My ATI build 39184 nightmare.
After ATI updated to build 39184 my computer became unusable. It would take half an hour for it to boot up when it normally takes 10-15 seconds and to make matters worse all network connections failed. I would click on something and 5 minutes later it would finally pop up. It took me days of troubleshooting and uninstalling Windows Quality updates, which didn't help. Then I realized that the only thing that had changed on my PC was that ATI had updated. In the end I got my PC back to normal by uninstalling ATI, however this process took some time and trial end error to finally get done. So I figured I would share my experience and what I had to do in order to help others who may have the same trouble.
I tried uninstalling ATI in the normal manner but it failed and was unable to complete after 4 hours. Even though all the icons for ATI and start menu items for it were gone all the processes continued to run when viewed in Task Manager. So then I booted up in safe mode and ran the Acronis CleanupTool.exe after downloading it on another PC and saving it to a USB flash drive. After the CleanupTool finished I rebooted in normal mode and my PC booted back up in normal time, networking was working, and everything was fine.
I wouldn't recommend anyone install build 39184 as there is something wrong with it.
Absolutely not!
Besides they wouldn't be able to collect any data from It remotely as the PC loses all network capability. I would need to copy any log files to a flash drive and send them with another PC.
Also, I did contact support and explained the situation after I had repaired it and their response was to go ahead and install build 39184 and it should be OK. My reply was simply, "why wasn't it OK the first time?" to which they had no reply.
Oh, and the windows troubleshooters were completely useless. The networking troubleshooter keept telling me I had a bad connection between the PC and the cable modem. I even replaced the cable for nothing.
Manuel, Acronis just released a further new build (Update 5 - build 39216) today but there is very little information about what exactly has been fixed in the release notes!
I have installed (upgraded) 2 of my PC's to #39216 and cannot see any real difference so far, but I also wasn't experiencing the type of nightmare performance you have described in this topic!
Thanks for the heads up Steve.
I sure wasn't going to go the build 39184 route again so I didn't even bother reinstalling it. But I'll give this one a go, hopefully they fixed whatever was wrong as these two builds are only about a month apart. So I'm suspecting this latest build was just to fix the errors in the last one.
I'll keep my fingers crossed.
Hi Steve,
Well, I installed ATI build 39216 with the same results as build 39184. The PC took forever to boot up, was slow and non-responsive and no networking. Argghhh!!!!
At least this time I knew what to do and it only took 2 hours to fix.
Now I don't even have a valid backup of my system, as I did a backup after installing 39184 and before rebooting. It seems the problems start after rebooting, as the computer was running fine after installing both 39184 and 39216. The problems don't start until you reboot your machine.
Now I'm even hesitant to go back to an earlier release becasue when I did a new install of 39216 it said it was updating! How could it be updating when I had removed the old version with the CleanupTool? I fear there are still components of ATI on my PC and when a new install is attempted it goes into update mode and newer files get installed which cause the problem.
Manuel, sorry to read of still further problems with the latest 39216 build.
Assuming that you have uninstalled / cleaned up ATI to get it back to performing properly again, then I can only suggest the following options:
Boot the PC from the Acronis Rescue Media to create a backup - this assumes that you have either created that media, or else download an ISO image of the Linux based media from your Acronis Account to use, and that this will work correctly for you.
Alternatively, use a different Backup application to safeguard your PC, i.e. download a copy of Macrium Reflect Free and use this (after installing) which will also show that any performance issues are not directly related to your PC if MRF has no similar issues!
Ideally, you should report this issue directly to Acronis by opening a Support case but I can fully understand why you would be reluctant to reinstall ATI 2021 to progress such a case when it has such a drastic impact on your PC!
Steve,
Well, I did a bit more digging and found that even after running the CleanupTool there were still 173 references in the registry to ATI. I suspect this is causing some issues also, so I deleted them all. However I'm not going to try 2021 again as I don't have hours upon hours of time to burn.
I'll try your suggestion of MRF so that I can have a valid clean backup.
I wonder if Acronis will refund my money for the 2021 version?
Please see KB 21242: Refund policy for Personal products for information that should help you if you want to request a refund for your upgrade if this qualifies.
Hi Steve,
I was doing as you recommended by using MRF so that I can have a valid backup of my system.
I started installing MRF and look at what popped up (screen capture attached).
ATI is really giving me a headache.
Manuel, did you take the Yes option to the pop up message for the suspended ATI install?
If not, then try doing a Windows restart to see if this will clear the issue with ATI.
Hi Steve,
Man what a nightmare this has been!
I checked off the Yes option and proceeded with the MRF install and then rebooted. Then I set up a backup to run in MRF and went to bed. I had checked the power off box and to my surprise the PC was still on this morning with MRF still at 0% complete! I started task manager and found that it was using zero resources so I killed the process. It had failed to create a backup, I checked the destination NAS drive and the file was there but it was 0Kb in size.
So now I knew it was a Windows issue, but just to make sure I downloaded AOMEI Backupper and started a backup. It too failed right off the bat and gave me an error 4140 (screen capture attached) and told me that "The backup driver works improperly" I dug a bit into the AOMEI software and found that it uses the Microsoft VSS (Volume Shadow Copy) driver (image attached).
So now I knew what the problem was, a corrupted VSS driver. I figured Acronis uses the same driver and probably messed it up during the update that's why none of the other backup programs worked. I did a bit of searching on this VSS problem and everything I found that mentioned how to fix it was way to complicated for me. Lots of command prompts and registry editing. So what I did was Downloaded a clean copy of windows10 to reinstall and checked the boxes to keep my files and apps.
Once it finished I rebooted and ran AOMEI again. AOMEI is currently running fine and the backup is 70% complete.
Now that I have this one working I'm wondering if I should give ATI 39216 another try?
Manuel, it sounds like you are making some progress and will have at least one good backup before doing anything else. Retrying ATI 2021 #39216 should be a good further test.
It was your idea that helped. Installing MRF and when it failed is what caused me to chase down the problem or else I would still be pulling my hair out. So, thanks.
I dont know if I'm going to bother with ATI. AOMEI Backupper did such a good job and comes with a great set of tools. You can even mount a backup to a virtual drive and copy files out of it if needed. It's also nowhere near as resource intensive as ATI. All it does is backup, no virus protections and all the other services running that ATI does. In fact I've purchased the pro version of AOMEI for a bunch less than ATI and it includes lifetime upgrades. None if this having to pay more for a new version every year.
Thanks again!
Fully understand Manuel and I would expect that you will not be alone is seeking alternative backup solutions for those users who don't want all the added extra's that Acronis are intent on forcing on their users!
I would love to have an open discussion about the pros/cons of different alternatives, and I have just created a forum topic for this purpose:
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/topic/reflecting-post-ati-world