Failed to obtain the backup contents problem
Since writing the following yesterday I've worked out how the situation came about.
The problem relates to using B&R11 Build 17318 to perform a backup and using Build 17437 to attempt to perform a recovery; (or vice versa where the problem is then the archive is not found at all). So the archives generated are not compatible between builds!!
Why would I be using the two versions? I found that the newer build 17437 would consistently fail attempting to perform a disk backup. So I still used the older Build 17318 on bootable media to do the job. Only now did I discover what follows while using B&R11 - 17318 in anger attempting to fix a customer's computer!
I have noticed that a new build has been released just a few days ago. I am downloading that as I write this. I'll see how it goes when installed
I have three or four backup archives (.tib and associated .xml) files on a particular hard disk repository that when I attempt to perform a recovery with presents the archive name and backup name within OK but fails to present the usual MBR and volume name(s) and issues the error message, "Failed to obtain the backup contents". This is a very stymy-ing situation! If this problem can't solved I effectively have no backup!
Checks I've done:
* ran chkdsk on the volume to see and clear any filesystem corruption; ran OK;
* ran validate on the backup files in question and they validate.
Strangenesses:
With one of the files when I copied it to another disk it behaved correctly!
With another bigger file that attempted work around made no difference.
The file sizes are smaller ca. 17 GB and larger ca. 206 GB
Situation:
* the hard disk is connected to a Windows XP SP3 computer via USB adapter;
* on the same disk there are other archives that behave correctly;
* I may have originally formatted the storage disk on a Win 7 64 bit computer (during this period I found that Win 7 64 has a problem copying or moving large files which may or may not be related to the present issue) OR (inclusive);
* I may have performed the original backup process on my Win 7 64 machine (connecting the customer's hard disk via USB adatper). [I'm in the middle of a program of migrating over from the XP computer to Win 7 64. With the uncertainty around Win 7 64 I have to make my XP working machine hang around quite a bit longer!].
Hello Victor,
Thank you for posting your detailed question.
I want to inform you first, that for every recovery operation issue, you can contact Acronis support. You will find more information about in our Customer Handbook.
Then I ask you to try out your issue with the latest build 17440, that you can download (also the boot ISO) from your account.
When recovering with later builds, please be aware, that you do not define the archive it self, only the folder, where the archive resides. This can lead to a situation, where you have to wait several minutes, before the archive will be displayed. Please also try to mount or double click the archive.
I have seen, that you have Home and Corporate Products in your account. If you try to restore, mount or double click an archive, that is created from another Acronis product, then please check first the compatibility table in this article from our Knowledge Base.
Let me know if you need additional help please.
Thank you.
Hello Victor,
Thank you for posting your detailed question.
I want to inform you first, that for every recovery operation issue, you can contact Acronis support. You will find more information about in our Customer Handbook.
Thanks for this information I did not know I had that right. I just assumed since my support period expired (only a week or so ago) the best I could do is ask a question at this forum.
Then I ask you to try out your issue with the latest build 17440, that you can download (also the boot ISO) from your account.
As I mentioned in my additional section of my posting I have done that and it solves most of the archive access problems but there was one it would not access.
When recovering with later builds, please be aware, that you do not define the archive it self, only the folder, where the archive resides. This can lead to a situation, where you have to wait several minutes, before the archive will be displayed. Please also try to mount or double click the archive.
I know that. My issue was not that the archive itself does not display. I repeat my problem was that (in some cases) the archive displays but it reports it can't access the contents of the backup.
I have seen, that you have Home and Corporate Products in your account. If you try to restore, mount or double click an archive, that is created from another Acronis product, then please check first the compatibility table in this article from our Knowledge Base.
I am not as ignorant as you imply. I know about the difference between home and corporate products. All the archives I am addressing were produced by B&R11
Let me know if you need additional help please.
Yes I am seriously annoyed by your Build 17437; I can't remember clearly but I think it was responsible for some of the archives I could not access with Build 17318 bootable media. Why was I using two builds? Because Build 17437 bootable media would not perform backups - consistently crashing. I can't remember clearly whether I obtained some backups with Build 17437 from Windows although recently it also failed. The expiry of support became a barrier. That is why I'm here!
I want to point out that while I am classified as a "Beginner" that it only for your particular forum. I'll have you know that I have had decades of experience with computers and supporting my own customers since 1994. I have also been using Acronis products for many years. So I'm not actually a "beginner".
Other readers may want to note: I think Acronis created Build 17437 partly to address an issue I had. The issue arose when I changed the size of the partitions on my own workshop computer. I used the consumer product Disk Director 11 to do that. The problem was that while the partition size reported by DD11 and B&R11 was as changed, for the boot partition, Windows Explorer kept reporting the previous unchanged size. I lodged a query with support while the two products were still within their support period. Acronis took ages to try to answer the question until several months later they wrote back saying there was a limitation in changing the partition size of a boot partition while it is active and to follow a Microsoft fix. This indicated that the developers themselves did not realise this when they coded Build 17318. Soon after they came out with Build 17437 but as I now know while they attempted to fix my problem (as one of others I guess) they broke some other aspect which was compatibility of archives from one build to the next!
Thank you.
I would like to thank Victor Bien and everyone else whom contributed to this thread as well. My installed version was 11.5.39029 and my boot cd was a little lower. I got the same thing and could not load the image fully while doing a restore from cd boot. Immediately after seeing the post results I burned a boot cd from tools/create a boot cd and it worked like a champ.
I can probably understand going from different versions say 11.0 to 11.5, but different builds from within the same version should fly.
I am guessing I should create a new boot cd on every build update.
Hello Jeffrey,
Glad, that you resolved your issue! It's always better to have all components of the same build. Thus you can avoid any possible synchronisation issues between remote components (e.g. between Acronis Management Server and Agents) and also issues with the restore of older archives. Here you will find backup archive compatibility list across different product versions. As you can see, forward compatibility can not be guaranteed. Backups created with a newer build/version of the product may not be supported by older builds/versions.
Thank you,