Frustrated beyond words.
I'm going to be breif and give just the important details.
I have a Seagate 2TB Hard Drive which I wanted to Clone to a Larger Seagate 4TB Drive I just bought.
I downloaded the Seagate "DiscWizard" software, which is Acronis True Image in disguise.
I run the DiscWizard installer, and it tells me that the software cannot be used unless I have a Seagate, Samsung, or Maxtor Hard Drive in my machine.
As I said before, I have 2 Seagate Drives installed. I didn't mention that I also have a Samsung SSD in the machine, and it still did not let me register.
I installed a Maxtor drive in the machine and it still didn't allow the software to install.
I noticed that the dialog box telling me that the software needs one of those drives in order to install has a link at the bottom saying that I can upgrade to the full version without a drive restriction if I click the link and buy the software.
I am in a hurry and need this clone ASAP, but I think the link to buy the software after "not detecting" the perfectly good drives is a shady business tactic, so I am reluctant to upgrade to the full version based on how sleazy the way it looks.
Out of desperation, I click the link to see if there is any info on the upgrade page helpful to my situation, and it takes me to a page that boasts "Seagate DiscWizard Upgrade only $29.99!" I decided that it was woth $30 to solve my problem, so I go ahead and buy the upgrade.
I installed the upgrade and run it and it asks me for my product key. I put that in. Now it asks me for the key from my previously installed DiscWizard(!) The whole reason I paid for this software is that I needed to get around the bug in the DiscWizard software that keeps me from installing it, so I can't get the number in the first place. Now my "upgrade" is useless.
Further frustration: I went to get support and it turns out that my email is already registered, but I can't log into my acronis account because I have no idea what the password is. The "reset password" process has been sending me email to reset the password for an hour now and I still have not received the email. It turns out that I was able to find a receipt for Acronis software which I bought about 6 years ago and that's why I was already registered. I do not have the serial number for that software handy as I recall I uninstalled it because it didn't do what I wanted at the time.
So now I am a long time customer with a useless upgrade I paid for because the version of the software that comes with my new Hard Drive is defective and can't see the drive, so it won't install, and I can't access my product history to get the key from the software I purchased 6 years ago as a possible workaround because the website is buggy and refuses to send my password reset email.
I made a new login so I could post here how frustrated I am with this experience. I could have bought a really nice clone package for just the time I have wasted trying to get something working.
Hello Eagle 1,
Although Seagate DiscWizard uses Acronis technology, it is not an Acronis product. Any issue with Seagate DiscWizard should be addressed with Seagate.
Now, when you buy an "Upgrade" license, it is assumed that you have a "base" software that you wish to upgrade. Since you were not able to install the base software, which was in your case a free Seagate DiscWizard, there was no way for you to prove that you actually owned that base license (again, free in that case).
There is no problem on our side with the "reset password" function. Please check the spam / junk folder and any rules for automatic deletion of emails. Note that you do not need a serial number to reset your password.
Steve's suggestion was just right. If you contacted us, we would happily assist you with regaining the access to your old account and with any issue you might have had with an Acronis product.
Regards,
Slava
Hi Slava,
Here's the issue I have with with your position:
1) I buy a new hard drive and it comes with free software that Acronis designed.
2) Acronis software supplied free with drive refuses to see the drive and proposes exactly one solution to this problem: Clicking a link that takes me to a page offering an "upgrade" to the full version.
3) Purchasing the "Upgrade" results in software that I cannot run because I need to have the "base" software installed first.
4) Repeated attempts to install the "base" software simply results in being offered the "upgrade" as the only solution.
5) Contacting Phone support gets me a nice fellow who said I have to buy the full version because I don't ahve the "base", and that I could pay the difference to get the full version.
Does it not look to you like a shady way to trick people into buying the full version of the software they were supposed to get for free? Maybe a little software magic in the Discwizard program that makes it fail to install on a certain percentage of machines, and dangle a really sweet discount at the desperate user to entice them to pay for the "upgrade" that then fails to work because they need to buy the full version? You do see how bad this looks, right?
Furthermore, I noticed that Acronis has the exact same deal with Seagate, Maxtor, Samsung, and WD drives. You make the same "base" software for all of these companies. None of them detected drives in my machine from their respective manufacturers. I have SATA drives from every brand you can name, and none of them would work with the matching "base" software. Each and every one of them had the same sweet deal offering the "upgrade".
My suggestion to fix this is to either take the "upgrade" offer off your website, because it is misleading, or provide your 3rd party partners with working drive detection in their "base" versions of the software.
My issue was only resolved when I asked for a refund for my "upgrade", then all of a sudden I was given the magic code to make the upgrade function on my machine.
Getting the software installed and running was a real bad experience. The only positive I have is that once running the True Image software was able to clone my drive and it recovered the two files that were corrupt and would fail to read with other cloning programs. So good work on fixing my drive, but I was not pleased with the purchasing process.
Nope. You didn't obtain software from Acronis, but a third party. Seagate is the one to take up issue with. They get a base product from Acronis and modify it as they see fit, adding stipulations and restrictions to the functionality in which case you can usually only restore or clone to their drives. The versions provided by the oems are usually also older and out of date. Seagate offered a free software with the drive you bought from them, that they are on the hook to support. Acronis makes this clear with the oems and with their product documentation at the Acronis website. If you're not happy, I would return the drive and go with another oem who offers better support.
However, if you provide acronis with proof of purchase and your own license key for that drive, i'd bet they'd honor an upgrade price, but not an outright free, current version. Do you have a receipt of purchase and a key, if so, did you provide it? If so and denied, I know that this could be made right, but you have to have the proof to obtain the upgrade.
As for your issue of installation, what OS are you running and version and what Acronis version did seagate provide? did you try to install by right clicking and "run as administrator" even when logged in as admin?
As for detection issues, because it's an older version and Linux based and modified, there's a good chance that the necessary drivers are not available in that version or if you had raid as the sata mode. Once installed, adk may give you better driver support with WinPE rescue media. Download windows adk and install and try building rescue media as WinPE.
Nope. Acronis created the software for Seagate and Maxtor and Samsung and WD and all the rest with a fatal flaw in it that prevented it from working, then inserted an advertisement for an "upgrade" to correct the problem I was having that is impossible to install.
If the acronis software distributed under the seagate name had said "We can't detect your Seagate Drive. Contact Seagate Support for help" instead of "We can't dectect a Seagate Drive, but if you click HERE you can buy an awesome FULL version of this software from Acronis, all your troubles will go away!" then you'd have a point. The very fact that Acronis directed me to buy their "upgrade" puts THEM on the hook. Don't go push this off on Seagate. Once I was duped into buying the non-installable "upgrade", I couldn't just return the drive and get something else. (Ignorning the fact that every other drive OEM seems to use the same Acronis Software, so I would have been in the same position regardless)
I had read about issues with RAID drives and confirmed that it was not a RAID drive and RAID was not enabled on the controller. I tried every trick in the book to get the Seagate/Acronis software to detect the drive. I ran as administrator, logged in as administrator. I took all the expansion cards out of the machine. I disconnected all the other drives. I tried different SATA ports. I even tried a second machine, but it has the same MoBo and CPU as the first, so it didn't work. I wasted so much time on it that I just wanted to buy the software fropm the link that promised to fix the install issue and be done with it.
I mentioned above that once I got tech support and was told there was nothing I could do but buy the full version, I asked for a refund and magically I was given a code to activate the software. From that point on it worked and it did what I needed. The _ONLY_ thing I needed it for was to clone the drive, so the "free" version from Seagate would have been all I wanted in the first place, so I really just paid to get the OEM version functionality. I will probably never use this package again because of the bad experience I had.
We could all argue for days on this matter and not make any difference to the basic situation here.
Seagate (and others) bundle the OEM Acronis software with their product for the princely sum of zero (pounds, euros, dollars etc).
Lots of users are able to successfully install / use this OEM Acronis software and the evidence is in these forums for when they come asking questions or embark upon a cloning exercise without considering the consequences - hence why I wrote post: 128231: [WARNING] CLONING - How NOT to do this!!! because of the number of users who have 'broken' their systems doing this!
Acronis have published a clear statement of their position on support for OEM Acronis software in KB 2201: Support for OEM Versions of Acronis Products and there is nothing that we users (MVP's are only users too) can do to change this position.
As to why the Seagate OEM Acronis software couldn't detect the OP's drives is a matter that should be raised with Seagate as per the above, and also per Slava's statement in post #2 of this topic - we have insufficient information to even start guessing as to why this is.
I can understand and sympathise with the OP's frustration with the paid upgrade to ATIH 2017 but again only Acronis were able to resolve the difficulties here and provide a valid upgrade license code to be used.
As to the statement that the OP only needed the software for was to clone the drive - then I sincerely hope that he has no encounter with any subsequent hardware failures, malware infections etc, as ATIH 2017 is much more than a means of cloning a drive - it is a full and comprehensive backup product capable of protecting his computer system and enabling an easy recovery from such failure scenarios. So if this software is never used again.... good luck for the future.
You can deflect all you want and point to official statements about OEM software, but that doesn't excuse putting links in the OEM software error dialog boxes that prompt the user to solve the error by purchasing upgraded software at a discount that secretly won't install unless they pay again to upgrade the discount version to a full version. That's the real issue here, not whether or not the OP knows about the risks of cloning. Thank you.
We could all argue for days on this matter and not make any difference to the basic situation here.
Sorry, take up your grievance with Acronis not with other users in this forum who have no means of resolving this for you.
Eagle 1, dump them! I recently did after seven years loyalty. They, Acronis are becoming a nasty company.
Have a look at Macrium Reflect. Don't know if it will solve your specific problem, but you can try it for free, I think you will be very surprised.
For me it does what Acronis use to do, without all the drama.
Bye guys!
If you and your Acronis shills and fanboys want to lecture me like I don't know anything about hard drives and tell me that I'm at fault for falling for the deceptive link instead of contacting Seagate, I'll defend myself. My problem WAS resolved and I was NOT looking to forum users to solve my issue. I was merely stating my position in defence of the bogus accusations.
None of you will even admit that the link in the acronis developed seagate software is even the slightest bit deceptive. Each response actually sidesteps that issue and changes the subject to some other way I am at fault.
If intellectual honesty is not really your thing, then quit responding to me. I was content never to come here again, but had to answer the deniers who repeatedly tried to blame me for the issues. Keep provoking me, and I will keep defending myself.
Eagle 1
I hear you. I'm pretty sure there is some error in the coordination between Seagate and Acronis here. I hope it will be fixed so others don't run into the problems you faced.
I have to say I've never been a fan of the OEM software. I wish there was a way the OEM's and Acronis could work it out so the free software included with the drives would be a full license to the most current version of True Image. I'm sure it would benefit Acronis more in establishing new customers on an ongoing basis than giving away a limited, older, version of True Image.
I'm trying to find where the Seagate Disc Wizard branded software (no Acronis logo by the way) says to contact Acronis in the documentation
http://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/downloads/disc…
The support section, does say to contact seagate though. Go figure, that's what has been explained.
http://www.seagate.com/files/www-content/support-content/downloads/disc…
1.3 Technical Support
Support for Seagate DiscWizard users is provided by Seagate. Please visit Support Page at www.seagate.com/support
I think you you were frustrated and I get that. However, I don't agree. You bought a Seagate product that came with a free Seagate application that is supported by Seagate. If Seagate offers old, modified software and their terms are for them to support it, they should do that. That might mean they need to work with Acronis or find a way to make it right, but that's on them.
I don't think anyone attacked you here either. Just trying to explain how it is, despite how you feel it should be. I am glad you got it working though, despite your general disdain for those who have responded with a lack of support that you were hoping for. I think everyone's been pretty civil up until the classic fanboy remarks were thrown out.
Personally, I wish the oem versions would disappear and instead, offer a discount to a current full version or a 30 day full version or something along those lines. The oem versions always seem to cause trouble and the oems don't seem to be able to support them very well.
Hello guys! I am having the same problem that Eagle1 had. And yes, the software is for Seagate, Sumsung and others manufactures. I have the two above and the soft do not recognize either drive and, yes, it direct me to a Acronis page to buy an "upgrade". I think who's fault is just a matter of semantic, because if Acronis does supply the program to a driver's manufactures it could, should, would have something that works. Fortunately, I did not fall to the buying it. It's a bad business practice! I do have a CD with True Image 6.0 and tomorrow I'll buy a drive and install it.
Hello Wilson,
thank you for letting us know about the issue! It should have been fixed in the latest build of OEM Acronis version. Could you please check the build of your OEM installation? For Seagate DiskWizard it should be 18.0.6036 (can be found here https://www.seagate.com/support/downloads/discwizard/)