working fine. The laptop that had a problem had the revision 1024 and 1026 and they shipped me both a 1025 revision lol I didn't ask to send me a specific revision.

Btw the crash (reboot problem) that I had it was random... sometime I was able to click on local management and boom or another time with the same hardware I was able to click on recover and boom

I wasn't a soft reboot because you will the Linux Kernel to halt the system... it was a hard one like when you go off battery on a laptop or if someone unplug the power cord. Maybe in my specific case the SSD was defect...

What I think is that Acronis need to create files on the drive for reasons that I don't know :) and maybe thats why it restarted.

Any chance I can get a link to this boot disc for Dell machines as I am having the same problem as mentioned above. Have tried downloading the latest ISO for boot media for Version 10 but still doesn't work.

cheers

Hello Yannick and Scott,

Thank you for posting. I will definitely assist you.

Yannick,

At the moment we are still working on this issue and not sure about its cause. I will send you the "custom" version in a few minutes via a private message.

Scott,

I will send you a private message with the "custom" version as well.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

Thank you.

Hi, could you send me a link to boot cd iso, as I am having problems with the downloaded iso backup taking over 1 hour 30 mins I have a Dell Studio XPS 1640.
Thanks very much
Stephen

I have a Dell Optiplex 760 for which I purchased Acronis 10 Workstation about a year ago and I gave up on Acronis as a backup solution. It always hange during the boot process no matter which option I select. (0-8) Is the problem fixed with the special version and can I get a link to the ISO as well?

Thanks - Paul

Hello Stephen and Paul,

Thank you for posting. I will definitely assist you with this issue.

We have resolved the problem with the bootable media GUI reboot on DELL machines. I would really appreciate if you could download the latest bootable media from your Acronis web-account and let me know how it works for you.

If not, I would really appreciate if you could get back to us and we will help you with any issue you may have.

Thank you.

Anton,

Downloaded the new software per your instructions. The media booted right up. I was able to backup and restore with no problems or errors on the Dell Optiplex 760. Thanks for your help!

Paul