Acronis True Image stuck in an endless loop
Yesterday I installed this software in an attempt to clone my system onto a replacement SSD. On attempting to run it, the Acronis Loader starts (before Windows has installed) and then shows a new window ("Acronis Bootable Agent is waiting for removable devices") even though the SSD is connected using the proprietary PNY device that came with the software.
I am now unable to get beyond this point; even the rescue disc I created does not help. It appears that AITH has locked into this loop with no way out.
Can anybody help please?!!
The software was not bundled with the SSD (a Samsung 850 EVO). I bought an SSD migration kit from Maplin and this required me to download the latest Acronis True Image HD Software i.e I was advised to do it this way. A licence key was provided. I will try to boot into bios but not sure how to do this.
David, as far as I am aware, Acronis True Image HD is an OEM version of the software, especially when this comes bundled with a piece of hardware.
In terms of booting into the BIOS settings, this really depends on what computer you have. If you can tell use the make, model etc of the computer, we may have a better idea of how to advise you.
Hi Steve
My laptop is an Acer Aspire 5532.
Thanks
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/1188/Acer-Aspire-5532.html?page=33
BIOS Setup Utility
The BIOS Setup Utility is a hardware configuration program built into your computer's BIOS (Basic Input/
Output System).
Your computer is already properly configured and optimized, and you do not need to run this utility. However, if
you encounter configuration problems, you may need to run Setup. Please also refer to Chapter 4
Troubleshooting when problem arises.
To activate the BIOS Utility, press F2 during POST (when "Press <F2> to enter Setup" message is prompted
on the bottom of screen).
Press F2 to enter setup. The default parameter of F12 Boot Menu is set to "disabled". If you want to change
boot device without entering BIOS Setup Utility, please set the parameter to "enabled".
Press <F12> during POST to enter multi-boot menu. In this menu, user can change boot device without
entering BIOS SETUP Utility.
Navigating the BIOS Utility
There are six menu options: Information, Main, Advanced, Security, Boot, and Exit.
Follow these instructions:
•
To choose a menu, use the left and right arrow keys.
•
To choose an item, use the up and down arrow keys.
•
To change the value of a parameter, press F5 or F6.
•
A plus sign (+) indicates the item has sub-items. Press Enter to expand this item.
•
Press Esc while you are in any of the menu options to go to the Exit menu.
•
In any menu, you can load default settings by pressing F9. You can also press F10 to save any
changes made and exit the BIOS Setup Utility.
NOTE: You can change the value of a parameter if it is enclosed in square brackets. Navigation keys for a
particular menu are shown on the bottom of the screen. Help for parameters are found in the Item
Specific Help part of the screen. Read this carefully when making changes to parameter values. Please
note that system information is subject to different models
David,
It appears that your bios is a Legacy only bios therefore your hard disk should be first in the boot list to boot from that device. Refer to page 39 of the user manual that Bobbo provided link for to see an example.
Thanks for this. However, this does not resolve the issue. The problem I have is that as soon as I allow the laptop to boot, it goes straight to "Starting Acronis Loader . . ." before anything else has loaded. I need somehow to remove the software but cannot get access to enable that
David,
This problem is fixable, but it is not easy. Acronis has modified your BCD file that controls how the computer is booted. It has now been set to boot from the Acronis Linux recovery media. It will now be necessary to remove the Acronis Windows Boot Loader entry from your BCD file and set the default Windows Boot Loader back to your normal Windows system. This needs to be done by booting your computer from a Windows Recovery disk. It is a complicated process so we need to proceed in steps.
1. On another working computer (preferably Windows 10) make a Windows Recovery USB disk by going to Control Panel\Recovery. Insert a USB flash drive and select Create a Recovery disk. Select the USB disk and follow the on screen directions to make the disk. Do not check the box to copy system files to the recovery disk.
2. Boot the problem computer using the USB recovery disk. To do so, enter the one time boot override menu. It looks like this is done by pressing the F12 key on your model. Select the UEFI:USBxxxxxx entry from the menu.
3. Get to a command prompt. Find the Advanced Options then Command Prompt.
4. You now need to determine the drive letters that the recovery environment has assigned to your EFI SYSTEM partition and the USB disk you booted from. The BCD file you need to modify is in the EFI System partition at DriveLetter:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD. To help you determine the correct drive letters, enter these lines at the command prompt:
diskpart
list volume
Look at the output and, hopefully, you will be able to determine the drive letters.
When you know the drive letter, enter the following line:
exit
5. You are now ready to capture the contents of the BCD file. Enter this line:
bcdedit /store F:\EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD /enum all > G:\bcdoutput.txt
Where F is the drive letter of your EFI System partition and G is the drive letter of the USB disk you booted from.
6. Come back to the forum and post the entire contents of bcdoutput.txt you will find in the root of your USB recovery disk. I will look at this and come back to you with the instructions on how to modify your BCD file.
The volumes shown are G, C, E, F, and D as below:
G - DVD ROM - 0MB
C - Partition - 101MB
E - Partition - 453GB
F - Partition - 12GB HIDDEN
D - Recovery - 3823MB (the USB stick)
I have entered the text for each volume as instructed and continually get the same message in the bcdoutput.txt file:
The boot configuration data store could not be opened.
The system cannot find the file specified.
Any ideas now?
It's very difficult to give advice without knowing the details of the system. Different types of systems have the BCD file in different locations. I've assumed you have a 64 bit UEFI/GPT system.
You can look for the BCD file. My best guess would be in the C: 101 MB partition. Go back to booting from the recovery disk and get to the command prompt. Enter:
C:
dir
Do you see an EFI folder? If yes, enter:
cd \EFI
dir
Keep using this method until you find the file called BCD with no extension. Then use the bcdedit line to get the BCD output.
I have found an EFI directory in X:\windows\Boot. Within this there is a file called bootmgr.efi
Is this the same thing?
I have obtained the following from the BCD-Template file in x:\windows\system32\config
Does this mean anything to you?:
Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
path \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\bootmgfw.efi
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
default {default}
timeout 30
Windows Setup
-------------
identifier {7254a080-1510-4e85-ac0f-e7fb3d444736}
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
isolatedcontext Yes
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
systemroot \windows
nx OptOut
winpe Yes
Windows Setup
-------------
identifier {default}
locale en-US
inherit {bootloadersettings}
allowedinmemorysettings 0x15000075
systemroot \windows
nx OptOut
winpe Yes
Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
path \boot\memtest.exe
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes
Windows Legacy OS Loader
------------------------
identifier {ntldr}
path \ntldr
EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes
Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Local
Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}
Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200
X: drive is not where you need to look. That is the WinPE system running in ram. The templates are of no value. We need the actual BCD that is booting your Windows system.
Please give me some help. What kind of Windows system do you have? Is it Windows 7, 8, 8.1, 10 or something else? Is it 32 or 64 bit? Is it UEFI or legacy boot?
Paul,
Looking at the machine manual this machine looks to be a Legacy only booted machine unless I am missing something.
Sorry guys but how do I get the command prompt to change to anywhere other than X? Try as I might, I am stuck there
syntax to change drive and folders is in Pauls post number 10
Sorry no idea what that means or where to find it: "Pauls post number 10"?
I have just remmbered that this laptop has whole disk encryption using Disk Protect. The unlock for this kicks in before anything else (even Acronis Loader) as long as I boot from the HDD. So, if I use the USB stick to boot to the cmd prompt, I could imagine that it cannot see the HDD properly since it will still be encrypted. Maybe I need to to connect the laptop up to another laptop, once I have gone through the password process to unlock the encryption and could then read the relevant drive?
Disk encryption. This just got a whole lot more complcated. I'm not going to be able to help you with unlocking the disk. I would suggest you investigate how to boot the computer with a Windows Recovery disk on Disk Protect's website or forum. But, before you go that route, make sure the disk is locked when you are in WinRE.
Boot WinRE and go to the command prompt. Your previous post indicated that C drive was 101 MB. That looks like a System Partition. At the command prompt type:
C:
Then hit the enter key. You will see the prompt change to C:\>. If this doesn't happen, disk encryption is still locked. Then you need to find out how to unlock it. If you do see the prompt change to C:\>, type:
dir
Then hit the enter key. You will see a list of files and folders on C drive. The folders will have <DIR> to the left of the name. To look inside a folder, type:
cd \FolderName
dir
Look around untill you find the BCD file.
What did you find out about the encryption? Can you see into any of the partitions in the Windows recovery enviranment?
Most likely, you'll need to decrypt the drive completely. I've not used your encryption product, but McAfee prevents the system from booting if any change to the paritions is made after it is encrypted. When you started the clone from Windows, it tried to change the bootloader and the impacted the partions that your encryption was expecting to be there - instant encryption fail.
Hopefully you have some means of decrypting (not just unlocking the drive for a single session) with offline recovery media as well. If so, decrypt it and then run startup repair with a Windows installation or recovery disk and you should be back in business again.
Encryption is no bueno for Cloning as the clone process must occur outside of Windows. Your only option with disk encryption is to take backups when the disk is booted into the OS. You can then restore those backups, but must do so by starting with the bootable recovery media - don't start a recovery in Windows or you'll be in the exact same boat again.
Hi David,
Curious to hear back if/when you have a chance. It does look like pre-boot decryption tools should be available from your encryption provider. Assuming you can get your hands on it and have the encryption key available somewhere (which you would need for any scenario to unlock or decrypt the disk), hopefully you can fully decrypt the disk and then run Windows startup repair to get the OS to boot again.
https://www.becrypt.com/uk/products/data-protection/disk-encryption
Features and Benefits
| Disk Protect Variants | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | CPA | CPA+ | Baseline | Enhanced | |
| Certification | FIPS 140-2 | CPA | CPA | CAPS | CAPS |
| Touchscreen support | x | x | x | x | |
| Transparent to the user | x | x | x | x | |
| Removable media encryption | x | x | x | x | x |
| Pre-boot authentication | x | x | x | x | x |
| Multi user support at pre-boot | x | x | x | x |
I have decided that I will first of all try connecting the laptop (after decryption password has been put in and when Acronis is awaiting instruction) with another via a usb data transfer cable. I should then be able to see the relevant drive and directories, theoretically! However, I am now waiting for the cable to arrive in the post. If this does not work, then I will be on to Becrypt to try and figure out a recovery disk.