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Unbootable HP notebook after Acronis 2011 install

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I have an HP Elite Folio 13t-1000, Win7 SP1 from about 2011.  Not used much, but working without errors.  I tried to install Acronis 2011 on it, and got 'Acronis encountered an error', no further info that I could see.  I have installed 2011 on XP and another Win7 box with no problem.

The PC would not boot after that - it threw me into the system repair startup screen, which was unable to find anything.  I tried the system recovery program, but the recovery option is greyed out.

I was able to boot the Acronis bootable USB, and get what looked like good backups of all partitions.  Restoring them, however. still left me in the unbootable state.

I eventually downloaded a Win7 install disc to USB, and recovered.  I would like to run Acronis on this box, but I am afraid to try again, unless I can figure out what caused the original problem.  Has anyone seen anything like this?

One other item, I ran disk diagnostics, and the SMART test, Short, and Optimized disk self tests all passed, but the Long test failed.  HP forums say this indicates a failing disk, but as everything seems fine with the restored system, I really think something was messed up in the MBR/System boot partition.  The recovery partition is still not available, however.  

Thanks.

 

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Michael, welcome to these User Forums.

According to the ATI 2011 User Guide: Supported operating systems

Acronis True Image Home 2011 has been tested on the following operating systems:

  • Windows XP SP3
  • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition SP2
  • Windows Vista SP2 (all editions)
  • Windows 7 SP1 (all editions)

Acronis True Image Home 2011 also lets you create a bootable CD-R/DVD-R that can back up and recover a disk/partition on a computer running any Intel- or AMD- based PC operating system, including Linux®. (Note that the Intel-based Apple Macintosh is not supported.)

The steps for installing this very old version is also covered: Installing Acronis True Image Home 2011

To install Acronis True Image Home 2011:

  • Run the Acronis True Image Home 2011 setup file.
  • Before installation, you can check for a newer Acronis True Image Home 2011 build on the Acronis Web site. If available, the newer version will be offered for installation.
  • In the Install Menu, select the program to install: Acronis True Image Home 2011.
  • Follow the install wizard instructions on the screen.

     

    Typical, Custom and Complete installation is available. By pressing Custom, you can choose not to install Rescue Media Builder.

    With Rescue Media Builder you can create bootable rescue disks (see details in Creating bootable rescue media). You might not need this tool if you purchased a boxed product that contains a bootable CD. Installing the Bootable Rescue Media Builder will allow you to create bootable media or its ISO image at any time from the main program window or by running Bootable Rescue Media Builder on its own.

When installed, Acronis True Image Home 2011 creates a new device in the Device Manager list (Control Panel ->System -> Hardware -> Device Manager -> Acronis Devices -> Acronis True Image Backup Archive Explorer). Do not disable or uninstall this device, as it is necessary for connecting image backups as virtual disks (see Mounting an image).

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The final build version for ATI 2011 was build #6942 which you should be able to download the installer for from your Acronis account online.

If the Long test diagnostics for your internal HDD failed, then I would say that this may have as much to do with the issue you encountered as anything else.  I am not aware of installing any version of ATI causing a computer to become unbootable.  

Did you attempt to do a Safe mode boot (pressing the F8 key on boot) where Windows will boot with a minimal set of device drivers etc, which would have eliminated any Acronis drivers from being loaded?

If the HP disk drive is the original drive from 2011, then I would say that you should consider trying to get a replacement drive.  If this is a notebook / laptop type computer, then one issue you may face is finding an older style IDE 2.5" laptop drive of the type that was used that long ago.  Most current 2.5" laptop drives are all SATA which is a very different connector arrangement than the 50+ pin used on the IDE drives.