Copy of C: drive does not work in Windows Vista Ultimate x64
I wanted to copy my C: drive, which holds all my files for Windows Vista Ultimate x64. I went through the procedure and DD showed that it correctly worked in each phase.
I chose my C: drive.
I specified the ESata unallocated drive area to copy the partition to.
DD said the copying would be done and that my copied partition would be labelled my F: drive.
DD said it had to reboot my system in order to do the copying.
It rebooted my system and before Vista came up again it performed the operation.
I saw it reaching the 100% mark before it told me it had to reboot again.
It rebooted and then came up again to do a final synchronization.
Everything appeared completely successful without a single problem or error.
MY system rebooted and this time I was able to login to Vista.
But when I brought up DD under Vista to make sure the operation worked as advertised, no copied partitition had been created on my ESata drive.
Has anybody run into this same problem when DD must reboot out of Vista in ordsr to do an operation prior to the user logging in because the partition can not be locked in a normal operation under Vista ?
Is there a solution to this problem ?
I have posted here before I contact Acronis tech support to try to get this resolved.
Needless to say it is important for me to be able to make a backup copy of my main Vista partition and I bought DD largely for that reason.
Edward:With Vista and Windows 7, most operations that will affect the main OS partition will not succeed when started while Windows is running. Anything affecting the OS partition should be done from the boot CD when Windows is shut down.
Using the boot CD does not work for me. To understand why please see my recent post 'DD 10 and finding hard drive woes'.
Also the way DD 10 is operating, as descrbed in my OP, is that the copy is done after rebooting and prior to login for Vista. But from what you are saying, and what I am experiencing, is that this still does not work properly even though DD 10 is giving every indication it actually has worked properly. Surely there must be something wrong with DD 10 if it is giving me messages of 100% completion, correct synchronization, and everything completed successfully, but the copied partition never subsequently appears when I start DD 10 from Windows Vista after logging in.
Edward:
The problem with DD's fundamental design approach is that it relies on Linux for a boot environment. The weakness in this approach is that Linux hardware driver support lags behind Windows driver support. Even if you start an operation from the Windows version of the program, Windows must shut down in order to complete the operation. When the PC reboots, it starts up into the same Linux recovery environment that is on the boot CD. So if the Linux recovery environment is missing drivers for your particular chipset then neither the boot CD nor rebooting from Windows will work.
To further confuse the issue, there is no communication between the two environments. When the PC reboots into Linux you are unable to see error messages, if any. That's one of the reasons that most of us "seasoned" DD users recommend to always do operations from the boot CD where you can observe what is going on and see any error messages if errors occur.
To fix your issue you absolutely need to be able to use the boot CD. You have several options. First, I would try booting into the "Safe" mode version of Disk Director, which is DOS-based. If safe mode doesn't work I would next go to your account on the Acronis web site and download the latest ISO image of the boot CD. This downloadable ISO uses a different Linux loader and may have more-recent driver support and is worth a try. Finally, if all else fails, contact Acronis Support via the link at the top of this page. They can often add drivers and supply you a custom ISO that supports your hardware.
Mark,
When DD has to reboot from Windows to do a procedure, it usually hooks into the Windows startup instead of using the Linux version (the "final synchronization" step is an indication of this). This is the same place chkdsk gets run. It's also the reason some people end up with a "DD loop" because DD didn't cleanup properly when finished.
I think TI also hooks into Windows startup when doing procedures that don't require that partition to be restored/removed/etc.
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Edward,
While in Windows, if you use DD to copy a partition other than C: (so no reboot is required), does it copy successfully? If not, you may get an error in the log (or a message) that might help figure out what's causing the problem.
Paul:
I'm no expert on this but when DD reboots, yes it does hook into the Windows startup process but this is before Windows has loaded and the file system is still unmounted. Doesn't it then run the minimal OS that is in C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Acronis\TrueImage\? This subdirectory contains kernel.dat, agent_ramdisk.dat, bootwiz.sys, bootagent.config, etc. Don't these comprise a mini Linux OS?
I say this because TI users who have hardware devices that are unsupported in the TI Full (Linux) boot environment are also unable to get TI to work when they start an operation from the Windows version of the program and the PC has to reboot. I always thought that the underlying cause was unsupported Linux device drivers. If the reboot environment was using the installed Windows device drivers then it would work, wouldn't it? But since it fails I doubt it uses Windows drivers.
Then again, I don't really understand the details of how this process works...
Mark,
See this post by Acronis Support and there's some info in this thread.
There is also this KB article.
If I remember correctly, TI will use Windows Native Mode for certain operations (creating the SZ, for example). For restores of the system partition, it will use the Linux version.
First, the main operation is carried out (or first operation, if there are several), then the computer reboots and makes sure everything is okay (or does the next operation, etc.). Then it reboots again and Windows should start normally.
Paul:
Thanks. I'll have to read more about Windows Native mode. I suspect it may have limited driver support; perhaps resembling safe mode. If I recall correctly, Wndows safe mode does not load all of the 32-bit and 64-bit device drivers but only a limited set with minimal functionality.
The KB article mentioned disabling card readers and disconnecting USB devices. I wonder if that would help with Edward's problem.
Edward:The problem with DD's fundamental design approach is that it relies on Linux for a boot environment. The weakness in this approach is that Linux hardware driver support lags behind Windows driver support. Even if you start an operation from the Windows version of the program, Windows must shut down in order to complete the operation. When the PC reboots, it starts up into the same Linux recovery environment that is on the boot CD. So if the Linux recovery environment is missing drivers for your particular chipset then neither the boot CD nor rebooting from Windows will work.
To further confuse the issue, there is no communication between the two environments. When the PC reboots into Linux you are unable to see error messages, if any. That's one of the reasons that most of us "seasoned" DD users recommend to always do operations from the boot CD where you can observe what is going on and see any error messages if errors occur.
To fix your issue you absolutely need to be able to use the boot CD. You have several options. First, I would try booting into the "Safe" mode version of Disk Director, which is DOS-based. If safe mode doesn't work I would next go to your account on the Acronis web site and download the latest ISO image of the boot CD. This downloadable ISO uses a different Linux loader and may have more-recent driver support and is worth a try. Finally, if all else fails, contact Acronis Support via the link at the top of this page. They can often add drivers and supply you a custom ISO that supports your hardware.
I installed the latest DD 10 and made the normal recovery disks from the normal recovery and the latest downloadable ISO. But neither would show my ESata drive(s) when I boot from them, wheter in full mode or safe mode.
I was able to backup my Vista C: drive using DD unders Vista where the ESata drives are seen. This time, after reboot and successful completion, that actual backup is correctly made and I can see it in DD under Vista after I login.
Mark,When DD has to reboot from Windows to do a procedure, it usually hooks into the Windows startup instead of using the Linux version (the "final synchronization" step is an indication of this). This is the same place chkdsk gets run. It's also the reason some people end up with a "DD loop" because DD didn't cleanup properly when finished.
I think TI also hooks into Windows startup when doing procedures that don't require that partition to be restored/removed/etc.
---
Edward,
While in Windows, if you use DD to copy a partition other than C: (so no reboot is required), does it copy successfully? If not, you may get an error in the log (or a message) that might help figure out what's causing the problem.
Copying a partition without a reboot always worked with DD.
After Installing the latest build I can successfully copy the C: drive with the reboot. This time it worked correctly.