ATIH 2012 with SSD cache
Hi all,
sorry if the question is already answered in another post, I haven't found the answer.
I have a Dell Inspiron 17R running Windows 7 64bit. The computer has a small SSD card which is use to cache files trough Intel Rapid Storage Technology. The first time I created an image of the boot partition, ATIH 2012 from a USB drive (WinPE version), that was way too fast, about a second or two. I then discovered that the image was way to small. I found the needed drivers from Dell site, recreated my USB key and all of the files were in the image. All was well, I guessed...
But I was wrong. One day I restored an image (or thought I did), but again, that was too fast. In fact, the image was not restored, or only partially. My guess is that files in the cache were not restored.
Then how can I make sure my image are created and restored as they should when using this configuration with Intel Rapid ?
Thanks
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Pat L,
can you tell me where it is stated that ATI is not compatible with Intel Rapid Storage Technology ? This is a great disappointment.
I got the driver from http://en.community.dell.com/techcenter/enterprise-client/w/wiki/2069.w… which contains among others:
| x86 | Serial ATA | R291722 | Rapid Storage Technology | A07 | 10.1.0.1008 |
I followed instructions here: http://www.windows-noob.com/forums/index.php?/topic/2349-guide-adding-drivers-to-a-custom-winpe-30/
When I create an image, everything is in the backup, I inspected the .TIF file. It's the restore that does not seem to work.
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Gilles Plante wrote:can you tell me where it is stated that ATI is not compatible with Intel Rapid Storage Technology ?
Gee, in fact I can't!
I looked up an old post where I got an answer, but I couldn't find it. Either I am mistaken, or the post has been edited.
There is another post where Acronis indicates they restored an image with caching on, and it worked, but the caching mechanism was off after the restore.
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No one from Acronis can answer that question ?
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Guys,
Are we talking about Intel Smart Response Technology (SSD Cacheing) or whether ATI supports backing up storage devices using IRST drivers?
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shadowsports,
yes, I am talking about SSD caching, and yes I am talking about whether or not ATI fully support backup and restore on such equipped computers - please note I run ATI from a USB key booting WinPe.
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Gilles,
MVP Pat L has helped many users who are using Smart Response Technology successfully. In the majority of cases we've found that compatibility with ATI depends on your particular hardware configuration and how ATI sees the disks.
Credit to Pat L for this.
In windows: If ATI sees your SRT drives as a single disk (same drive letter) then a full disk image back up will contain a full back up of your drive(s) that includes your SSD cached data. The drives are transparent to ATI.
Using the boot media is different:
If the drives are detected the same way as in windows (see disk management), a successful back up should occur. If the SSD is seen separately, it's data will not be captured like it is in windows. You might be able to capture it as a separate disk, but you'll have to try it in order to determine if the restore works properly.
Data loss could occur - meaning you might not get your SSD cached data back if the operation fails. It's important to understand that ATI cannot control how a particular manufacturer chooses to implement SRT on their board. The process might be seamless, or it may require that you disable SSD cacheing and back up the disks separately, then re-enable the feature prior to starting windows after a restore.
This is my understanding of the feature and how it might interact with ATI. I'd appreciate others feedback and comments.
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Hi shadowsports.
I checked the points mentioned in you post.
Booted on the USB key with WinPE:
If I want to create an image
the SSD disk partition that is used to cache the C: drive is not shown, but the SSD disk partition used to save memory to disk when I ask for hibernation is shown. It is identified as Type 0x84 (Hibernation, OS/2 C: Hidden). OS/2 ?? What the heck ???
If I want to restore am image
I pick Recover my disk. I select an image made with the added IRST drivers.
The OS partition that was imaged is listed as well as the MBR ans Track 0 partition.
Thanks
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No one from Acronis ?
I guess I will have to look for another product that can handle my hardware correctly :-(.
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Gilles,
If you want a response from Acronis, you will need to fill out a support request. Very very few postings are responded to on the forum by Acronis personnel. Most responses on the forum are from volunteers not associated with Acronis.
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Hi GroverH, I googled to learn more about IRST and disk imaging. I found something interesting here www.maximumpc.com/article/features/everything_you_need_know_about_intels_new_z68_chipset:
Here is the official response to your concern over file backups. It is as we thought, you are fine with any file-based backup tools that most of us run. If you run imaging-type backups, you'll need to run in Enhanced Mode, not Maximized Mode.
"Intel® Smart Response Technology in either Enhanced or Maximized mode is fully compatible with backup tools that operate at the file system or volume level in Windows, or DOS. An example of this would be the Windows built-in backup tools. Standalone backup and disk imaging tools that boot versions of Linux and other operating systems that are not cache aware and therefore not compatible and should only be used with Intel® Smart Response Technology configured in Enhanced Mode."
I checked how RST is configured. and it's set to Enhanced mode, not Maximized mode. Then I should be fine ? The answer is no. First I tried to take a image, TIH needed only a few seconds... that was way too short (my SSD cache is only 22 G). Then I created a WinPE USB key with IRTS driver. Then the time to create the image was as expected. But I had a surprise when I tried to restore an image: again 3 seconds and it was done. I booted and found out that the restore was note performed, my issue was still there.
My conclusion is that TIH can't properly work with accelerated drives. I will have to look for another tool.
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Can anyone here tell me if Acronis has published a white paper regarding any of this - specifically something that outlines the steps needed in order to properly generate a viable image - and likewise, the steps needed to achieve a viable restoration?
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